Emotions Are Timeless, So Is Love !

         Image Credit : www.facebook.com/Biplabmahato.photography

The outside temperature must have been around ten degrees when Sanjeev alighted from the Air India flight at Chandigarh airport. The flight had to make an emergency landing owing to the bad weather. After ten long years Sanjeev had finally decided to take a vacation. Akash had convinced him during a casual chat on Facebook the previous night that it was high time he broke out of the self imposed shell and fourteen hours later he was on his way to meet his childhood friend in Delhi.

Sanjeev had immersed himself in the world of profit, loss, credit and debit, tallying accounts at Sri Virupaksha textile Pvt. Ltd in Kochi. He almost never realised how ten years of his life had gone by, between India having failed to win the world cup in previous two attempts before Dhoni and his boys had finally made India proud. In a way these ten years of disconnect was self imposed after he had failed miserably to secure a seat in IIM in three consecutive attempts. Having lost hope he had began his career as a clerk in the accounts department at his current company.

Sitting on the chair in the passengers lounge next to a Barista coffee kiosk he looked back at the years gone by, to trace what he had accomplished till date. His achievement in last ten years was an Akai TV, a Godrej refrigerator, a TVS scooty and his latest acquisition Samsung DVD player. He had finally become an assistant manager for finance after all these years of loyal service.

Suddenly he was jolted back to the present when he heard loud cry of a baby. He turned around to see the baby wailing uncontrollably as her mother tried to quiet the child with a fierce stare, the baby seemed scarred, after being silent for a minute it started to cry again and this time even more loudly. Sanjeev looked at the baby and smiled, the baby stared at him with a puzzled look and few minutes later smiled back at him and winked.

As he was about to turn back and get busy with his thoughts he heard a soulful feminine voice next to him say, “You seem to be quiet a charmer, one look and the baby seemed all floored by your smile.” Sanjeev a little shy by nature just managed to smile at her and got busy staring at the giant screen in front of him which was displaying Air India logo and at the bottom there was ticker with news about the flight timings.

The girl next to him introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Preeti Shukla from Delhi. And you are...?” Sanjeev realised he couldn’t avoid her any longer and introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Sanjeev Shastri, B.Com, from Kochi. Glad to meet you.”

Few minutes passed by in silence and then Sanjeev asked her, “So you travelling on business?” to which Preeti replied, “No, I am just getting back to Delhi after a short vacation. What about you?”  Sanjeev smiled and said “I’m travelling to Shimla for a long due vacation. I plan to meet a childhood friend of mine in Delhi on my way to Shimla.” Preeti kept starring at Sanjeev as he spoke, she felt his face was quiet familiar, then she asked Sanjeev, “Sorry, but have you ever been to Delhi before?”  Sanjeev replied, “No, this is my first ever trip to Delhi.” And then Preeti got busy with the book she was reading. Sanjeev too for some strange reason felt Preeti’s face was quiet familiar, the smile, the way she spoke all seemed tad familiar to someone he once knew.

There was an announcement that the weather had improved and flight was ready for takeoff. Sanjeev followed Preeti into the flight; they were both seated in the same row. Except that they had the lady with the child seated between them.

All thorough the journey Sanjeev tried steeling few glances to look at Preeti. For a minute he thought she was the same girl he used to see at the coffee shop near his college when he was pursuing his under graduate studies. He had never been able to talk to her ever, but many poems he wrote in her memory still adorned the pages of the diary hidden in the suitcase kept under his cot. He never knew her name, never spoke to her, but silently within he knew he had fallen for her dazzling smile, big bright eyes and long silky hair which were always let loose. Finally when he had finished his final year, with a lot of courage he had decided to spill out his love for her on the last day of his college. But that day she didn’t come to the coffee shop. He waited all evening but there were no sign of her. And his love for her forever remained a secret, true feelings stayed unexpressed forever. Lost in thoughts of the past Sanjeev fell asleep.

When the flight got to Delhi airport, Sanjeev was still asleep. When the air hostess woke him up he realised he was the last one to get off the plane. He tried to search for Preeti but she was gone. He kicked the ground beneath him lightly for he felt he should have asked her if she was the one who he thought she could be. But then he realised it could have been a mere coincidence and then again ten years was a long time. Maybe somewhere deep within he had been unable to forget the anonymous girl who had once stroked the strings in his heart.

After he got out of the airport he called Akash and they decided to meet at Akash’s flat in Dwarka in the evening. Sanjeev spent his day wandering the streets of Delhi and finally decided to have lunch at Paratha Wali Gali in chandni chowk about which Akash always spoke fondly. He took the metro to get to Dwarka and then reached Akash’s house in the evening. Akash was waiting for Sanjeev at the gate. Akash was well settled and worked as regional head for marketing and sales with a Multinational firm. Sanjeev was delighted to meet his good old friends and they greeted each other with a tight hug and a high five just like the old times.

They sat in the living room by the window, just then it started to drizzle outside. Akash said, “Sorry Sanjeev I couldn’t come to pick you at the airport, I had to meet a client and had to send my driver to pick up my wife from the airport and she had be dropped at her mother’s place. Incidentally her flight arrived at the same time as yours.”  Sanjeev turned to look at Akash with a surprised look and said “Your wife? Bugger when did you get married? You haven’t even updated about it on your Facebook account, no pictures either?”

Sanjeev chuckled and said, “Sorry mate, it all happened of a sudden. Marriage was nothing grand, just our families. We met at one of our common friend’s house party and then things just fell in place! You should definitely meet her before you go to Shimla. She should be here any minute. And guess what she did her graduation from the same college as ours. You remember the pretty girl with long hairs who used to hang out with her friends at the coffee shop outside our college. That pretty girl is now my...  ” Just as Akash was about to finish Sanjeev saw Preeti walk into the house. Akash got up from the sofa and hugged his wife and kissed her on her cheeks. “Preeti you came in at the right time, this is Sanjeev, my childhood friend and my partner in crime during my college days.”

Preeti looked at Sanjeev, there was a smile on his face but she could read the hint of remorse in his eyes. It all came back to him; life rewinded ten years back yet again. The big bright eyes and the poems he wrote in her love everything flashed across his eyes. He had guessed it right at the airport, it was her but he was late. He tried control his emotions and stayed composed. His sorrow cleverly disguised behinds his smile, he extended his hands to shake Preeti’s hand and said “Glad to meet you.” She simply smiled and shook hand. Not a word uttered about having met him at the airport.

Akash insisted Sanjeev to stay back for dinner, but he excused himself saying that he would miss his bus to Shimla. Later that evening as Sanjeev sat beside the window in the bus starring out at the open sky, He seemed to question himself, “Why did she not recognize me? Why do I feel there was more to her smile than what met my eyes? Why do I feel her eyes spoke of the feelings I tried to conceal?  Would it have been different if I had waited for few minutes than what I waited that evening? May be yes, life would have been different, may be my poems would have found the music they sought.”

P.S: Yet another attempt after a hiatus at penning a fiction. Last night I convinced myself that it was a long due. So here it is for everyone to enjoy.

-       VJ Says ~ Cheers and Peace!