My ex-wife came to visit our son and stayed overnight. I let him sleep in the living room. I woke up in the middle of the night to drink water and unexpectedly heard his voice. The next day, I decided to bring him…
Three years have passed since the divorce papers were signed. I (Rohit) have just become accustomed to living life with my son and me. In the morning I take my son Arnab to school, in the afternoon I go to pick him up, and in the evening I have dinner with my parents in Kanpur. Life isn’t fantastic, but it’s so peaceful that I thought I could move slowly and quietly. I thought everything was really over.
She stood at my gate, her figure familiar, but her eyes were different. It was the same face, only his gaze was no longer as decisive as before, but a sign of hesitation, a sign of anticipation. She said she wanted to see our son. I was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Arnav froze at the sight of his mother, then ran to hug Meera tightly. He smiled, a bright smile that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I stood there, my heart aching at the same time. Perhaps the child had missed his mother in the last three years more than I thought.
She stayed all afternoon and evening. My parents asked her all kinds of questions, and Arnav clung to his mother, refusing to leave her. I wanted to tell her to leave, but the words got stuck in my throat after seeing that scene. Finally, my mother asked her to have dinner and spend the night with the baby. She immediately agreed, as if she had been waiting for that invitation for a long time.
That night, when everyone was asleep, I got up to drink water. The lights in the living room were still on. Just as I was about to turn them off, I suddenly heard very soft sounds. It was my mother and Meera. I stopped, and for some reason, I didn’t move, but stood there listening.
“It’s been three years, why didn’t you take another step?”
Mira replied, her voice very soft but clear:
“I can’t let go, Mataji. I realize that I have only that in my heart.
I held my breath unconsciously. My mother sighed:
“If that’s the case, why did you two get divorced?”
Mira was silent for a moment, her voice trembling:
“It was my fault. At the time, I only thought about making money, thinking that as long as I could support the family financially, everything would be stable. I didn’t pay attention to him, I wasn’t there for him when he was at his weakest. I was very strong, to the point that he felt worthless.
Those words were like a hammer blow to my chest. For the past three years I had blamed him for being ruthless, thinking he chose money over family. But I never thought there was such fear behind that cold exterior.
Then Meera went on to say:
“I’m afraid, Mom. I’m afraid that if I can’t prove that I can provide for the whole family, one day he’ll leave because he thinks he’s a burden.”
My mother was silent for a long time before finally speaking:
“In a marriage, it’s not just about money. It’s important to understand each other and be there for each other in difficult times.
I went back to my room, lay down, but couldn’t sleep. Memories flooded in. The nights I spent in the hospital, she was busy with her accounting work in Lucknow, cold food, the time I wanted to tell her, but held back for fear of upsetting her. It turned out that we both loved each other, just in the most clumsy way.
The next morning, I woke Mira up early. Still half-asleep, she asked me:
“Why did you wake me up so early?”
I looked at her, the woman who had once been my wife, who had left me in pain, and said something I myself didn’t expect:
“I’ll take you somewhere.”
“Where?” she asked, her voice still dreamy.
“To the marriage registration office,” I replied with a smile.
Mira froze, staring at me for a long time. Her eyes turned red, but she didn’t ask any more questions, only nodded slightly.
The road to the marriage registration office that day was not long, but for me, it represented three years of misunderstanding, hurt, and silence. I wasn’t sure if the future would be easy, nor could I promise that we wouldn’t argue anymore. But at least this time, I knew I wanted to hold her hand tightly and not let the fear go out again.
Some divorces are not because the love has faded, but because neither party knows how to live together. And sometimes, you have to go a long way to understand the simplest thing: a family doesn’t need just one person to make money, but both need to come home together.