Samudra and Adi Laxmi were walking to Adi Laxmi's home.

Adi Laxmi : Samu, what happened between you and Romeo?

Samudra : What will happen to him and me? Nothing happened

Adi Laxmi : Great now, you started hiding things from me? Your best friend?
Just because I am staying away from here doesn't change the fact that I am, was and will be your best friend and our next generation will be best friends too.

Samudra: Sure sure!

Adi Laxmi : Don't skip my questions Samu, all okay?

Samudra : He keeps forcing me to explore further Adi, I mean that's good only but you know right? I love how life is going. I don't understand why he can't understand me.

Adi Laxmi : Samu,he just wants to make sure you won't give up your dreams. Why don't you give it a chance? You never know what awaits you.

Samudra : I don't want anything else Adi, I am content with whatever I have!

Both of them reached her home, and they spent some together.

Around evening 6, Samudra heard the honk of Sharva's bike and it didn't take her long to run into the verandah from the home, forgetting that she was mad at him.

There he was, in all his glory clad in his white dhoti and blue shirt. Samudra couldn't avert her gaze from him.

When both of them heard a throat clearing sound, they broke eye contact and Sharva was trying to dust off something from the bike while Samudra was trying to look at something far away.

"Adi, ask him why did he come? When I told him clearly I will come on my own",Samudra said trying to hide the glint of a smile on her face.

"Heard it, Adi. Tell her that I was just going by the way and I didn't want to be named as a bad husband leaving his wife to walk back home all alone. If she wants to do that, then ask her to go ahead",he said shrugging.

"What is there in being bad hus-",when Samudra was about to continue.

"Shh, shut up. How much will you both fight? Samu, go with him. Why do you want to throw tantrums when you come running just by hearing his bike sound",Adi said.

"Who said I came hearing his bike sound?",Samu tried defending herself.

"Are you going to go or should I push you and make you sit on the bike? Go already",Adi said.

"Too eager to get rid of your best friend huh? You were supposed to be on my side. Do you even remember that?",Samu asked.

"We'll talk about all that on the phone, you go home first. Aren't students waiting for you?",Adi reminded and she quickly ran from her place and sat on the bike waving bye to Adi.

"Bye Adi Laxmi, take care",she said and Sharva started the bike and drove from there.

On the way, the bike halted near a flower shop and Samudra got down followed by Sharva.

"Akka, give me flowers for 30 rupees",he said to the lady who was selling jasmine flowers.

She packed the garland in a cover and handed it to him. He quickly took it and hung it to the bike handle.

"Who is it for?",Samudra asked.

"Huh? For my lover, who meets me at midnight daily",he said and she pinched him on his waist.

"Gosh, what are you? It hurts woman",he said, hissing in pain while trying not to smile.

"Now tell me who it is for?"she asked, glaring at him.

"I'll tell you when we get home",he said and got on the bike and so did she.

They reached home and the students were already waiting for her. She got off the bike. Quickly washed her legs and went into the verandah leaving him behind.

"How come all of you are here on time?",she asked.

"Akka, who would want to hear your scoldings daily? Today we came early and thought to escape from them",one of the little kids said.

"You are a really brave guy",Sharva said walking from there into their home.

"I am not scolding you just like that, Am I?",Samudra said sternly.

"You all start practicing, I'll come",she said and went in to get her veena.

Also, she went into their room and quickly changed into her casuals. She lit the diya near God and prayed for a few mins.

All the time, she looked around to find him but then it hit her that he might have gone to the fields.

She went to the place where her veena was kept and placed her hand on it and prayed for a minute to bless her with the art to play it and may she never forget or get over proud of her skill.

She took it in her hands and walked to the verandah to see the kids practicing while the few lenient ones were playing around.

As soon as they saw her coming, they came back to their places and started practicing.

She prayed to Lord Ganesha and started playing the veena. As soon as her hands touched the veena, they knew their way there. They moved rhythmically making the most melodious tunes out of it.

The song and the music were going hand in hand and few of the village people sat down there listening to the music which felt too soothing for their ears.

After almost two hours of the session and before the moon came out, she concluded the session and the kids bid bye to her.

Carefully, she kept the veena back in its place and noticed that her father in law and mother in law were busy watching television.

"Athaya, I'll go to the fields and come",Samudra said to which her mother in law nodded.

It was that part of time, where it was not completely night nor it was evening. She walked to their fields to see her husband fixing something near the water pump.

Slowly yet silently she went to him taking small steps trying not to make any sound.

