Diya was sitting with her laptop and anxiously
typing, unaware of the people, in the Airport around her, who were throwing
amused glances at her hyperactivity. It was after five days of introspection
and self-exhaustion that she was able to narrow down, to a grand ending to the
novel she was working on. Exhilarated she wanted to pen down the fleeting
thoughts, before they sublimed or even adulterated in her gray-matter. It was
around one and a half years back, when she had finally decided to quit her banking
job and pursue writing as career. Her breakup with long term beau Rishaan was
one of the major factors, contributing to her decision. She started
appreciating her own literary prowess, once she was left alone to mourn her
broken heart. The kind of art that pain kneaded in her, evoked excellent
outputs. She realized, that her narrations and narrating ability, were her
partners forever, because they were her reflections, and reflection never
leaves you alone. Her story was a passionate love tale, overflowing with
palpable emotions. And off-course it had a grand, happy ending, unlike her real
love life. She never wanted to write about the blow of melancholy and betrayal
that had shaken her off her feet, she just wanted to create magic, serene,
pure.
It was with the intention to write in delectable
proximity to nature that she was travelling to Goa. It is worth-mentioning
that, she had learned the happiness of solo travellers only after Rishaan left
her, solo. Choked with emotions, she was typing voraciously the love story of
Nisha and Meet, a couple who had risen from the wreck of her broken heart, her
phoenix of imagination.
Engrossed with Nisha and Meet, she was largely
unaware of her surroundings when her mind turned upside down with a known voice
calling her name.
“Diya?” the voice asked, a male voice. Known,
uncanny, irresistible male voice. “No, I won’t respond….it’s again that
haunting Déjà vu that meanders around, whenever I come to Mumbai Airport,”
thought Diya. Her mind had diverted from her narrative, but she did not look
up.
“Diya…what’s wrong? It’s me dude…look up!” said
that voice.
She looked up, convinced that he was there. Yes,
Rishaan, after 548 days of complete abscond, he was back…back to torment her
with all those memories, she so wanted to leave behind.
There he was, 5 feet 10 inches tall, wheatish
complexion, impressive features and more impressive physique. When he smiled, a
boyish charm over-shadowed his adulthood. There was a time when Diya could die
for that smile. But that day she did not even return him with one.
“Ummmm…How are you Diya? Long-time…where are you
travelling to?” her stern expression had already taken the casualness off his
voice.
“I am good, thank you” replied she and resumed
work. Well, just pretended to do so, signalling that she was not willing to
strike a conversation with a man, who was capable of pulling out the buried
memoires from the graveyard of her heart.
“Diya…” Rishaan was about say something, when an
unfamiliar female voice, voiced his name and sounded rather vexed. A young girl
in her mid-twenties hurriedly walked up to them, and completely ignoring Diya,
started yelling at him.
“I was looking for you for so long Rishaan, you
just refuse to change…you and your bizarre ways,” she rolled her kohl lined
dramatic eyes at him. She was a tall girl and looked very cheesy in her choice
of clothing. Her plum coloured, tight leggings and off-shoulder black top, went
well with her noisy attitude. But she had an attractive face, uncommon features
and big kohl lined eyes. Atleast two to three inkings peeped from under her
clothes, here and there. With five earings and one strange looking nose-ring,
she kind of represented the hippie class of uninhibitedness.
“Kia…Kiara baby…I was just talking to her” Rishaan
apologetically tried to pacify her, and cast an embarrassing look at Diya, who
had again started typing compulsively. However I can bet, that this time her
writings made no sense. Nisha and Meet had sublimed suspiciously and in that
void had descended some memories. Memories of a young, petite beauty with
sparkling, creative eyes romancing a handsome desirable guy. She thought that
she and Kiara were absolute antonyms, if she was tranquillity and grace, Kiara
was wilderness, if she was placid waters of a blue Lake, Kiara was tides in a
rough sea. However Rishaan was common in both their lives, he was her past and
Kiara’s present. When all these thoughts conglomerated to a complicated dough in
Diya’s artistic head, she suddenly realised that Kiara and Rishaan were looking
intently at her, probably the thoughts manifested to a weird expression on her
pretty face.
“Hi, I am Kiara,” said she stretching her hand
towards Diya expecting a handshake.
“Ummm…Hi...ummm Diya” replied she, startled and
uncomfortable.
“Rishaan talks a lot about you…where are you travelling
to?” asked she with a matter of factness in her tone, that surprised Diya.
“Rishaan talks about me with her current partner? What does he have to discuss
about me? And why? Has he disclosed those memories, has he revealed her
childish reaction when he had called it quits, her pleads, her begs, has he
said it all?” her mind went reeling, with these thoughts, when Kiara shook her
lightly “Hey! What’s up? Are you alright? asked she.
“Yea..h I am fine...fine” fumbling pathetically she
spoke.
“Good…well Rishaan told me, how well you write, how
creative you are…he told me you both were good friends...” Kiara smiled at
Diya, who spared a sarcastic glance at Rishaan at the mention of “good
friends”.
“Yes…we were good friends” said she smilingly.
“And you are going to?” asked Kiara.
“Well…Goa!” replied she, to which an excited Kiara
added “Really? Oh what a coincidence we are going to Goa too…paradise for
boozing, drinking, partying and erotic sex….what say? What’s your plan? We
could meet up….I have few friends there and they will take us to those
forbidden beaches…you know…” she winked at a perplexed Diya.
