Distance

It had been raining all day and like the rain drenched earth, her mind felt damp and icy. There are things that time can't erase. Some memories stay on forever.. Two years had passed and even now, rain made her cry. She found it difficult to hold back the tears that rolled down her cheeks, a downpour in itself. The rain beating down the roof brought back a swirl of memories. His face.. A small dimple forming in his cheek as he swept away the soft hair that wind pulled down across his forehead. The way he tilted his face as his eyes closed for a second to wink at her.. It was raining the first time they met..



The heavy rain had delayed his flight for two hours. Even though he had to wait at the busy airport amidst a milieu of bustling people jostling for space, he dint mind it a bit. It was going back to that city, that he dreaded. Not long back, the very same city was close to his heart. It had given him everything he held valuable in his life.. his friends, his family, his flourishing career, his first love.. A jolt of pain cursed through him at the thought of her, his throat felt dry and parched.. The sweet fragrance of her body, the smell that he loved above all. Her touch, gentle and firm. He yearned for it, once just once to see her smiling at him. To feel his stomach doubling up, a feeling he hadn't felt since he last saw her.



Her office was buzzing with noise-the beeping printers, ringing phones and incessant talking. But as usual, she dint notice any of it. Life had become a routine. Wake up in the morning, make breakfast, call mom and listen to her patiently as she goes on filling her on the latest gossips or about the 'handsome, educated,six figure salaried boy' looking for a bride.. She hardly listened to any of it. At office, she didn't talk much.. She kept herself busy all the time.Often the fact that she was becoming a workaholic had crossed her mind. But the thought didn't scare her. The only thing that scared her was her buzzing phone. Every time it rings, her heart leaps up in anticipation. She hesitates a second before looking at the screen. Hoping for a second that it would be him. But like the rain outside her office window, her hopes had also started dieing..


As the car sped through the highway, rain had stopped outside, leaving a trail of droplets on the window. He flicked through the photos in his cell. There was her, in a white salwar, holding the rose that he had given her on their first valentines day. He remembered every second of that day so well as if it had all happened yesterday. How she had lied to her hostel warden to go out with him, how she had draped her dupatta  over her head with one hand and clenched his shoulder with the other as they drove through the city. She looked like an angel, standing there among a bunch of flowers in that park. It was the day he had gifted her the silver ring with a small heart engraved in the metal, the very ring that she threw at him the day they parted. Shuffling through his contacts, he stopped at her name,his thumb poised over the green button. "I don't want to see you ever again. Get lost you cheat..I hate you" her words ringed in his mind.




Sitting up in the couch she flipped through the channels. A chat show was going on where the host was guffawing over a joke cracked by her guest -pop- "the heavy rain has caused havoc in the city and the traffic has come to a standstill", a news reporter was shouting into the camera as rain rolled in the background -pop- a latest film song was playing with the scenes showing the hero and heroine dancing away in exotic locations -pop- pop- pop- The scenes flickered but she didn't pay attention to any. Sleep was again evading her and she had nothing else to do. Switching off the TV, she went to her bedroom and took out a silver ring from her drawer. As he walked away, she had picked it up from the ground. Through those watery eyes, she had stared at him walking away from her, calling out to him but words stopping at her throat. If he loves me, he'll turn back, she told herself stubbornly. But he dint. She waited till he disappeared and the sun had sunken low. The world moved about her but she never left that spot ever again..




The meeting was a success. The company had appreciated his proposals and had agreed to move forward with the deal. the next round of meetings would be held at his office. He had politely declined the invitation for dinner with the excuse of an early morning flight. Back in his hotel room, as he poured out a drink, he thought of her. She would be living somewhere in this city, working in a corporate firm as she had always wanted, married to some lucky guy. Maybe she even has kids now. She would be leading a happy life that might have been his too. "Oh God, why did this happen to us?? Where did we go wrong?"He thought as tears rolled down his cheeks...


Few kilometers away, a bolt lighted up the dark room where she lay cuddled.Her cries got muffled on the wet pillow..

Near yet so far..