Reminder Of Love <3

This article was first published on Mompresso

Love is so common, isn’t it? It is all around us. But why do we still need a reminder of love? Do read my thoughts!

It was a normal morning like any other day. Pihu woke up at 5.30 am, made tiffins for her children, woke them up, bathed them, dressed them up, pulled them to the bus-stop and off they went in school bus after planting a kiss on her cheek. A morning cannot be any different for someone having two kids who are born only 2 years apart! Most of the times Pihu felt like they are twins only! 🙂

Pihu was a young mother. Got married at 23, first son was born at 25 and the second daughter was born at 27. Now she was 30 and completely in the “mother” mode. Her kids were here priority, even her husband Parag had to take a back seat. Parag was 8 years older than Pihu, but he had fallen for this beauty in spite of the age difference. After all, Pihu was someone who was adored by almost everyone. He had approached his parents and expressed his wish to get married to Pihu. Parents agreed at once since Pihu’s family was known to them and they too adored Pihu like everybody else. When Pihu’s family was approached for wedding, Pihu was only 21 and hence Pihu’s mom had suggested that they can get engaged but wedding should take place only after Pihu completes MBA that she was pursuing at that time. Both the families agreed and the rest is history. Pihu and Parag were a happy couple with two kids. Their family was complete and perfect. Parag being a lot older than Pihu always extented lot of understanding and empathy towards Pihu and their relationship.

Pihu called up her mother-in-law as soon as she reached office. It was a routine call. She would call her everyday and just let her know that kids went to school, all 4 of them are doing fine, everybody has had breakfast and would also remind her for her medicines. This was the only way to stay in touch after Pihu and Parag had to relocate to Mumbai from Bangalore a year ago. All this for the career opportunity Parag had got. Pihu’s mother-in-law was an immense strength to her and hence it was natural to find ways to be in touch. Although the call was routine, there was something special about today’s call

Pihu: “Hello…Maa, I reached office.

Ma: “That’s great, sharp at 8.30. Looks like kids didnt trouble you this morning”

Pihu: “No Maaa… Poor little creatures, I feel bad to drag them to school bus like that”

Ma: “Koi nahi beta. That’s how kids learn. Accha, baccho ko tiffin to diya hain na?”

Pihu: “Haaaaaa… Maaaaaa, mere bacchon ko diya, apke bache ko diya aur me khud bhi tiffin leke ayi hu. Hum sab ne nashta kiya hain, aap bhi kuch kha lo, zyada der mat karna. Parag ko yaad dilaya hi ki raat ke khane ke liye ghar hi aye, office me zyada der na karein….. (Pihu started reciting deliy answers to the daily questions of ma)

Ma: “Bas.. bas.. badmash, do baccho ki ma ho gayi phir bhi mere chinta karne par meri tang khichti hain. Ma apne baccho ki chinta kiye bagair reh sakti hain kya??”

Pihu: “Maaaaaaaaaaaa, aap bhi na! Chalo, abhi me rakhti hu. Raat ko baccho se baat karwati hu.”

Ma: “Are aaj raat to tum log ka kuch plan hoga na… Bahar ja rahe ho to zyada der mat karna. Aur kisi acche jaga par hi dinner karna. Thele pe mat khana, baccho ka pet kharab hota hain”

Pihu: “Nahi Ma, aaj koi plan nahi hain. Aaj kya special hain?”

Ma: “Valentine Day! Bhool gayi?”

Pihu: “Kya Ma aap bhi… Valentine day abhi yaad bhi nahi rehta. Kisko time hain? Waise… aapka aur papa ka kya plan hain??” (Pihu asks in a very naughty way)

Ma: “Chup badmash! Humari koi umar hain Valentine Day manane ki? Ye sab tum log ko karna chahiye. Beta, ek baat dhyan me rakho. Apne ghar sansar me kitne bhi ulajh jao, zindagi ki choti choti khushiyana banake rakhni chahiye. Chahe zimmedariya kitni bhi bade, do pal ruk kar zindagi ka maza lena chahiye. Nayi nayi shad karke ayi thi tabhi kaise chulbuli thi. Yaad hain pehle saal ke Valentine Day ke liye Parag ke liye tumne ek suprise plan kiya tha? Kitne khush the tum dono. Abhi bhi ho, par routine ki zindagi me tum dono ke beech me jo pyaar hain uska jaadu khone mat dena. Chalo rakhti hu, tumhare papa awaz de rahe hain.”

After this short call, Pihu realised that how she had dedicated herself to kids ever since they were born. She did love Parag a lot, but she had taken him for granted. She had always “assumed” that he knows how much she loves him. She thought about all the lovey dovey things they used to do before their kids arrived. Parag never complained about not getting attention anymore (he was indeed very understanding), but after talking to mom Pihu realised that a little expression of love can spice up their life a bit, can revive the magic in their marriage. After all, who doesn’t like to be loved, and pampered and longed for? Pihu at once made up her mind do something special for Parag that day. She also promised herself to continue doing it once in a while in future to.

Don’t we have a Pihu in each one of us? Don’t we take are spouse for granted? Don’t we over look them because of kids? We all do that, don’t we? It doesn’t mean that the love between us and our spouse has come to an end, but it surely results in to a great monotonous life. Express your love to your spouse. You may not need to do anything fancy for that. Small gestures like leaving a note saying “I Love You” in his wallet, or planting a kiss on the cheek when he is least expecting it, holding hands under the table while you are having dinner with family or just bunking the office and spending the day together can go a long way in expressing love.

Most of us know this, but we do not practice and that is the whole reason why we need reminders for love. Like we set reminders for meetings, tasks and chores, we must have some reminders for love too. And we really need that because we let life take the best of us and expression of love often takes a backseat. Not all are lucky like Pihu to have a mother in law who reminds her of small joys of life or to have a husband like Parag who is very understanding and non-complaining types, but all of us can make use of some small occasions to remind and express our love. Like celebrating Valentine Day, birthdays, anniversaries, little achievements or appreciation at work etc. The scale of celebration is totally a choice between you and your spouse. What is important is to let him know, that you love him more everyday!

Its not just kids that need our attention and love, our spouse does too! ❤

Do not forget to let him know how much you love him, and see how it spices up your routine life.

An Apology

Suresh stomped into the house, hurled his bag, loosened his tie and sunk into the sofa. Priya came with a glass of water.

“How was your day?” asked Priya cheerfully. She had noticed that ever since Suresh had heard of demise of his best friend’s mother, he was upset. For a few days Priya thought that it was natural since she was very dear to him too! After all he had known her for all his life. But days passed by and Suresh was still the same, in fact worse!

“It was fine” Suresh replied curtly.

“Ok! Freshen up fast, dinner is ready. I have made your favourite Aaloo parathas.” Priya made another attempt at cheering up. Priya knew that her husband gets very hungry by the time he returns from work and any unnecessary questions often made him angry. So she decided to wait until she brings up the topic.

