The first part of the story can be read here. The Conclusion is presented below.
In Which A Man Wins The Love Of A Woman Through Deceit (Conclusion)
-You should not have told her about me, and how I used tired tricks to help you win her affection, his friend told Vijay.
-Nonsense, said Vijay. She doesn’t mind in the least. In fact she likes and trusts you. Why else would she give you an envelope to take to her aunty in America?
-Because she wants to get me arrested at the airport.
As Vijay stared incredulously, his friend opened the envelope and white grains of sand like those from an hourglass whose time has run out, poured on to the table.
-Surely…surely that’s talcum powder, said Vijay.
-Inhale it, said his friend. Vijay did so and felt strong and needlessly optimistic.
-I don’t know what to say, he said as the truth surged pleasantly within him.
-Don’t say anything, his friend said. Act. Else you stand the chance of losing her forever.
The exchanging of Facebook passwords is the ultimate sign of trust between two human beings
His friend asked Vijay to conduct a ceremony with his girlfriend, one that involved the ultimate exchange of trust between two human beings — the exchanging of Facebook passwords.
Vijay now had access to his girlfriend’s account. His friend logged into her account on Vjay’s behalf. He then proceeded to add on her father as a friend.
The next morning the father woke up. He brushed his teeth and rumbled deeply. He logged on to his Facebook account and was surprised to not only see a “friend” invite from his daughter, but also astonished that she had thrown a sheep at him. He added her on as a friend and accessed her account.
-Now, O’King, I said. Do not judge the daughter. Which one of us does not have a photo in our Facebook account that shows a little more of us than we would like?
Vijay’s girlfriend had a photo of herself with Vijay. In one particular photograph, Vijay’s face rested on a place that her father didn’t entirely approve.
He was an orthodox man, who was now angry. He had no time for phone calls. He bellowed deeply and summoned his daughter from another zip code.
-Now, you shameless girl, he spoke at dangerously high decibels, you have to marry him.
His daughter didn’t even contemplate disagreeing with her father. She nodded like a sacrificial goat being goaded by a rope around the neck to the steps of the temple.
Before the page of the calendar on her wall had a chance to turn a page, she was married to Vijay.
Tell me oh King, I said, Of the four people in this story, which one is the most foolish? Speak now if you know the answer, else your head will burst into a thousand pieces.
-Save your threats for my mother-in-law, you rascal, said the King. And listen! Vijay and his girlfriend were young people in love and so can’t be faulted for any of their actions. Vijay’s friend acted out of a sense of loyalty, as any good friend should. But the father! He was an old man, and age at the very least should bring wisdom. He was the most foolish of the four. He should have allowed his girl to pursue her degree in nuclear physics without the distraction of being married to someone far below her intellectual caliber.
-Well said, O’ King, I laughed with what can only be described as great merriment. If you weren’t so wise I would be as dead as a politican’s conscience. But now that you have spoken, I am free.
I flew back to my tree. I looked from a branch into a puddle. My host body was beginning to grow a goatee. I would have to make a change.
