A Secure Home

Joshua looked hard at Michelle’s face. Her layered hair was touching her face at the right places and her almond eyes looked clear and deep. The perfect curve of her lips was accentuated by a slight tremor as she waited for Joshua to speak.

Joshua simply put an arm around his dog that was seated beside him on the wooden park bench. “Fluff is family to me. I can’t be with you if you want him out,” Joshua said each word slowly with distinct articulation.

“That’s not what I said,” Michelle put her hand on Joshua’s shoulder and inched closer.

Joshua glared back and shoved away her hand.

“You are most likely to walk out on me after a few years…Fluff would be with me all his life. The wedding is off,” Joshua fired away in a raised voice. Then he broke off eye contact with Michelle and stared hard at the blank patch of soil in the middle of the park which had been freshly curetted for new saplings.

After a few futile attempts at further conversation Michelle broke into a sob and went home alone.

Feeling relieved, Fluff snuggled closer to Joshua. Joshua picked the dog up on his lap, allowing Fluff to dapple him with warm licks.

Joshua’s childhood had been quite a complex one. His earliest memories were of a cosy two storied house in the outskirts of the town. Joshua used to spend the mornings in their small garden using branches to hunt creatures he imagined to be hiding from him. Hours flew by till the delicious aroma of roasted spices and sautéed herbs announced lunch hour to him.

Joshua remembered clearly how good it felt when his mother Jane came out to scoop up his little body into her loving arms. After a hearty lunch Jane and Joshua would sit together playing board games till the cheerful voice of Mr Warner announced his entry in early evening.

Mr Warner was a large man with messy hair and a bushy beard. Jane and Joshua often went to the town market with him and Mr Warner used to park Joshua on his broad shoulders during the long walks. Joshua simply adored Mr Warner.

In contrast Joshua’s father Michael was a handsome man with a neat appearance. But his grumpy mood and long business tours chipped away on his popularity with his son.

So when it was time for Michael to come home for a week neither Jane nor Joshua was happy. Joshua went to bed wondering if he could somehow trade his father for Mr Warner.

The next morning Josh woke up to the sound of breaking glass.

He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. Soon there was another crash and a loud voice from the direction of the living room. Joshua straightened his duck printed night suit and got into his slippers. As he hurried ahead there were more sounds of things being thrown around.

On reaching the scene he was shocked. Jane was sitting on the sofa, supporting her head with one hand and brushing away the continuous flow of tears with another.

Michael looked livid, standing tall beside the coffee table breaking one item after the other and shouting profanities at Mr Warner, who by the way, was not present there.

Joshua would have fled had a dish not come crashing near him. It became too much to contain into his little heart and he began to scream.

Michael stopped and became stone still at the sight of his son. Jane ran to Joshua and picked him up.

Mother and son hugged each other tightly, united against the furious monster as they walked away. Michael saw the diminishing silhouette of his wife and child through the hallway and the inside of his chest started to ache very hard.

A few days after the incident Jane took Joshua to an ice cream parlour and told him after 4 scoops of ice cream that he would be getting Mr Warner as his daddy soon.

Joshua jumped up in excitement and clapped his hands. The bribery of ice creams usually was prelude to bad news; that day turned out to be a wonderful exception.

Michael came to see Joshua after the divorce was finalized.

Joshua wanted to run out of his room but his father was in the doorway.

“Would you be able to live in this house with just me? Say, I stop going on tours and your mother moves out…would you like to be here with your father instead?” Michael was begging but it seemed to Josh like a curse from one of his night time folk tale. He said nothing but Michael had gotten the answer from his son’s frozen expression.

Within days Michael moved out. He was under no obligation to pay Jane alimony after being cheated on but he did not wish to uproot his child from his known environment.

Joshua was overjoyed when finally Mr Warner came one evening along with his bags. Michael too visited soon hoping to resolve the custody issue amicably. Both Jane and Josh were appalled at the suggestion of shared custody.

It was Mr Warner who stepped in and convinced Joshua to spend the weekends with his real father.

