Post # 13. Memories, to rest ? #atozchallenge

“ He called me today, Rosh,” Shreyasi told her friend that evening.

“ Did he ? What’s it now ? Dinner again?,” Roshni asked. She was rearranging the clothes in her shelf.

Shreyasi recounted the conversation to her.

Roshni listened to her patiently. She smiled as Shreyasi admitted that she loved Aagney.

“ You’ve never really taken him away from your heart, Shreya. I know that,” she said.

“ How can I, Rosh ? He was everything to me,” Shreyasi answered.

“Was ? Or is ?,” Roshni teased her.

“ Ok, IS, it is. You know everything, Rosh. I might be angry with him, but I can never hate him,” she said.

“ Then tell me, why are you so adamant and angry when he speaks to you ? Why don’t you just go with him, spend some quality time and be happy ?,” Roshni came to sit next to her on the bed.

“ I don’t know, Rosh. I’m not healed yet. Every time I think of those days, I’m getting more and more restless,” she answered.

Roshni took her by the shoulders and turned her towards herself.

“ See, Shreya, you’re one of the most sensible women I’ve seen. We , I and our friends at college, have always been so proud of you and your womanly ways. I know most of what you’ve gone through since childhood. But this one thing, I’ve always just listened to what you said. There are many things which you haven’t told me ,I feel,” she said.

“ I myself feel that I might have missed to understand some things,” Shreyasi shrugged.

“ You came here to find him. You have. He knows you’re here. You know he still loves you. You still love him. Then why don’t you both throw away the past and be happy ?”, Roshni asked again.

“ I agree, Rosh. But I need to put to rest those memories. I need to convince myself that I’ll not lose him , ever. He needs to understand my truth. I’m not ready to commit unless and until that happens,” Shreyasi spoke, calm but firm.

“ Theek hai. I get your point. But how will that happen if you hide in your cocoon ? Get out of it.  Go, meet him, talk to him, bring the topic around and ask him straight on his face. You know him more than anyone else, don’t you ? There’s no point in reliving those memories anymore, Shreya. Not when you can take the plunge and solve it , ” Roshni spoke , her voice strong with conviction.

“ I do. I will do it. I know, I have waited enough ,” Shreyasi said , getting  up from the bed , and opening her book shelf.

She had spoken with a new-found firmness in her tone. She hadn’t faltered. Her tone hadn’t quivered.

Roshni smiled to herself.

She knew Shreyasi , her friend, was sensitive, though very much mature in her thoughts. She had grown up alone, with just the trustees of the orphanage to guide her.

She knew most of what had transpired between her and Aagney. She had been troubled by the misunderstanding. Shreyasi had just been so sensitive to the whole thing.

But she couldn’t be blamed. She had been so lonely for a major part of her life, that scars could easily form on her heart.

She looked at her friend, lost in a book.

She knew it was not the book she was lost in.

She was lost in her memories. 

But she would heal soon.

Meeting you was for me, the best present

Life afterwards became sweet and pleasant

Music for my pining soul, love for my heart

Little did I dream then, that we’d drift apart

Miracle is what I waited for, all these years

Magic is what I needed to allay my fears

Medicine for my inner wounds is what I seek now

Memories, to be put to rest, is my new vow !

To be contd....

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This post has been written for the A to Z Challenge 2015.

Post # 12. Late, but better than never ! #atozchallenge

“ Shrey, can we talk for sometime?”, he asked over the phone.

Shreyasi had just walked in to her clinic, and changed into her uniform.  Her first patient of the day, three-year old Liara, was waiting on her bed. She beamed in happiness when she saw Shreyasi approach her with her usual smile.

And that was when he had called. 

This was the second time he was ringing her up, the first one being his invitation to dine out.

“ Not now, Aagney. I’m at work, and I can’t use the phone much. We’ll talk later,” she said.

“ When do I call you then ? I don’t have your mobile number either. How can I contact you  then ?,” he asked.

“ I’ll call you when I’m free, Aagney.  That should be fine, right ?”, she asked, looking at Liara, and making a puppy face at her.

“ Fine, Shrey. I have no choice , right ? You seem to be in a hurry.  I’ll wait then, bye”, he said, hanging up.

