She was sitting in her room when she heard a squeaking sound
of the brakes of a car. She went back to the pondering state.
Minutes later, she heard the doorbell ring and her mother
opened it. She heard his voice. “Hi ma’am, I just wanted to meet her once. I
hope you don’t mind. Is she home?”
“Yes. She is in her room.”
He walked to her room with heavy steps. As he stood there,
his heart raced as it always did when she was around. For her, she did not know
what she felt. On one hand she felt reluctant to open the door, on the other hand,
she prayed that he would bring the door down if she didn't open it. Her hand
trembled as she held the doorknob. She could hear her breathing, and also his
on the other side. With some efforts, she opened the door and saw him staring into
her eyes.
He stood there, mere feet away from those beautiful, unblinking
eyes. He took a step closer to them. And said, “Uh… This is a bit awkward but
you know I am leaving. I just wanted to hug you before I did.” She opened her
arms to receive him. After what seemed like eternity, they separated. She would
not say a word. He took the hint and said, “I’ll take your leave now. Stay
blessed!” She walked to him to the door. Her mom said, “You are leaving? Wait
for lunch at least.”
He replied, “Actually, I am in a hurry. I have double parked
too. Maybe some other time.” He knew there was no other time. He looked at her
for one last time and walked away.
She saw him walk away. She said to him, “I know that!” He
looked back and smiled. And went on.
As she closed the door, she sat on the couch staring into
emptiness. Her mother broke the silence. “I had warned you. I had told you this
would happen. This path would not take you far. It wasn't long before you
realized it.” She replied, “You know it very clearly Amma. I could hear only what
I wanted to.” Her mom argued, “Yes. And I always said that your paths
intersected but they were never parallel.”
“Can we not talk about this? You are patronizing me.”
“As you say. You take some rest. I will call you when lunch
is ready.”
He sat in his car and looked back at the window where she
would stand. The time he saw her felt like a Sunday afternoon. He could cherish
it only over the rest of the day & perhaps sleep over it. But he'd have to
get up early the next Monday morning. As if shaken to wake up after a good
dream.
He looked ahead of him and started to go farther. He looked
in the mirror. Some things in life were best for you when seen in the rear-view mirror.
