Of pure love and trust

Girls in mini skirts and tight pants and guys in hip hop style oversized pants and shirts are dancing to the rhythm of Eminem's 'the real slim Shady'.
Thinley, an unassuming young man is sipping Tiger beer with his close friends. A seductive and confident girl with blackened eyelids, lips colored dark brown and her oversized hip wrapped in a tight black dress reaching her thighs midway approaches and asks, "How about a dance?""Sorry, I like my beer now." He answers.
"Ohhhh! You are not as cool as I thought." She says as she saunters away swaying her hip sideways.
"There you go again. How can you not say yes to such a sexy creature?" His friends chide him.
Thinley and his friends are at the Graduate Orientation dance party.
A dark and rugged looking man, Thinley is attractive to girls in his own way. But he is a married man. And 10 years ago today, was the day when he first met his wife. He was thinking about his wife, and not even the oversized back-ward protruding bottom wrapped tightly in a black dress would seduce him enough.
"I know you are married. But rejecting a woman is not like a real man." His friends continue to chide him."You don't know me too well. I have seen more hardships than you know.""Oh, cut the crap. What does hardship have to do with dancing with a sexy woman?""Okay. Let us enjoy our beer and talk about other things." Thinley pleads."Hey Thinley, please tell us your love story please. I think it will be interesting." His friends plead.
So Thinley tells them his story as they sip their beer.
"That day, 10 years ago, the sun shone bright and hot. Cicadas shrilled. No breeze blew. More dust settled on my sweat-stained face each time I struck the hard earth with my spade. Working as a laborer during my short summer break from school was harder than I had thought.
I took out a handkerchief to wipe my face and looked around in case the omnipresent Lajab (labor supervisor) was around. What met my eyes set my heart pounding. It was not the lajab. A beautiful girl was looking at me. When my eyes met hers, she smiled shyly and looked away. She wore a mathra half kira and blue polyster tego and kept her hair short with a simple but elegant fringe cut. She was an epitome of innocent beauty at its peak.
We continued to exchange furtive glances. There was no doubt that the attraction was mutual. I got closer to her pretending to find harder places to dig. "Isn't the earth too hard?" I pretended to comment off-handedly when I was next to her."Yes, it is." She replied shyly without looking at me."What is your name?" I asked after a few awkward seconds."Karma." She replied.
That was our first meeting. But she had already stolen my heart.
Our next meeting was at the local Tshechu after a few months. As the evening dawned, people sang and danced. I led her outside. As we held each other's hands for the first time, it sent shiver down our spines. Hot blood gushed in our young veins. I kissed her virgin lips. Our bodies locked in passionate hugs. Only the silver moon watched and shone its soft rays on our smiling faces.
But soon, it was time for us to part and go home with our respective families.
That night, her beautiful face flashed before my eyes until I dozed off to sleep. She appeared in my dreams too.
The next year, I was in class 10. But tragedy struck my family. My mother passed away suddenly due to some illness. I was shocked and grief-stricken. Karma gave me emotional support. By now, our love affair was well-known in the village. So, we married and Karma continued to help my father when I went back to school.
I thought of my home and studied hard in school. I was more mature than my age because of my situation. As the eldest in the family, I was also concerned about the welfare of my younger brother and sister, not simply my own welfare.
Two years passed and I was finally in class 12. I did my examinations well. I had qualified for scholarship to study engineering in India. But tragedy befell me once again. My father passed away this time after a brief illness. No words would be enough to describe my grief at this tragedy."I will find a job and support my brother and sister." I told my wife. Although she was young and illiterate, she was mature and intelligent."No, you should continue your studies. I will do what I can to support you and your family." She insisted.Finally, I agreed to follow my wife's advice and continue my studies.
Four years of my study in India seemed like an eternity. My wife worked hard at home. She engaged herself in weaving when work in the field was less. She supported me financially as well as emotionally.
Without my wife, I would not be what I am today.
My wife is a simple illiterate village girl, but I find her much more intelligent and beautiful than the girls in tight pants, mini skirts, black eyelids and painted lips."
"We are touched by your story." "Let us toast to your wife" One of them suggests.
"Cheers, to a great wife!" They toast and then they drink happily.
In the background, the girl in the tight black dress is dancing a slow dance with a dude dressed in hip hop style. Embracing lovers sway their bodies to the rythm of the music together.
But for Thinley, his mind is on his village damsel who is waiting for him to come home soon.