Shreyasi returned the cordless to Ruby and reached Liara in a minute.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, dearie,” she said, as she started with her exercises for the session.

She called Aagney on the number which she had retrieved from the Callers List on the office phone.

“ Hi Shrey, I was waiting ,” he said, as soon as she greeted him.

“ What is it all about, Aagney ? What did you want to talk ?”, she asked, coming to the matter quickly.

“Why are you always so stern with me, Shrey ? I never knew you were so tough to talk to,” he said, irritated at the way she plunged into the conversation.

“I was never like this, Aagney. Yes, I know I was soft and all that. You’ve yourself told me that I could melt you with my voice. But not now, anyway. I’ve lost it,” she said, her voice mellowed a little.

“ Why so ? Are you….. are you still angry with me, Shrey ? For all that happened ?”, he asked, caution lining his tone.

Shreyasi didn’t answer.  I have every right to be angry, even though you might blame on my over reactive female hormones, Aagney, she thought.

“ Shrey, will you give me a second chance ?” he asked.

“ What for ?  To repeat what you once did ? ”, she wanted to know.

“ Shrey, please. I know I’ve been on the wrong side of things, I’ve not tried to understand you properly. I agree.  I want to make amends”, he spoke fast, as if he didn’t want her to interrupt him.

After so many years, she thought.

“ What kind of amends will you make, Aagney ? We have lost this much time between us. What can be done to get that back?”, she asked, warming up.

“ I admit I’ve been wrong. But not that I didn’t try to set things right. I did. At least I took an effort to. But you weren’t there , were you?”, he asked.

Ah, just as expected .

She knew it.  Her presence could’ve altered things back then.

“ No, I wasn’t  and that’s my mistake, I agree,” she said, calming down.

“ See, Shrey, I want to have my life back, as I had dreamt it,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“So?”

“ Can we get back our lost love, can we ?”, his question fell on her ears as a soothing balm.

“ Do you hate me, Shrey ? Do you think you can’t love me anymore ?,” he continued.

Shreyasi could feel her heart sing out to her. A soothing, melancholy refrain.

“ No, Aagney. I have never hated you, I can never do that,” she said.

He remained silent on the other side.

“ I have never grown out of my love for you.  You’re always the one for me,” she said, as tears streamed out of her eyes.

“ But it will take time, I still need a lot of answers to heal myself,” she continued.

“ You’ll get them, Shrey. I just need your assurance that you’re mine,” he said, calmness lacing his voice.

“ All things destined to happen will happen. Life’s like that, isn’t it ? There is no assurance,” Shreyasi said.

“ May be, but you can tell me whether your  love will flow to me, can’t you ?”, he questioned.

Shreyasi sighed.

She loved this man.

She was ready to be his, in all senses. 

She couldn’t explain how she had stayed away from him for so long.

Or, was he the one who had been away from her ?

“ Yes, Aagney. I still believe, we have a future together,” she said, her lips twitching in a faint smile.

Life had never been a nice card game

Happiness in life, I could never claim

Light was what I was looking for,

To pierce the veil of sadness I wore

Love was the magic you wove around me,

That was the happiest place for me to be

Lend me your shoulders, let me cry

Extend your fingers and wipe my eyes dry !

To be contd....

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This post has been written for the A to Z Challenge 2015.

Post # 11 the Knight, and a keepsake ..... #atozchallenge

The sound of the hooves echoes across the hall.

It is dark all around, except for the faint streak of light that falls like a beam on the floor, forming a silver line.

He’s on the horse, controlling the reign with his left hand.

With every passing moment, he seems to come closer.

He has a sword in his right hand, high up in the air.

And from nowhere, a voice sings…

 The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,  

And the highwayman came  riding, riding, riding,

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door….

Is this the highwayman ?

No. He’s the knight. Her knight in the shining armour.

He stops near her, and alights , his left hand firm on the reigns.

He puts his sword in its case, and extends his right hand to her.

A flash of lightening.

And she looks up at him,  from where she has fallen on the floor.

On his extended hand is a piece of paper. It falls on her as he drops it, and she sees the words written on that.

