Son earns twenty thousand rupees a month,. For the past three years, he has sent his mother fifteen thousand rupees every month. But for the past few months, when he did not send any money, his mother hurried to his rented room to check and was shocked by the scene before her eyes.

Since graduating from school, Arjun – Mrs. Meera’s son – went to Mumbai to work. One evening, he called home, his voice full of excitement:
“Mom, I got a job, twenty thousand rupees a month!”

After hearing this, Mrs. Meera was filled with tears. After so many years of hard work, selling vegetables in the market, just hoping that her son would become a good person. Now hearing her son say “twenty thousand rupees”, her heart felt relieved as if a burden of her whole life had been lifted.

The first month, Arjun sent his mother fifteen thousand rupees. The next month was the same. Every month, regularly, on the fifth day, she received the money her son sent for three years like that.

Meera didn’t spend it, she just saved it. She thought to herself: “Just save it, when he gets married, I’ll have something to help him.”

Then one day, her phone rang with a text message:
“Mom, from this month onwards I’ll only send you 5,000 rupees, I have personal needs.”

Meera read it over and over again, her heart filled with worry. What was “personal matters”?

She started to hear the neighbors gossiping:
“Arjun has a girlfriend now. If she’s not careful, the girl will ‘swindle’ her money.”

“Gosh, if a country boy gets a city girl, he’s done for! My son works near where Arjun is staying, he knows…”

Those words kept running through her head, making Meera lose her appetite and sleep. She thought: “Is my son really that foolish?” Finally, she decided to go to Mumbai to find out what was going on.

Arjun’s room was in a small, dark, and damp alley. Mrs. Meera knocked on the door several times, but no one opened it. Just as she was about to turn away, a girl’s voice came from inside the house:

“Wait a minute!”

The door opened, and in front of her was a young, skinny girl with gentle eyes.

“You are…?” – the girl asked.

“I am Arjun’s mother. And you are…?”

The girl bowed her head and replied softly:

“Yes… I am Priya, Arjun’s girlfriend.”

Mrs. Meera was still surprised when her eyes suddenly stopped at the corner of the bed.

Arjun was lying there – skinny, pale-faced, with an IV needle in his hand.

She was stunned:
“Arjun! What’s wrong, my child!”

Priya quickly supported her, tremblingly saying:..

“Arjun had a motorbike accident two months ago. He broke his leg and couldn’t walk. I asked for leave from work to take care of him. He told me not to tell you, because he was afraid you would worry.”

Her voice was soft, but each word was like a knife cutting into Mrs. Meera’s heart. Priya held the bowl of porridge, patiently blew on it, and then spoon-fed Arjun. The rented room was empty, only the sound of the spoon gently touching the bowl could be heard.

Arjun opened his eyes and tried to say:
– “Mom… don’t be angry with me. I didn’t dare say it… I was afraid you would be sad.”

Mrs. Meera choked up, tears welling up:
– “Oh my god… why did you hide it from me, Mom?”

Priya lowered her head, her voice as small as the wind:
– “The money you sent to me these past few months… was the money I sent to you from work. Because I still had to spend on medicine for you, I couldn’t send back 15,000 rupees like before. You told me not to send it, but I was afraid you would worry, so I still sent it…”

Mrs. Meera was stunned.
So it turned out… it wasn’t her son who was wasting money. It wasn’t that girl who “swindled money”. But the two children silently endured hardships together, still remembering their mother in the countryside.

She held her son’s hand, her voice trembling:
– “I’m sorry… I thought you were spoiled.”

Priya smiled slightly, continuing to feed Arjun the last spoonful of porridge. Sweat rolled down her forehead, mixed with tears. Mrs. Meera had thought about giving all her savings to the two of them for their wedding…

In the following days, Mrs. Meera returned to the village, her heart filled with both joy and worry. She quietly opened her savings book, counting over and over again each rupee she had saved. Over the years, she had saved little by little from selling vegetables in the market, and now all of it could help her son and the gentle girl who took care of her son through the most difficult time.

Mrs. Meera decided, without hesitation. “This money is for you, for your grandchild. You are suffering, you need it, I have to take care of it,” she told herself.

The day Arjun could stand up for the first time after the accident, Priya and Mrs. Meera quietly prepared everything for the wedding. In the small house in the village, Mrs. Meera sewed a traditional saree by hand, carefully choosing each piece of fabric in the hope that her son and Priya would have a simple but loving wedding day. She asked the familiar neighbors to bake ladoos, prepare sweet jams and pickles, all of which were familiar dishes that Arjun had loved since childhood.

The wedding day came, Arjun still had to use crutches to walk, but his eyes were shining with happiness. Priya was in a pink saree, wearing a jasmine gajra on her head, smiling gently. Mrs. Meera stood next to her, tears rolling down her cheeks, her hands trembling but her heart was warm like never before.

When the wedding ceremony began, Mrs. Meera handed Arjun and Priya an envelope, inside were all the savings they had saved for so long. Arjun opened his mouth, before he could say anything, Priya quickly bowed her head, her voice choked:
– “Auntie… have you saved it all for us?”

Mrs. Meera just smiled, her voice trembling but full of love:
– “Whatever you need, I have it. I was afraid you would suffer, I was afraid you would lack. Now, you have each other, I have Priya to take care of you, I just hope you two live happily, and as for me… I feel that’s enough.”

Arjun held his mother’s hand tightly, tears welling up:
– “Mom… I don’t know what to say anymore… I will live a life worthy of all that you have sacrificed.”

The small church in the village resounded with laughter, singing and even tears of happiness. Priya hugged Arjun, whispering:
– “You have Mom, you have me, now you will never be alone again.”

Mrs. Meera stood watching, her heart filled with happiness. All the years of hard work, all the worries, now all disappeared in the light of love and family reunion. She knew that, no matter how difficult life was, motherly love was always the most peaceful shore, and it was that love that helped Arjun and Priya stand firm and continue on their path to the future.

In the small house of the village, laughter, voices, traditional music mixed with the scent of jasmine and cakes, all creating a simple but warm and unforgettable wedding ceremony. Mrs. Meera smiled, gently patted Arjun’s head, knowing that all the hardships were worth it, when her son had found true happiness with a kind, gentle and devoted girl.

And from that day on, every time she saw Arjun and Priya taking care of each other, Mrs. Meera always whispered: “I did the right thing. Motherly love is priceless, and love will overcome all challenges.