Short Story - Objective To Live

Walking through the connectors, 25 year old Shreya reached the entrance of the plane. Air hostess welcomed her into the plane. She kept her face down. She didn't want to make an eye contact with anyone. Air hostess guided her to the her seat - fourth row in the business class. She went inside the row to sit on her window seat. She opened a picture in her mobile, a tear came out of her eyes. She let it come out, because no one was watching her.

Soon someone approached the row where she was sitting. She quickly picked her left hand and kept her head over it and started looking outside the window on her right. Her open hair perfectly covered her face. She didn't see the fellow passenger who sat next to her.

Wiping her tears with her right hand, she tucked her hair behind her ears, put the phone on the airplane mode, tied her seat belt and putting her back adjacent to the seat she closed her eyes.

"What will you have mam - veg or non veg?" asked the air hostess.

"I am good, thank you" said Shreya in shaky voice.

"Why are you angry on food Shreya? Please have it" said her fellow female passenger in a strong and confidant voice.

Shocked to hear her name, Shreya turned her face left, to see who was sitting next to her.

"Mam!!! Hello !!! I mean good morning" said Shreya panicking to the passenger. "I will have veg. Thank you" she said to the air hostess.

She was delighted to see her class teacher of the high school and that she remembered her so well. She used to be her favorite student. 

Shreya had a good time conversing with her. They talked about various places, people, life, career and everything.

"Mam, I always wondered that you never married" Shreya asked hesitantly "pardon me if I asked a wrong question" she said realizing that it was a very personal question.

Teacher smiled. "It's ok Shreya. Many people ask me that and some make their own stories. At the age of 50, I am used to it now"

Shreya knew what her teacher meant. She herself heard various rumors about her teacher during the school days from the fellow students.

"I never felt the need of it" said the teacher and paused, lost in her thoughts while Shreya kept looking at her confused with the reply.

"As a young girl, I wanted to marry the man I loved for 5 years. But before we could talk to our parents, came a sad news. My man, the brave soldier of the proud Indian Army, won the war, but lost his life." said the teacher with a smile that brilliantly hided her immense pain.

"But you never thought of marrying someone else?" asked Shreya

Teacher smiled, looked down at her hand, then rubbing both the hands together she looked back at Shreya "In a span of 5 years, he gave me love equivalent to 50 years of my life. I never found anyone whom I could love enough or who could love me enough. I am not mourning Shreya. And I never did. I am just enjoying his never ending love for me."

"But don't you want real love from real people? You never wanted to get married and have babies?" asked curious Shreya.

"Shreya, I have no dearth of love. I get immense love and respect from my students. And to answer your other question, I believe aim of the life is not only to get married and have babies. Objective of our life is to add value in the mankind. Marriages and babies give 'objective to live' to an otherwise aimless long life. Difference with my life is that I have chosen other objectives, which I accomplish through my social work towards uneducated people, poor children, women in need of help and many other initiatives."

Plane landed, Shreya bid goodbye to her teacher.

Her mood changed completely. She was happy now. She took an auto from the airport and went straight to the office of her boyfriend. 

"I came all the way here because I wanted to slap you for breaking up with me. But not anymore. I am no more a slave of my fears and emotions now. Good bye" said Shreya who had realized that this guy could never provide an 'objective to live' to her life.