"Madhuri!" called Vartika, walking up to the sullen woman with a warm smile. "Jiya's karate class got over late today, and she's still freshening up. Why don't you take a seat? It's been a while since we spoke."

Madhuri nodded with a tight-lipped smile and walked towards the plush sofas. She settled into the large individual sofa while Vartika took her seat beside her. "Would you like to have something? Coffee or tea, perhaps?" asked the kind doctor to which Madhuri shook her in negative with a courteous smile.

Madhuri had an uncharacteristic stiff posture that sent ripples of concern in Vartika's heart. Arjun had divulged the details of the month-old meet between Jaya and Madhuri. "How did your exams go?"

"Nowhere at the top, or even the top ten. I managed 73%," said Madhuri in a despondent tone.

"That's great! 73% is amazing considering everything that happened in the days leading to your exams, Madhuri! I'm proud of you," said Vartika, beaming at the woman with pride shining in her eyes.

A sardonic smile stretched on the younger woman's lips. "I just don't have the strength to carry on despite the circumstances. I wish I was stronger!"

"That's not true. You'd have to be a robot to not let the situations affect you, Madhuri," said Vartika, leaning towards the younger woman, and the doctor's gentle tone tore through Madhuri's facade of nonchalance.

Madhuri sniffled, and she bit down on her lower lip. "She chose me because I'm weak and sensitive, Di!"

Vartika placed a comforting hand on Madhuri's shoulder. "Sensitivity is a gift, Madhuri, not a weakness. It makes you a wonderful human being, and it will also make you an amazing teacher in the future. And as for strength, there are many forms of it."

Madhuri looked at the older woman with curiosity swirling in her eyes. "My brother's strength is his ability to see a problem coming from miles away. My strength is being able to connect with my patients, and yours, my dear Madhuri, is endurance."

The sapling of Madhuri's confidence had been uprooted by the harshness of the truth, but under the warmth of Vartika's words, the essence of life had found its way back to the sapling.

"But you trust too much, Madhuri. You give too much control to those around you. To make you or break you, you leave it to them. I can only advise you to learn to be selfish and guarded for the future, and I know it is bright!"

"Sorry, ma'am! Jiya late," said the tiny tot, walking in with her cat trailing her. Vartika offered an encouraging smile before she turned to her daughter. "Doll, you know your ma'am did amazing in her exams!"

Jiya's eyes shone as she clapped in delight, making Madhuri's lips stretch wide. "And what happens when you do well?" asked Vartika, leaning to the eye level of her daughter as she squealed. "Kit-Kat?!"

Vartika nodded and pointed the child towards the jar on the table behind her. The child jolted towards the table, startling the cat. "Thank you so much, Di!" said Madhuri with gratitude gleaming in her eyes.

"Anytime! Just make sure my daughter doesn't convince you to give away all your chocolates," Vartika said with a chuckle, patting Madhuri's shoulder. Laughter, true and unburdened, rang out from Madhuri's lips for the first time in what felt like ages.

The fear of judgement and disappointing others had held her back for too long. Far too long, and it was time she changed that.

****

"So, in exchange for not bringing Rahul to testify, your client agreed to consent to the divorce. Let's get on with it," said Arjun, darting his eyes between the guilt-stricken Sameer and his defeated attorney.

Arjun placed the divorce deed on the wooden table in front of them and forwarded a pen to Madhuri. A storm brewed behind Madhuri's breastbone as she stood a step away from separating her name from the man gazing at her with guilt glimmering in his eyes.

She had not walked into matrimony expecting boundless joy or a love immortalized by poets. It was a compromise, thanks to her own pride which she could not swallow and claim her love for Rakesh, and as she looked back, she failed to find a single moment of shared ecstasy between her to-be ex-husband or a hint of anything resembling love.

How could two people in love with other people give each other happiness?

How could two people deprived of joy by their loved one's shower someone with love?

Their bodies remained entangled in the bond of marriage for the world around them, but their mind wandered away. Boundaries and restrictions could not stop the swaying of their heart or force a connection between them.

Madhuri swallowed the wave of melancholy brought upon by the thought and scribbled her name over the dotted lines. She handed the pen to Sameer without a word and in the moments of thoughts, Sameer had finished placing his signatures in the required areas.

"We'll go file them," said Arjun, picking the papers with a sigh.

Madhuri turned around on her heel to leave when Sameer's voice stopped her. "I'm sorry, Madhuri. For everything. I didn't have a choice while marrying you, but I had ample choice after the marriage. To treat you right. To set you free. But I'm sorry I chose the easy way out and misdirected my anger and frustration to you."

"I wish I could say I forgive you, but I don't think I can," said Madhuri, gazing at the ground to avoid looking at the man who had become her ex-husband lest the bitter memories flood her mind.

"I know," he said in a weak tone. "I wish you get every happiness that all of us denied you, Madhuri. I really do. Take care."

Madhuri looked at him through the veil of her eyelashes. He looked like he had dropped a couple of sizes and exhaustion had left dark circles around his eyes. He flashed a weak smile to her before he walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.

A part of her felt free and relished the taste of freedom. And another part of her, the one which had once accepted the Fate, and entwined delicate strings with the man and wove the dream of 'forever' lamented at the funeral of their marriage.

It is unfortunate how sensitivity is considered a sign of weakness when decades' worth research proved that sensitive people constitute a large chunk of highly successful people. I wish I had learned earlier that sensitivity is an asset, and I don't need to feel guilty about it, so this one is for all of you who are told not to be sensitive. There is a difference between sensitivity and being gullible, and that makes all the difference.