“Whatever may be her compulsions,” said Chandra, “to say the least, her silence is abominable.”
“That's what I too thought,” said Sathya gloomily, “As I reviewed my tragedy as it evolved, the fact that she first flirted with me to attract and then used me to serve her life became apparent and that made me see a parallel in my life when I played the spoilsport in a neighbor girl's life. That night, I recalled how I treated that girl in a like fashion and thanks to my hurt, I could visualize the magnitude of misery I would've caused her and that has come to trouble me. With that sinking feeling and ashamed of myself, I started crying for the girl I wronged and stopped worrying about myself. I tell you, from that moment on, I was seized with an urge to beg her for her pardon.”
“Oh me,” said Chandra with a premonition.
“And to be done with Kala,” said Sathya morosely, “I received the summons from the court on her plaint to annul the marriage and as I chose not to contest her contention, the curtains were down on that peculiar affair through an ex parte judgment in a Madras court.”
“What an unfortunate man you are!” exclaimed Chandra feeling sad. “How could she do to you what she did?”
“My friend, as I see it,” said Sathya enigmatically, “it was poetic justice at work more than anything else.”
“Before we come to that,” said Chandra still unable to comprehend the development, “I want to know, what you think of her now?”
“Honestly, I have had no thought of her afterwards,” said Sathya philosophically. “Why I've been obsessed with girl I wronged.”
“Don't tell me,” said Chandra in surprise, “how it's possible to forget Kala overnight!”
“Well, it has something to do with my nature,” said Sathya by way of self-analysis. “Once I've an agenda, I would strain all my nerves to work for it and should I fail to achieve, I forget about that without any regret or remorse. I believed Kala was a jewel in the gutter of fate and I made it my mission to pull her out polish her with my love. Didn't I pursue my goal with a missionary zeal? That's what mattered to me then, and having failed, it matters no more. That's all.”
“But still.”
“Since you force me,” said Chandra after a pause, “I may remember her as a sort of guru for she made me realize how the fallacy of sentiment becomes the bane of life.”