Lavnya sat looking at the photo album. It was the wedding
album of her son who was now on honeymoon. As she flipped through, she came
across the photo of Sreeyesh blessing the newly weds. Sreeyesh looked old and
tired. His daughter was getting married and the responsibility on his shoulders
was huge. She was his only child.
A lump formed in Lavnya's throat. She slipped into her
thoughts . Twenty years ago.
Mridul was one years old and Loveena was four then. It was a
testing time. Soumya had shifted to Riyadh
just five months ago, for his new job. Lavnya was lonely and didn't have many
friends .Her life had revolved around her family for so many years. Each day
passed as she waited for Soumya to call and talk to her. She would stay up late
in night waiting to chat with him on net when he would be back from work. She
had found it hard to tell how much she missed him. His finances would restrict
him to talk on phone for brief periods.
As Lavnya would wait
for him to come online, she started visiting the chat sites. Soon she made friends
with people from various walks of life. Now she was online talking to people rerouting
her depression. It was on one such site where she met Sreeyesh. She found him
funny and witty. Soon she was chatting with him almost each night. A month
later she gave him her phone number and he called. Both were sheepish they
didn't know what to talk about. Both of them were married and so they knew
their reservations.
Soon it was Diwali vacations. Her kids went to visit her
relatives and she was alone for a week. It was then she was too miserable and
lonely, spending all time on net . She told Seeyesh how difficult it was for
her to be alone without Soumya and her children. That night Sreeyesh called again
and they talked all the night about themselves. By morning they had fought as Sreeyesh
had said the unexpected.
Next day they were again chatting as they both knew they had
only each other to depend in these trying times. Few months later Lavnya was with her husband
in Riyadh. But
the chats and mails continued. Riyadh
was one place where could never go out
alone. Everything in this country was so different. She longed to see the sun and
have friends. Soumya remained busy with his job and had long work hours. Sreeyesh
on other hand was away from home for his work often and would meet his wife
very little. They had problems having a baby. Both Sreeyesh and Lavnya depended
more on each other for advice and normal
life. Though they lived in different countries, yet they still managed to talk
every day and write mails or chat regularly.
Months passed and
nature of their relationship changed. Both started seeking comfort into each other
for everything. Miles apart yet they had time and words for each other. Both
made promises of meeting each other .Lavnya knew she would never be able to
tell Soumya about Sreeyesh .
It was two years since Lavnya was in Saudi Arabia. Today
she was happy that she would be in Delhi
soon. Once in Delhi
she called him. Sreeyesh told her that he would be taking the next flight to Delhi as he wanted to meet
her just once. Lavyna didn't know what to do. She also wanted to meet the man
who had chatted with her for more than two years, every single day but she knew
it would be a mistake. Deep inside her she had started loving Sreeyesh. .
Finally it was the day she was to meet Sreeyesh. She wore a
western outfit as Sreeyesh had wished. She was uncomfortable as she was mostly
wearing sarees in her every day life. Sreeyesh called her from the airport that
he would check into Intercontinental hotel. As she was on her way, the tension
build up. Happiness and , both numbed her. When she reached his hotel, she
called him. He was on the 17th floor. She became even more nervous
as she took the wrong elevator. Finally she was there. He was at the door, a
handsome man who looked divine as he held the door ajar. She rushed straight
into his arms and he held her close. When
he spoke,it was the voice she had heard and loved for years now. She forget
herself and soon they were one years of longings n passions took control.
Lavnya came back to Riyadh.
She left a part of her with Sreeyesh. They remained in touch but then the
intensity decreased. Soon Sreeyesh changed his job. He became more busy and
ignored her calls. It was almost four years when he finally refused to talk to
her and black listed her number. He moved his home and she didn't know how to
get in touch again. Her world of fantasy had spilled. Left with no ways to
reach him, Lavnya looked round. She didn't know how four years had passed and
her children had started growing up. She realized that she had ignored both Soumya
and her children. She now became a dedicated mother and wife. Part of her was
dead. Lovena grew up to became a doctor and
got married while Mridul finished his bachelor degree.
It seemed only a few
days but it was 20years. Mridul had shifted to Banglore for his masters. One
day he called up and asked if she knew Sreeyesh. Her heart almost stopped. All
her past ran like a movie in front of her eyes.
Yes, she told her son. Mridul said that Sreeyesh wanted to talk to
her. With her hands trembling she listened to his voice asking Mridul's hand
for his daughter Kanu. She handed over the phone to Soumya. Soon Mridul got
married to Kanu.
It was few days before the engagement that she met Sreeyesh
after so many years. He was old and bald.
He still had the same voice but far away from the man Lavanya knew. Both
held each others hand for a brief moment where his eyes pleaded for happiness
for his daughter, who he said, was born with great difficulty. Yes, she said to
herself, because the place left vacant in my heart can be filled only by your
daughter.
Words that were never got said still remained buried in her
heart. Yes, it was her son who ended her unfinished story.
Lavnya closed the album and looked across at Soumya. They
had been married for thirty yearss now. He was grinning at her, the way he did the first day he met her. It was
the beginning of new life for her, having been released from past. She smiled
back at him.
Soumya saw the woman whom he had met the very first time and
had fallen in love with. She got lost as he scaled new heights in his career.
He would not loose her again, he promised himself as he smiled back her.
