Perfect Birthday Gift (Concluding Part)

Click to Read Part 1

She walked up the stairs, not sure how this was all going to unfold. She was trying hard not to reflect and keep her feet grounded. His room door was ajar. She slowly opened the door and there he was engrossed in something in front of his laptop. She looked hard at him, and nothing about him had changed. He still looked the same. She was all overjoyed on seeing him. She wondered if she should call out his name or jus' hug him from behind and give him a surprise.

But time does change things, and three years sure is a long time. Though they lived and shared everything between them three years back, the distance over the years sure had brought in discomfort within her and so she decided to take things in a more ceremonial way. She cleared her throat hoping to make him turn. But he seemed to be totally deaf to her sound. She walked closer to him and, “Rahul?”

His head turned instantly, and he looked confused for a moment. They were both frozen in that moment. Hoping he would say something, she kept waiting, but having known him and trying to ease the situation she wished him “Happy Birthday Rahul!!!”

He still seemed lost, he asked her in a very timid voice, “Where is my birthday gift?” She was taken aback for a moment. All these years and this for sure was not something that she was expecting to hear from him. But she decided to play on, after all they were no strangers. She very artfully asked him what he wanted.

“I want something very special, which no one else has given me.”

She thought for a while, then grinned. She slowly leaned towards to him and gave me a warm peck on his cheeks. His face instantly turned red. He was all blushing.
Trying hard to look into her eyes he in a very demure voice thanked her.

She felt a little odd the way things were. Rahul was acting very strange. He didn’t show half the excitement or interest she had. She on various occasions during their conversations tried to talk him into about their past, but he sounded ignorant of all the focuses and was least unapologetic in his behavior.

Her excitement was beginning to die, and she was beginning to regret at her decision of having chosen to come back after all these years. Rahul had sure moved on, and it was very obvious in all his actions.

Knowing her presence there was of no significance and trying to clear the air around them, trying to end her agony she asked Rahul if he had nothing to ask or tell her after all these years. She drew a blank response from him. Growing impatient and deeply disappointed at his abrasive demeanor she asked him “I think I should leave?.”

“Okay, Byee...”

No sooner did he complete his phrase, she walked out slamming the door hard at him. And ran down the stairs with tears rolling fast from her eyes. Rahul’s mom on sensing something was wrong, ran towards the door and asked her what was wrong.
“Your son will never change!!! I feel sorry that I fell in love with your son. I wish I hadn’t come here today. Atleast I would ve lived with the thought that he still loved me.”

After couple of days,
Simran’s phone kept ringing repeatedly. But seeing it was Rahul’s mother, she refused to attend the calls. The following day, Simran was surprised to find Rahul’s mom at her door step. Even before Simran could say something,
“Thank you Simran for having come down at my request. This was the best birthday gift I could ve given him. He loved nothing and wanted nothing, other than you, all his life. I am happy at least on his last birthday I could give him a perfect birthday present. Rahul was suffering from Alzheimer's. I thought you would want to see him one last time yesterday.”

She placed her hands on Simran's shoulder and the next minute She silently turned around and walked away.


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The Day I Met Her

Perfect Bday Gift (Part 1)

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

Cruel Life

She has always been around me for the last year and a half. And since the time my loved one and my best friend made their absence conspicuous in my life, she has been my sole company ever since. Though during my initial days I used to not quite enjoy her company, over a period of time even without my knowledge she became an integral part of me life. I used to hate having to travel with her every day in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes I used to think of excuses to avoid her. But She slowly crept her way into my life. Very soon I started spending quality time with her, not just at office, even once I reach home I would be all hooked to her. I guess I was getting addicted to her, and today was the day I realized yes, I was addicted to her.


This morning I reached early to office, only to learn to my utter shock and dismay that she is critically ill. I was all getting restless. I contacted my family doctor and informed him about her. By now I had known her complete health history and so I was in a good position to answer most of the doctors queries. The doctor asked me to rush her to his clinic. Seeing my all scared and nervous my collegue cum friend offered to join us. We reached the doctors place. And the doctor took her into the consultation room, and all along I was keeping my fingers crossed and praying for the best.

After a while the attendant came and called me into the consultation room, I walked with shaky feet, mentally preparing myself. She was rite there lying on the bed, but she was sleeping, seemed like the doctor had administered anesthesia to her. She looked all dull and pale.

The doctor put his hand on my shoulder and told me with utter sympathy. “Sorry, Fazal!!!!”

