There was a bounce in his step as he parked his car and walked to the airport building. It was two years since they last spoke. For him, it was almost as if time had stood still in these last two years. It was only in the last 15 days, when he knew they would be seeing each other that he started to live again. As he entered the arrival lounge, there were a cocktail of emotions running through his mind. For the major part of 2 years he never ever believed they would be seeing each other again but here he was in the airport, waiting for the flight to arrive, the flight which would bring his life back to him, so that he can start to live again. As he scanned the arrival/departure schedule his eyes focused on the flight details. There it was, flight number AI 144. ETA was 23.30. 45 more minutes he thought as he glanced at his watch. If only he could fast forward the next 40 minutes. He knew there was nothing much he could do but wait for the moment.
He
grabbed a cup of cold coffee and settled down in the row of seats facing the
arrival gate. As he sipped his coffee and glanced around the lounge he could
not help but notice the plethora of emotions that were on display. A smile
drifted across his face as he saw a young boy race across the lounge, oblivious
of the crowd around him. He could see the overriding emotions etched on
the face of the guy who looked like he was travelling abroad for further
studies. He also noticed the tinge of sadness in the eyes of the mother and a
sense of pride in the eyes of the father who were there to bid adieu to their
son. Sitting in front of him was an old man who looked nervous. The old
man told him that he was waiting to meet his son who was coming home after a
gap of five years and he could not wait any longer to see him. Standing next to
him was a gunman. He was the personal security of a politician and was waiting
to whisk him away from the crowd to the safe confines of his well-guarded
vehicle. At the far end of the lounge, he saw a couple who were huddled
together, in a world of their own. The girl just could not stop the tears
filling her eyes even as the boy kept wiping the tears of her cheeks. Just the
thought of separation was enough to make them realise the pain that would
accompany it.
As he
watched them he could not help but think of the moments they spent together.
Their telephone conversations for long hours into the night, the weekend
meetings that they never ever missed, the bus rides to and from college every
day, the little talk in college corridors in between classes, the bike rides on
borrowed bikes. He could still remember the group lunches they had in college
and the way they still felt as if they were the only two people in the room. He
remembered the movie plans which they made, and how they had to also get their
friends so that parents did not question them at home. The sudden Sunday
surprise visits to her home to meet her for just those ten minutes. The way she
smiled from the balcony when he waved her goodbye, the way she smiled every
single day, as soon as he got into the bus. Those fights they had and then
hours of comforting and convincing each other about that being the last time
they fight. He remembered their endless hours of chatting on every topic
under the sky and then suddenly the silence. A silence which made its way
unnoticed into their relationship and slowly became the only common thing
between them. A silence which made craters where there were once bridges. And
then the silence became all pervasive till it separated them emotionally,
physically and even geographically.
The
announcement on the Public address system broke his thoughts and brought him
back to the present. As he glanced at his watch he realized it was
23:40. He looked up at the electronic display and noticed that the flight had
landed about 10 minutes back. As he stood up and stretched himself he felt his
knees tremble. The long journey back to the past had drained him emotionally.
He was not really sure if he was ready for this moment.
He had
got a call from an unknown number 15 days back. The moment he heard the voice
on the other side he knew this was surreal. There was no way this could be
happening now, after 2 years. As he tried to reply, his voice cracked. When he
finally managed to put words together his fear had come alive. It was the same
voice which had him mesmerizedHop for three long years. The silence
that had begun two years ago had suddenly broken and there were words now. He
did not know how to react. She spoke as if they had not been away from each
other. There was a sense of calm to her voice as she asked him about his
whereabouts – what was he doing, how has life been treating him. His replies
were just a bundle of expressions put together. He was not sure if he was
making sense with what he was speaking, but she kept talking. From what she
spoke and what little he could make out, she was in the USA doing her MS. He
knew she had been to the states. After silence became his companion he tried to
find out what led to the silence between them. He spoke to his friends, her
friends and their friends. All of them had words of comfort, but none of them
had answers to his questions. All he managed to know was that she left to the
United States to do her MS. He knew she was passionate about going abroad and
there were many a times when they discussed the possibility of both of them
going to the same university in America. But fate had other ideas which were
not exactly in sync with their ideas. As she spoke, she told him that she
had finished her MS and was looking to start a career there. But what caught
his attention was the word India which she uttered. He was not sure if he heard
her right, but when she again spoke about coming to India, he was breathless. A
thousand and one questions were raised in his mind – would she like to meet
him, would she be able to spend some time with him and many more. But the most
important thing he wanted to know was whether she was really interested to meet
him. Even as all these questions kept stirring in his mind, she continued
talking and then she finally said she would call him later and keep him posted
about her India trip.
He was
not sure why she called him. Did the call signal her intentions of wanting to
meet him? If yes, he wondered what made her wait for two years to call him. Why
did she not call him earlier or respond to his umpteen mails? Even as his mind
was flooded with questions, his heart started skipping more than a few beats.
May be, it was all coming back again. May be all the dreams he had of their
being together were about to become a reality. Or was she playing with his
emotions? He did not see a reason as to why she would do that. But one thing he
was very sure about, he was still there in some corner of her mind and that
made him feel ecstatic.
From
that day, he started looking forward to her call. He wanted to hear her voice
again. He wanted to talk to her and make plans about their visit. As days
passed he could not hide his excitement. There was a spring in his step and a
twinkle in his eye as he went about his job in office. And then he got a call
again on a Saturday evening. This time he managed to talk and asked her what
her plans were when she visited India. She was not really forthcoming about her
plans and this made him a bit skeptical about the whole thing. But he
was too excited to think about it and was looking forward to the day when she
would finally land. She told him she was arriving next Saturday evening. Not
once in her conversation did she mention about plans to meet him or spend time
with him and neither did he ask.
And
here he was at the airport. He did not let her know that he would be coming to
the airport. He wanted to surprise her. He was not sure if there was somebody
else waiting in the lounge to receive her. He looked around and was pretty sure
that her parents or her sister were not there. He became more attentive, as the
sea of passengers started to trickle out through the departure gate. From the
corner of the eye he could see the old man hugging his son warmly and felt
happy for him. The young boy who, minutes before was running all around the
lounge, was kissing his father who had just come back. Even as he noticed all
these, his minds were firmly focused on the departure gate scanning
each and every face that walked out. And it was then he saw her. She looked
more beautiful than he had imagined she would. Her short curly hair bounced of
her shoulders as she walked. She held her mobile in one hand and her purse in
the other. He kept staring at her even as she made her way out of the
departure. He picked up the rose bouquet he bought for her and was about to
walk towards her when he saw him. He came from behind and held her hand as they
walked out of the departure gate. He was pushing the luggage trolley and she
was leaning on to him, as they smiled and made their way out.
He
quickly hid his face behind the roses he bought and watched as they walked past
him, hand in hand. All he could do was to keep staring at them from behind as
they made their way to the parking lot. And then, he looked around, put the
bouquet down and slowly started walking back to the car park.......
P.S: This is a purely fictitious write up. Any resemblance to any character is purely coincidence.
