He pretended not to notice as she entered the room and glanced furtively at the little box on the table. She pretended not to notice the little box. It was these pretences which kept them in their own bubbles.

He is a retired professor busy with his laptop, researching on places of wonder and events of interest. She is busy feeding, caring and nurturing everyone in their huge family, including him. They are too busy for each other.

They are not estranged though. They have their little moments. She makes his regular cups of teas with just the correct amount of sugar, she can feel when he is craving for some warm puffed luchi(bread) and fulkopi bhaja(fried cauliflower) and prepares them before he asks for it. He knows which songs she likes to listen to after her morning shower and plays them just at the right time on his laptop, he knows she likes her lavender spray before bed and ensures they are always available at her bedside. Love is still there, subtle and floating, not visible to eyes.

Exchange of words are few, include the daily routines of assertions and questions and statements.

Now back to the box, she knows what it has, and he know that she knows. A juicy chomchom(sweet) from a particular sweet shop from where he first bought her favourite treat 40 years back and have been buying her one ever since every year on this particular day.

One of such little gestures keep the fire of love burning, maybe not as strong as the younger days but enough to light up the bond called marriage.