Both of them silently had dinner. While Priya was doing the dishes, Suresh went to the balcony for a smoke.

Priya was determined to hit the bull’s eye today! She couldn’t see Suresh so restless. She had known the reason; in fact, she had known it for years! But she could never brace up enough courage to confront Suresh. After all, she couldn’t risk their relation to revive an old one! She took a deep breath, mustered all the courage and brought up the topic.

“Suresh, mummy ji had called today. She was worried about you. Why weren’t you answering her calls? For how long would you ignore her?” Priya asked while making the bed. She somehow wanted to get Suresh talking. Suresh never discussed much about his mother but never stopped Priya from having a cordial relationship with her.

Suresh preferred to be not poked when he is upset, so Priya was carefully trying to make the dreaded conversation with him. All her attempts had failed so far for so many years, and today’s attempt didn’t seem different either. Even then, she was hoping that this direct confrontation would do some magic, but who knows if it would be like a boomerang! 

“Suresh… I am talking to you baby.”

Suresh responded only by exhaling circles of smoke.

“Suresh, now enough is enough ok? Please don’t overdo” Priya commanded pulling out the cigarette from his hand. She didn’t wait for even a second to throw it in to the ash tray.

Few seconds passed by and both of them were staring in to each other’s eyes. Priya’s eyes were questioning and Suresh’s eyes were pleading.

Suresh hugged Priya tight, burried his face between her neck and shoulder trying hard to control the sobs. 

“Is there something that you want to talk to me?” asked Priya lovingly. She was slowly running her fingers from his hair. She knew it soothed him, always!

Next Day:

“Ma, I am sorry. I am very sorry! I said what I said out of anger that day. I don’t mean it at all. I know you haven’t estranged me from my dad. I know you were not responsible for his death. I know you have always loved me the most, yeah, more than dad did. I am sorry Ma for distancing myself from you for so many years. I am sorry for blaming you for all wrong things. I am sorry for being rude. I am sorry for not being a good son! Please forgive me Ma. My pain of losing dad had made me blind and I failed to see that you were as shattered as I was, may be more. I failed to distinguish the right from wrong, good from bad, family from foes. I am sorry Ma – for not being your strength in your toughest time. I am sorry Ma, I am sorry for everything!” Sitting at his mother’s feet, Suresh was crying inconsolably. 

“Beta” Ma said helping Suresh to his feet. She couldn’t control the tears that had welled in for so many years now. With a quivered voice she continued “Beta, you were not wrong. You saw what you were shown. Circumstances were such that we could never clear the misunderstandings between us and after your dad passed away, the so called “relatives” took benefit and increased the distance between us. But Beta, as you grow old, you must learn to judge people. You must learn to see who loves you and who is using you.”

“Ma, I see everything clearly now. I promise I will never be a bad son again. Won’t you give me another chance Ma, please? Will you please move in with us Ma?” Suresh pleaded with folded hands.

“I will Beta, I will” Now Ma was crying, more of tears of joy! In spite of all the pain that the destiny and her own son had given her, she couldn’t stop loving him. She lovingly held Suresh’s head and kissed him on his forehead.

Ma hugged Suresh and he never felt more loved. He held her tight, with closed eyes he pictured all his childhood that he had spent in Ma’s warm care. With Ma still in his embrace, when he finally opened his eyes, he saw Priya standing at the door. He showed her a thumbs up! And a smile broke on his face.

Priya blew kisses in return. Her efforts of 5 years had paid off today! She was successful in making Suresh apologize to his Ma and renew the relationship between them.

Love never dies! Don’t let misunderstandings hamper any relationship. It’s not worth it. The years lost in withdrawal are lost forever; you can never make up for them. And life may not always give you a second chance. Do not hesitate to apologize if required. It mends the relationship faster than any other reconciliation. Respect relationships, nurture them!

via Daily Prompt: Lovingly

Thank You Mr Right! Part III

You may want to read Part I & Part II before proceeding.

3 Days later:

“I am glad that you agreed to meet me Sona” Pranay said taking Sanika’s hand in his.

“You can call me Sanika!” said Sanika firmly, taking her hand away from his grip.

“Okkk!!! Easy, easy” Pranay tried to make peace after understanding that Sanika is in no mood to talk any lovey dovey things.

“Can we come straight to the point please? Why have you called me here?” demanded Sanika

“I wanted to meet you Sanika. It’s been ages! I wanted to see how my Sona is doing.”

“Pranay, I reiterate, please call me Sanika. I am not Sona anymore!”

“Has everything changed Sanika?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Come on, we have fought even before, but we have always patched up, haven’t we?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Sanika, I don’t want to lose you again. You have no clue how madly I have tried to connect to you! You had blocked me from all social media, you never answered my calls, I tried calling you from different numbers but no luck! That day when I saw you on the metro, I was soooooo happy to see you Sanika. You can’t imagine how I have managed to trace you in this country!”

“So, you were stalking me since that day?” asked Sanika sternly looking straight into his eyes

“Nooooooo… well, yes!” said Pranay sheepishly.

“Sanika, I know that even you are happy to meet me!”

“Who said?”

“I just know Sanika! I just know!!”

“How did you manage to find me after that day?”

“I saw your company’s logo on the backpack you were carrying. It was obvious that you must be put up in a hotel close to the company’s office. A little inquiry here and there and I found out where you are staying. I used to hang around the place every evening and I saw that you would go to the pub every night. Finally, last Friday I gathered some courage to enter the same pub and I had planned to face you there. I saw you at the bar counter. You looked beautiful as always! I was about to reach the counter but saw you getting up and going somewhere. I followed you. I could make out that you were heavily drunk. Suddenly you disappeared in the crowd. I went berserk! Soon, I saw a group of people gathering near a wall. I rushed there and I saw what I was afraid of! I saw you lying there, unconscious! I picked you up and took you to your hotel. I ensured that you were safe in your bed and I left the place. I had given my card to the hotel manager to give you!”

“Yeah, thank you so much Pranay, really!”

“Thank you? That’s all I get?”

“Yes Pranay! What else do you expect?”

“I want you back Sanika”

“That’s not possible”

“It is possible! It will be a little tough, but it will be possible.”

“Excuse me, are you kidding me?”

“Absolutely not Sanika! I mean it damn it!”

“It’s too late Pranay”

“Better late than never!”

“It’s not possible and you can’t force me!”

“I am not forcing you Sanika. I just know that you are willing to come back to me. I see it in your eyes. I can understand you very well even now! That day, you lied to me on the metro! You were not going to meet any friend for dinner. You just wanted to run away from me. You were rubbing your temples with the index finger when you told me you are getting down from the metro, you still do that when you lie! I understand you well Sanika, don’t I? I know you inside out Sanika. Trust me I will treat you well this time. I won’t give you a chance to complain..”

