Colombia ke ek school function mein 13-saala larkay ne hall ke doosri taraf ek larki ko dekha—puaetmad, khoobsurat aur us ki pohanch se bilkul bahar. Larkpan ke josh mein Gabriel García Márquez ne apne doston se kaha: "Main isi larki se shadi karoon ga." Mercedes ne usay mur kar bhi na dekha. Woh ek ghareeb wazifa-khwar talib-e-ilm tha, jabke woh ek khush-haal khandan se thi. Un ke darmiyan fasla bohat bara tha. Chunancha woh khud ko us ke qabil bananay ke liye nikal khara hua. 18 saal tak woh sahafat aur tehrir ke peeche bhagta raha, shehar dar shehar phira, hamesha kangal raha, lekin is larki ko kabhi na bhoola. Us ne khat likhay, Mercedes ne kabhi kabhaar aur mohtat jawab diye. Aakhir-kar, 31 saal ki umar mein woh us ke liye wapas aya. 1958 mein un ki shadi hui aur unhon ne ek sada magar pyar bhari zindagi shuru ki. Phir 1965 mein sab kuch badal gaya. Ek din gari chalate huay achanak ek novel ka poora plot Márquez ke zehen mein utar aya. "Buendía Khandan" ki saat naslon ki kahani, jo jadoo, almiye aur mohabbat se bharpoor thi. Us ne furan gari mori aur ghar pohanch kar Mercedes se kaha: "Mujhe yeh kitab likhni hai. Is mein bohat waqt lage ga aur hamare paas paise khatam ho jayenge." Mercedes ne sadgi se jawab diya: "Tum likho." 18 mah tak woh apne kamray mein band ho kar likhta raha. Idhar un ki duniya bikhar rahi thi aur Mercedes ne sab kuch sanbhala hua tha. Márquez ne kaam chor diya tha, bachat khatam ho chuki thi aur qarz-khwa darwaze par thay. Doston ne kaha ke woh pagal hai, lekin Mercedes datti rahi. Unhon ne apni gari bech di, phir zewarat, phir furniture. Mercedes ek ek paise ko kheench taan kar istemal karti aur apne shohar ko har pareshani se door rakhti takay woh likh sakay. 1966 mein 500 safhaat ka musawada tayyar ho gaya. Ab ise Buenos Aires (Argentina) ke publisher ko bhejna tha. Jab unhon ne paise ganay to maloom hua ke daak ke liye paise kam hain. Mercedes ne ek aakhri baar apne ghar par nazar dali aur woh cheezein jama kien jo ab tak bach gayi thien: ek radio, kitchen ka saman aur apna hair dryer—woh wahid asayish jo us ne ab tak sanbhal kar rakhi thi. Us ne woh sab bech diya aur in paison se musawada daak ke zariye bheja. Un ke paas ek paisa bhi baqi na bacha. Post office se bahar nikalte huay thaki-haari Mercedes ne apne shohar se kaha: "Ab bas kasar itni reh gayi hai ke yeh novel bura nikal aaye." Woh novel "Tanhai ke Sau Saal" (One Hundred Years of Solitude) tha. June 1967 mein chapte hi is ne dhoom macha di. Edition par edition bikne lagay. Naqideen ne ise shahkar qarar diya aur 1982 mein Márquez ko adab ka Nobel Prize mila. Márquez ne kabhi nahin bhulaya ke is kamyabi ki qeemat kya thi. Woh zindagi bhar Mercedes ko is kitab ki "Asal Musannifa" kehta raha. Us ka kehna tha ke woh us ki zindagi ki sab se mazboot shakhsiyat thi. Un ka saath 56 saal raha. Yeh kahani sirf ek musannif ki nahin, balkay is aurat ke yaqeen ki hai jis ne is waqt apne shohar ka saath diya jab duniya usay pagal samajhti thi. Agar Mercedes apna hair dryer na bechti, to shayad duniya ek azeem shahkar se mehroom reh jati.