"I reached metro station and saw Train schedule board displaying '1 min'. Metro train which I was suppose to board was already on platform, ready to depart in a minute. I rushed to escalators, the door closing light started to flicker. I rushed into the train. Took a sigh of relief.
I turned back and through the windows of metro train I saw a beautiful lady sitting on the platform bench. I thought I knew her. In that split second she looked at me and we had eye contact with each other.
"Do I know you?", I enquired her through my eyes.
"Why are you looking at me?", she stared back.
"You are beautiful", I gave a gentle smile.
And the train accelerated to reach high speed in seconds. I kept on looking at her through the windows, till she was visible.
I couldn't get her reply back. I became restless. I tried to recollect. "That face is a known face...!", I told myself. In that restlessness I got down at the next station. I went to otherside of the platform and boarded metro train that would take me back to same place where I saw that lady. The thought of she might have gone by the time I could reach there, never came. Somewhere my heart knew she would be there.
I reached platform.
"Hi, do we know each other?", I asked her hesitantly moving slowly towards her thinking hard where I saw her earlier.
"Sorry, you are asking me?", she asked me with a puzzled face, grabbing handbag from her side and keeping it on her lap.
That question made me feel sad and I thought probably that eye contact conversation was my imagination and she never conversed with me.
"Are you Nishita?", I suddenly remembered her name stored somewhere in my subconscious.
"Yes....and....are you Jeev?", she asked. She was right.
Few moments passed in silence. Her face was filled with anger. She yelled at me, "How could you do this to Reema, my best friend? Why? It all looked so perfect! We never met yet I was so impressed with you by whatever she use to tell me about you!"
Commuters looked at us. I offered her if we could sit in Starbucks which was on the platform itself, 50 meters away.
After we sat in Starbucks, possibly her anger had cool down a little. She apologized for shouting but maintained that she was very angry.
"Why did you ditch her when all looked perfect?", she asked looking straight into my eyes.
I felt as if somebody has placed a revolver on my forehead and I need to spell out my bank account passwords.
I sipped coffee. I took one more sip and tried to rearrange my thoughts. It all came as a surprise because I had never thought that I would ever have a hand shake with my past in my future. Nishita, the girl whom I met on platform was best friend of Reema, my ex-girlfreind. I had never met Nishita in person because she went abroad for studies. But I always saw her photos with Reema and heard lot of stories about her.
I was looking at the paper napkin kept on our table. That Starbucks lady in green looked more beautiful that the story I was about to share. Nishita was still looking at me waiting for an answer.
"I loved Reema. No one knew me better than she did. We were madly in love and our stories were famous amongst our friend circle. Two years ago, on December 15th, I got a call from Reema at midnight. She told me that her parents got to know about their relationship and wanted to meet me. I was little surprised because it was early according to our plans.
I couldn't sleep that night. I was nervous but confident. Even IIM A college admission interviews did not make me so nervous. It was about my life. I went to Reema's mansion the next day. I was expecting some tough question-answer rounds with her grandparents and parents based on what Reema use to tell me.
We talked about cricket, about movies. We had a good lunch. I was happy that it was all going smooth. It was 2 hrs and I was about to leave. Her grandfather told me to accompany him for a walk in their garden.
"What do you expect?", he asked.
"Only Reema. We like each other and I will keep her happy." I talked to the point because Reema always told me that her grandfather liked that way. To the point and no arguments.
"You are not rich. You dont look as smart as anybody else in my family. It would be a misfit."
I got hurt after listening to those comments. I smiled and said, 'I might not have a bungalow but have bought a house on loan. I am IIM A college pass-out and have a growing career. As far as looks are concerned, they are gifted. I cannot change it and I am happy the way I look."
"We have atleat two dozens of IIM A graduates working for us in various companies."
I knew that their was no point of argument. Logically I could have defeated him but I wanted to win hearts emotionally.
"Gentleman, you may leave now. I hope this remains between us."
I never looked back at Reema again. I knew she loved her grandfather most. They were bigshots and I never wanted to create any scene involving her family. I moved to Singapore for a new assignment without informing anyone. It has been more than 2 years now and I know among the friend circle, the talk is that I ditched her, to which I don't care. I have moved on."
"You are exactly the same as Reema use to narrate me.", Nishita said with a lump in her throat.
"I know you will have many questions. Why you did not do this...that? I do not have answers to them. I just told the truth and did what my heart told me to do at that time. I am above those circumstances now and do not wish to recollect or justify."
Nishita was very much impressed by my nature and personality since the time she came to know about me. She liked my simplicity and maturity. We kept on meeting on weekends and sometimes after work. The frequency increased and we discovered that we were in love with each other. We got married following year and are living happily since then. That's it. That is my story!"
That was Jeev's story. He was sharing his story at one of his book launch event. He has quit his job and has become a full time writer with relationships as his genre. This was his second book launch after a very successful first one!
fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Looks and money does not matter. In the end it is the person's heart that matters. You should try to find a soul who could love you more than you love yourself. Life is beautiful. Be open and receptive. Keep it simple and enjoyable.
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