The Bench

Blame fiction writers and film-makers for romanticizing gardens so much. He who plants a garden, plants happiness, they say. Great love is born here, even greater loves end here. Legend has it that Newton was sitting in a garden when he was hit by that famed apple and the story of gravity was born. No one even considers the fact the Newton was working on the theory of terrestrial gravity for nearly two decades- what is important is that it all came together during that afternoon walk in the garden full of apple trees. The Book of Genesis credits the Garden of Eden as the place where the whole of the human race initiated. People build gardens as dedications for their loved ones. You know my favorite garden scene in a movie? It's one of those last scenes in (500) days of Summer, where Summer meets Tom for the first time after she gets married. That dialogue still rings in my head - "You weren't wrong, Tom. You were just wrong about me."

Me? Oh, I'm a bench- the tiny, inconsequential element that no garden is complete without and yet, is always forgotten. There are no love ballads written about me. No bench is ever used as a metaphor for life, love and happiness. I'm sure there were no benches in the Garden of Eden, but let's go back to the Newton story- what if Issac was sitting under another bench and the apple had never fallen on his head? He still would have figured out the laws of Nature, of course, only maybe a decade later.

Don't get me wrong, I'm usually not the jealous, attention-seeking type. I agree that I per se, have no aesthetic appeal whatsoever. People come to the garden for the trees and the flowers and butterflies and ponds and the like- I am only a functional element placed for the sake of convenience, a mere prop. There isn't a lot you can do with me too- I come in two types, wood and metal. There could be a simple or more ornate version of me- but that's about it. But would people spend as much time in a garden if there were no bench? Probably not. Most of them don't like to get their clothes dirty, so they wouldn't sit on the grass, although I agree that is more romantic than a bench. I am the one who hears all the stories, sees the love and the pain and the fear and the passion. I feel for these people. I know these people......

"I'm sorry, Aaliya.", he said.
"This is all I wanted. For seven years. All I wanted was a heartfelt sorry. So, I should say thank-you I guess", she replied, pensive look in her eyes.
"I guess I was a kid back then. Naive and stupid. I should have stayed."
"You shouldn't have stayed, you should have fought. There is a difference. And you should have been honest with me. I deserved that much."
"I know. But why didn't you fight longer then, Al. You knew how messed up my mind was then."
"You think we would have lasted any longer? A year more, maybe. But a lifetime? Nahh.. We are structured very differently, Nits. You need a punching bag and a Gibraltar. Someone who'll be there when you think the whole world is against you. But you don't know how to be that for someone else."
"That's not true."
"It is. And you know it. Anyway, that is not of any consequence anymore. We have both moved on far bigger and better places. This day is just an ending our story should have gotten years ago."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes. More than I can ever imagine. Whatever happened, did happen for the best."
"I know. And I'm happy for us"
"Bye, Nits. Have a good life."
"Bye, Aaliya. I'm sorry again."

She smiles. They get up and leave. They were my favorite couple. And I remember feeling the pangs of helplessness when they ended things right at this spot seven years ago, almost to the day. That was the day I wished I had arms that could move. So that I could give one thwack to Nits and ask him to stay. So that I could give a bear hug to Aaliya when he left.

I am only a bench- ornate and metal, painted black. I have no wordly wisdom and no greater purpose. But there's one quote from Shantaram that sums up life as I know it.

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that's all there is. Love & its duty, sorrow & its truth. In the end that's all we have - to hold on tight until the dawn" 

Shantaram was her favorite book. Aaliya always read this out to Nits. Unfortunately, he never really got it.