“Shhhh… Pranay, calm down, please. First, you are right, I lied to you that day. Second, you may be understanding me well even today, but Pranay, I don’t want to come back to you! Do you understand what I am saying? I DON’T WANT TO COME BACK TO YOU! “

“Sanika, I am sorry, I was a fool to let you go that time. I can’t repeat the mistake! I don’t want to lose you again” pleaded Pranay.

“You have lost me long time back dude. I belong to someone else now!”

“Why the hell did you come to meet me then??” Pranay asked angrily, banging his fist on the table.

Calm as she always was, Sanika replied firmly “Because I wanted to overcome my guilt, my fear! Ever since you dumped me, I feared of any relationship. I feared that I will never be loved. This fear was so deep that in spite of meeting a person who loves me to the core, I feared that someday he will dump me. We got married later on. Fear started taking a back seat and guilt started taking over. I was guilty that in spite of having a husband who is just perfect, I would still secretly think about you often, in ways like, its Pranay’s bday, oh, this is Pranay’s favourite colour, Pranay’s favourite dish and what not. After few years, we were blessed with a princess. Life was beautiful again. But I would often think about how the things would have been if you had not dumped me. You had made such a deep impact on me. I feared all my life until now that someday, this impact will show up and will spoil my marriage. I was groped by fear and guilt at the same time.To add to the turmoil, I happened to meet you on the metro that day. Althoug I ran away from facing you, I was very very disturbed by this meeting. It brought back all the memories I tried forgetting all these years. I couldn’t take this burden for long. And I gathered some courage and planned to face you today! If I am able to walk away from you today, there will be no looking back. I shall be free of guilt of having you on my mind and also from the fear of you spoiling my present relationships. For now, Mr Right is with me. I wanted to meet you to thank you for everything that you did to me! I am a stronger person today. I now know what relationships are really.

Sanika took Pranay’s hand in both her hands, pressed it gently and said “Thank you & Goodluck!”

She gracefully rose from the seat and walked away quietly. Pranay kept looking at her till she disappeared.

Sanika got into her car and typed a message:

“Thank you Mr Right! You rock, as always. You are my knight in shining armour. I don’t know what I would have done, if you were not around to guide me at every step! Love you to the moon and back”

That was her response to Atul’s message she had received a day after they argued over the video call. The message said

“Sanu, I am sorry, I was a bit upset with you. It’s ok to have memories and we must live with them but we must ensure that these memories don’t spoil our present and future. I trust you fully and I KNOW you haven’t cheated on me. I just want you to do one thing. Please go and meet Pranay. Yeah, I want you to go and face him. Have a heart to heart talk. That is the only way to come over your guilt and fear you told me about. I trust the love between us and I am confident that there is nothing in this world that can keep you away from me. Just go and face him Sanu. I will be waiting to hear from you”

No sooner did Sanika reply, she received another message from Atul

“Thank God! 2 days was a long wait. I thought I lost you! But since I know that you are a bit delayed, differently abled child of mine, I decided to wait. You did it girl! I love you more! 😛 😛 :P”

Sanika was quick to respond “Yeah, yeah.. call me a retard like always! Nevermind, I still love you!”

Atul’s reply: “Tedha hain par mera hain!! 😉 😉 ;)”

……… And they lived happily ever after! ❤ <3<3

Relationships are all about trust! Trust can make you and your relationship stronger. Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes, you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens!

Thank You Mr Right! Part II

You can read Part I here

Pranay and Sanika were dating during college years. It was a solid relationship with the right blend of space and possessiveness between the two. While Pranay was more dominating, Sanika was pretty subdued and calm. Pranay was quite short tempered and Sanika was easy going and full of patience. They balanced each other so well. Look wise and nature wise both, they complimented each other just perfectly. This “madly in love” couple was a talk for the whole college and everybody admired their relationship. It was so different from other college time affairs which usually lasts till college gets over and at times, only until a new love is found!

But destiny had other plans. Pranay and Sanika had to part ways a year after they finished their MBA program. Sanika did her best to convince Pranay but he had put his foot down. Pranay had chosen his parent’s wish over his own and hence he had agreed to get married to the girl of their choice. Sanika could remember their parting day very clearly. She could vividly remember each word of their conversation that day.

“Pranay, I wouldn’t be able to live without you”

“It’s nothing like that Sanika. It’s a matter of time. You will learn to live without me.”

“Pranay, are you out of your mind?? What do you mean by you will LEARN?? It’s not something that I want to learn ok?”

“We don’t have a choice Sanika!!!”

“Who says?? We have a bloody choice Pranay. Please don’t marry that bitch.”

“Mind your language Sanika. I have told you n number of times and I am going to repeat it for the last time. Please understand it completely. SANIKA, I CANNOT MARRY YOU. I HAVE MADE UP MY MIND TO MARRY SARITA BECAUSE MY PARENTS WANT ME TO!”

“…Because your parents want??? And are you going to be happy with her? Would you be able to love her as much as you have loved me? Would you be able to pamper like you pampered me? Will she blush like me when you give her that naughty look? Will she shudder like me when you touch her? Will she be able to cope with your temper like I do? Pranay, will she love you the way I do???”

“Sanika, it’s going to be a marriage not a love story from Mills & Boon. Everything will fall in place.”

“Really? Everything is going to fall in place??? How? By getting married to someone whom you don’t love a bit? What is the point Pranay?? Both of us are going to be unhappy if we marry somebody else and in turn we are going to spoil their life too. Four lives are at stake Pranay. Please don’t be so cold. Do you understand what you are going to do????”

“Sanika you are not the type of a girl my parents want. They will not be happy with you!”

A shrill doorbell zapped Sanika out of the memory. She took a moment to compose herself and opened the door.

“Enjoy the breakfast mam!” said the room attendant holding the tray containing bacon, eggs and orange juice.

Sanika would normally go to the dining area and eat breakfast but today she woke up late. She was having a hangover from last night. Her head was spinning and she had practically killed herself by trying to remember what happened last night after she passed out. She had no memory of how she reached hotel room. She made a mental note to check with the hotel manapger later in the day. All that she could remember was that she had set time with Atul for a video call.

How much ever hungry she was, she could do nothing more than nibbling at the food. It felt as if she had lost the desire not just to eat or sleep but to live as well! She had barely finished an egg when her laptop beeped. She could see that Atul had logged in.

“Hello Mumma” said little Aarvi from the other side of the globe.

“Hello beta….How have you been my princess?”

“Mumma I am katti with you!” said Aarvi with blown up cheeks and a little finger raised close to the camera in her laptop.

“Awww… don’t do that baccha… what happened? Why is my baby upset?”

“You didn’t call us last whole week. I was missing you. But daddy said you are busy.

“Yes Beta, I was very busy. I am sorry for not calling you up baby. How about getting some new toys for my honeybunch instead?”

“Yayyy!!!! Mama I want Doctor’s set and a doll house too” exclaimed Aarvi

“Done Beta. I will get them for you. Ok, where is Dada?”

