All That Love...
by
Suresh Ramskay
by
Suresh Ramskay
“What is love?” a young girl asks her mother.
Her mother replies, with a tiny smile, “Love is like the wind. You feel it, but you can’t see it. It’s like breathing… it keeps you alive. Love is like you… it’s beautiful. Love is the tears I shed when I miss you. Love is the joy I feel when I hold you. Love is… so many things. So many things.”
“Why are you smiling? You look so happy,” the daughter says to her mother.
“That’s because I’m in love with you,” the mother replies, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek.
“Love makes people happy?”
“Sometimes. Not all the time.’
“Why sometimes?”
“Because some people fall in love with the wrong people. Some people fall in love for the wrong reasons. And some people fall in love with the wrong people for the wrong reasons.”
“Well, if love can make me unhappy, I’d rather choose not to fall in love,” the daughter says.
“It’s not that easy, dear. You don’t choose to fall in love. You can’t.”
“I can’t?”
The mother shakes her head. “No, you can’t. It just happens. You don’t get to choose. Falling in love is not that easy.”
“Sounds scary.”
“It is scary. Sometimes it can get so scary, your heart will beat so fast… you’ll wish you’ll never stop feeling that way.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous,” the daughter says, laughing innocently.
“It is ridiculous, isn’t it? But that’s just the way love is. It makes us do the most ridiculous things.”
“Did you do anything ridiculous because of love?” the daughter asks.
“Of course I did.”
“Tell me one ridiculous thing you did.”
“Well, it was when I first met your father twenty years ago. Your father was different then.”
“How different?”
“He had more hair.”
The daughter laughs and says, “I’ve seen the pictures.”
“You have, haven’t you?” says the mother, laughing along with her daughter.
“So, tell me. What did you do?” asks the daughter, a little anxious.
“Well, there’s really nothing much to say, honey. I simply got a little carried away when I found out your father was dating another girl. I mean, all I was concerned about was getting your father’s attention away from her and on to me.”
“What was her name?”
“Sally, I think.”
“What did you do to her?”
“Oh, honey. I don’t think I should be telling you all this.”
“Come on mummy. Tell me. I want to know. You can’t tell a story and leave it hanging unfinished. It’s not fair. That’s what daddy always does.”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you. But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Promise me that you’ll never tell anyone about it. Not even your father.”
“Why?”
“No questions. Promise me and I’ll tell you.”
“Okay, okay. I promise.”
The mother smiles. She then leans back on her favorite chair. The daughter slowly moves toward her mother, eagerly waiting to hear what her mother has to say. The mother, in the softest voice, says, “I killed her.”
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