The thief of the damsel's heart

Silent night,the sky lit
by the fading moon,
reflecting in the horizon,
the turbulent waves crashing,
against  the rocky walls

A lonely youth,dancing through
the shadows,agilely ascended
the fort,avoiding the guards
rushed across the chambers,
 Intent on reaching the destination,

No key can unlock the chamber,
Designed to open on its own,
for the right person,
at the right time,
the treasure lay here,

Guarded by a single lute,
inside a chest,lay the precious
one can attain it ,when they
play the soul's music on
the lute,
Magic it was,he didnt lay a finger
on the lute , behold,the chest was open,
his breath being the music of the soul,
along with his sweet words and laughter,
flowing like a symphony,
The treasure,the damsel's heart was stolen,
by this lovable thief , who for once got rewarded
for his theft with the soul and love of the damsel

In love, again

Not again, I said to myself,
This is not at all fair ,
I vowed to never fall in love again,
But here am I ,pining over someone.

I had distanced myself from the people,
who had a chance of making me fall for their features,
I thought my heart was safe, inside the stone fortress,
But alas , I never knew that a mirthful laughter
from a certain person's lips could smash the barrier to pieces.

Life isn't easy and so is love,
As i fell in love with him,
I felt the bliss and pain,
that  accompanies love.

Is it gonna be a happy ending or
a sad one? I have no clue,
Either way , I am enjoying
the journey with him.

Never can understand Love,
I thought i knew ,
but here it is again,
i am in love with a person,
who had broken my assumption.

My writing doesn't follow any rules,
so does our relationship.
But one thing i know for sure,
I am in love with you ,
Am happy that its you,
who has won my heart,
the most lovable person i have met.

Dreamzz Unlimited

Dreams. Sometimes leave us with the feeling "What the hell was that all about?" . Makes you wonder what it means
When I was in school , I had a dream for one week . It used to start from the point it ends the night before.
Dream Interpretation has been present from the ancient times. But during those days it was mostly believed that it was a supernatural phenomenon and the dream would be considered prophetic.
It was believed that it was a means of communication from the Gods.

Dreams are almost like any foreign language. It is believed mostly that dreams are motivated by the events of the day. Freud believed it was all about wish-fulfillment. While Hall believed that dreams were just thought sequences while sleeping.
But sometimes , the dreams are distorted .

The mind is believed to be divided into three layers. Conscious,Subconscious and Superconscious. And it seems Only Subconscious and Superconscious gets to have the fun of creating the dreams. They have fun distorting the dreams so that the consciousness doesnt interfere as it will not be able to understand and therefore disregards it.

While the conscious mind is taking rest, it seems that the subconscious goes throught the events that happened in the past 48 hours and on discussing with the superconscious ,prepares the dream.

It is believed that if you analyze your dreams , the subconscious and superconscious will help in your daily life
the distortions are called dream symbols

Below are some interpretation for some symbols:
For eg :
1.When i had this dream of donkeys seated in the auditorium where i was singing.
I thought it signified my singing was like donkey's braying

But when i tried to interpret it using the dream symbol meaning, it gave a whole new perspective

So according to dream dictionary
Donkeys in dream mean simplicity and sturdiness ,surrounded by loyal friends

So now my dream is like i am singing in front of my friends, it did create a happy feeling . But i am not sure whether to believe it . Its mostly gives a positive attitude
2.Falling dreams:
I am sure everyone would have experienced this dream of falling from some height which feels so real.
according to dream dictionary, it means one is overwhelmed and out of control in his life in some situation
According to Freudian theory though,it means you are giving into impulse

3.Snake :
Snake denotes the balance of good and evil in your life
and if u see a winged serpent in your dream ,it denotes wisdom

4.Pleading dreams:
to dream that you are pleading it denotes that what you are pleading depends on whether you will have good progress and whether that progress will strengthen your position
5.Dreams about seasons:
If one dreams about autumn ,then it denotes there is a transformations cycle and will experience many ups and downs .

 

My friend

 

I dont know why , but whenever it rains, it brings a smile in my face.My worries ,frustration just seem to vanish.
While others rush to find a shelter from the rain,I enjoy it. With my arms stretched sideways and my face looking towards the sky , when the first drop falls, plasters a goofy grin on my face which stays for the day. I feel so pure.
It reminds me that I still retain some childish enthusiasm, and am happy about it I sense the others laughing at me ,but i dont care a damn.
It's their loss.They are the ones not able to enjoy the companionship of such a beautiful and a great friend, trying to retain the mature act.
this is one friend who will make me happy on every visit even if i am a grouchy mood expecting nothing in return.

Not fair

Sexual Predators. I am sure almost 80 % of the women population in the world , would have suffered .
Its a bad thing that it happens but its worse when its a child who is harmed. The childhood is totally spoiled.
The innocence taken away once and for all . They have no idea what it means but they just know it hurts.
But the indigestible thing is that mostly 90% of the child victims know their offender.
It might be the neigbour uncle ,or father of one of the friends,bus driver or even someone from the family.
Its one of the people who the child trusts. And the trust is broken.
And right now with the web , its just makes the job easy for a stalker.

After it happens , in most cases , the child doesn't tell anyone for many reasons.The child does know something bad has happened.
Shame ,fear of being punished and fear of being disbelieved shuts up their mouth. They lock the memories deep inside their mind and vow not to open it. Thereby starts the fear of the dark ,sleepless nights haunted by nightmares. From then, they trust nobody.

Its just not fair !

Scribbling_I

"I love you", thats what you said
"What?",was my reply ,as i Couldnt believe what i heard.

.I never knew I could feel so good.
What you saw in me ,I wondered
For i was nowhere near the beauty your ex was
nor was i intelligent like you.So I thought
Maybe its true that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
i had vowed that my heart will be a shelter for none
But i have no idea how you made me break it
On look at your eyes, you made me go weak in my knees
My password changed to 'heaven on earth' ,thats how i was feeling
Everything was so blissful.I thought I had met my man.
I didnt know you had me fooled.when i saw you kiss her,
I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Boy, was i wrong!
It was not my eyes that tricked me but it was you. Still our relationship was going strong,
cause i was addicted to you. I knew addiction is never healthy, but u had turned me into a rebel.
And then you uttered those damning words "Lets break up. i dont love you anymore"
All i wanted to ask back was "Did you ever love me ?". I knew I was being fooled, but the confirmation
madet the world that you had created around me shatter into million pieces and so did my heart
My password changed to "hell on earth". I was in agony. I couldnt stand to be in the presence of couples.
Their happiness caused me pain and I couldnt bear it . I knew it was selfish of me . I became a recluse
They say "Time heals everything". I agree, but would add "time heals but not completely".
Thanks to my friends , I became as normal as i could be . But there were times when all i wanted was to be left alone
so that i could cry my heart out as i felt the agony all over again.Months went by ,I had successfully learnt to not let
my mind think anything about you. Then you came along and said "sorry about the break up, I lied to you. I still love you.Can we get back together?"
I told "No. I dont love you. There is no chance of that happening". This time , i lied . The moment I saw you again , I realized that i never stopped
loving you. But i had vowed ,never to let anyone inside my heart . I am happy that i didnt break it

The Hunter and the Hunted

                                       Sunday night, 11:00 pm,

Eden Enclave, I floor , Inside flat 3B:

It was pitch dark . Amy was sitting on the bed, with her legs folded and her arms hugging her legs. She was rocking herself back and forth. There were smudges of dried blood all over her body. She was unaware of her surrounding. She was in a trance, humming the tune of her favorite song.There was a stench forming inside, but that didnt disturb her. The memories were playing inside her mind.

It was 5 years back. It was a breezy july night. Amy was in her apartment, reading for the exam that she had the next day. Suddenly, her concentration was distracted by the sound of the telephone ringing. It was a call from the local police of the town where her sister was doing her majors.

"Hello , is it Amy Parker?"
"Yes, may i know who is calling ?"
"I am James Roger, Chief of Police of Amaga town."
"Yes sir, What can i do for u?"
"I am sorry Ma'm . Your sister has been found dead"
"What? No. U must have got the wrong girl. I even spoke to her one hour back"
"Is Sherin Parker ur sister?"
"Yes, she is"
"Then, i am sure its her. Ma'm , i know this is really a bad news and u are not able to believe it. Could u please fly down here and confirm the identification. We need ur full co-operation to find the person who murdered ur sister"
"Wait! Did u say she was murdered"
"Yes mam,It would be good if u come here as soon as possible."
Amy was in shock. She slammed the phone down, opened her wardrobe, packed and caught a bus to the airport.Stating the emergency , she got a ticket in a plane that flew to Mackos City. She was hoping that the police got the wrong girl. On arriving at Mackos city, she took a cab to Amago. She reached the Chief's office who took her to the mortuary so that she can identify. The coroner took both of them to the chamber and opened the cabinet which had the victim's body.
When Amy saw the victim's face, her world shattered. It was her sister.The tears that she had been holding back till started flowing. She was distraught. The only relative, she had was gone. She had been her twin.All her sadness turned into rage when she thought of the man who had killed her sister. The chief of police took her from the mortuary to his office. After sometime she left the office and went to a nearby hotel. she got a room for herself. The next day, the coroner gave his report. Sherin Parker, stabbed to death. After few days, Sherin Parker was buried in the town cemetery.Amy's rage didnt subside. She suppressed it and went back to her apartment. It was difficult in the beginning . But then she got immersed in her own life and fighting for her survival. Her rage subsided as days went by. She changed her appearance because every time she looked at the mirror she saw only her sister,sherin. But whenever she was not with makeup ,the resemblance was back

For a week she had been feeling that some one stalking was her. But then, she had watched a thriller movie last week . So she brushed it aside, that it was just her imaginative mind . She had been busy with the work ,so she didnt think abt it any more. On saturday night, she came home and freshened herself. When she came back into bedroom, she was grabbed from behind and a hand closed over her mouth. Fear gripped her heart. She could smell a faint trace of alcohol. The arms that was holding were rough and she could sense it was a man. He started kissing her neck while she struggled helplessly to free herself. He took her to the bath room. Holding Amy in one hand he switched on the lights. When he turned , he screamed when he saw the mirror. He let go of Amy screaming like a mad man, he dropped the knife.

"You? No it cant be u!. How is it possible" he was screaming.
Amy stood still as she was confused and scared like hell.

"I killed u sherin parker, didnt I ?. Then how is this possible. Have u come to haunt me ?".
"Did he say Sherin Parker"Amy thought

"Look at me!" She demanded. The man could not meet her eyes.

"U are the one who killed me ?"
"Yes"
"When"
"Five years back"
"Where"
"In Amago"

That was all Amy needed. Sudden rage along with the helplessness, frustration boiled inside her.

"U say u killed me. Then its time for ur punishment" . In a lightning speed , she had the knife in her hand and stabbed. The man went down with a scream. But Amy was seeing red and the blood that was gushing out increased her adrenaline rush. She continued to stab, until his body was still.

She dropped the knife and went back to bed. She was feeling content. Her sister's blood had been avenged.

Ghostwood

It was pitch dark. Alicia was sleeping peacefully on the bed in the room that she shared with her bestfriend Katie in the hostel. If one wasn’t in deep sleep they could hear the owls hooting in the distance. The clock showed it was two minutes to midnight. Alicia turned to other side. Her eyes opened just for a second. But in that second she had glimpsed a dark figure. She opened her eyes to see whether it was the product of her imagination factory. To her horror the dark figure was advancing towards her. She closed her eyes and screamed at top of her voice. There was a noise of something crashing followed by multitude screams. The screams were so loud that it appeared as if the entire building has come alive and screaming. The screams continued for about a minute and then someone switched on the light. The screams stopped instantly but Alicia was still screaming. When she felt the beam of light on her face, she stopped screaming and slowly opened her eyes only to see Katie standing before her with her hands over her ears and eyes shut tightly. A wave of relief spread over Alicia. Alicia touched Katie by the elbow who jumped and opened her eyes. Alicia then realized that her room was full of her hostel mates. The clock chimed 12:00. As if everyone came out of trance ,started singing the birthday song for Alicia who had just realized that it was her birthday. Katie hugged her tightly and kissed on her cheek. After everyone was finished with their turn of wishing Alicia, she asked “So where is the cake gals ?”. Everyone turned to look at Katie who pointed to the floor. The glass tray had broken and the cake was on the floor.



“Hey Al, Why did u have to scream like that ? You gave me a fright”

“Well, Kat. I was sleeping but then when I opened my eyes I saw a dark figure. What will u do ? Scream right ? .Thats what I did too “

“Well then u spoiled ur cake.So no cake for u” Katie winked at Alicia.

Some minutes passed after Katie started to giggle thinking about the incident .The giggle was contagious as all the gals started giggling.

The building security who had come to enquire about all the screaming, got irritated when they started giggling and left thinking “Stupid gals, If one screams everyone screams and one starts giggling, soon the whole group is giggling”

Sometime later, only Katie and Alicia were left in their room but neither felt like sleeping. They talked for sometime about all stupid topics.