“But I love you more!” Joshua’s little eyes looked worried as he bent his neck backward to meet Mr Warner’s gaze.

“I know son…I’d be very proud if you do this for me,” Mr Warner said in his kindest voice as he cupped Joshua’s little face in his huge rough hands.

Joshua nodded his head and hugged Mr Warner at his waist.

 Joshua’s loyalty to Mr Warner made him rude to Michael in the two days they had to spend together each week.  But somehow he found out that he was often left with his father for more than 2 days. Mr Warner’s affection for Josh was waning steadily and although Joshua refused to take any serious note of the shift, he knew deep down something horrible was about to happen.

It happened in the form of a vacation to Punta Cana. Joshua listened in horror from his bedroom as Mr Warner quarrelled with his mother.

 “Pack off the nuisance to his father’s or I am cancelling the trip,” he barked. Joshua was frightened but he knew his mother would never agree to dump him.

But the next day after breakfast Jane dropped Joshua at Michael’s place for 2 weeks.

“Mommy loves you dear...I’ll be back soon,” she whispered into Joshua’s ears before leaving.

Michael tried to be with his son as much as possible but he still had to be away for work for a large part of the day. It was in those idle hours of unplanned boredom that Joshua had met Fluff’s mother Husky. Back then Husky was a stray puppy orphaned by a road accident.

Taking care of Husky gave Joshua a sense of purpose. Little Husky grew deeply attached to Joshua in those two weeks. When it was time for Joshua to leave Husky started to travel back and forth across the neighbourhoods just to be able to sleep at Joshua’s doorstep.

Joshua’s rift with Jane and Mr Warner started to widen further when Jane got pregnant for the second time. Jane had held Joshua on her lap before disclosing the news.

“You are going to have a baby sister soon.”

“You’re replacing me!” Joshua had replied in absolute shock. After that day Joshua started to find peace in the quiet care and love that Michael offered him. He had some freedom at Michael’s place and also Husky to keep him company. Joshua and Husky grew up together and touched puberty at about the same time and he often took dating lessons from her.

After Joshua’s first break up he was coming home crestfallen only to witness Husky making out with her new boyfriend. Joshua instinctively merged himself with a stubby bush.

He watched quietly as Husky went on to have fun with 2 more dogs that had visited from the next street. Soon Joshua tried out multi-dating too and it turned out to be much more exciting.

Husky’s frequent trysts got her pregnant rather early and Joshua became worried about the perils of street life affecting her health. That evening Joshua went up to Michael.

“Can I let Husky stay indoors? With us?” Joshua asked as he uncomfortably shifted his weight from one leg to another.

Michael looked up from his book at Joshua and gradually a lump formed at this throat.

“Josh…you are all I have. If it makes you happy then please do invite your little friend inside,” Michael said.

“Thanks dad!!!” Joshua’s eyes sparkled as he went out to get Husky.

But Husky and Joshua’s spree inside the house lasted only for 11 days.

Then one evening as Joshua was sitting cross legged in front of the fireplace with Husky napping beside him, Michael walked in with Norah.

Joshua identified her instantly as the librarian from his old school. She was neither young nor pretty but it was obvious that she had managed to somehow ensnare his father’s attention.

“Norah…this is my son Joshua,” Michael said with a proud smile, using his outstretched left hand to point at Josh while his right hand wrapped around Norah’s waist giving her a gentle squeeze.

Joshua coiled in disgust. He said something in an inaudible voice and left the room. Michael, unlike Joshua had looked beyond Norah’s plain appearance and had fallen for the lure of secure company that her heart had to offer. Their relationship flourished and soon Michael had another talk with Joshua.

“Josh I wanted you to know that Norah and I are moving in together,” Michael said to him.

Joshua had his legs stationed up on two sides of his gaming console while both his hands were firing away the leg movements for his players in a virtual football match.

Michael repeated himself 3 times to get a response from Joshua.

“I heard you…what do you want? My blessings?” Joshua paused and turned sideways to face his father.

“That’d be great,” Michael laughed uncomfortably.

Joshua made a face and Michael stiffened a bit and cleared his throat.

