The Love Letter at Museum Park

A Small Incident from the Days of Letters

This little story happened many years ago, in a time when mobile phones did not exist.

Young people today may find it hard to imagine, but there was once a time when people did not send messages instantly. If someone wanted to say something important, they wrote it on paper, folded it carefully, and sent it as a letter.

Sometimes those letters carried good news.
Sometimes sad news.
And sometimes… they carried trouble.

“In those days, a single letter had the power to disturb a whole day’s peace.”

What I am about to tell you is one such small incident that happened in Thiruvananthapuram, many years ago.

At that time, a young man named Jayakrishnan Nair, aged thirty-three, had recently moved into a small rented house near Statue Junction with his wife, Lakshmi.

Jayakrishnan worked as a clerk in the Kerala Secretariat. His life was simple and predictable: office in the morning, tea from the Secretariat canteen, A walk home in the evening, and dinner with Lakshmi.

The couple had moved into that house only a week earlier, and the place still looked like a battlefield between cardboard boxes and household items.

Aluminium vessels were stacked in corners.
Bundles of newspapers lay under the table.
Half-opened trunks were everywhere.

Lakshmi had been trying to organise the house for three days, but somehow the mess only seemed to grow.

The sun outside was still bright, and the street was full of the usual afternoon sounds: the distant horn of buses near Palayam, children shouting as they returned from school, and a vegetable vendor calling out loudly.

Inside the house, Lakshmi was busy in the kitchen.

Jayakrishnan sat on a plastic chair in the hall.

On the small wooden table near the door, he noticed an envelope.

It had his name written on it.

He frowned.

“Who is sending me letters to the house already?” he murmured.

They had moved here only a few days ago.

Curious, he picked up the envelope and opened it.

Inside was a neatly folded piece of paper.

He unfolded it slowly and began reading.

“I love you.
You are my life, my happiness, everything to me!
Forgive me for saying this, but I cannot stay silent anymore.
I don’t ask you to love me back… only understand my heart.

Please come to Museum Park at 4 PM today.
I am not telling my name.
Don’t worry about me being anonymous.
I am young and beautiful… and very much lovable too?

Please come. I will be waiting near the old bench under the big rain tree.”

Jayakrishnan stopped reading.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at the paper.

Then he blinked twice.

Then he scratched his head slowly.

“Eh… what is this?”

He turned the letter around, as if the explanation might be written somewhere on the back.

“I’m a married man working in the Secretariat… and someone is writing a love letter to me?”

He read the first line again.

“I love you…”

Jayakrishnan leaned back in his chair.

“Of all the men in Thiruvananthapuram… she chose me?”

He looked around the messy hall full of cardboard boxes.

“Maybe she doesn’t know my salary.”

He shook his head and muttered to himself.

“These days… girls are becoming very bold. Writing letters to strangers!”

But even so, he did not throw the letter away.

Instead, he folded it carefully and read it again.

Because the truth was…

Until that moment in his life, Jayakrishnan had received only three types of letters.

Electricity bills.

Loan reminders.

And wedding invitations.

This was the first love letter he had ever received.

Naturally, it began to disturb his mind.

He lay down on the sofa and stared at the slowly spinning ceiling fan.

“Well… obviously I am not a fool who will go running to some secret meeting,” he told himself firmly.

“But still…”

He opened the letter again.

“I wonder who wrote it.”

He studied the handwriting carefully.

“Hmm… definitely a woman’s handwriting.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Maybe some college girl from University College.”

Or maybe someone who had seen him around the Secretariat or the bus stop near Palayam.

Then, suddenly, a memory came to him.

The previous evening, while walking near Museum Park, he had seen a fair young girl wearing a light blue churidar.

She had walked past him twice.

Both times she had looked at him quickly… and then turned away.

Once, she had even sat on a nearby bench.

Jayakrishnan suddenly sat up.

“Could it be… her?”

Then he immediately laughed.

“No, no… impossible.”

He looked at his reflection in the window.

“Why would a young girl fall in love with me?”

Then he paused.

“Well… actually… I’m only thirty-three.”

He straightened his shoulders slightly.

“And Lakshmi married me without any complaints.”

“Love has strange habits,” he thought quietly.
“Sometimes it arrives without introduction, and sometimes it arrives by mistake.”

And that small letter…
was about to create a very unusual evening in Museum Park.

“Love has very strange taste sometimes,” he thought wisely.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lakshmi was happily cutting vegetables and cooking.

At lunch, Jayakrishnan was unusually quiet.

Lakshmi noticed.

“Why are you sitting like someone failed the PSC exam?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Jayakrishnan said quickly.

“Just a small headache.”

Lakshmi nodded slowly.

After lunch, Jayakrishnan tried to take a nap.

But his brain refused.

Instead, his imagination began making a full Malayalam movie.

“She must be waiting in Museum Park now…”

He imagined her nervously checking her watch.

Looking around.

Waiting for him.

Then suddenly ran toward him dramatically.

He sat up again.

“But why should I go?”

He lay down again.

“I will not go. Finished.”

Three minutes passed.

Then another thought appeared.

“Well… maybe I could just walk past the park.”

“Just casually.”

“Purely for research.”

He nodded seriously.

“Human curiosity is the mother of many unnecessary adventures.”

At 3:30 PM, Jayakrishnan suddenly got up.

He changed into his best ironed shirt, combed his hair carefully, and even applied a little perfume.

Lakshmi noticed.

She raised her eyebrow.

“Where are you going dressed like a film hero attending an award function?”

Jayakrishnan cleared his throat.

“Just going for a walk. Fresh air helps headaches.”

Lakshmi nodded thoughtfully.

“Ah… headache walk to Museum Park, right?”