“I am here sweetheart!” Atul said popping his head in the frame.

“Atul….” Sanika could barely speak ahead. She had a tough time controlling tears.

Atul could make out that Sanika is disturbed and wants to discuss something serious.

“Beta go.. see if the doggy has eaten his food. Why don’t you play with him for some time, I will come and join you in 5 mins” He sent Aarvi away so that he could talk to Sanika.

“What happened Sanu?”

“Nothing” Sanika managed to speak in between her sobs.

“Don’t you want to share with me?”

“Atul…I drank yesterday.”

“What??”

“Yeah… And I have been doing this since a week”

“Wah re meri Bevdi, what you had?” Atul said mischeviously.

“Shutup Atul, it is not funny” Sanika started sobbing even more.

“Ok..Ok.. tell me properly, what happened?”

“I drank”

“Okkkaayyyy, and may I ask you why?”

“Pranay”

“What??????”

“I drank because of Pranay. I happened to meet him on the metro last week. And ever since then I don’t know what has happened. I feel angry, I feel sad, I feel guilty, I feel everything at the same time. I can’t stop thinking about him and I get angry as to why is he having so much impact on me. Then I feel guilty that I am cheating on you and again I feel very angry knowing that Pranay had hurt me so much……..” blurted Sanika in one breath and broke down.

“Sanu… relax.. calm down. Drink some water first.” Atul ordered with a very somber face.

Sanika obeyed at once.

“Now tell me, what about Pranay?”

“Atul, I love you, I really do and you have to trust me on this.” Sanika was pleading.

“Sanika I know. Will you please tell me what happened exactly?” This time Atul sounded very serious and assertive.

“I had gone shopping last weekend and while returning I saw Pranay with his family – wife and two sons. We exchanged greetings and I hopped out of the metro two stations earlier because I couldn’t deal with all that. I was not prepared to cross paths with him. All the anger that I have had for him for so many years flooded my heart and mind and I didn’t know what to do. I was disturbed, I couldn’t concentrate at work and the nights were even more difficult. I lost sleep and would keep thinking about the metro incident again and again. It brought back all the hurt and insult Pranay made me go through so many years ago. I couldn’t pitty myself more so I started putting more hours at work and would go to a pub every evening. All alone. And I took to drinking to over-come these stupid thoughts.” Sanika explained feeling guilty to the core.

“What did you say about cheating? Did you do something which you shouldn’t have?”

“Yes Atul. I drank in your absence. And I did so for a very stupid reason. I am spoiling my present because of my past. Pranay is creeping into my personal space which belongs to you and Aarvi only. I fail to understand why a person who I thought was a dead past is disturbing me so much? Why is he making me feel so vulnerable??”

“What did you guys do?”

“Nothing! Just exchanged greetings.”

****************************VERY LONG PASUE***************************

“Wait a min, what do you mean Atul?”

****************************VERY LONG PASUE***************************

“Atul, I am clean, please trust me.”

****************************VERY LONG PASUE***************************

“Sanika, when we began this journey, we had promised that come what may we will always be together. I hope you don’t give me a reason to break this promise. We had promised each other to put the past behind us, didn’t we?”

“Atul, I swear on God, I swear on Aarvi I am clean and I haven’t broken my promise to you.”

“Then what the hell are you talking about?? Pranay creeping in to your personal space???” Atul could not control the anger that had filled him from top to bottom.

“Atul, Its not what you are thinking. I am unhappy about the fact that how Pranay is having so much effect on me and that too after so many years. More over, when he was not important to me for all these years. I told you that I am clean and I haven’t broken any of our promises. You have to trust me Atul!” Sanika said with a quivering voice, barely able to control the tears that made way slowly to her cheeks.

Ok, if you say so!” uttered Atul indifferently.

Sanika couldn’t bear this coldness from Atul and broke down again.

“Sanika, please get done with your crying and call me when you are ready to discuss a serious conversation”

Call disconnected. Atul’s status changed to Offline.

Sanika was hurt and upset. Never before she regretted anything as much as she regretted having coming to Switzerland for a Short Term Assignment (STA)

…… to be continued

Thank You Mr Right! Part I

A Vodka, neat please.” Ordered Sanika to the bar- tender.  She was sitting on a high chair at the bar of  Brasserie du Château. This was the most happening pub in Switzerland. The music was loud and the bar was full with young girls and boys making the best out of a Friday evening. This place was a newly found solace for Sanika ever since she briefly met Pranay last week. She thought the loud music and highly energetic crowd will keep her away from Pranay’s thoughts but little did she know that Pranay was there to stay!

Ever since last week, she was feeling extremely uneasy. Pranay would normally bring a smile on her face but what was so different this time that his mere sight just pushed her deep down into a depression she thought she had long coped with.

Three drinks down, Sanika would normally transfer in a trance where she would lose connect with her inner-self and enter a land of ecstasy. She would dance till she was drop dead tired and then head straight to her hotel room which was just a block away. All this – only to keep Pranay’s thoughts away from her. Three drinks would do the trick; after all she was only a week old drinker! But it was different today. The busy days at work and tiring nights at pub had stopped helping Sanika now.

Frustrated, she just decided to call it a day. “Check, please.”  Gestured Sanika to the waiter who arrived with the bill in no time. She swiped her credit card and pushed herself off the chair. With alcohol eating up her senses, she didn’t know where exactly she was heading to. Her legs refused to bear her weight and her head was pounding badly. Soon she felt walls closing in to her and then she passed out.

 

To continued…….

I Love You The Most in My Heart!

She: So… this is it?
He: Yes. I am sorry
……… silence………
……… silence………
………more silence………

She (with welled eyes): Ok then! I should be going.
He: I am sorry. Please dont cry!

She: You need not apologise, its my mistake! I should have known that you are not prepared for a comittment.

…….. A long pause …………..

She: Hope we never cross paths again

She picks her bag and leaves.

Rohan’s mind ran the past like a film in front of his eyes when he saw Radhika in his son’s school
10 years after they broke up.

Rohan was hesistant to move from that spot but his son pulled him by his hand saying “Papa come on… we are getting late for the PTM (Parents Teachers Meet)”

Rohan followed Aarav to his classroom with a very heavy heart. The classroom was full and noisy with children and parents, everyone chattering with everyone!

“Hello Mr Singh! Aarav’s mom didnt come today??” Asked a lady who Rohan assumed to be a mom of Aarav’s some friend.

“Hi.. no she had an appointment with the doctor so I had to come!”

“Hope all is well.” The lady expressed her concern for Aarav’s Mom

“Yeah.. just routine checkup. Do you know how long this PTA will take? I have to rush to office” Rohan said – not being sure himself about if he really wanted to rush to office or to go look for Radhika again.

“Well.. now the teacher will come, brief for 15 mins and next 15 mins will be spent on giving feedback to parents individually.”

