A few weeks back, Ruby and I celebrated sixteen beautiful years of being together. I got a special gift for her for our anniversary. Unlike the previous years, this time I went a little beyond the usual and got her a limited-edition gift. I reached home and after a bit of drama, I presented the gift in style, at least that was what I thought. As soon as she had a glimpse of the box, realization set in. It took a while for her to settle down the emotions that took off for a roller coaster ride. As she opened the box, I could see her eyes getting wider with what she saw inside.
The sheer fact that it was
possibly the most expensive gift I had got for her, the shrewd finance manager
she was, obviously understood the hit such a purchase had on that month’s credit
card. Now at this juncture, I need to make a statement which for some people
may be politically incorrect. Nevertheless, it is a proven fact that the human
brains are differently wired between male and female of the species.
For the men folks, a purchase
decision may involve a simple combination of two factors, liking a product and
the love for the person to whom the gift is purchased. Budget did matter but was
not the highest priority. For women, these and many more factors (I wish I knew
everything to list down here!) did matter when they decide to buy a gift as
well as assess the return on investment against the purchase made. Please do
not get me wrong, I am not referring to only high value items, even the tiniest
of the gift will also go through a round of analysis as mentioned above.
Since it was indeed an item
of elevated price tag, I had received the guarantee from the shop guys that my
wife will return or exchange it if she wished to do so. Those were the kind of
agreements that eventually turned out to be lifesaving decisions. The anniversary
evening thus ended on a happy note.
A couple of days ago, I happened
to visit a local store where I picked up a Tulsi plant, a medicinal herb. While
the shop owner was packing the plant, I happened to notice a garland made of freshly
bloomed jasmine flowers. It did not even take a fraction of a moment for me to
ask him to get me a small portion of the garland since I knew Ruby liked it. To
state a fact, the cost of the garland was even less than the price of a coffee
from any standard barista in a decent shopping mall.
I reached home and after placing
the plant pot down, I presented the jasmine garland to my sweetheart. This time
again, I could see her eyes brighten up and was filled with an avalanche of
emotions. Those were quite different from the ones I experienced a few days
back when an expensive gift was presented. I stood there and tried to absorb
the depth of unexplainable chemical reactions happening in her neurons.
The happiness that tiny bunch
of flowers generated was far beyond the dazzling piece of gift presented a few
days ago. Life is indeed unreal! It up as an absolutely beautiful evening for
both of us. The next day she told me how she could still feel the fragrance of jasmine
lingering around and the many memories it brought back from her school and
college days.
It was a wonderful reminder
for me about how we kept finding happiness in simple things in life. Something that
helped us walk hand in hand in the last sixteen years together. Happiness is
not found only in things that dazzle. It is also the small things in life where
the fragrance of love lingers forever.
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