PRECIOUS MOMENTS
Naina stayed awake all night
wondering, how tomorrow’s meeting will go. Tossed and turned, tried to listen
to music, ate some ice cream but nothing really seemed to help. She finally
decided to stay awake and watch a movie; thought at least would pass the time
instead of rotting away in anxious thought. She would cover up the dark circles
with make up tomorrow, after all, ‘what is the concealer invented for anyway?’
Naina thought.
It would be five years tomorrow
since they had parted ways. Thought at the very least she would be a GM (General
Manager) by now. But hey, DOR (director of rooms) is not bad either, so she
thought no need to be conscious of her position, it won’t seem like she had
wasted the last five years only thinking about him, she hoped. The movie she
chose to put on, Sleepless in Seattle, very cliché, but could not help herself,
she was after all a romantic sap that is how Naina managed to land herself in
this situation to begin with.
There were still 12 hours to go
before the supposedly life-changing meeting. It was 5 a.m. and they were to
meet at 5 p.m. at their usual spot, the stairs of the Air India building. When she
started to run the events in her head, as she had done over a million times in
these past five years, she still could not help but wonder, how exactly did they
ever end up in such a situation?
Trishna Damodar
Rahul and Naina could be what
everyone calls the ‘perfect couple’. They were best friends, did almost
everything together, had nearly the same interests, went on great vacations
together, and basically loved each other in abundance. But they both had one
flaw; neither of them could back down from an argument or ‘consider defeat’,
whether it would be a joke, a fight or a challenge. At first all this constant
friendly arguing and witty comebacks seemed great, it gave them an adrenaline
high to be able to do that with one another. But of course, as one can see this
was not a very healthy practice, which brings Naina to the last night they spoke.
To this day she remembers everything as if it happened just yesterday. January
18, 2007 they were walking on Marine Drive and having their usual chat, until
she brought up the topic about ‘who’ is more successful, a Man or a Woman. The
discussion started off casually with the usual interjection of witty remarks
from either side, bashful comments, until finally they arrived at a point where
Rahul said, ‘why don’t we make a pact?’. Naina was intrigued, after all
challenges were the most exciting element in their lives. So she went along and
heard him out.
The pact was that in five years they
would meet up at their usual spot with evidence of who is more successful and
only that would be the settlement of their argument. In these five years they
would have to stay apart as being together would drag them down and neither of them
would be able to reach their maximum potential. Since they both were practical
people and loved winning always, they did not take much time in accepting the
challenge. They hugged, said their goodbyes and just walked their separate
ways.
Trishna Damodar
The next day when Naina awoke, she
picked up her mobile to check for messages or calls but there was nothing. She
felt the instant urge to call Rahul but stopped at the memory of last night’s
pact. They had forgotten to establish whether a call, once in a while, would be
alright. She did not know what to do and kept wondering if he was going through
the same thing as she was. But till evening when there was no sign of a call or
a message from his side, Naina decided if he can go ahead and just live without
me so can she. Months went by, and turned into years. She kept getting news
about his well being through their common friends but no one was allowed to
tell them how either was doing professionally, as that would be a violation of
the ‘pact code’.
Today January 18, 2012, Naina had
decided she had had just about enough of her ego. What ever the case may be,
even if he was most successful or did not manage to do anything great with his
life, she would not care all she knew is that she missed him so much she could
not stand another moment of separation. So she thought the best thing would be
to just not let him say anything and just hug him tight and never let him go.
As she started getting ready for her big meeting she started thinking again,
what if he had met someone else? What if he had become a different person all
together? What if he did not love her anymore? All this was a possibility,
after all five years is such a long time. Naina started feeling helpless and
like a fool for ever letting her ego get in the way of something so beautiful. She
took back her initial idea of jumping into a hug and decided to first hear him
out and then react in which ever way suited the situation best, after all
Trishna Damodar
she still had a little pride and
self esteem and would not want to look like a desperate fool who had been
waiting around for someone for five long years.
Naina decided to arrive just 10
minutes late, not because she wanted him to suffer but because she just was not
sure who would be standing in front of her, if he would be the same Rahul as she
had in her memory. It was 4:30 p.m., Naina had put on her favorite blue denim
skirt and red top, it had been Rahul’s favorite as well. She did a final check
in front of the mirror, ‘not to sound like a snob but I look hot’, Naina
thought to herself. Happy with her grooming she locked the door and started
walking towards the Air India building. As it came closer, her heart started
beating faster, she thought she would actually faint from the extreme level of
nervousness she was feeling.
Finally Naina reached the walkway
from where she could see the stairs, and there he was standing in a grey suit!
A suit, she started thinking, why on earth would he wear a suit for this
meeting, did he want to show off how rich he is? How stupid could she seem in
this blue denim skirt and red top? Naina just wanted to turn around and run
away but she did not, instead she simply wanted this meeting to be over and
done with, she could sit crying and drown herself in Bavarian chocolate after
this hideous evening.
As she reached closer to him to her
great surprise he pulled out a bouquet of pink lilies. Naina was shocked and
surprised and could feel a tear make its way down her cheek. He immediately
just laid the flowers down and pulled her into a hug and whispered, ‘I only
wore the suit because you love
men in formals, I love you’. Naina did not need to hear more; she hugged him
back so tight and let the tears come out in full flow. They sat down on the
stairs and spoke for hours together about all that had happened in the past five
years and about how much we missed each other. After a 4 hour long conversation
they both realized neither of them had even spoken about their professional
lives. So she decided to be the party pooper and bring up the topic. As she
opened her mouth to ask about his work, Rahul covered her mouth with his finger
and said, ‘no more competition, I am lost without you and can only be a successful
man with you by my side. No amount of money, position or stature is ever going
to change the fact that without you I feel like a pauper’. Naina could not
believe her ears, this was not the same Rahul as she had in her memory but in
fact a better more mature and extremely loving version of him. The kind of man she
would love to spend the rest of her life, loving and supporting in sickness and
in health. So as a truce they both agreed to not agree sometimes and keep their
‘friendly’ arguments under check.
As Rahul walked Naina home, she
could not help feeling as if she was the luckiest person in the whole world and
she was sure he felt the same. They would never have another five-year gap of
any sort and they would grow old and have a splendid life together.
When in love, there is no room
for the mind. The only voice worth listening to is the heart. Love with all
your Heart.
THE END
-Trishna Damodar
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