“Damn!” Murmured Rohan realising that it would be impossible to look for Radhika 30 minutes later. His thought process was broken with a loud chorous of “Goooooood Mooooorninggg Teaaaacchheeerrr…..”

Rohan couldnt believe what he saw. Radhika had walked in with a bunch of assessment sheets. She looked beautiful even today. She had draped saree gracefully and a bindi on her forhead gave her a matured look which she carried perfectly. Rohan didnt miss to notice mangalsutra in her neck and something pinched his heart.

For next ten minutes Rohan couldnt understand what was happening in the PTA because his mind was flooded with Radhika’s memories. He was awestruck to know that although his mind had ruled his heart for over 10 years now, every bit of Radhika’s memories are still intact in the deepest corner of his heart.

He thought he had a brief eye contact with Radhika while she was addressing the parents and all the suppressed love came gushing back! How he wanted to held her in his arms, kiss her on the forehead and apologise for hurting her so bad 10 years ago… but only if he could really do it!

He anxiously waited his turn for meeting the teacher. Slowly most of the parents dispersed with their children and in the end only Aarav, Rohan and Radhika were left in the classroom.

“So.. Mr Singh, welcome to Sacred Heart School. Mrs Singh didn’t come today?” Radhika greeted formally.

“Uuuhh.. No.. she had an appointment with the doctor so i came!” Exclaimed Rohan unsure of whether he made sense.

Radhika briefed him about his son’s progress but Rohan was lost in her deep kohol filled eyes. Radhika’s was so beautiful! Straight nose pierced with a small diamond. How he used to love this diamond 10 years ago too! Perfect pouty lips brushed with a pastle pink lip colour. How he used to love her lips 10 years ago too!
He was not sure if Radhika caught him staring blank at her and suddenly something zapped him back to sense, it was Radhika’s cold but loud voice.

“Thank you for attending this meeting Mr Singh” Radhika repeated the third time with a straight face.

“…. so this is it?” He said
“Yes.” She said firmly.

……..silence…..
….more silence…

” ok then! I should be going” he said with eyes welling up.

“Hoping to see Mrs Singh next time. Wishing her a speedy recovery!” She said

“Thanks! Take care… He grimaced but could hide the worry  in his voice.

……. long pause………

“Dont worry, this time around I am strong!” She said, unsure of why she made that remark!

He picked up his bag and left.

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The Truimph Over the Devil’s Eye – Part 6

The story of Sayed and Gayatri’s unconditional love is back! Catch up the reacap here:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

“Saab ji.. Saab ji.. somebody has sent you flowers” Kamla was calling out Sayed

“Please take those flowers and tip the delivery boy Kamla, I will see later who has sent it” Replied Sayed from his bedroom. He was getting ready for work hurriedly since he was already half an hour behind the schedule.

Kamla looked at the flowers admiringly and thought who would have sent this to Sayed. She flipped through the card attached to the flowers but couldn’t understand nothing since it was written in English. She thought it must be one of Sayed’s clients and kept it aside. She rushed to the kitchen since she was in the middle of making mutton kheema for Sayed. It was Sayed’s favourite meal.

Sayed was feeling lost. He was surprised for the thoughts from the previous day still hovering over him. He had never thought about Nasreen so much before, then why all of a sudden now? He realized that he was actually missing her. He brushed all the thoughts aside and hurried down stairs for breakfast.

“Kamla, get the breakfast please…. And please be quick, I have to rush to work, I am 45 mins late already you see.”

“La rahi hu Sahabji…..” howled Kamla from the kithchen. While waiting for the breakfast, Sayed flipped through newspaper to catch a glimpse of what’s happening in the world. Not wanting to absorb negativity right in the morning, he hurriedly gave most of the pages a miss which reported rape, crime and politics. He happened to stop at the zodiac center which briefed how the day is going to be for each zodiac sign.

He read out for Virgo “You will meet someone who will change your life forever. Love shall knock on your door.”

“…Silly fortune tellers!” he said to himself.

“Saabji, mereko aaj thode paise lagenge. Memsab ki dawaiya lani hai. Aur ghar ka kuch saman bhi lana hai.” Kamla said to Sayed while serving him Kheema Pav and Tea.

“Ye lo Kamla. “ Sayed handed over Rs 5000 to Kamla.

“Shuriya Saabji, Mai apko sham ko sare bill de dungi, aur bache hue paise bhi”

“Kamla…how many times do I have to tell you, I trust you. You can keep rest of the money for household expenses. I don’t need to see the bills.”

Kamla was indeed a righteous woman. Very honest and truthful, who would never think about cheating anyone!

“Shukriya.. shukriya Saabji… Aur ha.. wo phool… aapke liye aye hai” said Kamla pointing at the flowers she had carefully placed on the center table in the drawing room.

Sayed was feeling fresh and enthusiastic after a long time. He was just about to leave for work when he remembered the flowers. He checked the card and a smile crawled slowly on his face. The note read

“Thank You for a wonderful evening. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since yesterday.

Love,

Nasreen”

Sayed picked up those flowers and carried them with him to his office. This was the thing that got him smiling after ages and so he wanted them in front of his eyes all day long!

“Madam, flowers have been delivered”

“Who collected them?” Nasreen had received a confirmation call from the flower vendor for the delivery he made as per Nasreen’s instructions.

“A woman took them madam”

“BINGO!!! Thank you!” Nasreen was to know that the flowers had reached Sayed’s house as per the plan.

She was ecstatic that she made her first move today! She was a step closer to break the relation between Sayed and Gayatri. FM Radio played a song in the background

‘Tumhe apna banana ka junoon sar pe hi…. Kabse hi….’

Nasreen’s phone beeped to signal a message. She jumped to see who it was and was so thrilled to see it coming from Sayed. She was not expecting Sayed to get talking so openly so fast, but this was a surprise!

The message read “Thank you for the flowers! They are beautiful but not more than you. Some things never change

……………..

………………

……………….

……………….

You still like to flirt with me, don’t you? 😛 “

Nasreen was fuming after reading this message. The rage that built in her was uncontrollable. She hurled her mobile away and banged her fist on the wall repeatedly.

“Shit, shit..shit…. how did Sayed receive flowers? Those flowers and the message on them was for Gayatri, why did he read that? I had carefully timed them later than when he leaves for work. Damit!!!” Nasreen was speaking to herself.

Maniac that she felt she was, rushed to grab her diary to make a note.

“Dear Gayatri,

You missed the flowers today. But soon you will receive them upon your burial. Insha Allah” dated 15^th July, 2016

To be continued………….

The Triumph Over the Devil’s Eye – Part 5

You can read previous parts here:Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

“Hi sweetheart, how was your day? Had fun?” Gayatri asked Sayed very lovingly. She was happy that Sayed had gone out. She never liked him hovering around her because she could see that he has given up on his social outings and friends because of her. It made her feel guilty.

