The wedding of a 26-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman shook the whole town. Everyone thought he married her for money, until the truth was revealed on the wedding day…
In a small village in the state of Kerala, where any story, no matter how small, can spread throughout the village in just one afternoon, there was a news that made the whole village stir:
“Aarav – a 26-year-old man – is going to marry Savita Devi, a 65-year-old woman, almost 40 years older than him.”

The story spread like wildfire.
Some were surprised, others laughed.

“She must be rich, that’s why he agreed to marry her!”
“A young man marrying someone the same age as his mother, what a shame!”
“He’s smart, he doesn’t have to work all his life!”

No one believed this was true love.

Savita Devi lived alone in an old tiled-roof house at the end of the village, next to a lush mango orchard.
She used to be a Hindi literature teacher at a local high school.

But after her husband died of heart disease and her only son died in a traffic accident, she withdrew to live a quiet, secluded life.

Everyone in the village knew her as a gentle, kind woman who often helped the poor.

Although lonely, she was still respected.

Aarav Mehta, 26, is a construction worker from Tamil Nadu state.
He moved to this village two years ago to work on a nearby road and bridge project.
Aarav is hard-working, quiet, and lives a simple life.

People often saw him coming to Savita’s house, at first just to help repair the fence and repaint the roof.
Everyone thought he helped out of kindness, because he felt sorry for a lonely old woman.
But gradually, people saw them going to the market together, returning home on the same old motorbike.
Sometimes, Aarav even stayed overnight.

Rumors began to spread throughout the village.

And when they announced the wedding, the whole village was excited… not to congratulate them, but to see the strange show.

In the hot April afternoon, Savita’s yard was packed with people.

Few were sincere attendees, three times as many were curious.

On the makeshift stage, a red banner prominently read:
“Wedding of Aarav & Savita Devi.”

The groom, Aarav, wore a moss-green kurta, and the bride, Savita, wore a purple, embroidered sari.

The two held hands and walked up to the altar amid whispers and mocking glances.

Suddenly, Aarav took the microphone, his voice cold but firm…“I know, many people think this is strange, even shameful.

But today, I want to tell you everything — so everyone can understand why Savita and I are standing here.”

The yard was dead silent.

Aarav said that three years ago, he had an accident at a construction site – falling from the third floor to the ground.

With no relatives or money, he was hospitalized for many weeks in solitude.

The only person who came to his side, cooked, washed, and encouraged him every day…
was Mrs. Savita – at that time, just a stranger visiting her nephew in the same hospital room.

“She fed me when I had no money left.

She took care of me like her own child.
No one could believe that a stranger could be so kind.”

After being discharged from the hospital, Aarav returned to the village to repay her kindness.

At first, he only helped her fix the roof and do gardening, then gradually, they became as close as mother and son.

But the closer they got, the more Aarav realized that in his heart was a different feeling – no longer gratitude, but true love.

One rainy evening, he said to her:

“Mother Savita, I don’t know why, but I can’t see you as my mother anymore. I love you… the way people love each other to go through life together.”

Savita choked up.

“You’re young, I’m old. People will laugh at you.”

“Love has no age, mother. It’s just whether it’s real or not.”

The whole village was silent.
No one said anything more.
People looked at them, at the tears on Savita’s cheeks, and understood that — their love didn’t need anyone’s permission.

A photo – and a secret in an old drawer

After the wedding, Aarav and Savita lived peacefully in a small house next to a mango orchard.
But one afternoon, while cleaning the bookcase, Aarav accidentally discovered an old photo hidden in a thick notebook.

The photo was faded, showing a man in military uniform, bright eyes, a smile… just like him.

Aarav trembled as he brought the photo to ask.
Mrs. Savita was silent for a long time, then softly said:

“Aarav… it’s time for me to tell you the truth.
Not only about love, but also about a debt… from a previous life.

When she was a girl in her twenties, Savita had a deep love affair with a young officer named Arun.

He came to the village to work, helping people recover from the flood.
Arun was intelligent, kind, loved to write calligraphy and read poetry.
They promised each other that when Arun completed his mission, he would return to marry Savita.

But war broke out.
Arun went missing in a border clash, and no one found his body.
Savita was so heartbroken that she vowed never to marry anyone else.

The photo in Aarav’s hand was of Arun – the man she had loved deeply all her life.

“Many nights, I dreamt of Arun standing on the porch, in his military uniform, calling my name.
But when I woke up, I only found my tears wetting my pillow.”

Then one day, when she saw Aarav lying motionless in the hospital, she was stunned – because he resembled Arun like two peas in a pod.

Then one day, when she saw Aarav lying motionless in the hospital, she was stunned – because he resembled Arun like two peas in a pod.

From his eyes, his gait, even his voice.

“I thought I was dreaming.
I took a picture of your face while you were sleeping – and compared it to the old photo.

It was so similar that I believed… Arun had returned, in your form.”

Then, she said, one rainy night, in a dream, Arun told her:

“Take care of him. I’ve come back to complete the unfinished things.”

Since then, she believed that Aarav was not just the person she saved, but a reincarnation – the old soul of the person who loved her returned, to walk the rest of the journey with her.

Love beyond reason

Aarav was speechless.

He did not believe in reincarnation, but since meeting Savita, he always felt an invisible connection that he could not explain.

He held her hand and said softly,

“I don’t know who I was in my previous life, but I know one thing for sure – I love you, Mom.
Not because of gratitude, not because of coincidence.
But because you were the first person to see me as someone who wasn’t pitiful.
You were the only person who loved me unconditionally.
Whether you believe I’m Arun or not… I still choose to be with you.”

Savita burst into tears.
In that moment, they were no longer two people with different ages, but two souls who found each other after many years of being lost.

The story of Aarav and Savita spread throughout the village.
People no longer laughed at them, but began to respect them.
They opened free classes for poor children, planted mango trees around their houses, and every morning they read prayers together under the banyan tree at the entrance of the lane.

In the small living room, on the altar, there are two photos placed side by side:
one is a wedding photo of Aarav and Savita – where the two hold hands tightly,
and the other is an old photo of the young soldier Arun – whose smile is strangely similar to Aarav’s.

Underneath, there is an inscription in Hindi:

“There are relationships that, even though separated by time, find a way to come back – in the form of another heart.”