NEW COMPANY
When I woke up I was in a hospital with some bandage running round my head and belladonna plaster tied to my leg. Not much serious injuries. My friends were there as I tried to lift my head and see. They were laughing and cracking jokes and ravi came up to me said "No need to worry, we will go to hotel in an hour or so. we can remove the bandage and all in 2, 3 days. Don’t worry about her. We are trying to track her through the address at the hotel." you will get her don’t worry. I know my friends.
December 28, 2010.
We checked out the hotel, my friends cancelled the train tickets and booked a cab to Bangalore. They thought that it would be better to keep me talking something rather than leaving me idle. It was a beautiful way out from ooty. The only thing that is missing is my heart without which I failed to relish the beauty. We were back to bang by evening. I was dropped at my flat, where I was staying with some of my colleagues. Next day I went to office. I am back and I am doing everything as usual and am perfectly back with one thing missing. My heart.
I kept saying to myself " you are ok nothing happened . You are ok”. But I am not ok. God damn I want to talk to her and tell her that I loved her and ,and........, no words to explain my sorrow.
December 31 2010,
That night I have to meet my friends at the restaurant. They don’t accept the way I was living then. So I went to them with a fake smile and greeted them happy New Year. As we sat and started chit chatting and eating, ravi left the table and walked up to a distance from the table and lighted his cigar. i went up to him and asked "hey what happened yar?" with a smile. "Stop that bloody smile you idiot." ravi said sharply and took two puffs ghastly through the cigar.
"What do you think about us, can’t we understand whether you are laughing from heart or acting. Or you thought a good actor?" said ravi breathing heavily through the cigar. I lost my words; fell on the rail running beside and griping it hard to control myself. Others came near and started to say something, but ravi stopped them. "The world has grown enough practical, now stop being practical, be emotional and let all your emotions out. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to shout, shout at us. What are we here for? To see your fake smile. ? If you keep carrying the words practical and dignity, you are no more living you are just acting in a box that was drawn by the lines of constraints. You are putting on that fake smile for a world which is not at all concerned for you...then no pointing in deceiving it. You are deceiving yourselves..." before he ended I ran to him and hugged him and started crying like a child. My friends gathered around and had their hands on me and trying to sooth me. After a few minutes we were back to the table. ”Do you think we let this happen to you." said Praveen. "We are tracking her daily and got some info already." continued Wilson. "We will definitely get her for you. Believe us" usman continued.
"Hey, forget us also. Yours is true love and that love will make you meet her", said usman, after pause "a dialogue from the movie I saw yesterday night” he ended. Everyone busted in to laughter. After so many days we were laughing happily. We all parted wishing happy New Year.
Nearly 6 months passed by, no clue of shruthi. In March my friends hit a dead end while tracking her info. But they keep telling me that they will get her at any cost. I am used to be alone, sleepless nights were then very common to me. My friends’ suggested me to change the company so that it might help in making the situation better. As I was already working for XXXXXXX Company since 2 years, it doesn’t matter to change the company. I almost got the job in a new company. They fixed the date of joining as June 22nd and a formal name sake interview on the previous day. I attended the interview.
June 22, 2011
It was my friend ravindra’s birthday. We all got to wish him before I join the new company, Wilson got a car from his uncle and we all started a bit early that morning. We reached the salvation church by 8 am. We lit the candles before Jesus and wished him happy birthday. Yes he was with him since 3 yrs. He left us while we are doing our engineering 3rd year. Since then Wilson was riding his bike with no one at the back. We always leave a place for him whatever we do, where ever we go. It’s written that I have to start a new life on his birthday.
I stepped in to my new office and I was allotted a cubicle. I got a mail from my manager to attend a meeting along with my name there is some agarwal_ks next to my mail id. I thought she might be my TL or any lateral entry like me and set off towards my manager cabin. Gosh! I was suddenly stopped by the same fragrance which I experienced on the train; my heart said it was shruthi. I immediately entered the cubicle from where I felt the smell. As I was in my days of bad luck, it’s not shruthi some lady showing her newly bought perfume to her colleague. With the same disappointment that I have been carrying for six months I knocked on my manager’s cabin. “Can I come in rahul ? ” I asked for permission.
“Hey always feel free to disturb me and never ask for permission to enter”, said rahul(my manager) pointing to an empty chair beside a lady who was already there. I thought it was the other woman who was mentioned in the mail. Being a busy guy, he directly started “yes Mr. sanjiv and Ms. Agarwal ……” he started briefing up the project that we were going to join and the protocols and HRs we need to approach. After he finished saying, “ok that’s it. Any queries”, “I prefer you to call me shruthi ” the lady said. I turned my head in a suspicious manner, I was shocked in to silence, it’s my shruthi, and she was already looking at me with a big smiling face. “You….” I shouted ignoring place I was present. “Oh you people know each other already then good you can save the time of introduction and getting acquainted. Ok carry on all the best. You can leave”, said rahul, clearly stating that time is more important and we need to work hard. I jumped out of his cabin, shruthi followed me.