I wanted to cry. By this time my friend came by and held me from behind. I didn’t want to give up. I asked the doctor if I can take her anywhere outside, and if there is something that I could do. He shook his head and said, that it’s not possible for anyone to get her back to normal now.

I sat down at the chair with my hands on head, and looked remorsefully at her. Seeing all the wires that were running through her body I felt miserable. I again looked upto the doctor and asked him, now what?

And that’s when the world came crashing down on me. I cried aloud when the doctor broke the news. In a fit of rage I screamed at him asking “WHAT ABOUT ALL MY DATA!!!!”

Yes, now that he had confirmed that he had to reformat my laptop, what about all my data. All my official work, the thousands of official mail that I had archived, all my personal data, what about it?

Today was the day my dear little Dell Latitude E6400 crashed.

The day I Met Her (Conculding Part)

To read Part1 - Click here


I must have rehearsed my lines a hundred times in front of the mirror last nite. But then today the same lines seemed new to me. The excitement within me was growing, and my body was going cold in anxiety. I no longer needed to close my eyes to get a glimpse of her. She was always on my mind; her pretty face was at all times infront of my eyes.

It was time, the time I had been waiting for the last 27 days had finally arrived. And I wanted to live this moment, for I dint want to be sorry the rest of my life for not having told, what I felt about her. I took a deep breath, and for that one final time I rehearsed my lines. Yes, I was ready. Dressed in my best, wearing my favorite perfume I was exuberating with confidence now. Before I could enter her place, I lifted my feet backward and rubbed my shoes against the back of my trousers for that last bit of detail.

I gently leant towards my left trying to peep through the large glass pane to see if she was around. And the moment I found her, I could feel the blood rush through my feet, as if telling me to run away from that place as fast as I could. But no, this time my heart was in control my body, not my mind. I listened to my heart, and gently opened the door and entered her place.
My eyes were affixed on her. She looked even more beautiful this evening. Dressed in bright red, with her hair neatly falling behind her back, she looked like a girl who had just straight walked out of my dreams infront of my eyes. I looked at her, as her hair strands fell over her eyes as she was deeply engraved in her work. I was hoping for the time to freeze, as I had to this date never lived a moment as beautiful as this.

But what you wish is not what you always get in life, no sooner did her hair fall over her eyes, she lifted her head sideways tossing her hair backwards gently, our eyes met. And there was a bright sparkle in her eyes. Our eyes stayed locked at each other for a while, and this time I smiled first. She smiled back with gently dropped her eyes. I just missed my heart beat. Or was it because her heart had started beating for me?
As I started walking towards her, I kept my eyes affixed on her while she kept stealing silent glances. The world around me and the voices around me seemed to be growing faint, and all I could now hear was my heart pounding loud and fast. On a normal day I would ve died of stroke, but today I had a reason to live, and nothing could come my way. She was all that I wanted in life.

There I was right infront of her, with less than an arms distance separating the two, any further and I am sure she would ve heard my heard pounding as well. As she stayed seated, I bent forward to speak to her. She looked up towards me and in her charming voice greeted me. I greeted her back and stretched my arms on her table to lean against the table as our eyes continued to be lost in each other. She smiled in expectation looking deep into my eyes, hoping I would say something. I was awestruck at this beautiful woman in front of my eyes, and I had forgotten all my lines. All I knew was that this is reality, and my dream is on the verge of coming true.

Having given me enough time to speak and seeing my lost, she must have grown impatient. She asked me to take a seat. I sat down infront of her trying to comfort and regain my conscious.
While different thoughts kept racing in my mind trying to find their way out through my voice box, there was one strong though that told me, “Fazal, this is not your cup of tea, better ask her number and lets take thing slowly. This is not the place.” Just as I was about to phrase my sentence, she asked me for my cell number!!!. I thought it was my mind visualizing my phrase in her voice. And instantly I repeated the same line to her. She gave me a shocked reaction, and seeing her reaction my feet went cold.
She smiled this time, nodding her head sideways and told me that she was sorry. She smiled and asked me why don’t I give her my number. Like the most obedient person in the world, I gave her my number. And every time our eyes met, I stammered and at one stage I forgot my own number.

