Avan, Aval Adhu 435
“Some things in life are too complicated to explain in any language.” Haruki Murakami
The hum of the air humidifiers filled the lull that fell between them. She looked into his open, honest, and soft eyes and wondered to herself, ' Nothing has changed from then. His eyes have remained the same as I last saw them bent over my face that lay in his lap.'
Using his right index finger to brush away the few strands of hair that had fallen on her face, he kissed her eyes and asked, ' Madam, have you lost something?'
' Lost and found. Lost and gained ' Madhu declared philosophically and sighing looked at Ravi, ' Why is this life so damn hard to live, Jaanu? Why cannot we have everything and live happily ever after? Why is there so much drama in all our lives?'
From the way his eyelids dropped like iron shutters on his eyes, his soul windows, Madhu knew that she had made a mistake by venting out her angst, and then like shutters being pulled up with difficulty, she saw him struggle to lift his lids over his sight and then she saw his lips spread in a wry smile.
' Master, pain in your eyes along with a painful smile don't do justice to my Jaanu ' and used her fingers to caress his lips.
' Madhu, I remember you talking about your Grandpa who you and everyone else addressed as " Dada" and I still remember all the stories he told you and which you told me.'
He saw her eyes darken in gloom and glisten in tears and heard her say sadly, ' He did not last long. He passed away a few months after my arrival here in Kumarapalayam.'
Ravi hugged her gently and in his arms, she felt safe and secure. He held her head against his chest and caressed her tenderly, ' I too have thought long and hard about life and why it is so complicated.'
Raising her head she looked at him and asked, ' and..'
Ravi smiled and kissed her forehead, ' The answer lies in the origin of life on this planet and other worlds all around the universe.'
' Jaanu, Earth and this life on it is confusing enough. So, I will stick to us and our world.'
' Smart lady and a smart answer.'
' What is so smart about limiting myself and sticking to basics and what I know for sure, Jaanu?'
' I used the word smart in comparison and reference to great minds that are working on solving the mysteries of how this universe formed and how big it is and what make it tick.'
She blinked and said, ' Baby, you lost me there although knowing you, I am sure that you are just circling the pond before diving in. So, stop circling and tell me what you make out of life and why it is damn complicated.'
' Sure, Madhu' and raising his hands, ' but promise me that you will not beat me up if my thoughts end up boring you or worse, end up filling you with more questions than answers.'
Throwing her hands around his slim waist, ' There I have you locked and trapped. Now out with your answers.'
' Madhu, have you ever wondered as to what must have happened on this planet billions of years ago?'
She looked at him with sad eyes and said, ' Baby, look at us or just look at my life and all that has happened in 25 years. Now ask me that question about earth and billions of years ago.'
Pointing to all the books, ' I stopped reading a long time ago.'
' I don't believe that. Not you ' Ravi exclaimed loudly and Madhu with a twinkle in her eyes, ' I meant reading books about general stuff and subjects that concern science and history.'
He looked at her curiously, ' So, you were reading after all?'
' Yes, after I joined my late husband's company, I did my Bsc Commerce through correspondence and also my MBA and...'
She paused and looked at him, ' All that for later. Now tell me what you were about to tell before I interrupted you.'
' Nothing much to tell. Just a notion, a thought about how all this started and why it started at all.'
' What are you talking about, Ravi?'
' Life, Madhu. The origins of life and who we are and why we are the way we are right now.'
Her brows furrowed in question and in doubt and seeing them Ravi smiled, ' I began with your " Dada " and I am going back and back to his origins.'
' Hold on master. Just hold on for a second now. Our family history stops somewhere with my grandfather's grandfather and after that, there is Zero knowledge about my ancestry.'
Ravi nodded, ' Same here, baby. It is the same with us and most of us. But, if we go back and back our human ancestry comes to a fork, a bend where we homo-sapiens split off from another primitive species of us early humans and if we go further back we come to our ancestors, the Chimps, and Gorillas.'
Stepping back and raising his right index finger, ' But what before that and what billions of years before that?'
' What about that, Jaanu?'
' If we go back to the beginning we end up with single-cell organisms and further back we come to a single cell. I literally mean that. One cell that began all this.'
' I am sorry, Ravi. But where are you going with all this?'
' To the point when the single cell split itself up, divided itself and kept doing that until it came to the point when it evolved into a multicellular being.'
' Okay. I get that. So?'
' Good. The question is why did the single cell feel the need to divide itself.'
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