“There’s one more thing…Norah is allergic to dogs. You have to take Husky out again.”

Joshua said nothing…his eyes gave away no reaction as well.

“Well I’m sure she won’t mind. I’ll continue to sponsor her food and other treats…please Josh…for me…”

“It’s your house dad…I’ll take Husky out,” Joshua said.

Michael tried his best to make up for the incident but Joshua’s equation with him had changed forever.

Joshua figured out that for unconditional love it was only Husky that he could turn to. His only problem regarding Husky was her ever expanding family. But he soon observed that Husky liked to get rid of her puppies the moment they lost the cuteness of infancy, much like his mother Jane.

As the years rolled on Husky started to get old and feeble. Joshua was now a grown man in his college years yet the day when Husky silently died in the course of a night, Joshua cried for days like a baby. His only consolation was that he now had Fluff, who was the last of Husky’s puppies. Since Fluff was not strong like his other siblings, he never had the confidence to be on his own.

Joshua busied himself with studies at college and it was in college that he had met Michelle. He had resisted all feelings initially and had tried to focus on the good regular sex. But then they started to stay up the nights to talk. And when two hormonal people talk, post intimacy, in the vulnerable hours of the night, it usually becomes impossible to keep love at bay.

Joshua had proposed to Michelle within a week of converting his first job after college. Michelle understood him like no other person. She had been raised mostly by her grandmother because her much-in-love parents shuffled between big cities chasing their own dreams. It was ironical that two very different sets of parents had given Joshua and Michelle a very similar childhood.

When their wedding was fixed, for the umpteenth time in life Joshua felt very close to having a loving home. But Michelle declared to him on a certain balmy afternoon that Fluff will have to live outdoors even after they move in together. Her late grandmother had left two cats under her care and Michelle did not want to impose upon them the inclusion of Fluff. And for the umpteenth time in life Joshua’s dreams got rudely shattered.

As evening descended at the park, Joshua stood up. Not a single tear drop escaped his eyes, not a single sigh heaved off his chest…life had prepared him well to deal with disappointments. He walked home calmly with Fluff in tow.

In the next few weeks Joshua rented out a small place close to work and cut off all ties with Michelle. It was going to be a fresh start for him and Fluff. Joshua distracted himself from his past by immersing himself in work and it resulted in tremendous professional growth. At home Fluff and him led a quiet and content life. This arrangement went on for just a year after which Fluff died an untimely death, affected by a rare bout of liver disease.

All of Joshua's family had turned up on Fluff’s funeral. Michael stood with Norah on his right while Jane stood on his left along with a balding Mr Warner and their daughter.

Joshua looked into their eyes and read a mixture of pity and guilt. He said polite thank you’s and left quickly.

For a few weeks Joshua found it hard to do the smallest things in life. He was still coping with the loss when one day Joshua was stopped by a young man at the parking lot of his work place.

“Hey…I’m Steve…have a minute?” The guy pushed into Joshua’s hand a business card.

“Who are you?” Joshua was annoyed.

“I run an animal rescue and adoption centre…I was wondering if you would like to visit us some day…” Steve had a hesitant smile on his lips.

Joshua's forehead was still creased.

“Michelle sent me,” Steve explained in short.

 “So she has been stalking me all this while!” Joshua smirked and looked away.

“Actually she’s with me now,” Steve clarified and straightened his slouch impulsively.

Joshua’s smile vanished.

“I’ll get in touch with you…thanks Steve,” Joshua gave an uncomfortable nod to Steve and got into his car fast. A lot of thoughts were rushing into his head all together and the first one in the line was to punch Steve hard in the face.

On a whim Joshua took a sharp turn from his usual route and started to drive towards the small apartment where Michelle used to live when they dated.

Was she still there? Did Steve too live with her now? Did she love him?

Joshua decided to yell his heart out at Michelle but the moment she threw the door open, his mind went blank.

There she was wearing a baggy sweat shirt, her hair tied up in a messy bun and her countenance revealing pure joy at seeing him. Strangely, proximity with Michelle even after a year, evoked in Joshua a sense of being home.