“Hey Kat, U know the road behind our hostel which leads to the woods”

“Yeah Al, the path which nobody dares to take. I mean its stupid. I am sure that it’s the shortest way to the woods but people would rather go via Peterswood and then OldVille .”

“Yeah I agree with you . All because of a stupid story of ghosts and such.”

“Hey Al, an idea. Are u up for an adventure?”

“What question is that? . U know me Kat. I love adventures. Now tell me what do u have in mind ?”

“Well, I was just thinking that why not the two of us go exploring that path now and have some time in the woods ?”

“Hmm. That’s a great idea. I am fully awake now and I don’t think I can go back to sleep. Let’s change and go”

“Great. We can take something to drink too”



They changed their dresses and packed two bottles of ginger beer and some chocolates to munch on and started.

“Hey Al, the security will be awake. How do we go past him ?”

“We can jump over the fence at the back. Come its already one. We will be back by four”



They crept down the stairs and opened the back door and silently climbed over the fence and jumped. They took their flashlights out and switched it on.

The path was narrow filled with creepers and climbers. Both of them were exhilarated. They didn’t have any fear. The wind was cool and when it breezed through them goosebumps erupted all over them. The walked in silence for some time and then later started to sing . Both of them were amazed at the variety of plants that was growing there. They could identify some plants which are considered to be very rare. An hour passed.

After some time, they could hear the sound of music and laughter in the distance. A slight tingle went up their spines. Don’t mistake it to be fear. It was curiosity in both their minds as to who could be living here. As they walked further ,they could hear the sound level increasing . Al and Kat were too excited.

They started walking faster towards the source of the sound. After half an hour ,they reached a place and to their amazement, it was as if they have entered a carnival.

People were roaming about and having fun. The place looked so beautiful bathed in different colored lights and the people were so beautiful .

Al and Kat were so entranced by this wonderful sight. They went further and found a girl sitting alone in alcove with what seemed like a laptop.

Both of them went to her.

“Hello,Excuse me “. The girl looked up and was startled to see the girls.

“U can see me ?” She asked.

“What ? Of course we can see u” Kat replied. Both of them were bewildered. Of all the questions in the world why did the gal asked whether we can see her.

“Oh I am sorry. I am Amanda.My friends call me Amy”

“I am Alicia. This is Katie. We go by Al and Kat” .Al and Kat shook hands with her.

“Amy, can u tell us what place is this ?”

“Welcome to GhostWood and today is Celebration Day. You could have not chosen a better day for ur visit.” Amy smiled.

“Ghostwood?” Al asked.

“Yup ,Ghostwood because we ghosts live here.” Amy replied.

Al and Kat couldn’t believe their ears. How can the ghosts be so beautiful ? and how come they have laptops. Celebration Day .What were they celebrating ? So many questions running in their mind. They sat next to Amy.

“Okie Amy. Its kind of hard to believe that this is ghostwood full of ghosts, but we don’t want to offend you. Maybe you are really a ghost. We have so many queries running through our mind. If u don’t mind, can you answer them?” Kat asked

“Sure no problem. Its not everyday we get to answer questions of a mortal being “

“Thanks Amy. First u said celebration day . What are u guys celebrating ?” Al asked

“Well, whenever one of the children ghosts finish their degrees successfully , we celebrate it”

“Children ghosts? But don’t they remain a child once they die .”Kat asked

“No its not the way it works. Our life remains the same way after we die too. It’s the place that differs”

“Wow! The entire world’s population of ghost is here ?”

“No not at all. Ghosts of kings or rulers or political leaders or other problematic ghosts are not allowed here. The Lady in the room in heaven takes care of which ghosts goes where. So Ghostwood is a bunch of ghosts of great leaders and artists and good ghosts.”

“Well, u said about degrees and stuff. Who teaches u?”

“We have Rajendra Prasad,Einstein,Shakespeare,Keats,Rabindranath Tagore,Aryabhatta,Marie curie and so many others who teach us”

“I really can’t believe it. Is Gandhi here ?”

“Unfortunately yes. When the whole believes that Gandhi and other dead heroes are resting peacefully .The fact is that they are not. We have Mother Teresa with us too.”

“What are u saying?”

“For some time they were in heaven, but later they wanted to see how the world is getting on without them. So they returned back . But when they came back they were not satisfied with the things happening all over the world. One can go back to heaven only if their heart is fully satisfied. That’s why they are still here not able to return back to the place they deserve.”

Al and Kat were shocked to hear this .

After some minutes of silence Kat asked “ Hey how come u have a laptop? “

“We have so many ghosts from IT field. Once they started to come to ghostwood, we got laptops as the first thing”

“What do u guys do with a laptop?”

“The students use it for their educational purpose. Others use all the applications that IT guys developed for us .”

“Can u show us some of them?” Al asked

“Sure . Well we ghosts would like to spend some time for ourselves. So we would like to rent some house for haunting . So the IT guys developed this applications which tells us the list of castles or houses that they can haunt until any human being comes and lives in them. We have a policy of not disturbing human being. One more application is the one which lets us gift our dear ones living on any occasion.”

“How do u gift them?” Kat asked.

“ Well , we keep the gift among other gifts and place a memory that it was gifted by someone else.”

“Wow!”

“ I really can’t believe it “ Kat said

“ Amy , is it possible for us to go to the celebration and see ?” Al asked

“Of course come. I will show you .” Amy took them.

Kat and Al couldn’t believe their eyes. They spoke with almost everyone and it was time for them to leave. They promised that they will do whatever they can to make the world better and bid good bye .

Their return journey was in silence . Both were in deep thoughts. They reached their hostel and silently went to their room . They didn’t exchange any words and so deep in thought and went to bed. It was four thirty in the morning. They drifted to sleep after sometime. They had wanted an adventure but it had been thought provoking journey.

Is Life Strange Or Do we Live Strangely?

“Hey Sandy! Look at this ring. I think it’s perfect for Meghna. What do u say?”

“Yes Sharat! It’s elegant with a single ruby mounted on a thin band of gold and it’s very beautiful! I think Meg will love it.”

“Great! Now that I have the ring, I can now propose to her. I hope she will say yes.”

“Of course, she will say yes. Don’t go worrying about it. Come! Let’s get it billed and leave. I am starving! We have been shopping for four hours.”



While Sharat was paying the money in the cash counter, Sandy i.e. Sandhya observed him. She chuckled slightly on seeing that he had a goofy grin on his face. Three years back, she didn’t even know Sharat. But now here she was, helping him purchase a ring for his girlfriend Meg aka Meghna.



“Hey Sandy! Come! Let’s go!” Sharat called her. Sandy nodded and followed him. Once they were outside the jewellery shop, Sharat embraced Sandy.

“I am so happy. Thank u so much for coming with me. Without you, I would have been a nervous wreck and end up not buying a ring. But thanks to your support, I got the perfect ring for my Meg!”

“You are most welcome. I am happy for u and Meg. Now that you are being thankful, why don’t u treat me for a lunch?”

“Sure, But I will decide the place. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely fine with me, as long as the place is decent”



They walked to the parking lot where Sharat’s brand new Chevrolet Spark was parked. After an hour of drive, Sharat reached the place.

He parked the car in the space between the last car and the barricade that was there to mark the end of the parking space, taking extra care.

He turned off the ignition and turned to see Sandy sleeping. Chuckling to himself, he gently woke her.



“Sandy. Wake up.” Sandy woke up but her eyes were still drooping.

“Where are we?” she rubbed her eyes, so that she will become fully awake. She observed the place and gave a squeal of delight.

Sharat chuckled and stepped out of the car as Sandy followed him and after few steps, they were standing in front of their favorite Restaurant “Enchanted Villa”. This was the restaurant where they had first met.



On entering the restaurant, they found that all tables except one were occupied and surprisingly that one happened to be the same table in which they were seated during their first meeting. They walked over to the table and sat down. They chose their favorite food and placed an order for the same. While they were waiting, Sandhya started laughing suddenly.

“What’s so funny, sandy?”

“I just remembered the expression on ur face when we met for first time and that got me laughing”



Sharat also started to laugh and it took a couple of minutes for them to control their laughter.



“Sharat! How did u know that I will like it if we come to this restaurant?”

“Do u even want an answer for that question? I was married to you for an year. Remember?”

“Yes, I perfectly remember that.”

“But am happy now that u r my friend now. Being a husband to u was a nightmare!!” Sharat said with a mock shiver.

“Hey! That’s not fair. If I remember exactly being a wife was a nightmare!. Don’t forget all those insinuations that Dad and Mom made against me!” Sandhya said. Sharat’s face became red with embarrassment.

“I am sorry. I forgot”

“Hey, I was just teasing u, just like u teased me.”

The food that they had ordered arrived and they started savoring their favorite dishes. Throughout the course of the meal their conversation was about their first meet.

“Hey Sharat. When I came for our first meet, I never thought that I will meet u again. But look at us now, here we are sitting at the same table and having our lunch. And u r one of my best friends now. Isn’t life strange?”

“Yeah Sandy! I will definitely agree with you. Life is Strange”

Part –II

Is   Life Strange Or Do We Live Strangely ?

                 Sharat and Sandy went to her house. Sharat had thought after the divorce,Sandy would move back with her parents. But she had surprised everyone by opting to stay separately. Her reason was that she didn’t want to be a burden to her parents who were living currently with her brother and that it was not respectful for her brother. She did visit them every weekend, offering to take care of  her parents, so that her brother could spend some time with his wife and kids.Sandy’s brother loved his parents very much and hence he couldn’t bear to live in a separate house without his parents. He  was lucky to have a wife who understood his wishes and didn’t have any qualms about it. Sandy had a very formal relationship with her brother. She had been very close with him during her childhood days . But then ,she had drifted apart and she was perfectly fine with it. When Sharat and Sandy informed her parents and brother about the divorce, her brother had been the only one who had been opposed to it. It had taken lot of effort from Sandy to calm him and make him see sense.

            Sandy’s new rental house was very comfortable. Sandy herself had gone for the house hunt  not accepting anyone’s help and it had finally been fruitful.

Sharat and Sandy entered the house and went to the balcony where there was a small divan. Sandy went to kitchen and prepared some coffee for both of them and went back to the balcony. Sharat was seated in one corner of the divan. He took his coffee mug from Sandy while Sandy settled on the divan. They sipped their coffee and reminisced all the events that happened in the past three years. Time flew by and neither of them noticed that it was already dusk as they were immersed in their conversation. Sandy  took the coffee mugs and went to the kitchen  to wash them  On her way back to the balcony she noticed that it was quarter past six in the evening. They had been talking  for three hours. She went to the balcony  and saw that Sharat was deep in thoughts.

            “Sharat”, She gently shook him. Sharat  came out of his reverie.

            “What Sandy?’

            “ Its 6:15 in the evening. At what time did u say u will be back to ma?”

            “ Oh God! Its 6:15? I have to rush! Mom’s gonna kill me. Bye Sandy!”. He jumped from the divan and rushed to door. He pulled it open and rushed to his. Within two minutes , he was on his way home. Sandy shook her head murmering that he will always be his momma’s boy.

 Sharat reached his home and as he parked his car inside, he saw his mom standing near the door. He looked at his watch and noticed that  he had been gone for 9 hours.He had informed his mom that he would be back by one in the afternoon.It was 7:00 pm now and he had forgotten to call up his mom and  update her that he would be late. He stepped out of the car and walked towards the door. He stepped past his mom and entered the home.  His mom closed the door and followed him into the house. He  entered the hall and took a seat in the sofa. He was patiently waiting for the onslaught  that he knew was coming.Several seconds ticked by . Ramya,Sharat’s mom took a deep breath and started her questioning.

“Where were u Sharat?”

Her voice was calm. Surprised, Sharat looked at his mother’s face and found her eyes filled with her anger. This was not like his mother. She can’t control her temper and all she needed to fly off the handle was just a little provocation.  She was very short tempered and it was on this character of hers that Sharat and Sandhya had relied on to carry out their plans and  they were successful too.

          “Sharat! I asked where were you?”. Ramya’s voice broke Sharat’s reverie.

          “ Ma, I just went to purchase a ring for Meghna. I told u already that I was planning to propose to her. “

  

         “You went to purchase a ring? Did u get one?  U have no idea in purchasing ornaments? Why didn’t u take me along with u? What do u know about purchasing a ring for a girl? Did u get one? If so , I just hope its doesn’t look bad!!!”

         “Chill ma! I didn’t go alone. I went with Sandhya”

           

        “Sandhya?”. Sharat scolded himself for mentioning Sandy’s name. His mom was still angry with her and blamed  her for the ruined marriage.

        “Yes, ma”

        “ Why did she come with you? Are you still not satisfied with how much she has ruined her life? I know she is not gonna let u live ur life happily. She is gonna hurt u and Meghna too.”

           “ Mom ! Will u stop ur rant? Please don’t bad mouth her anymore. U have already made lot of accusations against her. I don’t think she needs anymore.

She is a good woman ma and has become my best friend. Even Meghna adores her.We know for sure, that she is happy for us.”

