Encounters Continued

The silence between the two was meddled by irregular hammering at the mechanic’s shop. She took out her mobile and gasped to see 7 missed calls from home, unable to catch signal she turned towards him. She tried to get a look of his face, failing to gather his attention she called out, “Excuse me”? He looked perturbed, like disturbed from a deep meditation. While asking for his cell phone she tried her best to figure out the possible reasons of his melancholy.

She keyed in her mother’s number and waited for her to pick up. There was no answer, disconnecting the phone she checked the time to realize her mother must have slept already assuming she might be working another late night. She held the phone in his direction to see he had closed his eyes. The subtle stern expression had started to transform, he was unable to hold it any longer. She could sense it was her fault of having taken him off the zone of numbness by disturbing him. A tear rolled out from the corner of his closed eyes visible from her side. She could not figure out at all what would be the best suitable reaction for this time. Looking away for a while she decided to talk to him but could not pick herself the best way to get the conversation started.

All of a sudden she spoke, “you know my father died of cancer last year”. That confession made him jump a little from in the inside. He opened his eyes, felt sorry for the loss but was unsure of the ways to react to such an event. He was left confused by a stranger telling him the most painful feeling in their life. Before he could console her about it, she spoke again. “I cried because it was not in my hands, I believe and hope what you are worried about does not need tears but actions. The watery eyes will only haze the picture of future you dream for yourself. There are certain times in life you need to let go of the attachments pulling you down so as to realize your potentials to the full.”

Aghast! She spoke everything he already knew. The same old rusted philosophies, but it made sense. In that moment he felt the strength to move forward in life. The monotonic tone in which she said all the big words made it even more impactful. Just then the mechanic informed that the car couldn’t be repaired until tomorrow. She panicked a little only to be assured by him that he’d drop her after he gets his scooter. Finally she heard him speak. His pain attracted her in a completely absurd manner as if somebody had challenged her to make him smile. She spoke about everything she could think of, every little curl in his lips, every time he took off his constant gaze from the puddle to look at her, were like giving her points in some life game.

He got his scooter, they drove to her place. The ride was a silent one; she had placed her hands on his shoulders and kept staring in the darkness trying to figure out the reason for change in the way her heart had been beating! They pulled over at her place. This was an extremely difficult moment for her. She could not just let him go without the hopes of seeing him again. Without a second thought she invited him to come inside. This now meant a life changing leap for him. He had decided to start afresh being motivated by her, and it would have been just perfect having alongside a companion who wanted nothing else but your happiness.

He could not say no, and so he turned around without a word, powered the engine and went off. There was so much he needed to correct in his life, so much to move away from, so much to sort. Unsure he would even be able to ever move on effectively, he decided not to drag her into all the mess and make her suffer. He had decided to unboard the present broken boat not to catch a similar another, but to swim alone along the tides, empowering himself. And just when he made that decision, the tides got low, the water became appropriately calm!

P.S. Choosing right over wrong is important than choosing happiness. Mending the present things in life is important than moving away with a new opportunity leaving the past ignored. Happiness cannot be sought only in the presence of a companion, solitude has its own perks.