We are given two hands to hold

This is the story of a poor man from a small village in India.
                                           
When he was young he was lucky enough to find himself a wife. Finding a wife is different in this part of the county.Unlike you yourself searching for a partner..your parents find the match for you and you settle with them,who-what-why, no questions asked. With an unknown person beside him for the rest of his life, they ventured on this journey of life.

'POVERTY BEGETS POVERTY'. The poor man found it even more hard to make a living for an extra person in his family whom he now calls wife. With hardly the 10 or 20 rupees he made per day they were able to keep their stomachs full with less food and more water. No food to eat. No clothes to wear.No blankets to keep them warm.The wife never complained because she knew...she made a promise..-for better or for worse.

Time passes and oh how fast it passed.When the man was sufficiently confident there was a tiny place in the roofless house to welcome another new person into the family he realized it wasn't something that was a possibly.He couldn't even afford to to go a doctor to somehow fix this.Oh how he wanted to be called a father!

Despite the gruesome poverty sucking the life out of him, despite all the work he did every second of every week  just to provide for his loving wife (there were days when he would take the tiny bits and pieces of leftover food from all the places he worked back to her wife and would lie 'I already ate.Im full.Everything is for you' just to make her eat full) he was thankful to the higher being for keeping breath in his lungs and giving him a wonderful soul mate.

The wife didn't love him any less. She did her own part to support her little family by working at a store sweeping the floors and doing the dishes.Knocking door to door everyday she would yell 'give me any work, give me any money'. It  wasn't just the money she needed. She wanted to earn her money by working. A rupee or two for a day and she would by the best vegetables in the market with the little she had to cook her husband a satisfying meal.

Every Sunday they would dress up in the best est of their clothes(something little less torn and less worn out) they would come to church hand in hand. One hand holding his wife's hand and the other holding an ancient bible which probably had a few pages of genesis and Revelation missing the man would joyfully enter the church with a hearty smile on his face.  The wife's other hand wasn't free either. She held an old song book. ( what an irony!she doesn't know how to read). The came hand in hand and left hand in hand. They probably prayed for a child or for food or for riches.Or maybe they just thanked God for giving them what all they had.

A few years passed. Their financial condition improved a little. From the no roof on the top of their heads they were finally able to afford living in a cemented brick room. They never had any children. They never were mad at the almighty either. "ALL WE HAVE IS WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US". That's what they thought. So in act of thanks they converted that tiny room of theirs into a Prayer house where people could pray. They even thought now that they have been put out of their extreme poverty it was their turn to do something for people who were suffering even more than them. Every Christmas, with the very little they had, they went around all the poor places of the land giving a bowl of rice and some Dal in hopes to making the people more poorer than them have a stomach full meal at least on that one day.

The lived happy and content. Working hard. Earning money and taking care of each other. Every night before bed they would silently ask for a child.

One day, while the Man was at work,being the man that he was doing odd jobs to earn a living, was  asked to take care of the trash duties of the entire residential locality for a day. He readily accepted knowing that trash, though dirty could provide both him and his wife a satisfying meal. He collected all the trash into a bag and was on his way to discard it off into a local municipality trash can when it would be later dealt with.

As he walked on with the heavy weight on his back, every now and then he could hear the cries of a little baby. At first he thought it was coming from the residencies and would be dealt with but the cries never stopped. As he reached the big trash cabin to discard the bags in his hand, he realised that the baby's cries were coming from inside of the trash cabin. He immediately put his bags aside and peeped into the stinking cabin. And there she was. A little tiny baby girl covered in nothing but huge piles and piles of domestic garbage. He immediately grabbed the baby and pulled her out of there and tried wiping the baby's face to get a closer look of her face. The little baby was crying even more louder now. He dint know what to do. He immediately hugged the girl close to his body and started patting back her gently and squatted next to the pile of dirt and was very still.  He was scared, very much scared.

After a few minutes the girl sobbing vanished and the little baby girl was fast asleep in his arms. He didn't know what to do. He considered going to the police about this lost baby but then realized how all the lost babies or rather termed 'abandoned babies' were never claimed and were later put into some orphanages and were later sold to who knows where. He even considered the possibility of the child being kidnapped but later ruled it out realizing that the baby was hardly a day or two old and there were no cases of any kidnapping.He knew one thing for sure. The baby's parents dint want her.