  Ramya winced slightly when Sharat mentioned about the accusations but she didn’t give up.

           

            “What? U still trust her ?”

            “Yes ma. I do trust her. We got divorced because we knew that we didn’t fit in together. We tried our level best, but we just didn’t belong to each other.

It was not entirely her fault”

            “ Whatever! I am telling to u to be careful.”

            “Don’t worry ma. Nothing is gonna happen. Now do u want to see the ring or not?. Its okie  if u don’t want to, I perfectly understand.”

          Ramya  was still angry  but her passion for gold made her ask to look at the ring.

            “Show me the ring.”,Ramya said with a disgruntled look

           Sharat took the ring from the box and gave it to his mom. Ramya took it from Sharat and was immediately bowled over by its beauty. She felt a little proud about Sharat’s new ability to purchase ornaments, but she also remembered that it had  been Sandhya who had helped him out. She had to give credit to that girl  for this.

            “Its very beautiful Sharat. Meghna will definitely love it.”

            “Thanks ma. I know. By the way I was just wondering something . U didn’t start shouting like u always do when u are angry. How Come?”

            ‘Well, I have been going to meditation class for a week. I didn’t tell u that. Did I ?”

            “Meditation Class!!? Who are u and What have u done to my mom?”

            “What?”

            “Its just that I have been telling u for years to take up a meditation course. U never wanted to. But all of a sudden u tell me that u have been going to a class for a week . Its just I am amazed. Any specific reasons?”

            “ Well, yes there is a reason. Ever since u got divorced , I have always felt guilty to some extent ,thinking maybe my anger also played a part for ur marriage not working. When u told me about Meghna, I didn’t want that to happen again.”

            “ Ma, It was not ur fault . u know the reason for the break up.Sandy never felt angry when u shouted at her. She knew u didn’t mean anything,that u just were saying everything cause of ur anger.” Sharat remembered the statement he made a few minutes back and apologized for the same.

            “ I am sorry  about what I said couple of minutes back. I never meant it. You were not the reason for my failed marriage. Please don’t feel guilty about it.”

      Sharat hugged his mom. Ramya wept for sometime and then calmed herself and asked when he was gonna propose Meghna.Sharat replied that he wanted the day to be special and so he was gonna do it on her birthday which comes in the next week.

Part III

On Meg’s Bday:

            Sandhya was in the kitchen placing candles on the cake that had been ordered for Meghna’s birthday. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was four minutes left for midnight. Sharat was waiting in Sandy’s room. He had come at 11:20 after Meghna slept. Meghna had been orphaned at a young age and she had been living in a hostel for the past six years. After Sandhya moved to a separate house, she had been asking Meghna to come and live with her. But Meghna though wanted to, didn’t accept. After a lot of persuasion from Sandy and Sharat, Meg relented and moved in with Sandhya last week. Sandhya and Sharat had planned for Meg’s birthday celebration together. Sandhya made all arrangements except the birthday cake order which was Sharat’s responsibility, who had correctly ordered for a black forest cake which was Meg’s favorite. When Sharat had arrived, he was very nervous as he had decided to propose to Meghna and so Sandy asked him to relax for some time in her room, while she went ahead with the decorations. It was almost only two minutes left till midnight.  She went to the hall and placed the cake on the table which had been decorated. She beckoned Sharat from her room to follow her and together they tiptoed into Meg’s room. She had a horn (noisemaker) that she had bought the other day. They went near the bed where Meghna was peacefully sleeping.  Sharat was standing on one side while Sandy slowly got onto the bed and as soon as she was near Meghna, she squeezed the horn in her ears. There was a blaring sound and Meghna immediately jerked awake and gave a scream.

            Sharat switched on the lights and Sandy started laughing on seeing the expression on Meg’s face. Meg who was still not fully awake had a confused expression as to what made her friend to prank her like this at the middle of the night. Meg didn’t realize that Sharat was also standing behind her, as she was facing Sandy. Not wanting to miss this opportunity to surprise Meg, Sharat bent down and whispered “Happy Birthday,Love”  in her ears while his arms held her. Meg wheeled around in surprise. Looking at the surprised expression and her eyes widened just like a small girl who has got her wish, Sharat was reminded why he was so madly in love with this gorgeous angel that he held in his arms.  Without realizing, he leaned forward and kissed on her soft lips. Meg’s eyes widened still more before closing, she responded to his kiss. Sandy who had stopped laughing by then silently left the room  with a grin to wait in the hall.

            Sharat and Meg broke their kiss after a minute.

            “Sharat. You know what? I liked the way u wished me now. I think you should keep wishing me the same way. I am sure that I will definitely wont mind it.” Meg  said with a wink.Sharat blushed a little before replying her.

            “Sure Meg! Anything for u!”

            They held on to each other and after a couple of minutes ,  they remembered Sandhya was there in the room and broke the embrace only to find that Sandy had left. They  left the bedroom to find Sandy and as soon as they entered the hall, Sandy rushed to Meg and hugged her.

            “Happy Birthday,Meg!”

            “Thank you Sandy!”

            “Now that u two are out of the lovey -dovey  mood, lets get on with celebration”

            Only then Meg that the hall has been decorated beautifully. She was amazed because there was not even a speck of decoration when she went to sleep. But now it had completely transformed.

            “Sandy! When did u do decorate the hall? I perfectly remember that it was not decorated before I went to sleep.”

            “After making sure u were in deep sleep, about one hour ago”

            “You are amazing Sandy! I have been living with you for about a week and you keep all these plans secret and not even showing any sign”

            “Gee! Thanks. Come now! Lets cut the cake”

            They went to the table where Sandhya lighted the candles placed on the cake.

                        “Hey Meg!  Close ur eyes and make a wish. Then blow the candles”

            Meg nodded her head and let them know that was what she was going to do. After making her wish, she opened her eyes and blew the candles. There was a round of applause from Sandy and Sharat. Meg took the  knife and made the first cut into her favorite blackforest cake. She took the piece and fed it to Sharat who  made a bite into it and gave the remaining half to her. Meg cut another piece and gave it to Sandy who accepted it and in turn gave another piece. After a round of cake munching , Sandy went to the kitchen where she had kept Meg’s present.

       “Time to open ur presents now, love”  Sharat said. He went to the cupboard and brought back a gift covered in blue wrappers.

        “Happy Birthday,love”, he wished her once more and offered his present to Meg. Meghna with equal curiosity of a child tore open the wrappers to find a square box. She opened the lid and found a gold chain with the charm as the letter M studded in ruby.  She loved it the moment her eyes fell on it. With her eyes filled with tears of gratitude, she hugged Sharat and kissed him. She broke the kiss and grinned from ear to ear.

            “ This is my way of saying Thanks .”

            “I like it” , Sharat replied.

            “The gift is wonderful . I love it . Can u put it on me?”

            “Sure, love”. Sharat unclasped the hook and put the chain around Meg’s neck, who turned around and raised her hair so that he can put it properly. Once done, Sharat turned her around and kissed on her forehead.

            “Hem hem” Sandy cleared her throat. On hearing that, Meg and Sharat jumped apart smiling sheepishly.

            “Its my turn to give ur gift now.” Sandy told. She was carrying two gifts wrapped in red. She gave the  bigger box first to Meghna. This time, Meg opened the gift  in a controlled manner. When she opened the box she found a beautiful silk saree  in sky blue.

            “ Thank u sandy!! Its very beautiful!”

            “You are welcome! But that’s not the only gift . Here u go ! This is the other one!” Sandy said as she handed the other box to Meg.

            Meghna opened the gift and found  a jewel box. She opened it to find a  pair of earrings  which was shaped like a flower and had a single sapphire in the center. It was very beautiful .

            “Sandy! You didn’t have to…” Befor Meg could finish what she was about to say, Sandy interrupted her.

            “Meg ! I don’t have to. But I wanted to get u this. I just hope u like it”

             “Like it ? I love it . But I really cant accept it.” Meg replied.

            “ Meg! U have become one of my best friend and also like my younger sister. U will have to accept this if u consider me  as ur friend.  U even love it. Please Meg!”

             Meg couldn’t refuse anymore. She hugged Sandy tightly and thanked her.

            Sharat was looking at therm .He was lucky to have these girls in his life, one as his  beloved and another his best friend. Yes, he was really lucky. The girls broke their embrace.

            “Hey guys! Thank u so much for the gifts. I like them very much.” Meg said.

            “Best is yet to come!” Sandy replied and turned to Sharat and mouthed “Terrace! Now!”

            Sharat understood. He took Meg’s arm and led her towards the terrace. Its Proposal Time!!

            Meg was confused as to what was happening. She looked behind her and found that Sandy was not following. They reached the terrace and stood in the center. Without wasting anymore time, Sharat went down on his knees. Meg eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen.

            “Meg , my love.  I love you so much. But I know that u love me more than I love you .  That makes me love u  even more. U have stood by me in all my decisions so far. I know some of those decisions were painful but u had faith in me and hence didn’t object to it. U have been waiting for a long time and that  wait has been painful too. U have shown me how much u love . Now I request u to give me a chance to show u how much I love u. I want to be with u throughout my life. U make me complete Meg.   Meg! Will u marry me? Will u give me the honor of being ur husband?”

           

            Meg nodded her head and screamed  “Yes!”

            Sharat slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. They embraced each other. Meg couldn’t believe that her wish had become true so soon.She was  in love and blissfully happy. This birthday has started wonderfully.  They went down to the hall where Sandy was waiting up. When Sandy saw them,she raised her eyebrows  “So?”. Meg raised her left  hand and waved  her hand in front of her. Sandy squealed and hugged her.

            “ I knew u would accept . Congratulations guys!. Time to celebrate ”. She dashed to the fridge and took the coco cola bottle.

            Grinning devilishly, she began to shake the bottle and making sure the bottle’s mouth was facing the couple ,she unscrewed the lid and splash! Sharat and Meg was covered in coke.  But there was more coke left in the bottle. Meg screeched and rushed at Sandy who took with the bottle clutched in her hand. She was overpowered by Meg in few seconds who grabbed the bottle and after making sure there was no way to escape, she repeated the same procedure with Sandy.

            “Ok ! I give up! Now we are equal. But still more coke is left. U want to drink or  …?” Meg understood what Sandy was implying.  She nodded her head in agreement. They turned towards Sharat who was sitting in the chair with his back to them. They silently went towards him and crept to his back .They shook the bottle  and then dumped the entire contents on to his head. He yelped and leapt from the chair and glared at the two who were grinning  identically.  They looked at each other and started laughing. Soon all three were  there on the floor  laughing their hearts out.Once they calmed down, they went to clean up themselves. Once they were finished,they went to the balcony and sat on the divan and talked till the dawn when they were overcome by tiredness ,they decided to head to bed.

           

Two weeks Later:

            Meghna came bounding into Sandy’s room. Sandy who was reading ‘Brisingr’ looked up.

            “ Hey Meg! What’s up?  You are positively glowing!” Meghna blushed.

            “ Hey Sandy. As u know I went to Sharat’s home today. We discussed with his mom and set  the date for the marriage. Its on august 25^th.”

            “Wow! Meg! Congratulations! August 25^th ,you said? We have only one month left. We have so much to do!!!”

            “ I know, its very soon. But we have decided to get married in a temple and then host a reception party for the people we know. U will be there for both? Wont u?”

            “What question is that ? Its gonna be the marriage of two of my best friends. I don’t think there is any other place on earth that I will to be.”

            “Paul will also be coming,right?

           

            On hearing the name Paul, Sandy’s heart felt like it had been pierced by an arrow. But she masked her pain very well and mumbled something in agreement. She wanted to tell the truth to Meghna , but it was not the right time.  For now she had the arrangements for the marriage to focus on. Rest of the things will have to wait.

                       

            “Hey Sandy! By the way, we are going to dinner with Sharat in another one hour. So get Ready!”

           

            “That’s great! Its been a long time since we went out.”

At the hotel:

            “Hey Sandy! When do we tell mom that the marriage between u and me didn’t work out  because it was our plan.”

           

            “How about the day after your marriage party? By the way should we tell parents too,Sharat?”

            “We better do! I forgot to tell you.  Remember the day we purchased the ring for my love here, mom said that she felt guilty that she was the reason for u our failed marriage.” Sharat replied.

            “Why does she feels so ?” Meg  queried.

            Sandy understood the reason, so she answered Meg’s question.

           

            “Mom is a bit short tempered.  So we quarreled most of the times . Believe me ,those quarrels were all started wantedly for our plan to work out. She used to get so angry that made all sort of  statements against me . But it didn’t hurt me. What hurt me was the fact that I was causing so much distress to her. I loved her very much. Besides her temper, she is really a wonderful woman to be with.  But I had to quarrel with her to make her hate me and it will be easier for separation. But still she controlled her anger sometimes. But when she came to know that I will not be able to give birth to a child,that was the final straw for her.”

            “What? What did u say just now? You cant …?” Meg asked her.

            Sandy bit her tongue and cursed her for not being careful of what she was speaking.

