All of us must have read, seen or heard love stories at some point in our lives. 

In my case, I have felt it..not for me, but between the closest people in my life, my parents. 

It happened when I was quite young, on a Saturday night. My parents and I had planned to go out for shopping and dinner together. Dad had a half day at work, the next day being a Sunday. What better time to have a family outing? Dad had asked us to get ready by five so we could leave as soon as he reached home. We knew he was going to be late, as usual, so we started getting ready at five itself! All set to leave by six, we waited. It was a while after which mum called up dad to know where he was and he told her he was stuck in traffic and it would likely take him an hour more to reach home.

Clearly we were annoyed, but mom chose not to show it. She already knew something like this would definitely happen. After that we kept waiting for an hour more and mum got a table reserved in a South Indian restaurant which usually does need reservations due to its popularity.

A couple of hours passed, yet dad did not reach. It had started raining by then, washing away our long awaited shopping plans. I was truly furious. Mum did not call dad and quietly changed back to her regular clothes seemingly calm but boiling in anger. 

When dad finally knocked,I ran back inside my room after opening the door, without even looking at him. He knew mum and I were angry but instead of apologizing  he kept quiet. Mum also wasn't saying anything. The cold war between mum and dad was palpable. It seemed like a competition of who-can-keep-silent-for-longer. Mum noticed dad’s wet clothes. She said nothing, only walked silently, showing anger in the way she was moving. She took out fresh clothes and a towel from the almirah for him and went out of the room, bringing back a cup of hot ginger tea the next moment! It was amazing how she could not stop caring for him even with all that anger...

And dad too did not stay behind any longer. Smiling his shy boyish smile, he opened his bag and took out a tiny box. Staring in mum's eyes, he opened it to show a glistening beautiful pair of teardrop shaped platinum earrings. He said, "Happy birthday, my love..." 

I had totally forgotten it was mum's birthday! Mortified at my forgetfulness and awed by the magic of the love between them, the strength of their bond, I just stood there looking at my parents, hoping that some day, just like them, I too would find my soul mate... The one with whom I would celebrate our Platinum Day of Love...


Contest entry in response to "Platinum Day of Love" on indiblogger.com by Platinum Day of Love