“Huh…no thanks…I will be too occupied I guess…I am
travelling for work,” said she and looked at Rishaan, as if saying, “wow, what
a lady you have wooed, perfect for a moron like you”. The very thought of
Rishaan being in Goa at the same time as her had unsettled her, leave aside
meeting. She was traveling in search of some peace for her wretched self, but
alas, the man who snatched it off had reappeared to torture, and that too with
a wild cat. Rishaan could never appreciate her creative thoughts, he searched
for more imperfections and he searched for anomaly. Her ability to flow laminar
with her thoughts, turned him off. Once when Diya had pleaded him to take her
to Goa, he had said “Oh please, I don’t want to waste time with your poems and
narratives…nature evokes that madness in you all the more.” That was the first
time she had understood that probably, she was not in a perfect relationship.
“Okay…as you wish….hey Rishu, I am going to the
washroom, get the luggage from that corner…we will sit here with your friend,”
and she smiled at Diya, who was completely irritated by the declaration.
Rishaan was sitting quietly all this time, Kiara’s
order infused some life in him. He walked over and got the blue Samsonite
trolley, then softly sat on the chair next to Diya.
“How are you?” he asked looking straight into her
eyes. The glare had started to melt the ice that had encrusted her heart.
“Better than when you were around” said she and
looked away. “By the way, Kiara is perfect for you, erotic, uncreative, your
type…” she added.
“Yes…I too thought so, but” he did not react to
Diya’s harshness, instead he kind of slipped to oblivion. “But perfection is
too far away from our relationship, true, initially her raw sex appeal was attractive,
but gradually I knew, that all animals cannot be tamed, some are born to be in
the wilderness…Kiara is one such…untamed…we fight Diya, we fight all the time.
Infact this is our final call, this trip…our last try to be together…I…I…I miss
you Diya… and I am sorry for what I have done to you…you” he could not complete
when Diya snapped in.
“Shutup, Shutup Rishaan, you are on a holiday with
Kiara and you say you miss me? I knew you are a looser but never knew you are
such a hypocrite!!” she looked away disgusted.
“Hey…you people look ghastly…had a fight? Rishu?”
Kiara was back from the washroom.
“No” said Rishaan abruptly.
“Anyways….come let’s get the boarding passes…you
know…though I can trek to the unknown lands, go sky-diving or snorkelling, but
I really get scared in the flight…9/11 syndrome I guess, and so I will sit
between both of you. You can take the window seat, Rishu will take the aisle
seat…isn’t it Rish?” asked Kiara.
“Hmmm” answered Rishaan.
“Well…you people can very well have your privacy…I
will take a seat separately,” said Diya, internally praying to be left alone.
“Oh dear, we are not that horny people, atleast not
in an air-craft huh…Rish your friend is too formal…” said she.
“No really…I mean” Diya was desperate.
“You could tell me a story you have written…I am a
good listener” Kiara was adamant.
“I don’t write short stories, I am working on a
novel,” said Diya.
“Novelist…hmmm…Impressive! Come…we will take the
boarding passes” said she and marched towards the counter with a reluctant Diya
and unsure Rishaan walking behind her.
Diya, Kiara and Rishaan were seated in the order of
the names mentioned. Kiara was holding Rishaan’s hand and resting her head on
his shoulder. Diya decided to look away, she looked through the clouds and
gradually slipped to a state of partial consciousness. Her mind glided through
the floating clouds and reached a land she had been to before, where she and
her love had spent good moments, holding each other’s hand and caressing each
other’s soul. She could clearly see Rishaan holding her hand, as they sat by
the sea in marine drive, it was monsoon the waves were fiendish and drenched
them lovingly. The next moment she was in a road side dhaba on the
Mumbai-Nashik highway, they both loved to drive to those eateries and treat
themselves early morning in close vicinity to nature. Her enjoyable encounter
with her past was disrupted by Kiara’s sudden movement.
When Kiara returned after using the loo, Rishaan
offered her to sit at the aisle seat, to avoid more commotion. In the rest of
the flight, Kiara held on tightly to Rishaan. But his left hand touched Diya’s right
hand, who was shocked at this gesture and moved her hand away.
When the flight landed at the Dabolim Airport, the
situation was different. Rishaan felt uncanny. He was unable to look at Diya, who was visually unsolved and
shaken. They had collected the luggage and were about to make a move, when
Kiara mocked “Hey…did you see some ghost in the plane?”
Diya who was struggling to get calm, was irritated
at her mockery “Yes…sometimes the haunting past is scarier than a ghost” she
said, smiled at her and ignoring Rishaan started to walk towards the exit.
When she had walked away, Rishaan turned to Kiara
and hugged her tight “why did you make me do this…why?” he asked desperately.
“Because, I can’t leave you alone…and no one can
take care of you more than her” said she, tears rolled out of her eyes “God,
showed us the path Rish, and so we met her in the airport…I know it’s tough for
you…but otherwise I will not be able to die in peace…please Rish for me…go back
to her…she is wonderful, and you know it was your fault right?”
“You are not going anywhere okay?” said Rishaan
sounding like a desperate kid.
“My ailment will not let me be with you for
long…but that does not mean I will leave you…I will be around you and forever,”
said Kiara and both of them hugged each other passionately and cried their
hearts out. Truly how profoundly true love can impact our lives.
Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta
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