            “Yup,that’s true . Ofcourse,Sharat knew before marriage and that information was the main ammunition”, Sandy was embarrassed to continue.

            “But its all over now. I am  gonna get married to my beloved Meg and I know ur marriage with Paul also is on the cards. Its only a matter of time.” Sharat said.

            Not again, Sandy thought. Why did they had to bring him up now? She wanted to cry out that Paul was not hers anymore. He had not been her for more than  a year.  But she faked a smile and mumbled something in agreement. She would have to wait . Its gonna be a long night.

            “Hey guys!  I have been wanting to ask u for a long time. Which one of u came up with that plan?” Meg asked them.

            “It was me !”  Sandy replied.

            “what made u do that?” Meg asked again

            “ I will tell u. Well, my parents and sharat’s mom had decided to go ahead with the marriage proposal. U know, I was in love with Paul and Sharat here was in love with you.  So we met up and when we came to know that we had the same intention, which was  stopping the marriage, I had this sudden idea and then rest u know is history.”

           

            “ If I had not known this will work out, I would have called it as a stupid plan, but then seeing the results as we desired, all I could say its brilliant and u really do have some guts ,Sandy” Meg replied.

            “Thanks! But I don’t think this would have turned out well without your support” Sandy said

            “I definitely agree!” Sharat said.

            “So a toast to us?” Sandy asked . Sharat and Meg nodded  and all three raised their glasses and drank the champagne.

PART IV

August 25th,in Sandy’s home:

It was 3:00 AM in the morning. Sandy woke up to the sound of the alarm . Today was a big day for her best friends. Sharat and Meghna are getting married. Finally, their dream is gonna come true. Sandy was very happy for them. Rubbing away the sleep from her eyes, she went to Meghna’s room to wake her up.

Knocking on the door, she called Meghna to wake up.



“ Meg! Wake up . Its already 3:00.”,.Meg opened the door immediately. Meg was nervous. Sandy understood that Meghna was experiencing the pre wedding jitters.

“Hey gal, how u feeling?” Sandy asked. Meg just nodded her head. Sandy went near her and hugged her so that she will become relaxed. Meg hugged her tight in return.

“Sandy, I am so scared. What if something goes wrong ? What if I make a fool of myself? What if sharat’s mom does not like me.? Am I worthy to be with Sharat ?”

Meg just couldn’t hold all her meaningless fears inside. She continued blabbering.



“Hey Sweetheart, You don’t have to worry. I will be there by your side. Everything will be fine . Nothing will go wrong. You will be perfect. You will not do anything stupid to make a fool of yourself. Don’t worry about ma liking u. You are sweet and understanding girl. Ma will definitely like u very much. And for ur question about worthiness, Sharat is really lucky to have u. So quit worrying. Focus on the marriage, MARRIAGE. U are gonna get married sweetheart.” , Sandy hugged again.



“You think so?” Meg asked.

“I know so. Now come on, we have to get u dressed up and we need to be there at seven sharp. We have only few hours left sweetheart.”

It took some more time for Meg to become relaxed. Once Sandy was sure that Meg is relaxed, she laid out some cosmetics used before bath. Meg applied those cosmetics and went to take a shower. Meanwhile, Sandy laid out the beautiful red kanchivaram silk saree, on the bed making sure there is no crease in the saree. She went to her room and opened her locker and took out all the jewels that she had bought for Meghna. With the jewels in hand, she again went back to Meghna’s room. She kept the jewel boxes next to the saree. She then opened the kit bag and took out cosmetics for make up. Meghna had decided that she wanted only little make up. Sandy had agreed with her ,as she herself was not much fond of it. Making sure that everything needed was ready, she sat on the bed waiting for Meghna to come out. Her thoughts meanwhile strayed into the conversation that she had with Paul last night. It was around 12 PM when she got the call. She was actually surprised when she saw his number.



After twenty minutes Meghna came out and the door’s creaking noise broke Sandy’s train of thoughts. She smiled on seeing Meg.

“Meg, come on lets get u ready for Sharat.” Meg blushed on hearing this. Sandy started with the make up session, once she was half done , Sandy helped Meg to wear the saree. After that she finished with rest of the make up. She then proceeded with braiding the hair. She kept smiling the whole time and humming some tune.After half an hour she finished with Meghna and saw that time was nearly 5:30. It takes forty five mins to reach the temple from home. She led Meghna to the hall and switched on the fan and asked her to sit and relax for sometime . She dashed to her own room to get ready. After twenty minutes, she came out of her room in a blue silk saree. She went to the pooja room and lit a lamp. She prayed that the wedding should happen without any hiccups. She took some kumkum and kept on her forehead.She took some in her hand and went to the hall. She then gave it to Meghna. Looking at Meghna, Sandhya was happy. Meghna was looking very beautiful. Out of habit, Sandhya took some kaajal from her eyes and kept a tiny tiny dot on Meghna’s cheek.

“Meg! U look so beautiful.”

“Thanks Sandy”



The clock striked and the time was 6:00 AM. It was time to leave. She took the car keys ,her cellphone which she then put into the handbag. Both of them came out. Sandy locked the door and within five minutes,they were on the way to the temple. Thankfully,there was less traffic and so she was able to reach the temple within half an hour.

In the Temple:

Meghna stepped out of the car and waited for Sandy to lock the car so that can go inside the temple. She was getting a bit nervous again. Sandy took her handbag and locked the car. Both of them went inside the temple to the mandap where the marriage was to take place. They reached the mandap and found that Sharat, Ma and some of their relatives were already there. When Ramya,Sharat’s mom saw Sandhya she got angry , but she didn’t want to spoil anything and so controlled her anger. Meghna went near her and got her blessings. Sandy didn’t miss the anger that was there on ma’s face for a minute. She fought the urge to tell Sharat’s mom everything at that moment. But then they had decided to wait till day after the reception party. She then went to Sharat and congratulated him .

“Hey Sharat, Congrats! So ur dream finally gonna come true. I am so happy for u.”

“Thanks Sandy. Yeah , Finally!” Sharat laughed. Sandy’s cell rang. She excused herself and attended the call. It was her dad.



“Hello Sandhya”

“Hello pa, Tell me. Where are u? U guys are coming right?”

“Yeah ma, we are on our way. Just wanted to know the muhurtham”

“Its from 7:45 -9, pa. Ma and brother also coming na?”

“Okie ma. Yeah ma Sandhya. They are also coming. We will be there in another forty five mins.”

“Okie pa. Fine”

“I’ll cut the call now ma.”

“Okie pa”



Sandy disconnected the call. She turned to Sharat and mouthed that it was her dad. Before she could tell anything more. Her cell rang again. It was Paul, this time.



“Hello, Sandhya?”

“Hello Paul, Yeah tell me.”

“Are u sure, Sandhya? Do we need to come?”

“Paul, I told u last night itself. They have invited u for the wedding. U should respect that. So please do come.”

“I know Sandhya, but still they don’t know anything about what happened right? Is it wise?”

“They will have to know some day Paul; I don’t know whether I will be able to tell them myself. Its better they ask. But I will have to tell them only after the reception party. Till then, they will have to be patient if they want to know.”

“Okie. Whatever!”

“Where are you? Have you started?”

“Yeah we are on our way.”

“Okie, then. Fine”

She disconnected the call. She was very nervous. It had been a long time since she last met Paul. She shrugged off the nervousness and tuned her thoughts into focusing on the marriage. She noticed that Sharat was looking at her with a worried face and realized that her face must have shown her anxiety.

“Hey Sandy, What happened? Who called ?”

“It was Paul, Sharat. He said he was on his way.”

“Oh then I think it was just a lover’s quarrel that made u tensed. Am I right?” Sharat winked at her.

“Sharat! Nothing like that. Come on boy, here comes the pandit. Time for u to sit in the mandap and behave like a good boy. ” Sandhya smiled back at him. There was a familiar pang of pain in her heart.

“ Okie.” They went back to the mandap. Meghna was already seated in the mandap. Sharat went and sat beside her. Unable to resist himself, he bent down and whispered in Meghna’s ears.

“Hey sweetheart, U are looking gorgeous. I love u.”

Meghna blushed and replied back “I love u too honey. U don’t look bad yourself”.



The pandit cleared his throat and the two lovers came back to the reality. Sharat’s mom was happy to see her son happy.

Both the bride and bridegroom started reciting the mantras under the pandit’s guidance. After some time, Sandhya’s parents along with her brother and sister in law and their kid, akhil arrived. Sharat’s mom received them. No one seemed to be expressing their disagreement. Sandhya was pretty amazed to see her mom getting along with Sharat’s mom as if nothing had happened between them. Sandhya was happy and smiled at her brother and sister in law. Akhil came and stood near Sandy holding her hand. Sandy smiled at him and hugged him.

The time was already 8:15. The holy thread was placed over two coconuts on a plate filled with rice mixed in turmeric and passed around to the people gathered to get their blessings.

Sandhya looked at the watch. Paul is yet to arrive. Just when she was thinking about him, she saw him coming . A girl in green saree was coming behind and she was holding a baby in her arms. All the emotions that Sandhya had been dumping inside her heart were threatening to come out of her. She looked at Sharat and Meghna and noticed that they were immersed in the ritual. Thankfully, they didn’t notice. Her eyes went back again to Paul. Sandy thought “Here is the man that I love coming along with his wife and kid to attend my ex-husband’s marriage. What a weird life!” She greeted Paul and his wife Gowri with a smile on her face. She asked Akhil to stand in front of her. She got the baby from Gowri and held it in her arms. It was a girl baby and was looking beautiful. She kissed the baby on her forehead.

She turned back to the bride and bridegroom . It was time to tie the knot. She gave the baby back to Gowri and went near Meghna. Sharat took the holy thread in his hands and started tying it around Meghna’s neck. Sandhya helped him to tie it properly. The people gathered for the occasion threw the rice mixed in turmeric powder as their blessings for the couple. Once the three knots were tied. Sandhya hugged Meghna and kissed on her cheek. She was very happy. Meghna and Sharat were beaming.



The pandit again gained their attention and they started on some more rituals. At around 9:15 , the marriage ceremony was completely over. Sandhya asked Paul and Gowri to wait for some time so that they can wish the couples . She took Akhil with her and went to her mom. After talking for sometime with her mom, she went to the pandit who was preparing to leave and thanked him for doing the ceremony and gave him the money that they had decided on. The pandit thanked her and left. She turned back and found that the relatives who had gathered had already left. Only her mom,dad,brother,sis-in law,akhil,Sharat’s mom and Paul and his wife were remaining along with the couples. Meghna and Sharat was oblivious of the others. She noticed that Paul was feeling out of place and getting impatient. She decided it was time. She went to Paul and Gowri and together they went to Sharat and Meghna.



“Hem,Hem” ,Sandhya cleared her throat to get the attention of the couples. Meghna and Sharat turned and smiled sheepishly.

“Good, now that u are aware of the presence of the others, some one would like to wish u”. Sandy said and stepped aside.

“Hey Sharat and Meghna! Congratulations guys! Am happy for u guys.” Paul said.

“Thanks Paul” Sharat and Meghna said in a chorus.

“Congratulations, Sharat and Congratulations Meghna” , Gowri said hesitantly.

“Er Thank you” Sharat and Meghna said.

“Oh guys , u don’t know my wife? Do u?. This is Gowri” Paul said.

“Wife? When did you get married?” Sharat asked Paul. Meghna turned around searching for Sandhya . She was confused. Paul’s wife?

“About an year and half back mate” Paul replied.

“Oh , am forgetting my manners, sorry. Hi Gowri. It is nice to meet you. Sorry, I was just surprised as I didn’t know Paul had got married. The last time I saw him , he was still single.” Sharat said . He was confused but he didn’t show it on his face. He was angry with Sandhya too. What had been going on?

“Nice to meet u too,Sharat.”

Sandhya came to Meghna who was giving a confused stare and whispered “ I will explain everything later. I promise.”

Meghna, just nodded her head and greeted Gowri. Sharat saw Sandy standing beside Meghna. He could see the pain in her face. He wanted to know everything. Sandy went near him and hugged him and then told him

“Sharat , I know u are confused and angry. I will explain everything later. Please. This is not the right time.”

Sharat just nodded his head. After sometime,Sandhya’s family left and followed by them Paul left along with his wife.

The remaining was Sharat’s mom , the newly married couple and Sandhya. Sharat’s mom said that it was time for them to leave.

Sharat and Meghna , both of them in a confused state stood staring at Sandhya. Sandhya knew the reason for the stares. She told them that she will explain everything to them the day after the reception party and asked them to be a bit patient. They just nodded and left with Ramya.

Sandhya was left alone. She left the temple and went towards her car. She got in and drove home straight. A tornado of emotions was building in her heart. She didn’t want to think about anything. She drove her car in a daze. Within sometime, she had reached her home. She went inside the house. The memories were haunting her. She couldn’t bear it anymore. She lay on the bed and cried aloud. It seemed as if a dam had broken and there was no end for the tears. She cried herself to sleep.