“Josh!!! Come in.”

Michelle pulled him in by his arms and made him sit down on her couch. She sat on the coffee table facing him and waited for Joshua to speak.

“You have no right to leave me because of Fluff and then date another bloke with a zoo!”

Michelle was startled at the sudden statement.

“Steve?”

“And you then you send him to rub the news to my face…”

Michelle leaned forward and hugged Joshua tightly while he was still in mid sentence.

 “What’s that for?” Joshua felt his angst melt away as the warmth of Michelle’s body permeated through his clothes to gently caress his skin.

“Steve is married to my friend from work. He probably said that to get you worked up. You broke up with me…I never did.”

Michelle pulled herself back and held up her left hand.  Sitting on her ring finger was the gleaming ring made of an affordable alloy which Joshua had once presented to her.

She got up from the table and went to the kitchen counter to fix two drinks.

“I tried to get in touch many times…you were adamant.”

She picked up the glasses and swerved around only to bump into the arms of Joshua who had silently walked up to her.

“Ouch…now we have scotch over ourselves…” Michelle said as the glasses clinked splashing out amber liquid.

“We know how to clean that off baby…” Joshua tenderly pulled Michelle closer and they merged into a long comforting kiss. And in the hours of passion that followed they both realized that they had never really fallen out of love.

They did not notice when the night had flown by but as Michelle looked out of her window, the night sky seemed to be turning a shade paler. She was half seated on her side of the bed caressing Joshua’s muscular arm which now rested on her lap.

“I still take care of Grandma’s cats…and they still hate dogs…”

 “Well...I’m actually glad you never gave up on them,” Joshua pulled Michelle’s cheek lightly and smiled.

“But what next...for us? What're you thinking?” Michelle’s voice quivered as she tried to gauge Joshua's thoughts.

“I’m thinking that we should sleep now...I’m very sleepy...”

Michelle started to feel a tad worried. Then she heard Joshua mumble the following words before dawdling off to sleep.

“Tomorrow will be a long day...we’ll start by applying for a fresh marriage license...and then we've to look for our new home.”

Rules Are Meant to be Broken

The growing chill woke Rai up from her siesta. She remained peacefully confused for a while, unable to remember who or where she was. But the comforting haze did not last for long and she recollected that she was alone in her rented apartment and had been dumped by her boyfriend exactly 5 days back.

Rai got on her toes and turned up the heat. She made herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the large French window watching the brushes of evening slowly dabbing the city with inky darkness. Lights were turned on in bunches dotting the city like a magical land.

And despite the wondrous beauty unfolding in front of her, the scene playing on her mind was that of Monday night. That night she had found out from Facebook, along with 67 mutual friends, that her boyfriend Nilay had gotten engaged to Emma Geller.

Nilay and Rai were currently located in different countries pursuing different career paths. And Rai had trusted Nilay to remain faithful despite the distance. But in the end Nilay did not even bother to break up with her properly before moving on to Emma.

Rai felt the ceramic mug gently warming her fingers as she took a sip of her coffee. She immediately grimaced at the taste. Teardrops and coffee tasted horrible together.

She walked towards the wash basin to throw away the rest of coffee. As she erased the stains in the cup with a soapy scrubber, she thought about the people who could comfort her. She ruled out her mother who had always disliked Nilay and would be in a very told-you-so mood. She thought of all her friends and then ruled them out one by one too. None of them had called or texted yet. They were probably struggling to pick sides after the break up.

Rai rinsed the cup and dried it with a towel and decided to go out for a walk.

She put on a long coat and headed straight for the liquor store round the corner.

But once inside the store her enthusiasm started to dip. She stood lost among all the alcoholic options wondering which one was meant to mend a broken heart. The neatly stocked shelves presented the order and discipline of a library and Rai silently fought the rising feeling of being an illiterate.

Suddenly she felt a light tap on her shoulder and swerved around to see a tall guy standing in front of her, flaunting classically handsome looks and a smile of familiarity. After 3 long seconds Rai remembered him. He was Yash from her college, 3 years senior to her batch.

