The Truck

 

Anita's mind was blank. Everything happened so fast, that she could barely believe that she was on an airliner back to India. Just six months back, she had gathered up courage to face the world and live all alone after a painful divorce and it seemed as though her world came to a standstill. The call that she had got that morning, informing of her mom's serious illness, made her take the most sensitive decision in life - "resignation". She had strived hard to get a position in this reputed company at the states to win back her self-confidence and now, that too didn't last.  She had no other choice than to forsake her job to be with her mother.

The dispersing clouds, made Anita ponder if "anything right" would happen in her life. It was too much to take and that too within a short span of two years, her entire life had turned upside down. Little did she know, that her life was about to change - forever.

At the airport entrance, her eyes started searching for her dad, thinking in her mind the agony and pain he should be going through. To her surprise, she saw the beautiful smiling face of her mother, waving at her with joy. Anita was perplexed. She didn't know how to react. There in the corner, was her entire family waiting for her. She didn't speak a word as she knew that they had played a cheap trick on her. She was furious and didn't respond to them in the journey back home.

When talks went on about her marriage proposal, she broke down. She could not control her emotions and she started blasting everyone. No one at home knew that she had to resign her job to come down home. After an hour long debate, she locked herself in her room. There was a terrible silence that settled in their home. Inside her dark room, anita started sobbing. She knew how much her dad and mom loved her and how much pain they had endured when she married the boy of her choice against their wish.  That's when gloom fell on her life. The love that she believed was divine became abusive. She couldn't understand how a man who was so loving before marriage could become so possessive and cunning afterwards. She started hating him so much that she could not accept him even when he was in his senses. After so many legal battles, the matrimonial bond was broken and she came back home. All through the agony, her parents had been with her, supporting, accepting and loving. She lost everything - her self confidence, her trust on men, her trust on God and yet, her parents were with her. Even now, they were trying to do something good for her, but she was not in a position to accept it. Something haunted her. She cried and cried and fell asleep.

She was awakened by the incessant knocking at the door. Irritated, she opened the door in fury, only to find her best friend Rahul. "Hey Ant, how are you?” rahul said and anita smiled for the first time as she remembered her pleasant childhood. Rahul was her best pal and they both went to school together. Instantly, the mood in the house turned around and everyone were cautious not to bring up the "marriage" topic. Rahul asked, "Hey Ant, shall we go out to the beach and have a walk?" and Anita instantly agreed.

As they drove to the beach, Anita opened up to Rahul. "I know what I did was an act of escapism, but I needed to groom my self-confidence. That's why I chose to go out to states and stay there for 2 years or so. I did not want to stay in home and become a sorry figure to everyone. How can they even think of getting me married once again? Don't they understand the pain that I am going through?" Rahul listened patiently... “But, what will they do?” she continued "I had put them to shame and yet they loved me, the only thing they want is to see me happy. But how can I be?" As she was lamenting a strong stinking smell filled the air. Irritated by the nauseating stinking odour, rahul tried to drive fast, but was stopped by a truck before him. As the truck, slowly moved, rahul and anita longed for fresh air. As soon as he got an opportunity, rahul zoomed past the truck and what a relief it was. The smell immediately vanished. It was then that they noticed that the truck that was before them was the garbage truck and it was taking out the evening load.

Rahul laughed out loud when he noticed that they had already crossed past the beach in this commotion. They then drove back and halted. Rahul and Anita got down and started walking on the sea shore. Rahul started, "ant, truly, I didn't know what to talk when you were lamenting your concerns. But then, this seemingly irritable incident of this garbage truck gave me the answer." Anita looked at him puzzled. "Yes, it may seem funny, but I believe the garbage truck was put before us for a reason." He said.

"What reason?” she asked. "You see Anita; the garbage truck which was carrying all the old decaying stuff polluted the environment so much that we did not even notice that we were crossing our destination. We did not think about anything else, but the irking smell and how irritating it was. But as we went past it and put it behind us, our vision cleared and it was a very different feeling.

Could it be that we are putting all of our past hurts and pains before us in our journey called life? We may be in a beautiful haven like the beach here, but because of the marred irritable stink of our past experiences, our focus is just on the stink and not on the present! Anita, I know your life was hard and understand your pains, but until you push your past to your back, you cannot lead a peaceful life. We were highly suffocating when we were near the garbage truck. In the same way you are suffocating yourselves by holding on to your past experience. Release everything and put them to your back. You've been allowing the garbage truck of your past to go before you and hence no matter how hard you try running away from it, you got stranded by it.

Your past story got over some two years back, but you are still re-living it. This new guy, whom your parents have seen, could be a person whom you'll love. So, what's stopping you? Just because, one man wronged you doesn't mean that all men are wrong. It’s like saying "the beach is a stinky place", just because you have the garbage truck there. Remove the garbage truck and you'll enjoy the fresh breeze.

Anita didn't speak a word. She was in deep thought. They started on the bike and rahul drove silently. She was nibbling with her mobile and then she called up her mom, "she said, mom, what's his name?". Rahul was elated, just then he noticed the unloaded garbage truck following him to pick up its next load. Rahul gently smiled to himself as Anita, collected details about the new life she was offered.