Note: This entry is a sequel to a former entry "With...Without...". Do re-visit the post if you wish.
Morning arrived the way it always did. She pressed the 'snooze' button
and hoped to catch an extra ten minutes of sleep. It had been more than two
days since she had gone to work. She could not be absent yet another day. What
would she say? She wasn't allowed to call in to work depressed. Mustering all
her strength, she dragged her feet out of bed and into the bathroom.
As she stared at her reflection in the mirror while brushing her
teeth, she noticed how she seemed to have aged. She noticed her wrinkles and
dark spots and wondered if she should try getting her hands on the popular
anti-ageing cream she remembering seeing in an advertisement. Chuckling at that
thought, she said out loud, "You are too old to be influenced by
advertisements! Get a grip of yourself!" The reflection glared back at
her. In each other's reflections, they just became uglier.
Work was mundane, as usual. She managed to wrap her work on time, and
headed for the bridge overlooking the river...the spot where they had last met.
She hadn't visited that place in a while. It looked deserted and forlorn. No
one seemed to have come there in quite some time. Weeds were overgrown and the
benches were covered with dry leaves of the autumn. She dusted a spot and made
herself as comfortable as was possible.
Life had not been easy since he had gone, she reflected. She knew she
had built a huge wall around herself which no one was able to break and enter.
She had ignored every phone call she possibly could from her social circle of
friends, because even though they had been calling the right number, she was no
more the person they were looking for. Without him, she was not her old self
anymore.
He crossed familiar hills and jaded pathways on his way back. No road
was new to him - he had travelled through them all. Yet he seemed to be lost.
Was it possible to be lost on the same path one was walking? Was retracing
steps a good idea? It had to be! Even if he was lost, he was still walking down
his own path - and surely only that could lead him to his destiny. Perhaps,
being lost could be holy as well. It gave him time not only to find a
completely new life in the cracks, but also to rediscover the old life and see
it from a completely new perspective.
He had begun his walk a long time ago and he had no idea when he
became utterly lost. He just hoped, as he walked down the recognizable path,
his beloved would find him.
Both could not believe the sight that greeted their eye. She saw his
silhouette at a distance, and gasped as the figure approached nearer and nearer
in view. He had grown a beard and he looked scraggly, but his eyes still had
that merry twinkle that always made her go weak at the knee. He stared at her
and couldn't believe his eyes! She still looked beautiful. Just the way he
remembered her.
"I can't believe you are really here!" she screamed.
"Neither can I," he winked.
"So, is it love, or is it a habit?" she mused.
"I think it's a good habit! One that I'd like to keep," he answered cheekily.
"Neither can I," he winked.
"So, is it love, or is it a habit?" she mused.
"I think it's a good habit! One that I'd like to keep," he answered cheekily.
She still found it hard to believe he was back. Was his quest over?
"So, you found God finally?" she managed to ask.
"Ah, no! God found me," he said and stared at her intently.
"...And I trust Him more not to leave," she finished his thought, and put an end to all possible dialogue by sealing his lips with a much-awaited kiss and enveloping herself in his arms for a much-needed embrace.
"Ah, no! God found me," he said and stared at her intently.
"...And I trust Him more not to leave," she finished his thought, and put an end to all possible dialogue by sealing his lips with a much-awaited kiss and enveloping herself in his arms for a much-needed embrace.
Lovely little story you have here. I liked your style of writing. you make the reader your friend. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sujata :-)
ReplyDeleteBeen a while I had read anything from you. Good to see the story come to a happy ending. More than a happy ending, it felt good to see it get a justified ending.
ReplyDeleteJitu
Thanks Jitu!
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