"Shh shh",she made a sound to call him.

"Is it a snake? Where is this sound coming from?",Sharva spoke to himself, unaware of the fact that his wife was standing right behind him.

He looked besides and turned around suddenly and slipped his leg. When he was about to fall down,she held his hand and supported him to stand back properly.

"What are you doing here? For a second I got a heart attack, as if a ghost was here",he said and she glared at him.

"I regret holding your hand, shouldn't have done that. Should have let you fall",she said and pouted.

"I would fall a million times for you Mudra",he said and she turned her head to the other side trying to control her blush.

"Enough! I thought I will sit here for a while and come but it seems like you are busy",she said inspecting what he was doing.

"No, I am almost done. You go and sit, I'll come in a few minutes",he said and she nodded.

They have a hut like thing in the farm where they can stay over for a while  and also safeguard the farm.

"Yamuna thatilo nalanayyakai edhuru choosene radha",she sang the melody while looking at her Krishna.

He smiled hearing the song and completed his work and joined her back in the hut.

She held his arm and put her head on his shoulder.

"Sharva",she called and he hummed.

"Sorry, I spoke a bit too much that day",she apologized.

"I am sorry too, Mudra. Shouldn't have forced you to something that you don't like",he said genuinely patting her head slowly.

"Why are you being sorry? You just thought about my dreams. It took me a long time to realize that",she said and he smiled at her words.

"Leave that, take this",he handed the jasmine garland to her.

"Go, give it to your lover who you meet every night",she said and pouted.

"Should I?",he asked and she looked at him wide eyed.

"You know what, go and give her",she said and was going to stand up from there to walk away.

He held her wrist and pulled her back to sit back and carefully tugged the garland in her hair around her bun.

"Do you think anyone will fall for me and bear with me if not for you, Mudra?",he asked and she chuckled.

He pulled her into his lap, while hugging her from behind. The smell of jasmine was intoxicating and so was the lady with him.

"Sharva, do you really think I have the talent to go to the city and try for chances?",she asked as he smelled the jasmines in her hair.

Hearing her question, he made her look at him.

"What makes you think you're not worth it? Hmm?",he asks.

"I don't know, I just feel like maybe",she couldn't find words to voice out her insecurities.

"Mudra tells me one thing, would you be guilty if you just imagine if your kid has the ability to reach more heights and yet he/she keeps denying their capabilities and keeps looking down at themselves. What would you do?",he asked.

"I would put some sense into their brain and make them realize what they are capable of",she said.

"That's exactly what you have to do with yourself too. Got it?",he asked and she nodded.

"Words ma'am",he pinched her cheeks playfully.

"Oww, is it revenge for what I did this evening?"she asked, rubbing her cheeks.

"If only I had to take revenge I have better ways",he said and she slapped his chest playfully.

"Sharva, kids...",she tried talking about the thing.

"Shh",he put his finger on her lips and looked into her eyes as she did the same.

"Did someone say anything again?",he asked and she nodded.

"Who is it this time?",he asked.

"They're not wrong either right?",she said and bent her head trying to play with the end of her pallu.

"They are",he said.

She put her hands around him as he pulled her more into him.

"Intimacy is our thing to decide and so is it with kids also",he said.

"I know, but every time they talk about it, I can't omit the fact that I can't-",he pressed his lips onto hers.

It took a minute to understand what was going on, she kissed him back pulling her more and more into him and her hands were roaming in his hair.

She hissed when he bit her lower lip while he smiled, his hands roaming near her bare waist and making circles near her navel. A moan escaped from her mouth which was turning him on.

"We need to stop,"she said, breaking the kiss.

"By the way, did I tell you? Adi Laxmi is going to Chennai it seems",she said.

"Why so?",he asked.

"Her husband wants to shift and she has to as well",she says.

"So, if I have to shift somewhere, Will you shift too?",he asked and she looked at him questioningly.

"Why would you shift?",she asked him, confused.

"No, just asking",he tried to cover it up.

"Are you hiding something from me?",she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Is it possible? Tell me something that is possible",he said and she snuggled more into him placing her head on his heart.

"How would I know? Listen, you are not shifting anywhere no matter what the reason is. I need some time to make a decision, that's all. You know Sharu, I am not a person with big dreams. I love this place, these people, family, you, music and what else will I ever need? I am happy being like this. That's what I have always kept telling myself.

When you told me that I could go further and try more, my conscience wasn't agreeing with it. I knew you were talking for my benefit, for our benefit, as much as it is good to stay in my comfort zone if I don't ever take the risk of going out of it, how would I explore the world? How would I explore myself? I will definitely give a chance to it Sharva",she said.