 “Rai!! I was observing you for quite some time,” Yash said.

Rai looked blank.

“Don’t you remember me?” Yash looked a bit worried.

 “I remember you,” Rai said finally after she regained her composure. She had a major crush on Yash back in college but no one ever had known about that.

“What brings you here? Didn’t expect to see a known face in this city,” Yash asked.

“I have been living in this place for the past 8 months…got a promising job here,” Rai said.

“Oh! That’s cool…I came here on a solo vacation,” Yash said. “Are you looking for something to drink?”

Rai’s cheeks flushed immediately.

“Well…no…I don’t drink,” Rai started. A look at Yash’s face gave her some courage. “I just got curious…Yash-da”

“Yash-da? Bong girls are expert at bro-zoning a guy!” Yash raised his eyebrow. “I was wondering if we could hang out a bit tonight…”

“What do you mean?” Rai’s tone was a bit snappy this time.

“Sorry…,” Yash apologized. “I know I sounded creepy but that wasn’t my intention. I know you’re Nilay’s girl…I was bored and was kind of relieved to see someone I know.”

Yash uncomfortably fidgeted with his hands and pursed his lips trying to figure out the next word to say.

Rai looked at him and thought for a while.

“I’m not offended,” Rai smiled. “Let’s go somewhere…but for coffee. No drinking!”

 “Sure thing,” Yash obliged.

As they rode together Yash talked to her about his trip.

“Never go for a solo trip Rai…big mistake. Take the lousiest of your friends along if you have to but do take someone.” Yash moved his hands a lot as he talked and Rai watched his animated gestures.

There sitting in a cab with an almost stranger, Rai felt a bit better. Listening to Yash babble away took her mind off the gnawing pain within her heart.

She was wondering whether she should talk about her break up when they reached a nice coffee shop. It was located on an open terrace with plenty of potted plants. A strong wind was blowing and people sat there, happy with coffee and messy hair. The primal smell of coffee was enough to give them a high.

Yash and Rai sat down on two bean bags. Yash placed the order while Rai absently scratched at the textured low table in front of them.

“This city has a lot of life in it...must have been a glorious 8 months…I got tired working…”

“Nilay and I have broken up,” Rai suddenly said in the middle of Yash’s sentence.

Yash gulped. He thought hard but could not find any appropriate thing to say.

“Don’t worry…I wouldn’t ruin your evening talking about it,” Rai quickly added as she observed the visible discomfiture in Yash’s demeanor.

He rubbed the side of his nose and said feebly, “You two never really looked like a well matched couple. We always thought sooner or later you were going to leave him…”

“He left me.”

“What?”

The menu book fell out of Yash’s hands.

Rai picked it up.

“He got engaged to a foreigner last week.”

The food arrived and both of them ate in silence.

“I adjusted with everything he put me through…just to make the relationship work. Turned out it was not enough…”

Without any warning Rai broke into hysterical sobs. Yash quickly paid the bill and guided her out of the place.

They walked along a long silvery road leading to a small windy beach. As the sound of the waves grew louder, the unrest in Rai seemed to grow more intense too.

She was pouring out all her pent up pain into spoken words.

Rai had not realized when they had reached the beach and had sat down on a boulder. All of a sudden she stopped crying and looked ahead. The majestic sea and the streaming moonlight created a scene offering infinite peace.

Rai took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I forced you to listen to my misery.”

“Don’t be sorry. I got the chance to know someone properly. That’s never wastage of time to me,” Yash said as he lightly brushed away some of the loose strands from Rai’s face and tucked them behind her ear.

Rai sighed.

“Cry as much as you want tonight. But from tomorrow start a new life.”

“I’m never going to love again,” Rai vowed.

“On the contrary you should start loving hard from now on. Love yourself and find out who you are. When you know who you are, you are less likely to choose losers like Nilay.”

Rai smiled spontaneously though her eyes still reflected pain of immeasurable depth.

“One day you will look back and will be glad that Nilay left you.”

Rai felt the tiniest rays of hope touching her heart and ignoring the inappropriateness of the gesture she rested her head on Yash’s shoulder and took a deep breath.