August 26th, In the Party Hall:

It was 7:30 in the evening and the reception party had started. Both Sharat and Sandhya were sitting in a chair on the dais.

People had started arriving and wishing them. It was scheduled to go on till 8:30. In the morning , they had been angry and had not called Sandy. But then they later their concern for her overcame those emotions and made them call her. But she hadn’t picked up. They had been calling continuously but she didn’t attend any of their calls. They stopped calling her after sometime as she will be coming to the reception party anyways. But now already half an hour gone , still they couldn’t see any sign of her.

Two Hours Later:

It was 9:30 and the party was over. Sandy had not come. Meghna and Sharat were worried. They called her again but still she didn’t pick up. They wanted to see her but it was already late and they had to vacate the party hall and do the settlement. So they decided to go and meet her the next day.



August 27th , 10:00 AM, In Sandy’s house:

Sharat and Meg arrived at Sandy’s house. They rang the door bell and waited for sometime. But Sandy didn’t open the door. They rang several times but no response came. Meg suddenly remembered she had another key to the house. She opened her purse and took the key.



“Sharat, I have a key . Open with this.” She handed over the key to Sharat. With the help of the key Sharat unlocked the door and entered the house. It was dark inside. Meghna came behind him. Both of them called out Sandy’s name aloud but got no response. Meghna went to Sandy’s room. She saw Sandy lying on the bed and noticed that she was still in the same saree that she was wearing on 25th. She went near Sandy to wake her up.When she touched Sandy’s arm , it was very hot.

“Sharat! Come over here!” Meghna called. Sharat sensing some urgency in her voice dashed to Sandy’s bedroom.

“What happened Meg?” Sharat asked.

“Her body temperature is too high. Looks like she is having a fever. I am not able to wake her up. Call up the doc.”

“Okie Meg. U stay here with her. I will get the doc.”

“Come soon!”

“Okie”. Sharat rushed out of the door. Within 15 mins he was back with the doctor. The doctor checked Sandy and gave an injection to reduce the temperature. He prescribed some medicines and instructed to give the same as per his directions .



It took a week for Sandy to recover completely and the whole week Sharat and Meghna had been taking turns to take care of her.



Sep 4th, Sandy’s house:



The hall was occupied by Sandhya’s family which included her parents,bro,sis-in-law and Sharat’s mom. No one knew why they were asked to come. Sandy, Meg and Sharat was in the room discussing on how to start the conversation with them. They left the room and came to the hall and stood in front of the assembled family . Sandy took a deep breath and started the conversation.



“I know u all are confused as to the reason for this gathering. Sharat and Myself have something to confess to u guys.”

“What is it ma ?” asked her dad.

“Well dad, u think that my marriage with Sharat was arranged by u and Ramya Ma. But that’s not the truth. It was arranged by us.”

“What are u saying Sandhya? I don’t understand”, Sandhya’s brother queried her.

“Ya brother. Well u see this is what happened. When Sharat’s alliance came , I know u guys were very happy with it. But I was not. U see I was in love with a person and wanted to marry him. So I decided to meet Sharat to convince him to reject me. But when we met, I happened to know that he too was not interested in this marriage as he was in love with Meghna. We knew for sure that u guys wont allow love marriage. Even if we were able to stop this alliance ,there was no surety that we would have been do the same with other alliances that come our way. So I had a sudden idea of why not myself and Sharat get married and then later divorce. After that we will be able to marry the person we wish. I told this to Sharat. He thought about it and he was fine with it . We then told Meghna and my lover about my plan. They too agreed after a lot of persuasion.” Sandy stopped.

“The marriage happened. But we were not husband and wife ,but friends. The quarrels between mom and Sandhya were all started just to make my mom angry so that she will come to hate Sandy and it will be easier for divorce. But every time sandy quarreled, she would end up feeling sad for causing so much distress. But still we had to stick to our plan. But when mom came to know that Sandy will not be able to give birth , that was the final tear. Mom felt she had been betrayed and that led to our plan get executed. We are telling u this because, we wanted u not to feel guilty. It was not ur fault for our failed marriage. It was planned by us. U may think it as a stupid plan. But it worked for us. We didn’t mean to hurt u.” Sharat completed.



The whole hall was in complete silence. No one spoke. Finally Ramya, Sharat’s mom broke the silence.

“Sandhya,come here ma.” Sandy went near her. Ramya hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Sandy was taken by surprise but was happy and hugged her back.

“Ma, I am so sorry for fighting with u all the time . Please forgive me .”

“Its okie child. I forgive u. When I look at how happy my son is now, I can definitely forgive you.”

“Sandhya” Her dad called her.

“Yes dad”

“We know about Meghna now. Tell us about the person u r in love with. We can arrange for ur marriage now.”

“No pa . I cant marry him now. He is already married to someone else.” Sandy replied.

“Some one else?”

“yeah uncle, someone called Gowri. Even I didn’t know . Looks like Sandy has more things to explain.” Sharat replied.

Sandy closed her eyes. Here it goes .

“yeah, well I will tell. I was Paul’s second love. He was already in love with a girl named gowri who was forced to marry someone else. After her , Paul and myself fell in love with each other. While I was planning my marriage with Sharat and then divorce. Gowri got a divorce from her husband and came back to Paul. I didn’t know any of this. I got married to Sharat and one day when I went to Paul’s home, I found them together in bed. I was angry. He explained that he already said that cant marry to Gowri, and she had been okie with it. But then that day they had been drinking together and Paul realized that his love for Gowri didn’t die. We didn’t talk for a while. After some months we got to know Gowri was pregnant. I ordered Paul to marry Gowri and even signed as a witness in their marriage. He was still in love with her and I knew he was happy with her. That made me happy even though it was painful. U remember those days Sharat , when I was feeling depressed. It was because of this. I didn’t tell u any of this cause I didn’t want u to think about anyother option. I waited all these days just to make sure everything happens as per our plans atleast to u . I am very happy now.” Sandy finished with tears.



Sharat embraced her,while Meghna too came and it was a group hug. After sometime Sandy calmed herself.



“Well that was strange” Sandy’s bro said.

“Life is Strange,mate” Sharat replied.

“I don’t think so Sharat. I think we live Strangely. All the things that happened was because of our decisions. If we had taken decision like others, it would have been different. Instead we took a strange decision and we see the consequences. Life is not strange. It us who live strangely.” Sandy replied.

“so what are u gonna do now” Sharat asked

“Carry on with my work . For now I have all of u . Maybe later I will some one who loves me back and I get to be with him “ Sandy replied

“Good Idea” Sharat said.

“I know. I always have brilliant ideas.” Sandy replied with a wink.

The Abandoned Alley

             It was very late and Suparna was walking alone in an alley which looked abandoned, but she knew there was a shadow following her. All her senses were sharp because of the fear in her heart. She was new to this place; no one has used this path. She was the first one to travel in this route. She didn’t know where her destination was, but she kept on walking down the alley. Suddenly there was a rustle behind her. Her fear increased and she increased her pace. She could feel something was behind her trying to pull her back. Whatever it was, Suparna was sure it didn’t want her to reach her destination. And then all of a sudden she felt a hand on her shoulders. Not able to withstand her fear anymore, Suparna screamed for help

             “AAAAA!” Suparna screamed and then woke up with a jerk. It was just a dream. Her entire body was covered with sweat and her mind was in a frenzied state. Tears filled her eyes and she started to sob uncontrollably.

            

“Su! What happened? Another nightmare?” Anjali was asking her, trying to pacify her distraught room mate at the same time. Anjali and Suparna were working in the same call center and shared a room too. They have been acquainted for almost a year and they have become good friends. Suparna has been having these nightmares for a long time. Anjali has been trying to get her friend go to a doctor. But Suparna was so stubborn in this matter. Anjali didn’t know why, but she felt as if Suparna was hiding something.

It took longer than usual for Suparna to relax. She has been having these nightmares from the time she decided to leave her past behind and start a new life.

 Nobody in her current life knew about her past. She has never uttered a word to any soul. Whenever people asked her about her past, she would evade the conversation. Only her employer knew about her and it made her feel very insecure. Even Anjali didn’t know and she was not willing to change the state. She didn’t have any dark secrets to hide, but she didn’t want to remember either.

            “Yes Anju, am sorry for disturbing your sleep. I am terribly sorry. These nightmares never seem to go away. Every time, I try a new technique to get rid of these nightmares, they just seem to get worse”, Suparna explained to Anjali.

          “That’s Okie, Su. Why are refraining from a doctor’s consent?”

          “Please, Anjali. If I go to doctor, then he will ask me some questions which I don’t want to answer. I am sorry.”

          “Okie. Leave it. Let’s get some rest. We will have to go to work in another five hours.”

          “Okie”.

Suparna couldn’t sleep again. She was tossing and turning in the bed trying to get some sleep. After sometime,she got up and went to the living room of the house that they were staying in, she opened her bag and took one of her diaries which was tattered. None of them knew that these diaries were a key to solve the mystery of her past. She has been trying to destroy it many times, but she never could bring herself to do that. She had been hoping that every day, there might be a change in life but it is the same. Now once again hoping that the new day might bring a change in her life, she started browsing through the pages of her diary.

  

“                                                                                                                                                                      8^th November, 1995

                                                                                                                                       11:30 AM

Hi there,

It was raining like cats and dogs today. But am happy, as our school declared holiday. I can play with the kids staying in the ground floor flat. As you already know, Mom is not feeling well, so I am doing my current year in school from my aunt’s house. I now have a big gang of friends. It has been a good year so far. I never thought could draw perfectly. But I got a good for one of my drawings. Now I know, am not that bad when it comes to drawing. I will have to just practice and work hard. No need of asking my sister to help me anymore. Okie. Aunt is calling me for lunch. She has made my favorite dish, vegetable biryani with potato fry. I am gonna go. Will meet you later. Bye”

          “                                                                                                                                      8:00 PM

             Hi,

 I just read the entry I made in the morning. I was happy in the morning, but I feel very sad now. After having my lunch, I slept till 4:30 and then I got up .I freshened up myself and waited for the clock to strike 5:00. PM. It was my regular playtime. I went down and waited for my friends at the usual place. I waited for sometime and then aarthi, hema and suba came. They lived in the J block of our colony. We were waiting for the gals from the flat in ground floor. After sometime we started playing with the sand which was placed there for the repair going on in one of the houses. We built a sand castle and used some bricks as a fort so that no one will destroy it accidentally. After that we played the gals game of cuzzaway and caterpillar and zig – zag-zoom and ham cheese ham burger. Aarthi’s mom then called us saying that it was getting late and they had to do some homework. So we said tata and left. I went to Suganya’s house (the gal from the ground floor) to ask why she didn’t come to play.But when I went there, only Suganya’s dad and her grand ma was there. Uncle said Suganya and her mom have gone out . Uncle asked me to come inside. He was asking about how I felt about staying in aunt’s place and studying. I told him that I felt good and don’t feel much tired  and I have lots of friends to play with. He was asking about my favourite heroes and heroines. I was answering him very enthusiastically. Suddenly, I felt Uncles hands inside my t-shirt and i tried to push him away. He held my hands and placed on his thighs. I took off my hands and pushed him on the floor and rushed home. I am so scared, I know he was gonna do something wrong  and am too scared to say this to my aunt. I came home and vomited. I feel very bad. I can never forget whatever happened.Oh God ! I am so scared. I am not a bad gal. Why did he do like that. I hate him…………………….”

   

There were some more things written in the diary, but they were faded as they have been blotted by her tears. Suparna sat there, with silent tears flowing from her eyes. The memories were flooding through her mind. That incident is etched clearly in her mind. She felt a new urge of anger towards the man who had been the first to scar her beautiful mind, heart and soul. He was not the only one to do that. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with so much grief ,that she was feeling as if she was not able to breath. There was a sudden thud on the floor. Suparna came back from her reminiscence with a jerk and saw that it was time to get ready for office. She didn’t know what made her to read the diary. “Maybe I was looking for some kind of explanation from the diary for these nightmares. But if I have to find it, I will have to go through diaries, but there is lot of them.” She decided, that she will complete one diary a day so that she can find an answer for her journey in abandoned alley ….

PART –II

                                                                        The Abandoned Alley

“Good Morning!  Welcome to Informatics Helpline, How can I be of assistance?” Suparna could hear the voices of her colleagues offering assistance to various callers in their own way. She has been at work for the last two hours and didn’t have any calls to look into right now. She decided to take a break .

“Anju ! can u cover me up for 15 minutes. I need a break.”

“Okie Su!, But not more than 15  minutes, as I have a hunch that we are gonna be flooded with calls.”

“Thanks Anju, I will be back soon. Do you need anything?”

