It must have been around midnight when her phone rang,"Richa" the voice on the other end boomed. It took her just one fleeting second to travel back 25 years in time. It was him, there was no mistaking her name in his voice.
She was in the most prestigious business school of Ranchi and so was he. The first time she saw him, he was an arrogant, rich boy used to being admired and pampered. She would usually sit behind him in the class and keep looking at him, not very sure why. For him she was any other girl. The only time she saw the admiration in his eyes was on receiving the 'Best Student' award. But then every pair of eyes in the class was no different then. Time flew and they graduated. Post the convocation she was amazed when he went and shook hands with her and pushed this paper amidst her fingers. How long the journey to home had been for she could not wait to read it. Once home she locked herself inside her room and eagerly opened it.
"Dear Richa, If it were not today it were to be never. I have always admired you as this simple girl whose sole aim in life is to excel. Your grit and determination surprise me every day. All this while I was afraid, afraid to loose your admiration, afraid to loose your seat behind me, afraid to loose those fleeting glances, afraid to say I love you. If you have ever loved me please meet me tonight in the college campus." Not sure if yours...Anand.
Duffer, stupid, silly she muttered under her breath. She wanted to curse him longer when her mother knocked on the door. "The boy I spoke to you about is coming tomorrow beta, be prepared." No, she could not exchange the defined for the abstract. It was best to leave the water calm. She neatly folded the letter and stacked it amongst her books.
25 Years later......there was no mistaking the voice. "Richa, I saw you at the alumni, you have not changed a bit. Still the same grit and determination. Why did not you meet me". "I had to leave early." I could not bear to see the dead face that was once so naughty and proud, she thought. "Well, I heard of your divorce," he managed. "Some things are not meant to be", she said matter of factly. "Let's meet tomorrow for dinner before we fly out, I worked hard to take your number from the organizers. You owe me this time." She thought for a while, after all she had nothing to loose. They had come off the age.
Dinner was a merry affair with both of them laughing over the past and how they wished life took on a different tangent for both of them. He told her how he was stuck in a dead marriage with nothing more than responsibilities tying his wife and him together. She talked of her failed marriage and two sons who meant more than anything to her. They lost track of time until the manager came and requested them to leave since it was closing time. They walked out and amidst all conversations
headed towards the beach. The conversation until the wee hours of morning was the best they both had in their recent pasts. It required no effort, no articulation. It was as if they understood each other's silence better than the words. For them this conversation was the sole way to catch up for all that they had lost in these years. With every fleeting minute there was this innate desire to rediscover last 25 years. They talked and talked. They walked and walked. And then he held her hand. He brought them to his lips when she pulled it away. "You are repeating History", he said. "I am living the present", she said, "You are married and nothing can change that". She looked beyond the horizon, it was dawn time and she could see the sun rising. "But I will wait for you", she looked at the light around her. He was once again amazed at her grit and determination.
