Mind remembered Heart’s only desire. As she had agreed to marry Mind, Heart had said, “Please don’t ever let me cry. This is more for your sake than mine. If I cry, you won’t be able to stand it, you know!”

Mind knew that there was more truth in the joke than even Heart could possibly mean. After all, he was Mind, the absolute logician. Mind knew what he was (at least he thought he knew what he was), but he did not underestimate Heart.

But can Mind persuade Heart not to cry if she wanted to? Mind, did not know.

Heart knew, in her instinctive way, that she was indispensable for the well being of the Mind. After all, what does one get by peeling layer after layer of the onion, like Mind was wont to do, except stinging tears in one’s eyes?

But Mind had been peeling onions all his life. What if the countless peeling exercises had already left Mind blind to what she would try to point out in her world?

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Heart looked up at the crescent moon, half hidden in the shadows of some deep momentary sorrow. White moonbeams danced on her sensitive face and she wished for eternal beauty in her life like the spirit of the moon.

Mind looked at the moon and saw a white orb, a reflector, a rather poor one at that, half hidden in the earth’s shadow. Then, he looked at the reflection of that reflector on his Heart’s face, and Mind found his Heart in the moon’s shadow on her face.

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Heart was in a bad mood today.

“Nothing’s going right today. Everyone and everything is out to hurt me.” she complained.

Mind cupped his chin in his hands and stared silently across the table.

Heart rose her heart-shaped face and there was anguish clearly written in the eyes.

“Let me see…I started early to work today, and today of all the days they had to have a rally. And the worst part was, it was not my fault that I was late! I was out of the house at seven thirty today, you know, you saw me. And my boss, he said I was ‘habitually late’. Just because he was off his colour today. Can he take it out on me like that? Do you know how lousy I felt? K from HR was looking on with a smirk! I felt like melting into the walls of the cubicle. Sniff!” Heart brought out a tissue and wiped her nose with it. “This horrible cold. I have been snivelling all day. Technically I should have taken the day off, but I slog for them and sit through a meeting for four hours straight…do you know at what temperature they run their ACs? I felt like I was expatriated to Antarctica. I could almost see the penguins flapping their wings and waddle towards me. I could not even take a bathroom break. When all I wanted to do was get back home, I was caught in a traffic jam…there was an accident on the road. I hope those people are ok, it was terrible. A car and a lorry. I could not stand the wail of the ambulance. I could almost smell the disinfectant and the hospital smells, and you know how much I detest going to the hospital…and my Ipod had to run out of charge today…what? why are you so silent? You won’t talk to me either, now?”

“Even if I talk, you won’t listen. So I thought it is best if I keep my silence.”
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Mind was reading a textbook of mathematics.

Heart asked, “What are fractals?”

Mind explained, precisely.

“But this is music!” exclaimed Heart.

~

Heart was playing her violin.

Mind stood listening.

“Shankarabharanam, Bach, and some devotion.” said Heart by way of explanation.

Mind was already lost in the logic of the music.

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“For you, logic is music.” said Heart once.

Mind thought about it.

“True. And for you music is logic.” said Mind.

Heart laughed in knowledge.

Mind laughed in understanding.

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“You look at the world with my tints.” said Heart with some satisfaction to Mind.

“You feel the world with my interpretation.” said Mind to Heart.

“But I can confuse you. Do not deny it. I am the only master you have, Mind.”

“Only because I choose to be your slave at times, my dear Heart.”

“Do you choose? I enslave you.You cannot stand to see me cry and you give in to my whims.”

“I think, when you cry. So that when you are done crying, I can take over.”

It was one of their thousand petty quarrels that made Life worth living.

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“You are inconsistent. You are fanciful. You can never know one truth, be one thing. You have no idea what the word ‘integrity means.” said Heart. “At any rate, I follow what I am, though I be impulsive.”

Mind said, “True.”

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“What will you do when I die?” this was the Heart.

“I will blissfully follow my Mind! No interference from you, you see! Completely heartless, that’s heaven!” said Mind.

Heart said, “No you won’t. If I die, you will follow your Heart into the grave.”

Both Mind and Heart burst into laughter.

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by suchitra