Platinum for Valentine (854 words)

I was spending the evening at Elliot's Beach watching the waves rise and fall. I found this young lady frantically searching for something. When I went over to help, she said she couldn’t trace her car keys and started crying. I said, “Do not worry. It must be only here.​ Let me also search, but tell me where exactly you were sitting”.

When she showed the place, I dug it out easily from the sand. She was overjoyed and thanked me profusely. As we walked together to her car, she said, “I am Sunita and come here frequently. But for you, I would have been in great trouble today. Can I drop you? “I declined.

The next day, I was at the same place at the beach. She came as I expected and sat by my side. She was an extremely charming lady but walked with a slight limp. We met frequently and came very close, cuddling and hugging, till I felt life without her would be meaningless. I plied her with lots of gifts. When I proposed to her, she said she would have to wait till her elder sister got married, and our love had been kept a secret from her parents.

We became intimate soon and frequently spent some evenings at nearby resorts. It was after three months that she hesitantly asked for some big money as a short loan. I readily promised to give it to her on Valentine’s Day, a few days ahead. I also wished to surprise her with platinum earrings and a pendant

Meanwhile, I had gone to attend my cousin’s marriage one day. A lot of my good friends and relatives had gathered there. There was a cocktail party with dancing, with drinks aplenty. During the binge, we were all regaled with funny and rib-tickling incidents of how they were duped and turned into suckers. I was laughing till I heard one friend relate how he fell into a trap by a wily woman. He was recounting how he was conned to part with heavy amounts by the young woman pretending to be in deep love with him and how she moved intimately with him to make him a sucker.

Something made me ask how he met her initially.

“It was like this. I was at Elliott's Beach, sitting in a secluded spot. It was then I found her searching frantically for her car key. I helped her retrieve it. We became friends since then,” he said

“Can you describe her?” I asked  

“Why do you ask? This lady was very fetching, tall   and about 27”

Curious to know more, I asked him, “Any distinguishing features?”

“Nothing except the poor thing had to walk with a slight limp”

My dream was shattered, and anger surged in me. I would do anything for love, but not be cheated

Valentine’s Day arrived. Sunita was waiting for me at our usual spot on Elliot’s Beach, looking more radiant than ever. She wore a lovely pink dress and greeted me with a warm embrace.

“Darling, did you remember what you promised me for this day?” she whispered.

“How could I forget?” I replied, smiling. “After all, today is a very special day.”

I took out a beautifully wrapped velvet box. Her eyes sparkled. She opened it eagerly and found a pair of glittering earrings and a matching pendant.

“Oh, darling! Platinum!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

“Not quite,” I said gently. “They are imitation platinum. But don't be disappointed. I have something more valuable for you.”

I handed her a colourful envelope.

Her face lit up. She must have imagined it contained the cheque she had been waiting for. With trembling fingers, she opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

It showed her standing beside my friend at the same beach with her arm lovingly entwined with his.

Her face turned pale. “Where did you get this?” she stammered.

“From an old friend. Apparently, he too was very good at finding lost car keys.”

She stood speechless.

I continued, “You know, Sunita, I have been wondering about something. You seem to be adept at losing your car keys often, but never slack in your ability to find a man and fall in love, willing to part with gifts and money

She tried to speak, but I raised my hand.

“Don't worry. I am not asking for my gifts back. I consider them the price of a valuable lesson.”

As I walked away. I warned her, “Keep off the beaches. I have asked my police friends to look for a young woman with a limp searching for car keys at the beaches”.

I turned to see her picking up the sand and angrily throwing it at me.

“Stop it. I forgot to mention. My friend in the photograph expressed a desire to marry your elder sister if she is still unmarried and a real person,” I added and walked away as she was making faces at me.

That Valentine's Day, I broke up with a sweetheart, saved a fortune, and discovered a golden truth: not all that glitters is platinum.