I was beginning to feel the heat and my sweat glands began to pour. She must have felt the heat too, as now I found her hands trembling as she was keying in my number. Her voice trembled as she asked me for my name. trying to comfort her I replied back in a soft voice, but that sound that came out of body I guess never made contact with the air around me. She looked at me waiting for me to tell my name. This time though I was loud, and she for a moment silent.

She asked me If I would like to make the payment by Cash/Card?
Yes, this is when the hard reality set in. It was time for me to pay my mobile bill, and walk out, and wait for my next bill so that I could meet her yet again.

The day I met her (Part1)

The time that I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I was all excited in anticipation. Seeing me animated everyone at office sure sensed there was something special about this day. I had a tough time trying to dodge all the questions that kept coming my way all through the day while I was at office. There were already various stories doing the rounds, and I just turned a deaf ear as I was too occupied with just one thought. I kept looking at my watch with desperation as the wait was intriguing. Work no longer seemed important to me, I didn’t know what I was doing as my mind was too occupied.

Today was the day I get to meet her again. It’s been a while since I last met her. 27 days to be precise. I remember the number of days so well, as that was the first time the two of us had spoken. We didn’t speak for long then, may be because it was my first time. I was all scared and sweating, unlike her who was very calm and composed. It’s like it all happened just yesterday, I still remember everything about that day when we spoke first. I guess it would be more appropriate to say the day "She" spoke first. The two of us had met each other on numerous occasions before, but every time the only things that we exchanged were glances. Though I have always wanted to speak to her, I never managed to gather the courage to walk upto her and speak. But last time around, things were different. It was like the heavens had conspired to melt the ice between us, and bring us together. Everything just happened out of the blue that evening.

I had after a lot of pep talk to myself, garnered the courage to walk upto her, but I didn’t know what to speak as I was struggling to stand firm on my feet which was trembling in the just melted ice. My tongue too had fallen cold just like my feet.

Seeing me infront of her, she gently lifted her head and that’s when our eyes met each others for more than a fraction of a minute. She in her elegant best batted her eye lids while I was just not able to take my eyes of her striking eyes that were all appealing in the thick mascara that she applied. Hoping that I would have taken my eyes off her, she looked up again but this time the moment our eyes met, I looked down trying to not make it obvious.

Seeing my discomfort and trying to ease the situation around us, she in her charming voice told me a “Hi!”. I was knocked out of words, as I desperately tried digging deep into my vocabulary so that I could find an apt reply to the most beautiful word that I had ever heard. As her voice kept resonating in my ears, I was lost in the midst of the crowd that surrounded us.

Finally when my mind concluded the most apt reply to what she just said was a “hello!”, her friend just dropped in and pulled her away. I looked helplessly like a young child who was lost in the street. As she was being pulled away by her friend, she reached out her hand towards me as if asking me to hold her back. Our eyes stayed affixed at each other, and very soon I lost sight of her, as she walked away into the crowd.

I did physically walk out of that place that evening, but my thoughts forever lingered around that place. The best moment of my life didn’t last long. But then today the time has come for me to set right things, to put things to prospect. And so I was all excited in anticipation.

Read the Concluding Part

Thought

" If you have the Audacity to take credit for the work that I do, then have the courage to take up the responsibility when something goes wrong! If you cannot, then STOP asking me for help!!!!

HUH!!! I SO Hate such people @ work."

My lucky Number

The number “9” has always been very luck for me. Not jus’ because I was born on the 18th and 18 numerological adds up to number 9. But somehow over the years events have reinforced the thought that indeed the number “9” is very special and luck for me.

And so I have always had this strange intuition that when I turn 27(2+7=9), that year would be the year when some real good things will happen in my life, and I want this year to go down as an eventful year in my life. And so far things have just been perfect.

Early April/May was the time I struck gold, it was a double bonanza at work, and bound by terms of confidentiality I cannot disclose the incident here. And then it was my promotion which really caught me by surprise and my joy knew no bound. And if all that was not enough to keep me in air, today I get a mail asking me to be present for an event in the company happening tomorrow, and when I read the reason why? I was ecstatic. Guess what? I just won the “Best Outstanding Performer of the Year” Award. If you personally ask me the reason, I am sure it is because I have been away (standing outside) from my company for the last one year. The spirit dampener though, I will not be able to make it to event. I tried my luck by mailing my HR Manager and asking her if she could arrange my return tickets to Bangalore for the event. She laughed away at my genuine request. HMMH!!!

I hope and pray this year continues to be a lucky year for me, and my lucky number 9 colludes to bring in more good news along the way.