I can't believe she said it, this made me more happier than the day she confessed her feelings.

I never wanted to snatch her dreams, from our college days Mudra was the best instrument player and also a great vocalist.

She did win a lot of prizes for academics as well as her music, it made me feel so proud but when we got married she preferred being the housewife.

I know my Mudra did not ever want to be something like that though she never said it, her actions speak louder than words.

I thought maybe she will never understand, I couldn't believe she actually realized the thing that I have been trying to tell her since we got married.

Better late than never, I am happy.

Hearing those words from her made me the happiest person. I love her as she is but who would be happier than me to see that she is growing and reaching great heights in future.

She had her bunch of insecurities, and we couldn't have children was one of the biggest insecurities she ever had.

She came to a conclusion that if not motherhood nothing. I was trying to convince her that yes motherhood is a big thing for every woman out there but it's not that you won't be able to do anything if not motherhood.

She blamed herself, for almost a year she couldn't come out of it. Amma, Athaya and I have tried our best to bring her out of it.

She started taking music classes after that and it's going to be two years already. Her training was perfect, she would not accept any fault at the same time she would teach them how to get over the faults.

A few of them won competitions and when they introduce her as their guru, her face glows in happiness. I could never buy that in my whole life with anything.

"I am glad you understood Mudra. I am really happy, trust me",I said and kissed her forehead.

"Did you water the crop yet? Why didn't you remove the weeds?",she asked, moving to the field and I followed her.

While walking I thought about the words everyone told me, including my husband.

He wasn't saying something wrong, nor trying to get rid of me. He was just trying to push me towards my dreams because I.. I wasn't able to do it by myself.

I still remember the day the doctor broke the news to me that I.. I can't become a mother. It felt like my whole body was going to give up on me.

If not for my family and my husband I don't think I would go through and come out of that phase.

Two years to that phase and Sharva never lets  me go to a function alone no matter how big of a fight we have.

Every time we talk about me moving on it pricks me. It pricked me that I couldn't get over it, it was a big thing for me.

Seeing my friends, neighbors having kids and on the other hand I am not able to be a mother neither would he be a father.

The doctor tried telling me that there are ways to have kids for couples like us, but at that time I wasn't in my sane mind to think about all that. I was just in the phase to blame myself for everything that was happening.

After we had our fight, I gave everything a thought. It wasn't easy for me, it did take a lot of words to put down my pessimistic thoughts and grow the optimistic ones.

Especially fighting with Sharva and shouting at him and him shouting at me is the last thing I ever wanted to happen. But some things are unavoidable.

When I went to the fields, and sat beside him I felt peace in my heart. With him beside me, I can come over anything and everything.

Some decisions require a lot of time while the others you just feel like you need to do it and that's all no more justification needed.

I told him about it all, and my oh my his face was beaming in joy and happiness. He was extremely elated, seeing him happy makes me more happy.

I moved out of the hut to examine the crops and asked him a few questions about the crop.

"I did, there are some more left over. I will do it tomorrow",he said.

"How come? Aren't you coming with me to the city tomorrow?",she asked, folding her hands and looking at him with a glint of a smile.

"Of course I am, now let's go home. Though my heart is content, my stomach needs food",he said to which she chuckled.

Both of them walked to their home hand in hand with a smile on their faces.

Samudra : Some storms come to clear off our path. That's right!

*THE END*

Hello dear readers,

I am back with an update and the end update for this short story!

I hope you enjoyed reading the story and it made some sense atleast.

For me, Samudra and Sharva are close to heart. It almost felt like I was writing a story which was happening in front of my eyes.

The jolly people roaming in front of our eyes may have over come their side of struggles and challenges just like Samudra. Never talk badly or treat someone badly.

Intimacy and kids, it should always be consent based. No consent from any of the sides would make it meaningless. The society should stop poking their nose into every girl's or guy's life and asking them to get married and then to have a kid and then to have another kid so that the first kid has a play partner.

Dear coming up generation, please be sure of the step you're going to take. At the end of the day you have to live your life and not them.

That's all I have to say, do let me know how did you like the story?

Thank you so much for reading, oh yeah a new cover has been updated 😁

Don't forget to vote and comment your views!

Who do you like more, Sharva Or Samudra?

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I'll meet you all with another tale soon, till then take care of yourself!

Sending you all loads of love ❤and chocolates!

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Sakshi Devi