Sayed couldn’t understand whether Gayatri was sarcastic. However, he realized that he had not mentioned to her that he was going out with Nasreen specifically. Gayatri was sleeping when he had left, and he had instructed Kamla to just tell her that he has gone out with a friend. He trusted his maid on that.

“It was nice. But I missed you.” Half lied Sayed

“Aww..why??? It’s after ages that you stepped out, and why was your mind preoccupied with my thoughts?” countered Gayatri

“Come on Gayatri, you know I think about you 24/7”

“I know. And that is what I want to stop from happening. I am aware that there are days when I don’t recognize you at all. There are days when I act like a maniac. And you still keep me lovingly. I don’t want you to waste your life for me Sayed.”

“What’s wrong with you Gayu? Why are you on this guilt trip?”

“I don’t know. It’s not now. It’s been months that I have been thinking about this. I want to ask you something.”

“About?”

“About my treatment”

“What about your treatment?”

“Sayed I want to stop the medication. I am bugged with it. And it doesn’t seem to help me much anyway”

“Okkk…. And what do you want to do?”

“I understand it can be very difficult for you to handle me if the medication is stopped. But I have a suggestion. I read on internet about a natural healing center in Kerala. They treat patients like me with the help of Reiki and meditation. Obviously they take a long time to show results but lot of patients have provided their testimonials about how good their experience was. See this….. here you will find all the information.” Said Gayatri, opening the website of health care center.

“Who gave you this clue?”

“Kamla”

“What????”

“Yes, Kamla told me about this and I just googled out of curiosity.”

“Gayatri are you nuts? Kamla is just a domestic help, how on earth can she guarantee about such places?”

“I understand Sayed, but Kamla told me something today which we have not known before. Kamla has a daughter. She suffered from hallucinations and her condition was something similar to mine. Kamla’s family believed that someone had performed black magic on her and that’s why she became like that. But nobody really knows for sure what the root cause was. Since they couldn’t afford elite doctors and treatment, they decided to try this medical center. It’s been 5 years now. Kamla’s daughter has fully recovered. Now she is studying in a municipal school. She is quite behind in academics because of the years she lost with this illness, but she is happy that she is leading a normal life now.” Gayatri was explaining to Sayed very intently.

“Don’t think about all these things Gayatri. It may work in one of a case but not always. People struggle to come to Mumbai for treatments and you want to go to some village to cure yourself?”

“But Sayed what’s the harm in trying it? We did try best of the treatments for almost 3 years now, didn’t we? It didn’t help me. We have lost so much money already. One more attempt with a different outlook. And there is nothing to lose really. Their cost is just bare minimum”

“We will talk about it some other time Gayatri. Come, let’s go off to sleep” said Sayed pulling Gayatri in his arms.

Nasreen was lying on her bed and was replaying the entire day in her mind. She was very happy and couldn’t stop smiling to herself thinking about the day that was well spent with Sayed.Then suddenly she sprang up to her feet and trudged to get her diary

“I need to throw some more charm over Sayed and I must think how to get rid of that insane Gayatri. I can have Sayed all to myself then.” Nasreen made a note in her diary, dated 14^th July 2015.

To be continued………

The Chase of Love – Part 2

You can read Part 1 here

“Hey… you there… who are you?” shouted Sun when he saw a stranger entering his land.

This shout startled Munmoon and she came back to senses all of a sudden! She took a moment to compose herself and replied “Hi! I am Munmoon”

It was the first time that Sun had heard such a sweet voice. When Munmoon came closer, Sun realized that this stranger was indeed so beautiful!

“Hi, I am Sun. Nice meeting you!”

“My pleasure”

“What brings you to this hot land?”

“Actually, I eloped from my land because my parents were marrying me off to some stupid Moon. I did not love him and hence did not want to marry him but my parents wouldn’t understand. So I left my land in search of love. I happened to meet Cloudy while I was travelling alone and we became friends. Would you like to be my friend too?”

Sun was quite amused with the honest reply and was at once attracted towards Munmoon because of her spontaneous proposal of friendship.

“Why not?” said Sun stretching out his hand towards Munmoon.

“You are so Hot!!” Munmoon pulled her hand back as soon as they shook hands.

“Well, I take that as compliment..” said Sun winking at Munmoon

Munmoon and Sun had clicked well. Munmoon was so happy to find a new companion. They both shared a good chemistry. They were happy to find true love.

“Why do you emit so much light and heat?” asked Munmoon

“Its my duty. If I don’t, there will be darkness everywhere and it will attract the evil”

“Rubbish!! Moonland is always dark, but no Moon is evil. Don’t you get tired by pouring out this heat all the time?”

“I do, but I cannot stop doing it. My existence is only for emitting light and heat. God has told me that I have been given a very important job to do. This light and heat from me will revive life on something called as Earth.”

“Wow.. This sounds so interesting. Please share more details.”

“Well, i dont know much, but God said i should be true to my job and should lighten up each and every place in the universe.”

“But darling, you are failing to do so, for Moonland is always dark”

“Where is Moonland? I know only about Sunland. I am totally exhausted by giving light to just Sunland, i don’t know if I will be able to lighten up Moonland too!” Sun started crying. He was worried that he has angered God by not obeying his instructions

Munmoon was very sad to see her love weeping.

“Please don’t cry baby, I will help you to fulfill your responsibility. I will take you to the Moonland and you can emit light there too. While you are doing so, let the Sunland be dark for a while and you can come back here and provide light again. If you continue this cycle, you will be able to emit the whole universe turn by turn. After all God didn’t mention that you have to lighten the whole universe at the same time!”

Sun was very happy with Munmoon’s intelligence and with the thought that he shall be fulfilling his duty as instructed by God he agreed to go to the Moonland with Munmoon. At the same time, Munmmon thought it was a good opportunity to introduce Sun to her family under the pretext of helping him and gradually she will also inform them about her feelings towards Sun.

Soon Sun and Munmoon started travelling towards the Moonland. They were enjoying each other’s company. Sun was hot and Munmoon was calm and cool, both balanced each other. Also, Sun took special efforts to ensure that the heat doesn’t bother his love.

After few hours of travel, they reached Moonland. No sooner did Sun step into this land than the whole Moonland was litup.

Sun was so happy to see that he was able to light up another part of the universe that he never knew existed. He hugged Munmoon out of joy but got pushed away.

“Stay away from me!” screeched Munmoon. Sun thought it was because she felt shy to be in his arms in front of her family and relatives and rightly so. Little did he know that Munmoon had pushed him away because she couldn’t bear him so close to her because of his heat.

On the other hand, all the moons in Moonland were confused and scared to see this light for the first time ever. They were not used to this and the extreme heat of Sun was making them uncomfortable.

Since moon’s body was not designed to absorb heat, many moons started fainting one by one. Seeing this, other moons thought that Munmoon had angered the God by bringing this stranger with her and hence the whole Moonland is feeling the brunt.