They sat like that for hours…just breathing in and staring ahead.

For the passers-by they seemed like just another much in love couple.

Finally when Rai looked a bit stable Yash dropped her at her apartment and left for his hotel.

But before leaving he took her email id and phone number. Yash keyed in the details into his smartphone as he stood at Rai’s doorstep.

“I want to send to you the details of a program. It will completely reorganize your routine and help you to come out of this phase.” Yash said.

“What kind of program?” Rai asked. She was already inside her apartment and her silhouette looked dreamy against the dim light of the half open door.

“Well let’s just say that I’ve have been through something similar to this in the past and a certain program helped me to recover. I’d forward the details to you…you can try it out.” Yash explained.

He smiled and shook hands with Rai before leaving.

Rai went to bed mulling over the strange evening she had just spent and deep sleep enveloped her soon.

A few days went by busily before Rai received the promised email from Yash. She was checking her emails from the sterile cold cubicle at her office when it popped up.

It was a short message in tabular format signed with good wishes from Yash. Rai read the points twice.

  

1. Wake up early and run for half an hour.
2. Block Nilay. 
3. Get busy.  Add new hobbies to your routine.
4. Exhaust yourself with work and entertainment and go to bed early. NEVER remain up late in the nights.

Rai started immediately and blocked Nilay over all possible channels. The next few months seemed like the first years of school to Rai. She followed strictly the rules that the weekly mails spelled out and it steadily helped her to wrestle out of the emotional muck.

Rai had made new friends and tried new hobbies. Not all things that she tried suited her. She gave up learning a new language and rock climbing soon. But she also found her love for painting. Rai spent hours painting new themes and it seemed each time like a cathartic experience washing out a bit of her pain.

Then one day Rai decided on an impulse to deviate from the routine. She gave herself a lazy day and had strong coffee at bed time. Rai wanted to face the lonely hours of midnight again. She had not thought about Nilay in a long time and she wanted to see if she could remain strong enough in the nights as well.

That night as she dimmed the lights and sat on her bed, Rai realized that she had healed. She thought of Nilay and felt no trace of longing for him. Rai smiled and forgave Nilay.

She got up and walked around the room. It was liberating to feel good at night again and she turned on soothing music after a while. Rai drew apart her curtains and looked outside. The view was beautiful and she felt happy to be alive.

And then suddenly without any warning she felt a surge of longing to have Yash there by her side. She fought with her wild thoughts but in vain. All through the night she had unpredictable chains of thought appearing inside her head. And finally when the effect of caffeine subsided, Rai fell asleep and had a strange dream about Yash buying a ring.

The next day she mailed Yash on an impulse before logic had a chance to convince her otherwise.

This time Yash’s reply mail did not come in a tabular format. It was an elaborate mail full of apologies that explained that he already had a girlfriend.

Rai read the mail many times. And though her love had not been reciprocated, she did not feel broken.

Rai went back to her routine and decided to not write to Yash for the time being. For a long time she remained just content with life; and it felt better than crying nights.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six months had passed this way and Rai kept busy with work and hobbies. Then one day as Rai sat painting a portrait at an outdoor workshop someone came up to her and stood there watching her strokes.

Rai turned to her side to see a bespectacled young man.

“That man looks like me,” the young man said pointing to Rai’s painting.

Indeed the picture shared likeness with him. He had sharp features and a dimpled chin. He was a bit on the heavier side but still cute. Rai smiled.

“I’m Rai,” she said as she offered him a seat by her.

The young man was Ryan, an architect who had joined the painting class in the previous month.

After the class was over Rai and Ryan walked together across the sunny garden towards a small cafeteria. They had a light lunch together and enjoyed small talk.

“I’ve a confession to make. Unlike you I’m not enjoying painting. I came here to distract myself a bit. I’m fresh out of a bad break up,” Ryan said all of a sudden.

“For how long?” Rai asked.

“About a year actually,” Ryan said. “And hence a bit desperate,” he added with an awkward smile.

Rai extended her hand for a hi-five.

“Me too!” she said.

“Really?”