“No, am fine, thanks”

Suparna went to the pantry and made herself a cup of coffee .She sat in the table next to a glass window and her eyes started to wander the streets, observing all the people walking on the road. After sometime, her gaze fixed on a young couple who were holding hands and walking slowly. They looked so happy and peaceful together and this brought a smile on her face. Her memory started wandering backwards and came to a stop at the image of she and Rahul holding hands. He was the only person; she had ever come to love and still in love. He was her best friend in her college days. He knew everything about her except those incidents which had left her wounded. She fell in love with him and knew that he loved her too. She wanted to be true to him. So she told him everything that she had been hiding from him. She thought that he will understand, but his reaction was opposite to what she had expected. He slowly withdrew from her till there was no contact.

Not wanting to breakdown in the office, Suparna relaxed and found that it was almost 15 minutes. She left the pantry and on entering the work area, the same cacophony of voices greeted her. She went to her seat and carried on with her work after thanking Anjali. She became busy in the second half with a flood of calls just as Anjali had predicted. After a hectic day at work, Su and Anjali went back to their place. After having their dinner, they decided to turn in for the day. Suparna went to the living room and switched on the light and opened her satchel that contained her diaries and randomly picked one. It was diary of the year 1997. She immediately realized that it’s gonna be a long night.

                                  January -1997 

“Hi there,                                                                                                                                            14^th January 1997                    

          I am in my native place in uncle’s house for the pongal celebration. This is the first time that we are coming to my native place for pongal. Usually we celebrate it in Chennai itself. Today morning, my brother was wearing a traditional dress called “panjakacham” in Tamil. I, bro and cousin sis went to the temple with our uncle in BLACKIE. That is the name of Uncle’s car. On her way back home, blackie stopped functioning. My brother had to walk 2 kms in his dress to get some fuel for the car. I was laughing at the image of my bro in his  attire. He looked so funny.He was very angry and irritated that he had to roam around in the stupid attire and he was having trouble to make it stay.On reaching home, I shared this with everyone in house and we all had a laugh at my brother’s expense.Poor bro’s face went red with embarrassment. ha ha ha .”

Suparna was chuckling as she completed that entry on her diary. She turned sober as she missed her brother and the silly fights with him. She then browsed  her entries and her  hands stopped at the page dated March 28^th 1997.

                        March 1997

“Hi there,                                                                                                                                  28^th March,1997

    It has been a long time since I had the nightmare of that Uncle. But yesterday night , I woke up with fear because of that nightmare and  couldn’t sleep after that. So I switched on the lights and started studying for the English –II exam that I had today.The question paper was very easy and am sure that I will definitely score a centum in it. If I do score well, mom had promised to get me a ladybird cycle. I have science exam tomorrow and am prepared for it. After the exam , I have to attend the special class for physics. So I will not be able to sleep in the afternoon, so I better get to sleep. But am still wondering about the nightmare. Hope I do not get the nightmare tonight. Ok then, bye Good night .Sweet dreams.”

Su knew what was  gonna come in the next day’s entry and  her hands were trembling as she turned the page. Her eyes were already filled with tears.

“Hi,                                                                                                                                           29^th March, 1997

Why does it always happen to me? Life is so dirty. I don’t wanna live. I feel so dirty and like garbage. I feel like am gonna become crazy. Why do some human beings behave like animals and why is it that am so unfortunate, that am being picked up as a plaything by these animals. I am so scared. I am not sure whether to tell mom or not. I don’t want to school anymore. Hell, I don’t even wanna live anymore, let alone going to school. I never thought that physics sir would do something like this to me. HE is an animal. HE dirtied me. I fought him , but he was so strong. I  screamed for help and this aayah saw my situation but she never helped me .Are her eyes blind or heart? I am so sick of people. I don’t know what to do . Am very scared. But am angry too, on this animal who should have been a teacher to me. For God’s sake these persons are supposed to be educated.They say that education turns you into a human being from an animal. But this pig still remained one even after education and gaining so much knowledge. There are so many pigs like this one roaming in this world and that’s what I am scared of. Am very scared. God HELP ME PLEASE.What mistake did I do ? Why this cruel punishment. It is more worse than a guillotine.. I don’t wanna live . I hate u god! . Y do u have to be so harsh on me. This is not fair at all. I hate you and I will never pray to you again. U are a bad god. U are very partial. I HATE U. Do u get that? U have lost one child. U could have done something, but u chose to do nothing . I HATE U AND I HATE MYSELF.What am I gonna do ..”

Su closed the diary as the memory replayed in her mind. She couldn’t control it. She started crying, still cursing God for scarring her at so an young age. She then remembered that her best friend died because of the same animal. She couldn’t bear the anguish and so committed suicide. She was also dirtied by the same animal. But nobody did anything. Even Su couldn’t do anything because of the fear. She hated the man who had spoiled her in young age never letting her be happy When she told Rahul about this , he felt betrayed and this memory served the purpose of separating them. All the anguish, that she had locked up in her heart resurfaced again and she felt like she was choking. All the memories were playing in her mind. Her eyes were drooping with tiredness and she realized that it was already 2:00 am  in the morning. She went to the bedroom and lied down on the bed .She was crying and slowly she slipped into sleep with the memory of her first meeting with Rahul. The memory slowly drifted into the dream and she entered the abandoned alley once again.

PART –III

                                                                        The Abandoned Alley

Suparna was once again walking through the abandoned alley and had the familiar feeling of the shadow stalking her. She woke up with a start just as she felt the hands on her shoulders. She was covered with perspiration. Su turned to the clock and found that it was already six o clock in the morning. She gently woke up Anjali and started to get ready for the day with the hope that it would turn out to be good. After getting ready, both of them left for office at around 8:00 and reached by 8:45. They started their work at around 9:00.Both Su and Anju were dedicated to the job very much.

At around 11:00 A.M, Su decided to take a break.

            “Hey Anju! Care to join me for a cup of coffee?”

            “Definitely Su! I am tired and need a break. What’s refreshing than a cup of coffee. Come ,Let’s go. We can ask Harrison to cover for us”

            “Hey Harry! Can u cover me and Su for 20 minutes? We are going for a break. That’s why. By the way , u need anything ?”

             “No problem, u girls go and take a break. When u come back get me two bars of snickers.”

             “Okie Harry, no problem”

           

            Su and Anjali entered the pantry to find it completely void of people. Su went and sat at the same table where sat yesterday and started looking outside the glass window, as she sipped her cup of coffee. Anju, who was talkative by nature, was unusually silent. Su gazed through the street and her eyes found the same couple who were on the street yesterday. Her lips curved forming a smile on her face. Su turned to Anjali and was shocked to see tears in her eyes.

            “Hey Anju! What happened? Why are you crying? You know you can tell me ,don’t you?”

            “Yeah Su ! I know and I was going to tell you.Well, It’s Sanjay. Well, you know that I proposed to him and he was disappointed .So he started avoiding me .  So I just lied to him saying that I was just confused when I proposed to him and now I am clear that am not in love with him. After that, he became normal and we started talking just like before.But, whenever he flirts with me or say some thing romantic, I feel happy .At the same time ,its very painful when I realize that he doesn’t mean anything he says. It feels like he is tearing my heart.”

            “Hey Anju ! I know what  you are going through is painful. But you have got to be strong.Think on the positive side,atleast now you are able to talk to him.I remember how miserable you were during the days when he avoided talking to you. I have a feeling that he also loves you,but hasn’t realized it yet.But we can’t be sure until he says so. I know its very difficult for you , but you have to wait. Now come on, cheer up ! Don’t worry. Even if Sanjay doesn’t loves you back, you will have Swamy  who loves you so much .. he he”

            “Prat ! That’s not funny. I shudder  at the sight of the guy who is just an replica Snivelly Snape. I  will rather be heartbroken  than to be with that guy. Uuugh!”

            “Now, that’s the Anju I know.Come, Let’s go!”

            After  the chit chat Su and Anju left for the work area. After a hard day at work, they left for hime .It was Su’s turn today to cook.Since Anju was still upset,Su decided to surprise her with her favorite dish,Dosai with Chicken kurma.She went out and returned with chicken .Anju was asleep on the couch.Su started to prepare the dishes and finished it in two hours. Anju woke up to the  mouth watering aroma of chicken.After the dinner, Anju went to the bedroom, to talk to Sanjay for sometime.

            Su went to the living room and opened the bag that had all the diaries in it.She picked up a diary and found that it was of the year 2008.This was a gonna be a night full of pleasant memories. She browsed the pages and stopped in May 2008

                       

                                                MAY 2008

“Hi There,                                                                                                              21^st May 2008

          I had my arrear exam in DSP today. I hope to pass. I have already got my DOJ in July. Hope by that results will come. Am very nervous. I don’t know what will happen if I don’t get through. All my relatives know that  I am placed , but they don’t know that I have an arrear and my career prospects depend on the result. You know what ? I got a new friend request in Orkut from a guy called Rahul. I accepted it, as he had mentioned that he also was a great fan of HP.”

Su turned the page with a smile on her face.She knew that the entries in the pages will mostly be about Rahul.

“Hi There,                                                                                                              27^th May 2008

          You know what? I chatted with Rahul for four hours in the net. We have so much things in common.He is also an HP fan.His favourite pair onscreen also is Shahrukh and Kajol.He seems to know ,what am thinking. I am not able to talk glibly to him, like I do with others.I have already told him lots about me except those ……… He gave me his mobile numbers today so that I can talk to him whenever I feel like.”

Su was  grinning as she finished reading the entry. She was getting close to him, but she had not realized it.

                                    JUNE 2008

“Hi There,                                                                                                              4^th June,2008

          Today results were published. But I didn’t get my results yet. It will take some more time. I talked with Rahul for two hours over the phone. It was so good. His voice was awesome. We decided to meet up next weekend. Am so eager to meet him.”

“Hi there,                                                                                                               14^th June,2008

          You know what?Am so happy. I met Rahul today. He is very handsome. God, his eyes were mesmerizing and very piercing.We met in Abirami mall, since it was close to both of us. I went to the mall and searched for him.So I had to go out and call him from a phone booth as  I don’t have mobile phone. I called him up and asked me if I was the girl in chocolate color salwar. I said yes. He said that he saw me coming inside the mall and looking lost. I asked then,where he was sitting. He said that he was sitting beside a family with a baby. I went back and found him playing with the baby. He looked so cute. The meeting was supposed to be for only 45 minute, but we talked for 3 hours. He went to order apple juice for the both of us and on his way back, there was a small kid with a  hat standing. He stopped and played with the kid for sometime. It was so good to watch him.It was so good talking to him.He was so polite and gentle.We talked about so many silly things which made perfect sense at that time.But now thinking back, if anyone had listened to our conversation, they would have thought that we were mad. Thanks to Orkut! I have a good friend now..”

Su was nostalgic by the time she finished  reading the entry. Rahul is the only person that she missed most from her past life. She loved him so much that it hurt her in the end.She was feeling sad and sleepy.She turned off the light and placed the diary back in the bag and went to the bedroom.She closed her eyes with the image of Rahul holding her hand which slowly drifted to the abandoned alley.

PART –IV

Sorry for the very much delayed post. I was caught in a web of issues. It took me so much time to escape from it.Will post regularly henceforth.   

                

The Abandoned Alley

Su woke up with a jerk and found herself looking at Anjali’s worried face. She convinced Anjali that she was fine but Anjali didn’t believe. Both of them started to get ready for the office. They reached office and started working after checking their mails. There were lots of calls that needed to attended and it kept them glued to their seats. Su was not even able to take her usual 15 minutes coffee break. Time flew by and it was lunch time already. Su and Anju left for the cafeteria. Anju was talking over phone with Sanjay; so Su bought the food coupons for both of them. Su was thinking about the memories that she read last night. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice her coupon number blinking on the screen.

           

   “Madam, what is your coupon number?”

   

Su came to her senses and found that people were staring at her. She mumbled an apology and left the counter with the food that she had ordered for herself and Anju. Anju was still talking over the phone and Su was reminded of her training days when she used to speak with Rahul over the phone for hours. She missed Rahul so much. Su wiped her tears. She had thought that leaving her past behind and leading a new life will not be painful. But she had been wrong. The pain was still there even now and it was becoming worse as days went by. She felt very jealous of the people around her who were very happy without any fear and worries.

She longed to be carefree just like them. But she has never been able to, ever since the day when she lost her innocence. She has always been with a constant fear. She had lost interest in everything until the day Rahul entered her life. He had turned her world upside down, right from the first day. He was the one who had brought genuine smile on her face after a long time and to bring back her confidence. But now, he too had left her.

            Su heard someone calling and found Anju waving her hand.

“Hey Su!”

“Yeah Anju! Why are u shouting?”

“I have been calling u for the last five mins? Guess u were in ur own world.”

“Oh ! Am sorry. I was just thinking and I guess that I got carried away.”

“It’s ok. Come! Let’s go”

Su left the cafeteria with Anju and started the work immediately.  It was more hectic than it had been in the morning. Fortunately, their day ended soon and both of them left for home, exhausted.

Su was very anxious about the memories that was gonna read that night. She went to the living room  and switched on the light .Wishing that it wouldn’t be distressing memories, she opened the satchel and picked a diary  with her eyes closed. She slowly opened her eyes and found that it was the year  2009

“                         FEB 2009                                                                                                1^st February,2009

Hi There!

