It was a quote from a movie he once watched as a small child, hidden behind his landlord’s
couch, catching glimpses of the television while his mother cleaned. He found it funny he now
had an opportunity to use this line in his own life. Rani must have seen the same film, for she
laughed at its corniness, but seemed touched by his romantic reply. He took advantage of her
query to push his feelings even further.
“Rani, you are my queen. Tell me that I mean something to you as well.”
Rani looked at him, and shyly took his hand. “You do mean much to me,” she admitted. “A girl
living alone in the city has to be careful about who she spends time with. If I seem aloof, it’s
because I have to protect my own virtue.”
“Rani, I can protect you! I would give my life to keep you safe!” Raja blurted out; his feelings
had been bottled up inside him for so long that finally being able to express them, they just flew
out of his mouth.
“Oh, would you? Are you my knight? My prince?” Rani said, teasing him about the name his
mother gave him.
“I will be your prince, and you will be my queen,” Raja said triumphantly, taking Rani in his
arms; she leaned against him as they looked ahead, each thinking about the future they might
have together.
“In just a year or two, I will earn enough to buy my family a new buffalo. Then we can go back
and start our family there,” he said, breathlessly laying out his plans for their home life
together—how his mother and sister would help her with the children she would bear him; how
he would work alongside his father and brothers; how they would eventually earn enough to
build a small hut of their own.
She finally held up her hand and cut him off.
“Hold on! Raja, what makes you think I would move out to that dull, stinking village?” Raja
stopped, dumbfounded.
“I just assumed—you know—that we would marry, and move back to my homeland…” he
stammered. But he could tell by the disgusted expression on her face that Rani clearly had not
the same nostalgic feelings for the country.
“What’s so good about the village? There is so much more for us here. Isn’t your family
struggling for food?” Rani said. “Stay with me here. With both our incomes, and the money
you’re saving for that silly buffalo, we can start our new life. Your family can visit us,” she
added, noticing Raja’s crestfallen expression.
“It may seem silly, but I cannot bring myself to return to my village without the promised
buffalo. My love for you is stronger than the currents in the sea, but the fear I have of
Page | 43