She lifted her luggage and placed it on the front seat of the land cruiser. Seated in the rear seat, she was unusually quiet. May be she wasn’t feeling fine or didn’t want to leave. Silence marked its presence all through the way, even at the noisiest place – the airport. I could only glance through the mirror while driving. She was completely lost in her own thoughts staring away at the detours. I was aware of her silence and the storm that whirled inside her. Though she had cited the reason why she didn’t intend to visit Delhi, except for business, I assumed the said reason for her emotional mess too.
When we reached the parking lot of the airport, she just smiled and lifted her bag before I could. While strolling towards the terminal, she asked me a couple of questions about my entrance tests… may be she just wanted to evade her thoughts and keep her cool. I was answering her questions normally as if unaware of her distress. Though she was trying to show that she was fine, a feeling of deep sadness inside her could be easily sensed. May be she needed a shoulder to lean and release the stress. I felt tremendously bad for her and wished that I could hug her and tell her “I am there for you”. Since we had been friends only for a month, I didn’t want to interfere much, so I remained still. But I really wanted to hug her and say “I care for you and I am worried about you, come soon”. I was unaware that I would be one of her dearest after that evening at the airport.
It’s so strange that you give a person so much importance even when you are still an option in that person’s life, and hardly focus on the fact that there is some one else waiting for us. The need is to just turn around and look. I do remember those sleepless nights and the smoke-filled corner of the Mochas café at Churchgate that consumed my year 2006 when I was a graduate in Ad. Thanks to the split with Naomi, just stress and smoke filled in that year. As it is rightly said “Time is the best healer and counselor’, so it proved to be. Naomi was my past and I had to start my life on a new page. During the same time I met her through a social site and we soon became good pals.
Even though she was in her 30’s, she was much more beautiful and elegant than a ramp model. The only thing missing was a smile and a handsome guy accompanying her. She walked towards the airline office and got her ticket confirmed. I was watching the crowd walking and strolling inside the terminal and at the entry doors. She returned with two cups of hot coffee and offered me one; I thanked her and smiled. She smiled back, sipping the coffee and gazing blankly at the departure indicator. She didn’t even realize that she had already finished the coffee until I offered to throw her empty cup. She smiled, so innocently, just like an angel, and I felt that even a coffee cup could fill with love for her. There was a kind of dampness in her eyes when she smiled. I wondered why all the good and beautiful people had to smile in pain. I felt that God had been unjust to her. There was a storm whirling inside her which disturbed her more as she headed towards the departure. It was now time for her to go through the security checking and board the flight. Before she could go in, I said, “Take care and don’t strain much. In case you do feel low just give me a call”. She smiled and said, “yes” in a choked voice. Her voice made me even tenser. With a heavy heart I left, but as I walked a few steps away, she called me on my cell phone. I rushed towards the gate.
She was waiting outside the door. I was tense and asked her “You were supposed to be on the flight. Why did you come out”? She looked at me with an expression saying she didn’t want to leave me and go away. She hugged me, at the same time weeping and thanking me for being with her. I hugged her, wiping her tears and admitting my love for her. She looked at me and asked me why I had taken such a long time to say so. I was falling short of words so I just hugged her tight. I felt as if a soothing medicine was being poured on our wounded hearts. She held my arm and walked alongside me towards the parking lot. We smiled at each other. The bag is placed at the rear seat and now she is with me in the navigator’s seat.
