Metro Diaries: Love Revisited ~ Final Part
Dear Rhea,
You remember the day when you had fallen down in school and bruised your ankle. That day you had cried a lot in pain and all I could think of was breaking the face of that fatso who pushed you during break time. In high school when you had confessed your feelings to me for a senior that night I cried myself to sleep and I never understood why. But the pain was much more when I saw tears in your eyes when he didn’t even acknowledge your presence.
The day you introduced me to Pranoy you were so happy. I could see it in your eyes. As if you wanted to tell the world, See I finally found him. My Prince Charming is here to sweep me off the feet. And all I could do was smile, in your happiness. I never knew when between all those childhood pranks, fights, arguments, bickering, mischief and fun I fell in love with you, madly. I didn’t know when you became an extension of mine so much so that my pain never mattered to me, neither then or now.
What always mattered was your happiness with or without me. The day I met you in Mumbai was the day I realized I had almost lost you and for a moment I hated Pranoy enough to kill him. But that’s when I realized that he actually gave you back to me. And now I didn’t want to lose you again. I had tried living without you, and it was hell. The only solace was to know that you were happy. Since then till now all I have done is ensure that smile never leaves your face, for that is the reason I live – to see you smile. If you ask me why, I don’t have a reason.
All I know is I want to be the reason behind your laughter forever. The world calls this love, maybe…… but for me this is life. You are my life Rhea! I promise to never let that smile fade ever, in turn can I just get to see it every day, forever, the moment I open my eyes and just before I close them?
Waiting
Shubh
Rhea broke down in fresh bout of tears as she finished reading this letter. The heavy rain fall that had just started was telling her to cry… and let it all go. The hurt, the pain, the fear and shed all her inhibitions. The breeze was ruffling her hair and quietly whispering in her ears, “It is all going to be fine... Just have faith.” She stared at the watch as it stuck 8 pm. She had only few hours left before Shubh left for Singapore, perhaps never to come back.
He had given her that letter three days ago when they had met for dinner with his parting words as “I will wait for your reply”. Even after a battle of more than 72 hours between her heart and mind she was still indecisive. Her heart wanted her to give love another chance while her mind was scared of it all. And that is when she remembered what Shubh had told her once. “Whenever in double minds, think about the possibility of it not happening at all. You will understand what your heart wants.” She closed her eyes, trying to imagine her life with Shubh and she opened them back with a shock. “No…” she muttered as she looked for her cell phone and dialed the first number on her speed dial. The phone was as always answered in one ring. “Shubh…” she could just manage to whisper.
All that she wanted to say was stuck somewhere inside her heart, that was just beating furiously. “I knew you would call…”
“Stupid… idiot……Cant you just stay back? Why do you need to go? How can you leave your best friend alone and go like this?”
“I am leaving my best friend alone and going so that I can take my wife along with me.”
His answer left Rhea speechless for a moment.
Rhea..
Shubh..
They both said at the same time.
No you say what you were saying.
No no.. its fine.. you were saying something…
They both were fumbling for the right words when suddenly. I love you I love you too What followed was a silence, not the uncomfortable one but one that comes after the storm has passed away signaling that all is well now. Love had won once again ensuring two hearts were strung together, never to be separated. Well, it was always there safely hidden in some corner of their hearts, scared of coming out till now. But today as it saw the threat of replenishing once and for all is what made it revisit them all over again.