I am so happy today. I proposed my love to Rahul today and  you know what? HE TOO LOVES ME… hehe..

Unbelievable isn’t it? But I am so happy. I am lucky to have him in my life. But one thing that still worries me, is that how will he react when I tell him about that incident in my life. I am afraid that I will leave me. I can’t hide it too. I need to tell him soon…

What? Oh u wanna know how I proposed him.? Okie .Will tell u wait…..

Well u know that I have been waiting for the right time to confess my love to him.. Yesterday ,Anupama called and told me that she was in love with Raju and even Raju loves her, And then the day before yesterday, both Arun and Sanjana called up and confessed that they were in love with each other and they just now realized it. They wanted me to be the first person  to know about it. It was as if the atmosphere was filled with love. Any conversation that I had with any of them finally ended with the topic LOVE.I couldn’t wait anymore. So I decided to call Rahul and tell him everything. It was a risk that I had to take , but I needed to get it out of my system.So I called him and this is what we spoke..

    ME : Hello, Rahul?

    RAHUL:  Hey Sweetie!

    ME: Are u busy, right now?

    RAHUL: No, tell me. What’s up?

    ME: ….. Listen, I need to tell u something. But don’t talk in between. Just listen to what I have got to say. Can u do that ?

    RAHUL: Of course

    ME: OK. You may be shocked or disappointed or even angry when I finish speaking….. here it goes..  I think I am in love with you.

          No  No … I  AM IN LOVE WITH YOU… I don’t know whether you feel the same way or not. But I just needed to tell you this as you r my best friend. I  don’t hide anything from u and I didn’t want to hide this too..That’s why am telling u this..

    RAHUL: Hey! U know what ? U were correct. I am really angry with u ..

    ME: I am so sorry …

   RAHUL : Wait. Don’t talk in between. You had ur chance to speak what ever u wanted to. Now its my turn. As I said I am angry with you. You always be the first to do  everything. Always ahead of me. Here I was, planning a romantic way to propose to you. But you just spoiled all my plans by just saying that u were in love with me like eating a piece of cake.

    ME: What ? What r u saying? I am not understanding anything..

    RAHUL: My sweetie, the brilliant gal who sometimes becomes an idiot. What I am trying to say is  I TOO AM IN LOVE WITH YOU.I LOVE U SWEETIE..

    ME: ……….OUCH……..HEHE

    RAHUL: Hey Su! What happened ?

   ME: Nothing, I just pinched myself to check whether it’s a dream or reality. IT is real… I LOVE U RAHUL.

   RAHUL: I LOVE U. But am still angry with u?

   ME: What for ?

   RAHUL: You spoiled my plans remember?

   ME: Okie. Tell u what ? Why don’t u propose to me again? Anyhow, I don’t know what ur plan was.Surprise me..

   RAHUL:Now, that’s a good idea. I am gonna sweep you off ur feet.Watch out!

   ME: ..giggle.. I am so happy. U have no idea how much tensed I was.

   RAHUL: So that’s why you were not speaking properly?

   ME: Yeah..

   RAHUL:..So now the wolf is out of the basket, I guess?

   ME: Oh yes .. Now what do we do?

   RAHUL:We celebrate.

   ME:When? Where ?

   RAHUL: Let’s see about that..

          .

          .

          .

We spoke for 5 hours on the phone.. I feel like am on top of the world .  he he  ;-)                                                   “

Su smiled and turned the pages. There were more entries that had many phone conversations. Those were the happiest days of her life.

“                                                                                                                                                         Feb14th,2009

   Hi There,

          The day did start wonderfully. It’s Valentine’s Day today. I gave Rahul a shirt as a gift and he gave me music CD of BSB.

          We went to citi centre for shopping. We spent the day shopping and then we watched a movie in the afternoon. In the evening,we went to restaurant for dinner. Rahul had reserved a table. The ambience of the restaurant was too good. The restaurant had been decorated beautifully. It was an amazing sight. Music was playing in the background. We had our dinner. Just as we finished the dessert, I heard the music stop and I heard Rahul’s voice. But Rahul was sitting in front of me with his mouth closed. I could still hear Rahul’s voice. I was confused. It was Rahul’s voice delivering the famous Varanam Ayiram dialogue “Hi  Malini, I am Krishnan”. But the names were changed. I was amazed. The dialogue didn’t end the same way .Rahul was professing his love through  a poem. I turned to see Rahul on his knees with a rose in his hand.As soon as the poem ended ,

  “Su, I love you so much and I wanna spend my life with only u and nobody else. Will u accept my love ?”

   I found myself nodding and I kissed him on his cheek.He was surprised but happy. I hugged him and whispered, “ I love you so much”  in his ears. When he hugged me back, I felt secure and had nothing to fear about. We left the restaurant and returned home in his car.

We stopped two blocks away from my home. Rahul took my hands in his.

   “So how was the surprise”, he asked.

   “It was wonderful and am happy that am in love with u”

   “Good to know  that u liked it. I was worried that may be u wouldn’t like it.”

   “Oh really ? “

   “Yes , I was  very much tensed as I love u so much.” Saying that he kissed my lips and without realizing what I was doing I kissed him back. I didn’t know where all the passion came from as it was very intense. When I felt his hands on my skin, I felt a jolt inside me and my mind  immediately went back to the memory of THAT day and  I saw  HIS face, the person who had taken away my innocence. I screamed and pushed Rahul away.I started crying, realizing that it was  just Rahul and not THAT man. Rahul was worried and scared that he had hurt my feelings….  “I am so sorry Su! I didn’t mean to ..I don’t know what came over me !  I  wanted just to kiss you. Please don’t hate me Su !  Am so sorry”

   I wiped my tears and told him that I was fine and that he didn’t hurt my feelings and I would never hate him and left home.

  Why did I remember that incident? Rahul just touched me. Why did  I remember that man’s face? Will I feel the same way every time Rahul touches me. But I love Rahul. Why does that memory has to come in my mind? Oh God ! What is this nightmare and why is it haunting me. But one thing am sure is that I need to tell Rahul soon about the incident…………”

Su closed the diary. There were some more entries in the diary. But Su’s heart was already heavy with the sadness and pain of not having Rahul by her side. It was almost one o clock. She decided to read the rest of the entries, the next day. So she kept  the diary back in the satchel and went to the bedroom. Su closed her eyes and started her journey in the dark alley once again.

Part V

                                                            The Abandoned Alley

Su woke up to the pleasant aroma of coffee which filled the entire house. She knew it must be late as Anju drinks coffee only after gets ready for office. Grudgingly, she turned to her left and opened one eye to see the time. The clock showed that it was seven o ‘clock Cursing herself, she got up from the bed and took her mobile to check whether she had received any messages. She was surprised to see a missed call from an unknown number at 6:45 AM. But she ignored it and started to get ready for the office. After 45 minutes, both Su and Anju left home for office. They already knew that there will be lot of calls from new customers as they had taken a support activity for a new product, and they have to be careful in handling the calls. As expected, they were amidst a flurry of calls, the moment they switched on to their system. Both Su and Anju were deft in handling the calls and satisfying the customers. They even helped some of their colleagues who had a problem in explaining to their customers. Once they finished the calls, they left for cafeteria.

Su was surprised to see 5 missed calls from the same unknown number.

“Hey Anju! Do u know whose number is this?”

Anju was on the phone with Sanjay. She asked him to be on the line and dialed the number that was displayed in Su’s mobile. But Anju didn’t have that number in her contact list. Su, then decided to call the number later in the evening, when she was relaxed. They went back to their cubicles once their break was over. When they were in midst of some calls, Su got a mail from her TL, addressed to all her team mates informing them about the project party scheduled that evening. She immediately started typing a mail saying that she will not be able to make it. But she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Anju pleading with her eyes to come for the party. So she deleted the mail that she drafted and smiled at Anjali. Anjali grinned and gave her a hug and whispered thanks in her ears. Around 5:45 in the evening, when the calls were taken over by the next shift, Su along with Anju and her team mates left for the party. It was just dinner treat from their TL congratulating them on the team’s efficiency to handle the calls. He also said that he got engaged and that also was a reason for the party.

Su and Anju reached home at around 8:00 P.M. In the party mood, Su had completely forgotten about the missed calls. She took her mobile phone and dialed the number, but all she got was the response that the number was not reachable at that moment. It was then Su remembered that she had to complete the diary that she started reading the previous night. Anju who was darn tired, sent a message to Sanjay that she was very tired and sleepy and that she will talk to him the next day and slept off. Su went to the living room, opened the satchel and took the diary of the year 2009.Su knew that the entry unread will be very depressing. But she had to read. Slowly with trembling hands, opened the diary and turned the pages. She stopped at the date Feb 21 2009. Her eyes closed involuntarily. This was the date that had left her heart wounded. It was the day that shattered her dreams about her future with Rahul. Su opened here eyes with tremendous effort and started reading the final entry that she had written in the diary.

“                                                                                                                  Feb 21,2009

 Hi,

   I really don’t know what to write today as I am overwhelmed with emotions. My mind has turned very chaotic and am not able

think. I met Rahul and told him everything. He left the place without uttering a single word. I have been calling his number, but he has not picked up yet. I really don’t know what to do. I am confused and scared. This is what I told him in the mall.

          “ Listen Rahul, I have to tell u something very important. Please be patient till I complete. It is very difficult for me to say it quickly. So I if happen to pause in between, just hang on and please don’t ask any questions in between. Please ?”

          “OK .Sweetie, as u wish.”

          “Remember valentine’s day, when I screamed and pushed you away. It was not because that u hurt me….. but it was because when u touched me ,I remembered the face of a person that was not you…………….. I will tell u who that is…. Rahul, I know that I have never hid anything from you except one thing, which I have been keeping as a secret from everyone. I hope u understand why I never told u earlier, when I finish speaking..”

After a silence of 5 mins and few deep breaths, with tears already in my eyes, I told him.

“Rahul, the face I remembered that day was  of my Physics sir who taught me in 6^th STD. I remembered him because he was the one who stole my innocence away from me.”

 “Your innocence? I don’t understand”

“Yes, my innocence. That was the day I realized the fact that there are people who still live as animals. I know you are confused. But as I said earlier, it is difficult for me to say this as I have never told anyone in my life. Not even my parents. What I meant, when I said that he took my innocence away is that ……………..[deep breath]…………HE raped me.” Rahul didn’t say anything and so I continued.

“It happened when I was studying in 6^th standard. You know that am poor in physics .So back then, in the school, we had special classes for the students who scored poor marks in a subject. I was the only one who was bad in physics. So I had to attend the spl class for physics. During one such class , this incident happened. That was the day I learnt how cruel a person can be. I had no idea of what was going to happen.He was an animal and he behaved like one . He ruined me completely. I was feeling so dirty and scared after that. I was very afraid of whether ppl will believe me or what they will think.Ever since I have never trusted anyone. U always ask why I never had any close friends. The reason is this incident. I never could trust any people. I lost interest in everything. But then you entered my life  and changed everythin. I have been wanting to tell u this, from the day I proposed to you. But I couldn’t bring myself to speak it out.  May be it was the fear that when I tell u , it will hurt me more . I was in denial all these years and it was the fear that stopped me. But on that day when I pushed u , I decided to tell u everything. I know u will be angry with me and u have every right to be so. I just hope u understand how I felt and that this was not easy for me. I am so sorry ,Rahul. I love you so much and I don’t want to lose you.”

I didn’t know when he released my hands which he was holding when I started the conversation. He left without even uttering a single word. I don’t know what to do. I wish that he understands me………….. I just now got a call from Rahul. He doesn’t want to speak to me anymore as he feels that I have betrayed him, by not being true…. Oh God! What am I going to do ? I love him so much .This is what I was afraid of and my fears have come true today……”

          Su closed the diary and was crying silently. Tears just didn’t seem to stop. She cried her heart out, letting out all the grief that she had in her heart so far.

After half an hour , Su composed herself. She kept the diary in the bag but was startled to hear the ringtone of her mobile. After closing the bag, she took the mobile and saw that the call was from the same unknown number. Deciding to admonish the person who is calling, she attended the call. But she received a shock.

            “Hello, Who is this?”

            There was silence in the other end for a few seconds and then the reply came.

            “Hi Sweetie!”

            Su was shocked to hear the voice. She can never forget this voice. It was the voice that she had been longing to hear. Su’s mind was filled up with so many questions and emotions. She felt like as if she was being suffocated. Overwhelmed with emotions, Su fainted.

Part VI

                                                            The Abandoned Alley

Su woke up and saw Anju dozing off in a chair by her side. She felt thirsty and so she silently got up from the bed and went to the kitchen to drink some water. As she poured herself some water, she realized that she was feeling very weak. She thought that may be it was because of the food she had in the party yesterday. Her mind wandered from the party to the memory in the diary and she remembered everything. Su dropped the cup of water that she was drinking as the memories flooded in her mind. On hearing the sound, Anju jerked awake. Seeing the empty bed, she rushed to kitchen from where the sound had come. When she entered the kitchen, she found Su sitting in the corner with her back against the wall, hugging herself and sobbing uncontrollably. Her body was trembling. Not knowing, what had caused her friend this much grief, Anju rushed to her side and hugged her and started to console her.