This is unbelievable, as we are out of the cabin, she didn’t spoke a word and headed towards the break out lounge and stopped in the middle and it’s clear that she was trying to control herself as she held her fist tight and leaning on the wall beside. I went up to her and grab her hand and pulled her along with me and she willfully followed me. As we entered the break out area, I released her hand and headed up to the wall and tried to swallow my tears. When I turned back she was almost crying and ran towards me and hugged me tightly and breathing very hard as she started crying. I can’t withstand my tears or emotions anymore and I wrapped her in my arms to feel all of her at once.
“I am sorry, I am really sorry. I am an idiot, stupid”, she started scolding herself as tears running down her cheeks turning them to tenderly red. “Yes, you are, where have you been all this time, ha you know how much I missed you, how much I cried for you.”I said.
No doubt, it’s clear that even she was in the same state of me and faced the pain which I have been facing all these days.
I released her and we both looked in to each other’s eyes, “I can’t wait any more to say this to you”, she said.
“I LOVE YOU”, we both said at the same time and her hands were shivering as she was crying and we both hugged again and felt each other completely trying to wipe off the pain we experienced all these days. “I love you, I love you” she said repeatedly as she punched me on my back. I released her from my arms and took her face in my arms and lifted it up and said “I love you too”, kissing on her forehead. I wiped off her tears and directed her towards a chair. I sat opposite to her clutching her hands, which were still shivering. “It’s ok! I am here now. Calm down. Relax.” I said and retired from the table to grab a coffee for her. As I handed the mug, she said “no“, “no you will feel better”, I said putting the mug in her hands. After sometime she was ok.
We started talking about what had happened, she interrupted me saying that,”I came to know everything. It’s my friend neetu who played the spoil sport. She told me that she just wanted to test you. I slapped her and no more talking to her. I felt sorry for you, but it’s just not a guilty or sorry feeling. It can’t last for this long. The moment that I realized that it was love the pain was even more. I am unable to handle it. Even I liked you very much in our first meetings, but I can’t take that you proposed me very early. I am stupid; it took me so long to realize that I am in love with you. I tried to track you using my other friends, but of no use. For the past 4 months I am living like a lifeless creature. Finally my brother suggested me to change my company so that it would be a new environment here, seems that I got a new life here”, she finished clearing her throat. There was no need for me to speak a word. She spoke every word from my heart it seemed. I closed my eyes and I buried my face in her palms.
After some time we stood up and smiled at each other’s face, which were disturbed by tears. After a face wash we walked up to our cubicles hand in hand talking about the rest of the days. One useless question popped up in my mind. “On December 21, the day we were on train what color dress did you wear?” I asked.
“Why do you want to know that!” she exclaimed.
“Tell me, please”, I requested.
“White” she said. “No, think again correctly, isn’t it green?” I probed.
“No I am sure”, she snapped.
“How can you be so sure”, I asked.
“Idiot that’s my birthday and my brother gifted me that white dress. And you didn’t wish me that day”, she smiled saying that.
I was shocked. She clutched my hand tightly for a second to convey that things were started matching in our case. She suddenly stopped and asked “what’s the matter behind green”, with an angry grin. Tough question, I have to answer. “Some fragrance attracted me that day on the train and the lady wore a green dress. And I felt the same fragrance when you came to me that night to wish me. So I thought it was you.” She left my hand and walked ahead. I speed up and asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“That day I borrowed neetu’s perfume to the party. So you love her and her perfume not me.” She snapped and walked ahead. For a second I thought I was the biggest idiot on the earth. No time to praise myself and walked in to her cubicle to convince her. “Oh god, listen to me, but from the next time when we met, the fragrance was not there right? But I fell after you right? So I love you right? And I am not after her. Is that ok?” I said. For a moment she looked convinced but, as usual like every other women she don’t want to give up quickly and wanted to be angry for some more time, finally convinced.
I took her hand and looking in to her eyes…. Said “shruthi….”
“mm…yes. Tell me” she said.
“Why can’t you use that perfume now…” I ended sharply.
“You …..Shameless” she said as she was searching for something hard to hit me and the quarrel started again… It went for years………. J
It was the most beautiful day of my life I got my love. My first love. It was the day I got a new company to work for and a new company to live with……..
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