Wilma had renounced the world for God. She had forsaken her home and her kin and joined a convent in her youth. She had given herself prayer and penance and sought grace and redemption. But God had other plans for her. He cast her out of the convent, back to the world, to the place of her birth, where her parents lay in their graves, and her brother awaited her. Her brother, Stephan, had ambitions of becoming a big shot, a contractor with cash and clout, in Dalugama, a small town near Colombo. He was not happy to see his sister, who was now a burden to him. He wanted to get rid of her fast, to wed her off to someone who would take her off his hands. But who would fancy a woman of thirty who had wasted her best years in a convent under veils?
Stephan was ready to pay a man a fortune to take his sister off his hands. But even then, he could not find a good match. Wilma was a plague on his life, his scheme of becoming rich.
Stephan heard of a man in Mabima, a village by the river, who had recently lost his wife. Gabriel was a Catholic, like Wilma, and had no children to trouble him. He worked at the port, hauling loads on and off ships, earning a pittance. He was not a catch, but Stephan was desperate. Gabriel was younger than Wilma by a few years, but that did not matter. They were both over the hill and had slim chances of marriage. Stephan offered him two thousand Rupees, and Gabriel agreed to marry Wilma. They had a modest wedding at the church in Dalugama. They did not go to the church in Mabima, where Gabriel had married his first wife. It would have been bad luck; besides, the people there would have gossiped about the strange pair.
With Stephan’s help, Wilma and Gabriel bought a small plot of land in Dalugama. They built a humble hut there, with one bedroom and a tiny living space. A son was born to them after a year. They named him Julian and had him baptised. Devout Wilma took the child with her to the church every day. Gabriel did not change his work; he kept toiling at the port. Wilma wore drab colours and grey sarees and covered her head with a veil, as a woman of faith should. Their life was dull: Wilma at the church, Julian at the village school, and Gabriel, the labourer at the port. Seven years later, another son came to them. They named him Anton.
Gabriel, a man of towering height and robust brown build, had a peculiar yet strong affinity for community that delighted his neighbours. He was the first to be there if his neighbours needed help in an emergency. A simple earthly man who lived with little, he was loved by all and sundry.
Wilma was a study in simplicity; her attire was reminiscent of an ageing nun who had long forsaken the allure of worldly pleasures. Yet in this simplicity lay her profound joy — a joy derived from the hallowed halls of the church and the spiritual upbringing of her two sons in the Catholic faith. Julian’s role as an altar server wasn’t just a service but a testament to Wilma’s unwavering faith; every mention of her son echoed with pride as if he donned not just robes but a Bishop’s attire.
Gabriel? Oh! He knew nothing about money. Wilma gave him just enough for the bus every morning – the same thing every day. If Wilma was not there, like disappearing to church, Gabriel had no money, but neighbours, who liked his good heart, would lend him his bus fare.
Young Julian wanted to be a priest, a wish that made Wilma happy, like a song. She saw in him dreams she had but never did - to serve God forever. At twelve, Julian went to the seminary; a seminarian today, but tomorrow? Maybe a priest. Wilma was immensely proud of her son, telling everyone in the neighbourhood how holy her son was.
Julian was just a boy. During the school holidays, he returned from the seminary and had fun - with the village kids, who shouted and laughed. Kites went up; fish hid in their ponds. But Julian was a looker and a nose so delicate it seemed the gods shaped it. A star among the dull, he was blessed to be handsome, unlike his little brother, Anton, who had his father’s build but looked like Wilma's perpetual grey. Julian, however, had a mischievous glint in his eyes and hair that danced with the wind – a village Romeo in the making.
Things stayed like this for some years. When Julian was eighteen, he quit the seminary and came back home. Julian was not very smart, so he got a job as an office assistant in a government school.
Soon, Julian fell for a girl, Meurielle, who was out of his league. She was not rich, but her family acted like they were. Meurielle liked her short skirts and high life. It was a mismatch.
The couple clandestinely met, but Meurielle's parents caught them and forced Julian to marry her by law. Julian was a fool and silently signed the paper without telling his folks. Julian pretended to be single to his family and pals.
Later, Julian had to confess to his parents about the marriage because Meurielle's parents wanted him to take her away. Unfortunately, Wilma and Gabriel, Julian's parents, were taken aback and had no means to finance their wedding. Ultimately, they had to sell a part of their land to cover the wedding costs.
Disclaimer: The above is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The author has made every effort to portray the characters and events in a fictional and entertaining manner.
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