One by one all the moons started dying.

“Sun, please stop emiting heat for a while. Moons are not able to bear it.” Requested Munmoon.

“I cannot, and you know it!” roared Sun.

“But you must because you are killing my relatives” Munmoon started sobbing looking at the condition of her fellow men.

How much ever Sun wanted to help improve the condition there he couldn’t because the moment he would go closer to help a weak moon, he would die instantly.

Munmoon saw her family and community dying in front of her eyes and she couldn’t help them! She had started feeling weak too.

“Why did you kill my family???” asked Munmoon in anguish

“I am sorry Munmoon. I didnt meant to. I cannot stop this light from me and unfortunately they could not resist it.”

“I am all alone now! My mom, dad, brothers, sisters, friends… everybody is dead!! What do i do now??”
“Marry me Munmoon. I love you. I will take care of you”
“Noway!! you will kill me too!!”

“No Munmoon, I promise, I will take a good care of you. We will pray for our relationship and God will bless you with immunity” Sun said coming closer to Munmoon
“Nooooooooooooooooooo… dont come close to me.. I HATE YOU.. you killed my family… you will kill me too..””” said Munmoon fearing death

Munmoon no longer wanted to be with the Sun for she knew that they can never exist together

She turned her back and started running away from the Sun
Sun was very sad to see her leave. Sun was heartbroken because Munmoon left him. But he was not going to give up so easily.
Although he was shattered, he gathered himself and started running after Munmoon. Munmoon had gone far away from the Moonland and Sun went after her. The Moonland was dark once again
Munmoon was very petite & she ran a lot faster than the Sun
She also deceived him by changing her size…. from full round she would gorw small and smaller to a crescent and by the time Sun would get accustomed to the crescent size… she would slowly go back to her original form.
Even today Sun is chasing Munmoon with the hope that she would marry him but Munmoon keeps dogging him.

And as a result of this chase, we experience the day and night alternatively!

First Love Second Chance

 

“Karan, if you are not coming then I am not going to get married…bol deti hu… haaa!!” yelled my first cousin from the other end of the phone.

“Oh come on Simmi, I have a business meeting out of Delhi on the same day but I promise that I will be present for your reception” I tried justifying myself.

“You are not coming for MY wedding?? Galat gal ya veere, tu apni Simmi de vyah vich nai aaunga? Aive ki kaam hega tinu?? Simmi was almost in tears.

“Sorry Simmi, I will have to go. It is very important”

“OK. But as a penalty you will have to give me whatever I ask for!!” demanded Simmi.

“Promise! Now cheer up and save some tears for bidai”

“Veere, you have promised me, yaad rakhiyo..!! Hun meri bhabhi da haath chadya te aa gal galat hougi… das deni ya haa..!!!

“Simmi.. now why are we talking about your bhabhi?? Don’t you know that I don’t like to discuss this?”

“Karan, trust me, all I want is to see you guys happy with each other. It kills me to see you going through a broken marriage.”

“There is no point Simmi. She loves someone else.”

“And you??”

“Shut up Simmi, don’t ask stupid questions. Chal I have to rush to office. Talk to you later” I banged the phone without listening to something that Simmi was still saying. I never liked the fact that ever since childhood Simmi could read my mind.

My broken marriage had become a talk of the town in Delhi. An alliance that was fixed only because our kundalis matched so well was hitting the rock bottom. I wonder why kundalis play such an important role in fixing marriages??

Each time these thoughts crept into my mind, I would find it very difficult to control the rage in me, but there was nothing I could do otherwise. After all, it was my decision to agree to my parent’s insistence of choosing Preetam over Nisha because Nisha’s and my kundali did not match.

******************************

Finally the day arrived! I was travelling to Delhi airport in Uber cab and was all simmered in my thoughts. I still failed to understand why I was so desperate that I lied to Simmi, so much so that I was ready to forego her wedding for this visit!

“Dude, I know why you are being so desperate. It’s because of Nisha…” said my inner voice.

“Shut up, it’s got nothing to do with her. Nisha is my past and one can’t live in the past.” I said to myself.

“Abe ye Nisha ka hi asar hi. Itne saal baad wo tumhe zara bhi bhav nahi dene wali. Ab tak to uski shadi ho chuki hogi aur shayad bacche bhi!” poked my inner voice. I it – same like how I had done when I had firmly told Nisha about parting ways.

I was not sure if Nisha would attend this wedding but I had a strong gut feeling that I will meet her there and it was just an impulsive decision to follow my heart! I didn’t make any effort to find out the probability of correctness of my heart. There was no way I could connect to Nisha because she had changed her mobile number long time back and I had deleted my account from practically all social media sites. The journey of moving on was though and these small things, like checking Whatsapp profile pictures, Facebook wall would make it even more difficult. And hence, I decided to cut myself from all the social media. Because of this I lost contact with most of my friends but I did manage to keep in touch with some of my buddies from MBA College at a personal level.

It was still dawn when I stepped out of the cab and walked towards the entry gate of the Delhi airport. The early morning February air was pleasantly cold. I was travelling to Bengaluru to attend a college friend’s wedding. It had been four years since we graduated from the same college. This wedding was also going to be a reunion of our batch mates. But what I didn’t know was that the reunion would begin much ahead of time; right in the queue in front of the airline counter.

I was almost sure it was she. Same height! Same long hair! Same complexion! Curiosity had my eyes glued to her. And then about 60-odd seconds later, when she turned, she proved me right. My ex-girlfriend stood two places ahead of me in that queue. We had never met after the college farewell.

“Nisha…” I meekly called out. I wasn’t sure whether I was calling her out really or I was talking to myself. But she heard me. She turned. OMG, she looked so gorgeous, just like she did back in college. Milky fair, brown long hair tied in a messy bun, strands of hair falling smoothly up to her left eye, sharp nose with a peacock blue stud… Beautiful..!!!

“Karan??? Oh my God…!” Nisha said pressing her hands on her cheeks. She seemed happy to see me.

“MAM.. YOUR CHECK IN IS DONE. HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT” the airline staff said very loudly, to gain Nisha’s attention. Nisha stepped aside and gestured that she will wait for me near the lounge.

 ******************************

I was waiting outside the lounge to compose myself before facing Nisha. My heart was thumping at a speed of 1000 beats a minute. I could see Nisha pacing to and fro in the lounge while biting her nails. Some things never change! Nisha still bites nails when she is anxious. I couldn’t believe I was going to talk to Nisha… after four long years!

“KARAN” called out Nisha loudly as soon as I entered the lounge and before I could understand she came running towards me and hugged me so tight!

I so much wanted to hold her as tightly; I wanted to run my fingers through her hair and wanted to kiss her on the forehead, like I always did.

Suddenly Nisha composed herself and said “Sorry…!”

“For what”

“Hmm.. Actually I was so happy to see you that I didn’t realize…”

“It’s alright.. No need to justify.. I liked what you did” I said winking at her.