            “Shhh! It’s gonna be alright!” Anju just hoped that those words become true.

          “It’s ok. I am here. Nothing will happen”

Su’s sobs slowly reduced but she was still crying. Anju helped Su to stand and they went to the bedroom. Su was still crying. Anju didn’t know how to make her stop crying and each time, she said anything to console her, the sobs increased with more vigor. Anju felt very sad to see Su so distressed. Not able to bear the plight of her friend, Anju started speaking.

            “Hey Su!, I seriously don’t know what happened to hurt you this much. I know you have always been withdrawn. And lately, u have been having those nightmares. I have never asked anything about you,as I knew you weren’t ready to share it with me. I respect it. U are my closest friend apart from Sanjay. You have always been there for me. U made me happy whenever I was feeling down.And I too want to be there for you. I feel so sad when I see u fighting these nightmares and whatever that is disturbing u all alone.I feel so helpless. It is not fair,Su. You don’t have to fight it alone. You are not realizing what you are doing to urself. And yesterday , I wake up hearing a sound and when I rush out of the bedroom, I find u unconscious on the floor. I panicked  and it took me so much to get u wake up. Su, U don’t have to fight alone .I am here to help u. I am happy to have u as my friend and I don’t want to lose you.I have always been here. Please do tell me whatever it is disturbing u . If u are scared that I will judge u, then u must be stupid. U know me better than that! Please Su ! Let me help u! I can’t bear to see u like this.”

          Su who was listening to Anju couldn’t control herself anymore and she told everything to Anju. Anju was shocked to hear everything, but her respect and admiration for Su increased in folds. Anju hugged her and let Su cry as she held her. It was a long time before Su’s tears stopped. Su was feeling drained and her eyes were drooping with tiredness. Anju helped her to lie down so that she can rest for sometime. Anju saw that it was already quarter past twelve. Realizing that she hasn’t prepared lunch yet, Anju went to the kitchen. Once she finished cooking, she went to wake up Su so that they could have their lunch. But when she saw Su sleeping, she decided to wake her up later. She went back to the living room and started thinking about everything Su had told her. She realized that the nightmares started when Su had left her past behind i.e  from the day Rahul left her. Anju thought that maybe the nightmares will stop, if Rahul came back.

But she also was angry with Rahul. How could he have been so selfish? She had  known  Su only for the past six months and in this time she had come to consider her as a close friend. And then she remembered that Su told her she fainted on hearing Rahul’s voice. She took Su’s cell phone which she had put on charge earlier,and went to the logs. In the received calls list, she saw the same unknown number from which Su was getting missed calls yesterday. She wanted to call that number and talk to Rahul if it was really him. But then she knew Su would not  be happy if she came to know,so she fought down the urge. And she had a instinct, that if the person was really  Rahul, then he would definitely call Su again. She just hoped everything will be alright.She didn’t want Su to suffer more. That girl had suffered a lot. After half an hour, she went to wake up Su and then they had their lunch. Su was still feeling tired ,so she went back to bed after lunch to rest.

            While Su was  sleeping, her cell phone vibrated in the living room where Anju was reading  IF TOMORROW COMES. She picked up the cell immediately to attend the call as she didn’t want to disturb Su. It was the same unknown number. Steeling herself ,she hesitantly said

             “Hello! Who is this? This is Anjali here”

           “Hi, this is Rahul here. I am Suparna’s friend. Can I talk to her?”

          “ Oh! So it’s really you! Rahul?”

          “ Yeah ! Can I talk to her?”

          “Sorry! U can’t talk to her. She is sleeping. She fainted, when she heard your voice on the phone. I don’t think she is in a condition to talk with you.”

          “What happened?!”,Anju could feel Rahul was tensed but still she was angry.

          “ As I said she fainted”

          “Is she okay now? Am sorry, I didn’t know that she ….”

          But Anju didn’t let him finish. She could no longer control herself

          “She’s a bit better now. By the way! Why are U calling her NOW after all these days. You left her just like that ,didn’t You ?

          You should have been a stupid for not able to understand what she was going through and u called urself her best friend. Before u ppl became lovers, u were friends. That friendship was the first thing that made u love each other. She told u the truth, because she considered u as a friend too. She thought that u will understand. But u thought like a selfish lover. Poor gal was shattered when you left her. U left her to suffer all these days and now u come back saying U are her FRIEND. Where were you all these days when she needed you?”

          Anju composed herself. She took deep breaths and listened to What Rahul had to say.

   “You know everything ?”

  “Yes I know everything. Sorry! I have no right to be angry with you. But it all came because I care for Su.”

  “You don’t need to apologize. I know I was a stupid. U were completely true. I did act like a selfish lover. I was very angry with her because she didn’t say anything abt it earlier. When in anger,u turn blind and not know what u are doing. It was the same with me. Without thinking, I left her. But I have been regretting it for a long time. When my anger subsided, I realized what I had done. I called her immediately, but she didn’t respond. I didn’t want to lose her and when I went to the place where she lived, I found that she has left. I was distraught not knowing where she went. I broke down completely. I cursed myself for letting her down. But I had a blind faith that I can find her. I started my search for her and have been search for a long time. I ran into Sanjay during one of my searches. He was my college mate. We had not been in contact for a while. After that, we started to talk frequently. One day when I was feeling very depressed, I told Sanjay about my search for Su. He asked for Su’s photo and when I showed him, he was shocked. But he didn’t say anything to me. He had come to know Su through you. He knew u respected her and hence he realized that Su wouldn’t want him to tell me. So he kept silent. He had agreed to help before I showed the photo. But then after that whenever I asked him whether he had any progress, he started evading the topic. One day I confronted him regarding it and he told me that Su was ur friend. U have no idea how happy I was. I got Su’s number from him and couldn’t wait to speak to her. Speaking of Sanjay, I should tell you one thing. That guys is so deep in love with you but hasn’t realized it yet! Don’t Worry he will come to his senses soon!”

Anju who was listening silently to everything blushed at his last statement.

          “Thanks! I am sorry for shouting at u earlier”

          “As I said  u need not apologize. I am happy that Su got a friend like you to care for her. Do you think I can see her tomorrow?”

          “I am not sure Rahul. She is very emotional at the moment. So I can’t tell you what her reaction will be when she sees you. She might get worse. I know u have been waiting long, but still I think it would be good if we give her sometime. I think, it will be better if u meet her after a couple of weeks. I hope she would be better by then.”

          “Okay! I will wait. I just don’t want to lose her again”

          “Don’t worry!. Everything will be alright”

          “ Am just keeping my fingers crossed”

         “ Just have faith.”

          “Thanks a lot Anjali for hearing me out. I feel confident now.”

          “It’s okie,really!. Okie. Will talk later. Bye”

          “Bye”

Anju disconnected the call and went to check on Su and found her sleeping. Feeling a bit tired herself, Anju slept  next to Su.

            It took three weeks for Su to recover completely from the depression and all those days Anju took care of her. Su was normal once again and she felt good after a long time. Though she still had nightmares, they were not that much distressing. The familiar shadow was taking shape. Su went back to work after the long leave and started working with the usual enthusiasm. Anju was very happy  to see the change and the new confidence that Su exhibited. Anju was in contact with Rahul, keeping him updated about Su’s health. After one week, almost one month after Su got ill, Anju decided that it was time for Rahul to meet Su. She felt that Su can manage well and not breakdown. Anju informed Su  that Sanjay and his friend will be visiting them that weekend.

            On Sunday, they woke up early and started to prepare food. As they were waiting anxiously,their door bell rang.Anju squeaked and rushed to open the door. Su laughed and followed her. Anju opened the door to find Sanjay standing there.She hugged him and Su invited him inside the house. As Sanjay stepped inside the house, Su was shocked to see Rahul standing near the door. Her face went through a myriad of emotions and she stood staring at his face. She came to her senses when Anju inivited him to come inside. Su mumbled a welcome note that no one could hear and left to the kitchen.Anju,Sanjay and Rahul looked at each other. They didn’t know what Su was thinking and Rahul was very tensed. Su came back from the kitchen carrying a tray with plates containing some snacks that she and Anju had prepared. Rahul’s  eyes never left Su’s face. There was so much tension in the air. Rahul wanted to meet Su’s eyes but she had her head down.

Sensing that Rahul would want to talk alone , Anju and Sanjay left the living room.

             Rahul stepped near Su and lifted  her chin with his trembling hands. He was startled to see tears in her eyes. He had expected her to be angry . But he could see only pain in her eyes. He was not able to hold himself anymore and he apologized to her.

            “Su ! I know  I hurt you very much and I can’t take  back the suffering you had gone through. I know I was stupid when I made the decision. I know it hurt u very much. I am sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I let u down. I was not thinking properly.

I realized my mistake and when I wanted to apologize to u, I found that u have left. I didn’t know what to do. I love u so much and I didn’t want to lose u because of a mistake that I did. I have been searching for a long time with a blind faith. I missed u so much. I know even if I apologize a thousand times, it wouldn’t be sufficient. I love u so much Su and I Know how much u should have loved me to tell me the truth. I was a complete moron, a stupid git. Su ! I don’t want to lose you. I know u have been living a life in hell all these days and I don’t want you to live like that anymore. I know u are angry with me. U can hurt me how much ever u want Su !, but I never want to leave u again. I love u so much! Please take me back Su! “,Rahul was on his knees pleading with all his heart.

Almost ten minutes passed in silence and then Su replied.

            “ I don’t know Rahul!. I have been through so much suffering. But I don’t blame u, nor am I angry with you. I don’t know why, but it ha always been that way. Never could be angry with you. I loved u so much and I still love u. But have been suffering so much and have been hurting a lot. And I am scared if I take u back,  and then again if u leave me, I will not be able to bear it anymore. I do love u more than anything, but I am scared of the pain if it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to hurt anymore. I missed u very much. All I am asking you is to wait for sometime. I need sometime to make myself believe that u will never leave me again. I know that u mean that but still it will take time for me to believe it completely. Till that time can u wait for me,Rahul?”

          “Of course! Su ! I will wait. I cant expect u take me back just like that. I will wait and I don’t care even if it takes long time,till the time u say ok. I promise that I will never leave you!  But just one request ,can I get an hug please ?” Rahul asked with his arms wide open.

Their eyes met each other and Su rushed to his arms that were waiting to hold her. Su held on to him tightly and started to cry. Rahul started to pacify her.

            “Sh! U have nothing to worry. I am here with u now. I will never leave u. I love u so much and I missed u”

            “ I too missed u , U IDIOT. U have no idea how much!”

           

In Another Room…

          Anju was happy to see everything went well. She turned to find, Sanjay looking at her.She smiled,but he just kept looking at her. She raised her eyebrows and asked what’s wrong.

Sanjay blurted out “I Love you”  Anju replied “I Love u too”

Sanjay then said  “No! No! I don’t mean it in the usual way I do . What I meant was …….. Anju , my babe, I am falling in LOVE. Will YOU catch ME?”

          Anju was so happy . Her joy had no bounds..She turned around.She has been longing to hear that from Sanjay. Sanjay thought  he had said something wrong and started to ramble on a apology. But Anju didn’t let him continue as she kissed him on his lips. Surprised  but happy,Sanjay kissed her back. When they parted Sanjay asked

            “Was that an yes?”

            “Well,what do u think it was?”

            “ I think it was an yes, but I would like to hear it from u”

            “Yes. I am crazily in love with u”

After sometime  Anju went ti Su and whispered the news in her ears. Su shrieked happily  and  hugged her . Rahul conveyed his wishes to both Sanjay and Anju.

Sometime later Sanjay and Rahul left for home.

            That night, Su slept with a peaceful mind. As she entered the abandoned  alley,she sensed the familiar shadow.With renewed confidence,she turned to face it and was amazed to see two people in its place. One was a male and the other a female. As she took some steps closer to them, a smile formed on her face which slowly turned to a grin. It was Anju and Rahul. She held their hands and when she once again started her journey through the alley she was amazed to see that the dark alley has transformed itself in to a lane filled with trees and sunlight was pouring through the branches. The Alley was neither dark nor abandoned ….

                        EPILOGUE.

Rahul kept true to his promise and was waiting patiently. He had suggested Su to join a NGO so that she can help girls who have suffered the fate similar to her.

She can give them the confidence and show them the reason for them to move on and that the life is not over yet,that they are not alone in this world.There are people who care for them too. Su thought about it and joined a NGO. Apart from the time she worked in the call center,she devoted rest of her free time in helping the girls in the NGO.Su realized that she was feeling content in doing the service. Even Anju,Sanjay and Rahul helped her organizing some events for the benefit of NGO. Anju and Sanjay got married a year later.On their wedding day, Rahul proposed again to Su and she said yes. They got married after six months. Su was leading an happy life that she deserved.

THE END.