He looked left. He looked right. Nobody was  watching him nor the baby that he just found in the dumps. He immediately got up. pulled the baby close to his arms and ran towards his home. His wife was already expecting his arrival. Not in her wildest dreams did she expect they guy would come home with a baby.

The man explained everything to the wife bit by bit. Finally they decided on one thing. They would take care of the baby as their own and give them their name and their food for as long as they live. And so, on that day, the husband and wife became mother and father.

They named the little baby girl 'Mary'. They wanted the girl to be as blessed among women as Mary, Except for there was one little problem. When all of a sudden you have a child in your home people around you start to notice your existence. People were curious as to know how all of a sudden they could hear cries of a little one in their home. The man was a bit hesitant at first but later explained how her found her in the dumpster and that he would really appreciate it if they never mentioned even a word about it to their child whom they were now calling their own.The lonely couple now had an addition to their family whom they proudly took every Sunday to church. The father carefully carried the little one on his shoulders everywhere he went.

They were a tiny little family now. the Mother,the Father and baby girl Mary.

The girl grew up..bit by bit..with loads and loads of love all around her. she dint have good clothes or good shoes,but she certainly had good people around her to call Ammaa(mom) and Naana(dad).
 A little tiny family they became. The man used to work and get money for his wife and little girl and the wife had to work too..and as for the little girl, she was the princess of the slum. She had nothing. Yet she had everything.

They were happy. The little girl was fortunate enough to go to school unlike her other other friends around her home. Sometimes when the school was an off she would say 'Naana...let me come with you to work. I will help you too'.The old man(who wasn't young now-now that the girl has grown old too) could refuse it. Even though he loved this girl he knew, his girl beside him helping him at work would mean a little extra rupees to feed them well. So hand in hand daddy and daughter used to go to work together now and then.

Many years passed....They became 'the old man and the old woman with the beautiful daughter'.

One fine day out of the blue, a Sunday morning, the old lake woke up at 4 am-a rather irregularly early time and woke his husband up. She said 'Wake up, Wake up! Its Sunday..I want to go to a different church this Sunday'

The husband woke up and saw the time.It was just 4 am. He could barely understand what all this was about. He knew for sure that any church in the locality would start only after 8 am. He told her wife they would go to a different church and that it was really early.

She wouldn't stop. She said 'Wake up. Wake up. The church I want to go to is 4 hours away from here. I want to be there on time.'

The husband was confused now. He was completely awake. He did not understand the reason for his wife's strange request. But then he could refuse it. (After all, that was the one thing shes ever asked him for the very first time in their married life). He daughter was across the room sleeping merrily. He dint want to disturb her little one.

He got dressed for church while his wife waited on him. He searched for all the pockets in his worn out pant for some extra cash for his trip. He was lucky enough to find a half torn 100 rupee note and a few coins of cash here and there. He collected as much as he could find and they were ready to leave.

The man insisted they shouldn't wake up the little girl because it was a long trip and if she knew they were going she might insist on joining along.They couldn't afford an extra addition to the journey plus they would be back soon enough and the neighbors were kind enough to watch over the girl till they were back. But the old lady wouldn't listen. She went to the little girl, kissed her on the forehead andwhispered in the little girls ear 'Ammaa loves Mary very much'. The girl really was in a deep sleep. She just opened her eyes, smiled at her mom and went back to sleep.

Then old man and old lady then started on their little trip for the Sunday. They had to change 3 buses and the old mad had to stand for 2 hours straight as the buses were full. Him being old himself,his hands and legs ached. But he never complained. He could see in his wife's eyes how much this trip meant for her. He was just smiling silently at the thought of finally fulfilling his wife's first wish.

At every stop now and then during the bus ride the old lady would search for his husband and smile at him. He too would return the smile back. A toothless smile it was for sure!

They finally reached the destination. The old man hurried to the bus door as soon as the bus stopped. He was at the door till it was his wife's turn to get down. He then offered his wrinkly had to his beautiful wife. The wife alighted the stairs of the bus like a royalty. (What a joy it brings to see old people so much in love with each other).

He held her hand from that point on and lead her to into the church. The church was very very big. The old man and woman could barely lift their heads up enough to see the tip of the top of the church. The old couple amazed by the beauty of the church and its architecture were lost in the view. At one point the old man noticed the old lady looking at him instead of the church.
The old woman then silently took his husband's hand and said looking straight ' I Love You with all my heart. Thanks....for Everything'. Oh how happy the old man was!He was just dancing in his old heart of hearts for he knew at 75 he felt 30 knowing he has won his wife's heart for sure!