Nisha blushed and she looked even more beautiful.

“So what brings you in Delhi? The last thing I knew about you was your campus recruitment with Citibank for Mumbai location!”

“Looks like you are still annoyed that I didn’t tell you until the day of farewell that I am moving to Mumbai. Well, I was here to visit my parents and now I am heading to Bangalore.”

“Office work?” I enquired

“Nahhh… Dimpy is getting married. Don’t you know?”

“I know I know… and guess what I am going for the same wedding!!”

Both of us could not believe that we are heading to the same place. It meant we were on the same flight.

******************************

“So… How’s life?” Nisha asked me munching on to the breakfast served in the flight.

We had managed to convince airhostess to make some arrangement and let us have the seats next to each other.

“Not bad.” I replied, not knowing what more could I tell her.

“So, how’s your wife?”

“How do you know that I am married?”

“Oh come on, the reason you ditched me was to marry a bitch whose kundali matched yours…” said Nisha little angrily.

“Nisha… you still use foul words? Well, and for your kind information, it was our mutual decision to part ways!”

“You didn’t give me any other option, did you?”

I could not answer that.

“Chalo koi nahi… honi ko kaun taal sakta hi!” Nisha said trying to settle the pensive mood.

“Nisha, are you married?”

“Yes.” I could feel that the question perhaps upset her, and I decided not to probe her further.

“Dude… she still loves you” declared my inner voice. And I ignored, as usual!

******************************

Within no time we reached Bangalore, the three hour journey seemed as short as three minutes. There was so much to catch up on and there was so much to tell each other, however both of us made conscious efforts to not discuss about our personal life. “Where are you located in Bangalore, Nisha?”

“Mercury Villa. It’s very close to the wedding venue. And you?”

“Millennium Avenue. So see you tomorrow at the wedding!”

That night was the longest night of my life. I couldn’t wait to see Nisha again. I was so anxious that I was tossing left and right in the bed and could not catch an ounce of sleep. All the time that I had spent with Nisha four years ago flashed in front of my eyes. And first time ever, I cried. I terribly missed her. Perhaps it took four years and one meeting after that to realize that I never stopped loving her. Never!

Next morning, I took reasonably more time than usual to get ready. I was wearing traditional attire and was curious whether Nisha would appreciate me. I reached the venue well on time. First thing I did was to scan the entire venue to find Nisha, but no luck!

Some things never change!! This girl was late that day too… like she always used to be..!! I went and greeted Dimpy. Dimpy was so happy to see me… little did she know what brought me to her wedding!! Soon I could see lot of familiar faces around. Many of my batch mates had arrived. It felt so good to meet them. Some were exactly as they were in college some other had changed a lot. After exchanging greetings, under the pretext of having a smoke, I made my way out of the wedding hall.

Bangalore was quite chilly and it felt wonderful to soak in tender sun and cold breeze at the same time. The moment I was going to light a cigarette Nisha arrived.

I missed a beat of my heart. She looked as beautiful as ever. In fact, four years that went by and perhaps marriage had brought in more maturity in her looks. Dressed in red lehenga, she looked even fairer. One thing that struck me was that in spite of being married she was not wearing sindoor, mangalsutra or bindi. I felt strange but thought that may be girls these days do not like to sport it.

“KARAN… idiot.. You still smoke!!??” yelled Nisha throwing my cigarette on the floor.

“Sorry… But what took you so long???”

“Did you miss me?” Nisha said with a naughty smile.

Ohhh… how I loved her!!

“I did… all these years” I said seriously.

“Hmm… did you meet any of our batch mates?” asked Nisha changing the topic.

“Yes, come let’s go join them.” I said sadly

“Don’t lose your heart. She loves you.” Said my inner voice. How I wished it was true!

******************************

This was the most beautiful day in my life. Wedding was fantastic and Nisha and I toured around the city later during the day. I had spent almost 12 hours with her. And now were walking down the quiet street to Mercury Villa. I was going to drop Nisha back to her hotel but how I wished I could take her with me instead.

It was late in the night and the city was in a slumber mood. Moon lit street, serenity all around, and Nisha and I walking so close to each other. Our fingers touched occasionally! It felt wonderful. How I wished that this moment could freeze forever, but good times end soon. There we were, standing at the gate of Mercury Villa. It was the time to say Goodbye. The last goodbye may be.

Innumerous thoughts were running around in my mind. Will we meet again? Will she let me stay in touch? Does she still love me?” but I had no answers to them.

And that very moment Nisha said something totally unexpected.

“Would you like to drop in for a cup of coffee?”

For a moment I didn’t understand whether Nisha was really asking this or I was dreaming! After an awkward pause, I said “I would love to.”

How could I lose this opportunity to spend more time with Nisha? Who knows if we were to meet ever again!

The room was cozy and was dimly lit. It made a great ambience for a heart to heart talk. Nisha quickly made coffee for both of us and we sat by the balcony overlooking the night sky and a city that was sleeping.

“Nisha, I am glad we met. I always had this tiny hope to see you again. I was insane to make that decision. I know it doesn’t make sense any more but I still love u Nisha. It’s going to be very difficult to say goodbye once again!”

“Why do you want to say a goodbye?” Nisha asked somberly.

“You mean you don’t mind if we stay in touch?”

“Karan, I don’t mind staying with you all my life. That’s the only thing I ever wanted. But I guess destiny had other plans for us.”

“Nisha, I don’t want to disturb your personal life by being in touch. I don’t want to overpower you emotionally. You belong to someone else now. It’s incorrect to poison your life with my love.” I said regretfully.

“I belong to no one Karan. I am all alone. Karan I need you.”

“Nisha, you said you are married.”

“Yes, but my husband died in an accident two years ago. And ever since then I am living this lonely life. So many times I felt like reaching out to you but I always stopped myself thinking that it is incorrect to do so. I did not want to disturb your married life. I didn’t want to make you unhappy. Hope you are happy with your life now!” Tears rolled down Nisha’s cheeks.

“What are you saying Nisha? I am so sorry to hear this.” I took Nisha in my arms to console her. I was feeling my girl after four years. This was an amazing feeling.

“Do you have children?” Nisha diverted the topic.

“No. And it’s better like that.”

“Why so?”

“Nisha I am going through a divorce.”

“WHAT???” Nisha said in disbelief.

“Yes. Preetam married me against her will because of family pressure. She loves some other guy. She doesn’t want this marriage. And maybe I lacked to be a good husband too. I could never give her the love of a husband. I could never keep her happy. How could I when I only thought about you and loved you all this while??” I said controlling my tears.

That night both of us cried our heart out in each other’s arms. After a long time it felt like love does exist!

It was the best reunion of my life.

I trust destiny more than ever now! If you are meant to be together, sooner or later you will be!Today I am married to Nisha with a beautiful daughter. And we have decided that we will not let kundali over power our daughter’s love!