“Epiphany”

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EPIPHANY

Story By Vikram Karve

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

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ANITA – My Wife

RITA – My ex-fiancée who dumped me and broke our engagement

GEORGE – Me (The Narrator of this Story)

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EPIPHANY

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One month after my wife Anita died – I decided to shift out of my house to an old age home.

Anita had been such a loving and caring wife for 50 years – and her memories haunted our home to such an extent – that I could not bear to live in my house any longer.

So – I started going through our belongings – deciding which things to take with me to keep forever – and – which things to dispose off.

First – I sorted my belongings.

Then – I started going through Anita’s things.

I found the envelope hidden at the bottom of my wife Anita’s jewelry box – below her ornaments – when I was clearing her private cupboard.

The envelope was open.

There was a letter inside.

I started reading the letter.

It was a letter addressed to my wife Anita – written by Rita.

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(Rita was my ex-fiancee who had dumped me)

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Here is the letter written by my ex-fiancée Rita to my wife Anita:

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Dear Anita,

Since you frankly told me everything about you and George last evening – I could not sleep all night.

I thought over the matter.

I also talked to my parents.

I have decided to break my engagement with George.

I think this will be best for all of us.

I am enclosing inside this envelope the engagement ring that George gave me.

This engagement ring now rightfully belongs to you.

Dear Anita – I wish you a happy married life with George.

I have decided to go abroad to my aunt’s place in London for a few months to cool off and get over this sudden disappointment.

My parents will inform George and his parents about the broken engagement.

Yours sincerely,

Rita

21 February 1966

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Yes – it was Rita’s handwriting – no doubt about it.

How can I ever forget her typical cursive handwriting style…?

And – below her signature – as was her habit – Rita had meticulously written the date – 21 February 1966

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Dear Reader – you guessed right – I am George.

Yes – I am George.

Today is the 21^st of February 2016

50 years have passed since Rita wrote this letter – which I am seeing for the first time in my life today.

Yes – it is for the first time in my life that I am seeing this letter – which Rita wrote to to Anita.

Till this day – I did not know that Anita had met Rita on the 20^th of February 1966 – just one week after my engagement with Rita.

And – immediately after Anita met my ex-fiancée Rita – on the very next day – on the 21^st of February 1966 – Rita wrote that letter to Anita informing her that she had broken her engagement with me – enclosing the engagement ring I had given to her – and wishing Anita a happily married life with me.

And then – Rita flew to London – telling her parents to inform me that she wanted to break our engagement.

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I wonder what Anita told Rita about me.

It is evident from Rita’s letter that Rita dumped me after Anita had spoken to her.

I don’t know what terrible lies Anita told Rita that made Rita take the extreme step of breaking our engagement and dumping me so cruelly.

I can never forget how stunned, devastated and vulnerable I was – when I naively walked into Anita’s compassionate and welcoming arms.

And just imagine – all these years I thought that Anita was a kindhearted loving woman – who had rescued me – and pulled me out of the abyss of depression – after Rita broke the engagement and dumped me.

Yes – all these 50 years I was ever grateful to Anita for her act of kindness – I thought Anita had done me a big favour by marrying me – after I had been dumped by Rita.

Now – after 50 years – from her letter – it is evident that it was my wife Anita who had orchestrated my breakup with my then fiancée Rita – by telling her false stories about me.

Did Anita tell Rita that – Anita and Me were having an affair…?

Or – was it something worse…?

Had Anita falsely told Rita that she – Anita – was pregnant with my child…?

What lies had Anita told Rita – that made Rita suddenly break off the engagement – without even talking to me…?
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I was totally devastated – when Rita’s father had called up to break the engagement.

I had instantly sunk into a terrible depression.

And – all these 50 years – I thought Anita was such a loving and caring woman – who had pulled me out of my depression by marrying me.

Now – after reading the letter – I know that Anita was a devious woman – who had intentionally torpedoed and sabotaged my engagement with Rita – made me emotionally vulnerable – and then – trapped me into marriage.

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Now – after knowing all this – I hate Anita – bloody scheming bitch …

My blood boils …

But – I control the train of my thoughts.

There is no point thinking ill of the dead.

But – what exactly did Anita tell Rita…?

I will never know.

Anita is dead.

And Rita – she disappeared from my life forever – yes – Rita had disappeared – vanished into thin air – forever.

50 years have passed.

Maybe – Rita is dead.

And even if Rita is alive – and – even if I do meet her now – what is the point of asking her anything.

Will Rita believe what I have to say…?

It is all over.

I will never know the falsehoods – the lies – the untruths about me – that Anita told Rita.

I will have to live with this burden for the few remaining years of my life.

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But hey – where is the engagement ring I had given Rita…?

It was an exclusive diamond-studded solid-gold engagement ring which had cost me a fortune.

Rita’s letter says that the ring is enclosed in the envelope along with the letter that she had given Anita.

I look inside the envelope.

There is no ring in the envelope.

I search Anita’s jewellery box – her cupboard – everywhere – but I cannot find the ring anywhere.

Anita must have sold it – yes – that cheap woman must have sold the expensive engagement ring.

What a terrible woman…!!!

Not content with breaking my engagement to Rita – Anita even sells the engagement ring I gave to Rita.

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So – it is becoming clear that Anita did many devious things.

First – Anita contrives the breaking up of my engagement with Rita by telling Rita false stories about me.

Then – when I am down in the dumps due to the broken engagement – Anita makes me believe that she is doing me a big “favour” by marrying me.

Of course – Anita never shows me Rita’s letter in which Rita has sent Anita the expensive engagement ring.

And – the worst thing of all – Anita sells off the exclusive diamond-studded solid-gold engagement ring.

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My wife Anita.

My late wife Anita.

What a terrible woman…?

How wicked can one get…?

And – just imagine – all these 50 years I thought Anita was such a loving and caring wife.

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VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve
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Disclaimer:

This Story is a work of Fiction. All Stories in this Blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

Link to my source blog post in my Blog Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/02/do-you-have-loving-and-caring-wife.html

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

A revised and updated version of my Story EPIPHANY First Posted by me Vikram Karve in my Academic and Creative Writing Journal Blog at 3/13/2013 02:55:00 PM at url: https://karve.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/epiphany-2/ and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/03/epiphany-blog-fiction-story-no-10.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/12/my-loving-and-caring-wife-blog-fiction.htmland https://karve.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/story-of-a-loving-and-caring-wife/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/epiphany-do-you-have-a-loving-and-caring-wife/ andhttp://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/03/epiphany-blog-fiction-story-no-10.html and https://karve.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/epiphany-3/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2022/02/04/epiphany-a-story/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2024/01/05/epiphany-4/ etc.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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