Made for Each Other

“Wow, I can’t believe it” said Mark. It was startling for him to hear all that he had heard in past one hour; he continued “This is incredible. All the while you were in front of me and I did not realize!!”.

Mark Watson was an Australian born in India. His father worked in the Australian foreign services. He had the privilege to see the world since he used to accompany his dad on all his foreign assignments. He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Watson on 4^th April 1983 during their assignment in Mumbai, India. Mark had lost his mother to a freak road accident when he was small child still coming to terms with the frequently changing environments.

Mark was an introvert. But he would never accept it. He wanted to look cool and hip like all the other guys. He went out to parties; he used to hang around with neighbor’s kids. But he could never really mix up with them. When Mark was 10 years old, he first saw her, in his dreams. A girl, probably in her 20’s holding his hand and telling him something. He could never see her face or hear what she was saying. Every time he saw the dream he used to feel dizzy and uncomfortable, a feeling of pain in his heart. The feeling would not go for a long time. He never shared it with any friend or doctor.

Years passed and Mark was now in his mid-20s. A dashing and handsome young man, any girl would like to date. On his voyages across the world he had tried to date a lot of girls, but they could never hold his attention for long. There was always something missing in them. On his part he tried his best but things would never materialize and a break up was on cards within days. He was fed up and had lost his interest in meeting girls or going out.

In April 2006, as part of a student exchange program, Mark came to Mumbai, India, his country of birth. He had special interest in literature and Indian philosophy. Somewhere in his heart he felt this could be the place where he would find the answers to so many questions he had since childhood. Surprisingly, Mark made good friends in Mumbai. He liked their company and wouldn’t mind hanging around with them. Priya Sharma, Aditya Kumar, Sandeep Patil and Jennifer D’Souza became his inner circle. They would visit all the crazy places and Mark would like the attention he got thanks to his looks.

On one such trek to a far away mountain, Mark and friends met a renowned Indian astrologer. Mark understood from his friends that the guy was great in face reading and palmistry. Since Mark had never told anyone about his secret he thought of “testing” the guy’s expertise. What happened next was something Mark had not expected. The astrologer told Mark some key things that were quite precise. Without any knowledge about Mark, the astrologer was able to tell him lot of things about Mark’s likes, dislikes, weaknesses and most importantly the astrologer told Mark that he was hiding something that was troubling him since long. A startled Mark put his life before the astrologer even letting out the vision about the girl. The astrologer told Mark that the girl from his dreams is his soul mate, his life partner and happens to be in India. Mark wanted to know more about her – who is she, where does he find her, what’s her name? However, the astrologer did not give any more details and said that Mark had to find her on his own. But, the astrologer gave him an important clue – the girl’s birth date would be 20^th April 1984. Mark had more questions than answers. It was too much for him to digest. 

In the days to come his friends took great care of him, helping him in his assignments, and other activities. They were always together and had loads of fun. Priya was always with him to help him in any problem he faced. They were drawn to each other. They had great chemistry. She would always guess what was on his mind or how he would react to something. He liked her and he thought she liked him too. On occasions he thought Priya would say it, but he deliberately changed the subject. Mark thought Priya could not be the one given the fact that her birth date was 10^th Feb 1985. The more he tried to distance himself from her, the more he fell for her. She was adorable and mischievous. She had great confidence and was a chatterbox. He was a complete opposite. But didn’t someone say ‘opposites attract’? Mark could not get her out of his mind. Also he could not share his feeling with her. Mark was caught in a trap.

Before he could come to terms with the turbulence in his life and failure in finding the girl from his dreams, it was April 2010. His course was complete and it was time to go back to Australia. In his last days in India, Mark searched frantically for the girl, but with no luck. He went into a shell. He stopped talking to anyone. His friends were concerned but they knew this was not the first time he acted weird. Mark was all packed up and ready to leave. It was a tough decision for him. On one hand he could not express his feelings for Priya and on the other hand he could not find the girl. It was heart wrenching.

Before leaving India, Mark gathered some courage and went to meet Priya. He felt compelled to tell her the truth, to express himself. He could not leave with this burden. It was late in the night of 19^th April 2010. When Mark reached Priya’s home, it was totally dark, probably some electricity failure, he thought. He was about to knock the door when it opened on its own. As soon as he stepped inside, the lights came on and everyone in the room started singing “Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday dear Priya……”. Then everyone stopped realizing that it wasn’t Priya, but Mark. ‘But wait a minute, wasn’t Priya’s birthday on 10^th Feb? Why was everyone celebrating her birthday on 20^th April? What was going on?’ Mark could not understand a bit. Priya came from behind, grabbed Mark’s hand and took him to the terrace of the building.

Mark looked puzzled, he had questions, he had doubts, he was excited, he was confused. Priya gently took Mark’s hand in her hand. She gave a brief but reassuring nod. Priya said “Mark I love you and I know you love me too. I always knew you were the one. I had seen you in my dreams. I knew about your secret too. I had deliberately taken you to the astrologer, because long before we met, he had told me that I will meet you. Mark, you are special. I am sorry I lied about my birth date. But I wanted you to gather the courage to express your feelings”. Priya told him everything about her dreams and how she also shared the same “visions”. She went on and on, typical Priya. A chatter box. She finally said “Mark you are the one for me and I am so happy that you finally came here”.

“Wow, I can’t believe it” said Mark. It was surprising for him to hear all that he had heard in past one hour; he continued “This is incredible. All the while you were in front of me and I did not realize!!”. It was so obvious, they were destined to meet and fall in love. Someone somewhere had already planned everything. Mark looked into Priya's eyes for a long time and could only utter “Priya, I love you and we are truly made for each other”.

Disclaimer: All the names, dates, places and characters are a figment of my imagination. Any resemblance to anyone or anything is purely a coincidence. You can sue whoever you want except me :D