'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
---
It was probably true, that fights were a significant of their lives. Be it when they were sworn enemies, or even when they were best friends; be it before marriage or even after, Viraat and Maanvi not fighting, was a thing unheard of. Even his bhabi had said to Karan, 'This is a daily affair' when he had asked why they had been fighting. So why did this latest fight with his wife bother him so much? He wondered why it irked him more than the rest of the silly brawls they had.
And then he remembered what she had said.
'I don't want this competition to bring a wall between us. Ever since we've participated, all we do is fight.'
So that's what was driving him nuts. That was the risen for the sudden rise in his body temperature.
For Maanvi, to even think; to even imagine that a silly stupid singing competition could ever drive a wall between them was ridiculous. How could she even think of that? Didn't she believe in their love? Didn't she know how much he loved her? Hadn't he said and shown that enough times?
He heard the door creaking and the sweet smell of her body lotion creeping into his nostrils. That fragrance was enough to make him lose his mind usually. She used it every time she had to pacify him, because there was just some damn thing in that impaired his thinking capacity. But today, the anger in him was boiling on the surface, and the whiff of her lotion failed to mesmerize him.
'Viraat?' she said meekly.
He said nothing. 'Viraat, you're still angry at me?'
'No, why would I be angry Maanvi? You just stated a fact, right? Whatever you said was true. I just didn't have the guts to believe it.'
'Viraat.'
'No Maanvi, you don't need to explain anything at all. You're right. Our love really isn't that strong yet. We don't love each other enough to go through a singing competition without ripping each other's head off?'
'That's not what I was trying to say.'
He grabbed her tiny shoulder and shouted, 'Then WHAT THE F*** where you trying to say Maanvi?'
She stood speechless, tears welling up in her eyes. His anger melted at the sight of her eyes, and he loosened his grip and turned away, ashamed of himself; ashamed at his love for her, which clearly wasn't good enough for her.
He buried his face in his hands and breathed deeply, trying to control himself. Soft hands found his shoulders and he felt his left hand being enclosed by hers. He turned to look at her and said
'Maanvi, do you really think that I would put a competition above you? Do you really think that my drive to win is going to overpower my desire to see you win? You think I place my happiness above yours? Hell, you are my happiness. When I sing in public and I see your face smiling proudly at me, that's what make me happy. Not when everybody claps, but when you do. Without you by my side, there's really no reason for me to be happy at all.'
'But that's what I'm trying to do Viraat. I want to stand to support you, not compete against you.'
'But I don't want you standing in the audience. I want you by my side, right next to me singing with me. I have heard how good your voice and it just confirms my suspicion that we, were meant to be. The Singing Sensation. Viraat and Maanvi. Think of all the romantic songs we could sing together. Directors would get a package deal. Buy one, get one free! All the tours we could go to, as lead singing duo. We could visit places and travel the world, just you and me. We could have a honeymoon in a new destination every day. We can be so much happier, Maanvi.'
His speech was drowned because his face was suddenly covered with her lovely locks. She had flung herself at him and he wasn't surprised. His sherni could get so sentimental sometimes.
'I'm sorry I misunderstood you Viraat. I'm sorry.'
He pulled her off him, and brushing her hairs away from her face, he held her tenderly and said, 'Maanvi, nothing and nobody can ever drive a wall between us. Not society, not family, not death, and most definitely not a singing competition. Even if there's a hint of a barrier between us, I'll break it down into miniscule pieces, I promise.'
'But Viraat, look at the judges of our competition. They got divorced because of all the negativity between them, because they were both singers. Don't you think that may happen to us?'
'The judges are not Viraat and Maanvi.'
She smiled. 'Of course not.'
'We started off as sworn enemies and then fell in love. You think we're really that jobless, that we would continue the circle and go back to being sworn enemies, again? Even if we do, we'll fall back in love again. There's really no away we can be enemies forever. We'll keep fighting and loving each other.'
She buried her face in his beary chest and said, 'Until the end of time.'
He exhaled into her hair and sang...
'And I know, we'll stand together when the world falls down.'
And she sang
'And I know, that our forever's gonna start right now.'
'There's this girl, the one and only wonder of my world. And it don't matter if the road gets rough, if me rich or poor, she'll stay there with me if me go to war.'
'And you know, we lay together when the sun goes down.'
'And I know, we'll still be together when it comes back round, yeah.'
---
VirMan Forever ❤️
Cricket
