Parting Ways..!!!

It was a rainy day, well not that sorta heavy , but enough to get ur shirt stick to ur back,... he was driving the waterlogged roads in a silent steady 40.....!! Thoughts , Thoughts are funny... sometimes u wished they would just leave u alone; at times u'd want the same to stay...!!

He hadn't got his wrist watch on, but one could comfortably place the time @ around half past five to six p.m...parking his bike on the side walk, he got down , smoothened his hair;The rain had receded into a gentle patter, in other situations he would have found this welcoming ,but in the current scenario it only dampened his thoughts  further, and slowly made his way to the gate

Thoughts...

The address was correct.. no 24/211.. opening the gate he stepped up to the porch.The house was plunged in darkness , but still he could make out a small source of lighting coming from one of the room, an emergency lamp maybe... Using the calling bell was out f option so he gently knocked on the door...No answer... Again he made a knock, a little harder this time. After a few mins  it was opened .....

Thoughts, Thoughts that make u wanna live and yet die at the same time.


All those years, hadn't changed her a bit .

"Hi...", he began. It took a moment for her to register who was standing at her doorstep

"Hiiiiiii da... wat a surprise !!!! pls come inside.. "

"no it s ok.. i am in a sorta hurry.. just thought would drop by and see "
and then he guessed the entire house carried an empty feeling , even for a home without power,
 "..... wait.. no one at home?"

"yeah.. all have gone for the Sunday shopping... " ,she said making quotes with her hands.."was feeling a little sick , so i didn't"

"...hmmm... always the fragile one aren't we?....!!". he said, making her smile a little..

"hey, listen!!! u come inside now... it s raining and lets not get wet more...." saying so she turned back in!!!she was wearing a blue top with lil pink flowers and her usual black colored pants
He entered the hall , as he entered he could make out a familiar scent, a smell which he hadn't sensed in a year!! somehow he felt happy....

"the power goes off regularly these days, ..and come the rains.. well it goes without saying that there will be no power for 3 hrs minimum" she was ranting away happily.. happy ,peaceful and content. And in-spite of himself he felt happy for her.

Thoughts..

"so how long has it been? .1 year, 2 years?..this s awesome.. i mean ... look at u .. u have put on a little weight too"... she was talking more to herself than to him.

"1 year and 4 months actually...!!! and i should say u too have come up from tiny to small" he said with a smile. " oh and hey i got something for u " saying so he reached for his bag.. fore that she cut him across

"u want some tea?... i'll make some?!!"

"dont trouble urself ... t s ok!! and its dark too"

"Hey always the same lines" she said crossly "well i am making some for me too Mr. . so gimme some company"

She made her way to the kitchen (probably) and after a few clattering of vessels and shakes of spoons she was back with 2 cups of tea.

He took a sip, "good... u still have the ol' touch in you"

"thanks.. i remember the first time u drank and thought of t as coffee.. "

"Yeah .. u were chasing me around the place after i made that comment " he said in a lighter vein. Both were smiling at the lil tinge f reminiscence they had.

The darkness had set in , she had lit a candle in between them "normally the emergency lamp works throughout the day, dunno what happ to t now .. "

Thoughts...

After they had finished the tea , she asked "wat were u saying before?"

"oh.. wait"..

He didnt gift wrap it, not that he dindt find time or wrappers.. just didnt!!!! It was a small  Amber pendant carrying her name, it had lost much of it sheen , though that didnt prevent t from sparkling from inside the glass casing t was placed in. The first question that she asked was .."hey!! this.. when did u get this?"

She remembers ,he thought with a wry smile. "well u know ... way back... just didnt get the chance to give t to its rightful owner.. things , happened so fast .."

"but ... i cant accept this... "she started.."it s way too costly " , somehow he knew this will be her initial response. it was always her retort whenever he got her something

"It has your name on it for Heavens sake.... wat am i goin to do with t?" he shouted...
 "sorry .. i dint mean to raise my voice, here have t, it s urs anyway" saying so he took the pendant out of ts casing and gave t to her.. "well i guess t s a little heavy, so if unable to wear t around, just keep t safe ...like a show piece"

She took t albeit gingerly, like expecting t to jump out and bite her fingers off any second , and placed t on the dining table behind her.

"Well.. " he began, "i shall be leaving now..."

"What?!!! dont tell me u came here just to give this ... " she said , her eyes growing so narrow that they would have been lil slits for all he knew.

"yes and no.... " he struggled to find words.."i did come here to give t to you, and also  i came to bid farewell da... "

she was leaning lazily on the table all the while , but took to her feet once she heard this comment. "What happened...?"

" i am leaving the city, u know ... got a good job offer up north, so moving away there morrow morning..."

"why ??!! dont u like t here? wat about ur job here?"...

" i do like it here....but (the life here looks so dull without u beside me) just wanted to travel "

It seems she understood or did she? he had presumed a lot of things with her and most of them turned against his favor.
"and also i wanted to say..." he paused , choosing his words carefully so as to not hurt her in anyway.

"wanted to say?" she pressed on.

"Wanted to say .Thanks ...Thanks for all the times and thanks for being there for me"

"hey... What s this?" her voice faltered..." why are u acting so stranger like, .. we are friends right?.. then wat are these 'dialogs' for?"

'Friends' that was the operative word he missed during the Days and he did pay a price for that. a price too heavy to be paid.

"just thought f saying... t had been fun thorough the years, but somewhere down the line, i guess we had to choose different paths. Everyone choose theirs and  i was late to select mine, dunno if i ever will ... well i guess i'd be leaving now...and once again Thank you da"

She was staring at him blankly.." i ... i .. really i dunno wat to say da...  i am so..".

"No ,no dont say that.. u had said enough " he intervened, "i am holding myself together, finding t hard not to cry" now his voice was breaking down, " if u wanna do something... just keep t safe... " he said pointing to the pendant which now lay as the mute listener to this conversation "It meant a lot to me over the years"

He made his way to the porch again.. the rain was receding into a slight drizzle now. He turned and looked at her, standing at the doorway. holding on to the door frame.. strangely that was the last memory he had of her,before a few years ,but at that time it was @ her place.

"well i guess i'll be seeing u later then,say hi to Arvind for me " (truthfully he wished he meant wat he said, but he knew better)

"sure da,u take care da.. contact me when u are settled there" she spoke n a husky but determined voice and gave a little nod.

 A parting handshake and he stepped out to the stairs, letting the rain fall on his face , camouflaging  his tears.
On reaching the gate, he remembered that he had taken the casing with him, he made his way back to the porch where she was still standing .

"here.. " he said handing t to her," u need this to keep the pendant"

"oh.. ok ok... i'll keep t safe"

"yeah .. guess somethings are better left locked up and put away..." after an awkward pause , he found out what that familiar scent was.." U still carry the smell of new sarees da, i hadn't forgotten t.." he said with a smile. "Bye"...

Was it a trick of light , or maybe he had imagined t. but he was sure that her eyes were glazed over when he turned for the final time and left the place.

The rains had stopped. He got on his bike and raised his hand to her who was still at the door, she waved back.

Thoughts...

Starting the engine, he drove off into the night.
The Night was clear after all.