She gasps, as another flash of lightening blinds her out.

Shreyasi woke up with a start.

She checked the time. It was ten minutes past three in the morning.

She got up from the bed and drank some water. Roshni was stirring in her sleep.

She switched on her bed lamp. In the faint yellow glow cast by it, she opened her book shelf, and took out her favourite book.

The Kite Runner.

She flipped through the pages, searching for something.

And she found it where she had left it, safe and sound.

The keepsake.

Her eyes glistened, as they welled up against her will.

“ What’s it, Shreya ? Reading , at this time ? Not sleeping ?”, Roshni asked, her sleep disturbed by the light.

“ Nothing, Rosh. Just…. just woke up, and took this,” she replied, keeping the book back in its place.

Roshni looked at her for a whole minute before speaking.

“ Dreaming, Shreya?”

Shreyasi shrugged, switched off the light and lay down on her bed, facing the wall.

Kith and kin, I had none,

Into the hollow, you walked in as one

Knitting together thoughts and notions,

We were bound by our emotions

Kindled in us were passions new,

Which we grew up to, as time flew….  

Know, that you’ve been a boon,

Though we lost each other so soon…

To be contd....

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This post has been written for the A to Z Challenge 2015.

Post # 10. Just the friend in need...... #atozchallenge

A week had passed since the dinner date, and  Roshni could see that her friend was disturbed, even though she denied it and tried to act normal.

"She's not been herself since that evening at Fusion," she said  to herself as she prepared dinner one evening. She was making rotis, and egg bhurji to go with it. Shreyasi had informed her that she would be late, as she had received an extra case that day.

It was time for the daily news bulletin , so she switched on the TV, and sat on the sofa, with a tall glass of fresh Mango milkshake that she had prepared that evening, having finished her work in the kitchen.

 She smiled as she thought of the very few occasions when they had bunked the classes to visit the ice cream parlour near  their college, which served amazingly sweet milkshake. That had been Shreyasi's favourite.

Those were the very few moments, when Shreyasi let loose her mask of seriousness.

At college, she was more of a silent girl. Everyone liked her, because she tried to help them in whichever way she could; it was hard not to like her beautiful smile.

Her gentle behaviour won her many admirers, though she never took any  of them seriously.

The simple, humble, girl , who never bothered to line her eyes with kohl, or visit the beauty parlour to get herself a new haircut.
Always clad in simple, neat clothes, which never boasted of fashion,

She laughed a lot, sang in her soulful voice and recited English Poetry in perfect diction.

Her recital of 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes had won her the 'Literary Queen ' Award , when she had tied with another student Zoya in the rest of the literary competitions.

Her friends respected her for her qualities, more than her beauty.

Because they knew, that being orphaned at six, and having to spend one's life in an orphanage wasn't an easy thing to handle.

Roshni had always been her best friend, though. She knew her in and out, and could sense her impulses.

She owed her life to Shreyasi.

Shreyasi was the one who had saved her , the day she met with a life threatening accident, by taking the initiative to take her to the hospital from the site of the accident, and donating blood.

Her blood now flowed in Roshni's veins. In a way, they were related by blood !

That incident had given birth to their friendship, which had been strong since then.

Three years of Graduation, and two years of Post Graduation flew away at an astonishing speed, and when they parted, everyone expected Shreyasi to enter the Civil Services, because she had the calibre.

Roshni had flown to Calcutta, where her dad was working then. She had remained in touch with Shreyasi over emails, and occasional phone calls.

And two years later, one evening, she had opened her door to find Shreyasi before her.

Tired, and broken.

A sudden ring of the calling bell broke her reverie.

She opened the door to let Shreyasi in.

"Have a quick bath and come fast, I've made your favourite egg bhurji for dinner, " she said, as Shreyasi smiled and went into her room.


Just because of the day, you brought me back,
Without letting me rot to black...

Just for the moment we turned friends,
To remain the same till the world ends....

Just for these years we've spent together,
And stayed happy, as light as a feather...

Just for all these memories, my dearest,
I'm sure, in the end , you'll receive the best !

To be contd....

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This post has been written for the A to Z Challenge 2015.