The went into the church, hand in hand, and sat down the seats for service. The worship started.The Old lady sang songs in the loudest of her voice rejoicing. Seeing this the Old man too started singing. Curious eyes in the church audience turned back time and time again to searching for the loud old voices echoing in the church.They both looked at each other and laughed and then because for a fact they were the oldest bunch of 5 year olds in the entire big church congregation!


Several songs and sermons later the service was over. All the people passing out of the church gave their jealous smiles and hellos to the old couple who were still so much in love.  It was almost time for them to go home. But the wife wasn't ready yet. She said 'Let us stay here a little bit longer'..'A few more minutes'. The old man looked at his watch that was half broken. The next bus would arrive in an hour. He agreed on his wife's request. The church was almost empty now. The huge crowds turned into a few occasional visitors now and then coming into the church and saying a little prayer and going away. It was all calm. The Couple sat somewhere at the corner of the church looking here at there and at all the visitors coming in and going out. It was getting calm and quiet now. The man then broke the silence and said ' See, Time is passing so slow'. The woman looked at his husband and said 'Every second is passing me by so swiftly' . They contrasted! It was a tiny chuckle. They talked and talked and talked about absolutely everything inside the silent church. The church echoed now and then with old laughs from around the corner. But no one really bothered now.

It was time to go. The Old man helped his wife up she held her husbands arm firmly and rose to her feet from the rather too comfortable chair. The said their silent prayers and walked towards the bus stop. It was a 5 minute walk from the church. Knowing that it was going to be a long ride back the old man insisted he brought something for his wife to eat or drink. The woman refused. She said 'Stay a little bit longer' but the old man being the man he was thought he could make his wife much more happier than she already was by surprising her with something she liked to drink.(They were poor and any drink other than water was a luxury).  The old man said ' Stay here. I'll be back in 5 minutes. Stay. I'll be right back'.He faintly head his wife's voice saying 'I'll Miss You' and he yelled right back 'I'll be back before you know it!' and rushed to the nearest shop hurriedly to buy his wife the best drink available there. He was old. 5 minute walk to the store took him 10 minutes, but it was his wife waiting on him. He covered the length in just 7 minutes and panting for his breath he checked his pockets for any money. He had 25 rupees extra money other than the fare required for the bus ride back home. Without a second thought her brought a choicest flavored drink for his wife for all the extra money he had and walked even more faster to give it to his wife. He was imagining of all the possible ways he could tell his wife he loved her more.He walked and walked and walked to get to his beautiful wife. He left her at the bus stop. He checked the time and it was just minutes for the next bus to come. He hurried. He could now see the bus stop from far but then his wife was not in sight. The bus stop was now really very crowded.

He could hear the bus too from somewhere in the distance. He somehow reached the bus stop and was searching for his wife in the crowd. He looked here and there. It was really crowded. He could see everyone but his wife. He tried cutting through the crowd. He couldn't. The bus was almost close. If he wanted his wife to find a seat in the bus he should really find his wife now. He started cutting through the crowd. He noticed everyone were encircled around something. They was talking about an ambulance, water, doctor and things like that. The old man somehow found his way through the crowd only to see his dear wife lying on the floor of the bus stop with her mouth wide open.

'Move! Move' He yelled at the crowd and rushed to her wife's side. 'Dear! I'm here! Open your eyes. I'm here. Our bus is here!' he kept saying to her. His wife lay numb on the floor. A doctor from the nearby area came rushing in announcing 'Give way. I'm a doctor'. The doctor did his routine of test on the lady and pronounced that she was no more. The Old Man's eyes welled up with tears. He could not contain himself. He started shouting loudly to his wife 'Wake up. Mary is waiting for us at home!'.

Finally the ambulance arrived and he and his dead wife were boarded in the ambulance and taken to their home. Oh the pain and the agony the old man went through the entire 4 hour ride from the church to his home in the ambulance. He kept thinking about his little daughter who was waiting at home for the both of them. He wept bitterly. He didnt let go of his wife hand throught the entire ride in the ambulance. As soon as he reached home, her daughter came running to the ambulance.
'Nanna.What happened to amma?' why is she on the stretcher? Ask her to get up!' Mary kept telling to him. He then let go of his wife hand and held his little girls hand and never let go since.


Epilogue:
Mary is all grown up now.The Old man is seeking to get Mary married to a wonderful guy who can hold her hand after he leaves.