It was just 6 am in the morning, and she hadn’t slept the previous nite. They had a big fight last nite and as always they spent the whole nite fighting over the phone and that had kept her awake all nite. Being the rude guy that he was, he had switched off his phone and repeated attempts to contact him were all in vain. And being the loving and affectionate girl that she was, she could not sleep. It was a long nite for her. What made her feel bad was that it has his birthday today and things just didn turn out the way she planned. She had planned lot of surprises for him and somehow everything backfired. She kept trying his number till dawn.
At 6am her phone rings, she in all excitement picks the phone and is all delighted to see a call from him. She was sure annoyed at him, but the selfless love she had towards him made her attend the call. Having stayed awake the whole nite in a very weary voice she managed to tell “Hi Rahul!!!”
And then when she heard what Rahul had to tell her, she first shook her head in disbelief, and didn believe him. Then as she kept speaking to him, she slowly came towards the window, moved the window curtain of her room to get a view outside, and yes Rahul was rite there at the gate waiting there with a bouquet in his hand. Tulips they were, her favorite flower, the very sight of which brightened her day. She shook her head, but she knew he was crazy and could go any extent to make her happy. Sometimes she wondered why they fight so much when they loved each other so much.
She walked towards the gate to meet him, and the moment he saw her, he ran towards her and even before she could say something he was down on his knees, looking deep in her eyes with a promise, and his hands stretched towards her. This was the day he had proposed her marriage. And the day she had agreed. They dreamt of a life together.
“Madam!!!, Do I go straight???” asked the cab driver. It has been 3 long years since she last travelled this road, but she still remembered the way to his house. In her pleasant voice she said “Yes, straight.”
It still appeared like it had all transpired yesterday. As the cab driver kept paddling his way through the slow moving traffic, she was all engrossed in her thoughts.
It was just last month Rahul’s mother had called her and informed her, that she wanted to meet her. Somehow Simran was hesitant. It was the same family that was against their marriage and now after all these years why were they keen on meeting on her? She had managed to get away that day by coming up with an excuse and managed to put it off very courteously. But Rahul’s mother kept calling her every day, and there was some intensity in her voice. Being the sympathetic girl that Simran was, she could not for long say a no to someone who was of her mother’s age. She finally agreed. But Rahul’s mother did say that she was planning a surprise for Rahul and Rahul wasn’t aware of her visit.
As the cab turned left and pulled to the corner to stop, she got down. She mulled over what it could be all about. As she started to walk, there was anticipation and excitement that began to brew within her. There was a smile on her face, a smile that was long lost.
She rang the door bell, hoping Rahul would come and greet her and seeing her he would hug her tight and say a sorry for having let her down, for having left her stranded mid-way through her life.
Rahul’s mother opened the door and welcomed Simran home. Simran knew that Rahul’s mother liked her and it was just circumstances that had forced them to depart. Simran was happy to be along with his mother who walked her into their house. As Simran was sitting and sipping through her coffee, she was getting restless.
“I knew you would come. That’s why I kept trying, for somehow I always knew that the two of you truly loved each other “, said Rahul’s mother.
Rahul’s mother enquired about Simran and what she was upto these days, and why she chose to not marry all these years?
“I wanted to learn to live life independently and I was all eager to complete my higher studies. So that’s kept me busy all this while. Marriage has never been on mind aunty.”
“Rahul!!!, haven’t you ever thought of him in the last 3 years???”
Simran just smiled.
“Rahul has never been the same without you. Ever since the two of you parted he has been living a very lonely life, keeps very much to himself, stay away from social life. I sometimes envy you Simran, the 5 years that you spent with him, you ve managed to love him more than what I ve loved him for the last 27 years. You mean the world to him. Though he lives for me, he has always been yours.”
Simran’s eyes on hearing this were wet.
“Don’t you want to meet him? I am sure the best gift I can give on his birthday is returning his only love to him.”
Concluding Part