“Yup. Boyfriend married foreigner without any notice. It was the green card which I couldn’t offer that made the difference.”

“Oh! My girl left me for a guy compatible with her caste,” Ryan upturned his lips in a mock expression.

And that’s how their friendship began. They met regularly and shared their uncannily similar stories. And their past pain made them come closer as friends.

One night Ryan took Rai out to a fancy restaurant. They both knew that they were dating. But they were too afraid to spell that out.

After they had placed the orders Rai looked into Ryan’s eyes happily. He looked slimmer and sexier that night.

“I’m thinking about having a drink tonight,” Ryan said. “You?”

Rai giggled.

Ryan was confused.

“Nothing. I just realized that I have missed out on so many things, preserving the list in the hope of doing them with Nilay one day!”

“Like sex?” Ryan asked.

“Like drinking! Wasn’t that obvious?” Rai laughed a hearty laugh.

“Oh…”

“Let’s have it tonight!” Rai said.

“What? Sex?”

“Oh no…I meant drinks tharki boy!” Rai giggled again and gave him a flirty push on his shoulders.

From that night onward things became faster between Rai and Ryan. From movie dates at multiplexes they upgraded to horror movies and romcoms on the couch and then came the time for them to introduce the families over Skype.

Around a year and a half after meeting first, Rai and Ryan flew to their home town together to set a date for marriage.

And it was then amidst the secure setting of impending marriage that Rai found the courage to mail Yash again.

She wrote that she was embarrassed about her last mail and hoped that Yash would let go of it. She did not expect any reply…it was just her way of closing the episode from her side. But a reply came soon.

Yash thanked her several times for mailing again. He said he was afraid to keep in touch as he had turned her down. He talked a bit about himself, asked a bit about Rai and ended the mail asking if he could see Rai in person some day.

Rai was surprised at her own happiness to get an elaborate mail from Yash. And without thinking much she typed in a date and venue suggestion to meet. Yash agreed promptly.

On the day of meeting Rai wore a feminine layered dress and made herself up with much care. The last time Yash had seen her at her worst. This time she wished to present herself at her best.

All along the way she made herself read the messages from Ryan but still could not erase the guilt from her heart.

When she reached the venue she found that Yash was early. He had changed a bit in the couple of years. He looked wiser and calmer than before. His body was still in perfect shape and as he extended his hands towards Rai, she could see his muscles ripple under his shirt.

Rai nervously smiled and walked with him to their pre booked table. It was a simple setting in stark light and yet it felt more romantic than a candlelit dinner.

“Let me start by saying thank you for acting like a messiah to me,” Rai quickly said realizing that they had looked at each other for one whole minute without speaking any word.

Yash smiled warmly and guided the conversation from there. He handled simple and complex topics with equal élan and Rai was gripped by sheer wonder as she listened to him.

Feeling comfortable soon, she decided to tell him about her engagement.

“You’re getting married?” Yash seemed surprised.

“Am I not good enough for it?” Rai was hurt.

“I was just overjoyed Rai,” Yash held Rai’s hands and gave them a light squeeze. “The little girl has grown up. I’m very happy for you.”

Rai looked at Yash’s eyes as she relished the warmth of his hands over hers.

She searched for a hint of disappointment but failed to read his inscrutable eyes.

“Aren’t you married yet?’ Rai said suddenly.

“No not yet. I will do it when I get some time,” Yash said casually.

The conversation lasted for exactly 5 minutes after that and they both parted ways with an air of confusion.

Yash sighed as Rai got into her car and drove off.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of years earlier Yash was studying a specialized course in human psychology and was designing programs for probable patients of depression when he had accidentally run into a heart-broken Rai. Rai happened to be his first real case study…and falling in love with her was against the rules. 

Yash was now an established life coach and a therapist, popular among the elite circles of the city, free to fall in love with anyone. But as fate would have it, today he was walking into a large and glittery air conditioned shop with drooping shoulders.

“May I help you?” the man behind the counter asked as soon as Yash had parked himself there.

“I need to return this ring,” Yash said as he handed him a square velvet box back.