Jayakrishnan froze.

“What nonsense!”

At exactly 4 PM, Jayakrishnan slowly entered Museum Park.

Children were running around.

Couples were sitting under trees.

Vendors were selling peanuts and ice cream.

His heart started beating faster.

“Which one is she?” he wondered nervously.

He walked toward the big rain tree and the old bench.

He peeked inside the shaded bench area.

“Maybe she hasn’t come yet…”

Then he stepped inside.

And suddenly froze.

Someone was already sitting there.

A man.

Jayakrishnan looked closer.

“Ayyo! Mithun??”

The man looked up.

It was Lakshmi’s younger brother, Mithun, who had recently joined Keltron as a junior engineer.

“Yes, chetta, it’s me,” Mithun said calmly.

Both stared at each other suspiciously.

After two minutes, Mithun spoke.

“Chetta… can you please give me some privacy? I’m waiting for someone.”

Jayakrishnan coughed.

Both sat there awkwardly.

Two minutes passed.

Then Mithun said politely:

“Chetta… can you please leave me alone? I’m thinking about a project, and I need silence.”

Jayakrishnan coughed.

“Well… maybe you should go somewhere else.”

“Why?” Mithun asked.

“I want to rest here… the breeze is nice.”

Mithun frowned.

“My project is more important than the rest.”

Silence again.

Jayakrishnan kept looking at the path outside.

Every small sound made his heart jump.

Finally, he whispered urgently.

“Mithun… please go somewhere else. Just today.”

“No,” Mithun said firmly. “I came first.”

Jayakrishnan almost begged.

“Please! For once in your life, listen to me!”

Mithun crossed his arms.

“No.”

Just then…

A young girl’s face wearing a blue churidar appeared at the entrance.

She looked inside.

Saw both men sitting there.

Her face became annoyed.

And she immediately disappeared.

Jayakrishnan jumped up.

“Ayyo! She’s gone!”

He glared at Mithun furiously.

“You idiot! Because of you, everything is spoiled!”

Mithun also stood up angrily.

“Because of me? You ruined my meeting!”

“What meeting?”

“My meeting!”

They stared at each other in shock.

Finally, both stormed back to the house.

At dinner that night, the atmosphere was cold.

Jayakrishnan and Mithun sat silently, staring at their plates.

They were angry with each other.

Lakshmi suddenly started laughing.

At dinner that night, the three of them sat around the wooden table.

The plates were full of rice, meen curry, and cabbage thoran, but the atmosphere was strange.

Jayakrishnan kept staring at his plate.

Mithun kept staring at his plate.

Both avoided looking at each other, like two schoolboys who had just fought during lunch break.

Lakshmi noticed everything.

And suddenly…

She started laughing.

At first, it was just a small giggle.

Then it became louder.

Then louder.

Soon she was laughing so much that she had to hold the edge of the table.

Jayakrishnan frowned.

“Why are you laughing like that? Did someone tell you a comedy story?”

Lakshmi wiped tears from her eyes.

“No… no… I just remembered something.”

“What?”

She leaned forward with a mischievous smile.

“Tell me one thing first.”

Jayakrishnan felt slightly nervous.

“What thing?”

She asked casually,

“So… what was written in the love letter you received this morning?”

Jayakrishnan’s spoon slipped from his hand and fell into the curry.

“Letter? What letter? I didn’t get any letter!”

Lakshmi stared at him dramatically.

“Ayyo… such innocent acting! If they gave an award for acting, you would win the Kerala State Award today.”

Mithun slowly looked up.

“What letter?” he asked.

Lakshmi laughed again.

“Okay, okay, enough suspense. I’ll tell you the truth.”

She raised her hand like someone taking an oath.

“I wrote that letter.”

Both Jayakrishnan and Mithun froze.

Their mouths slowly opened.

“You… wrote it?” Jayakrishnan asked weakly.

“Yes.”

“But… why??”

Lakshmi leaned back in her chair and began explaining calmly.

“Because today was Operation: Clean This New House.” I had asked Sundari, our maid, to come at 4 o’clock to help me clean the house

She pointed around.

“Look at this place! Boxes everywhere! Dust everywhere!”

“And whenever we start cleaning…”

She pointed at Jayakrishnan.

“You sit in the middle like a district collector supervising disaster management.”

Mithun burst out laughing.

Lakshmi continued.

“You read old newspapers, drink tea every fifteen minutes, and ask important questions like, ”

She imitated him.

“Lakshmi… where is my towel?”
“Lakshmi… where are my socks?”
“Lakshmi… why are you moving this chair?”

Jayakrishnan protested weakly.

“I was coordinating the work.”

Lakshmi laughed.

“Coordinating! You walk across the freshly swept floor like a temple elephant in a festival procession.”

Then she pointed at Mithun.

“And this fellow…”

Mithun looked worried.

“You lie on the sofa watching reels and eating banana chips while we clean!”

“I help sometimes!” Mithun protested.

“Yes,” Lakshmi said. “You help finish the chips.”

Then she smiled proudly.

“So I used creative problem solving.”

“Sometimes in life logic does not work… only clever tricks work.”

Jayakrishnan sighed.

“So the love letter…”

“Yes,” Lakshmi said.

“And to make sure both of you disappear…”

She grinned.

“I sent the same letter to Mithun also.”

There was silence.

Very long silence.

Jayakrishnan slowly turned toward Mithun.

Mithun slowly turned toward Jayakrishnan.

Then Mithun burst out laughing.

“So you were my rival lover!”

Lakshmi laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jayakrishnan covered his face with both hands.

And somewhere deep inside his mind, he realised something important.

“The most dangerous strategist in any household is not the husband…
It is always the wife.”