Pawanraj Sadhwani

"I love you."

She said what she always did, before she hung up.

Today, he paused, and cast his mind back to the last time he asked her the question that was now poised on the tip of his tongue. "Why?"

He thought. There was nothing to suggest he was anything but ordinary. There never had been. He had been the shy, reticent, socially awkward person for as long as he could remember. He was never hugely popular. He had an average education, an average career, average looks, and average success in life.

On the other hand, he had disappointed her. Consistently. He chose to work in the field she didnt care much for. He chose to stay away from her for his career. He chose paths different from the ones she advocated, only because she advocated them.

And yet, she had always loved him.

He ran his hands over the empty space on his bed. He smiled as he recalled a fragment of a different memory, a different time...

"Why do you love me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm short. I'm not good looking... I am..."
"...Yes, and neither are you smart, or rich, or particularly bright..."
"Well?"
...

And he knew then why the answer to the question he was about to ask, would be the exact, same one-word answer that he had given to end that conversation, then.

There is no reason to love. There is no reason why you feel the way you do. There doesn't need to be. There are no explanations. You can fight, you can cry, you can disagree. But you still love. You accept. There is no need for validation. No reason to pretend. No quid-pro-quo. You just love, because loving someone makes you happy. It is a blind, selfish emotion. You just love...

"Because."

... And he knew, he would love her, forever, and always. No matter what.

... And that is why, he also knew, he would not ask the question that he was about to ask now.

"I love you too, mom.", he smiled, before he hung up.