Is there someone

Is there someone

whom you want to talk to

about something that has been bothering you

Is there someone

who is waiting for your call

and you know your call would bring a smile on their faces

Is there someone

whom you have hurt

and a simple sorry would ease out their pain

Is there someone

who is looking upto you

for support, for love, for care

Is there someone

waiting for you

to say that you love her

Is there someone

who spends sleepless nights

crying for your love

Is there someone

who expects you to apologize

for mistakes that you made

Is there someone

who wants to clear out things with you

Yes, pick up the phone and call her

tell her that you love her

Pick up the phone and tell him

that you never meant to hurt him

Tell her that things wouldn't be the same without her

Tell her that she has made your life beautiful

Tell her that you are coming to meet her

Tell her to look into your eyes

And let them do the talking

Tell him that you missed him

Tell him that your days aren't complete without him

Tell him that you are coming to meet him

Tell him to look into your eyes

And let them do the talking

Few hours are all that we have got

Few hours before the new year begins

Speak up before its too late

Talk for once and be happy for forever

Dont take any regrets in the new year

Start afresh, start anew

Wish you all a very happy new year.

Come what may

I turned around and looked back
I saw you holding my hand
Taking me out of the hole that was black

Now with open eyes
I see you holding my hand
Your touch makes my blood rise

The future which I can't see
I wish that you would hold my hand
And that, my darling, is no sin

There was a time when I was scared to hold your hand
Scared of what people might say
But you took my hand and gave me the strength to fight back

Now, I am all yours
This is the moment that I wish would last
Your love is what I need

But God has everything planned for us
I don't know what the future beholds
But yes, all these days I did pray to the almighty
To let you be with me
'coz not a moment goes by
without your thoughts crossing my mind
So honey don't ever leave me
not because I love you so much
but because I know you love me too.

Lust

Ding Dong

He was too lazy to get up. He just wanted to be alone. An interference from somebody unknown was the last thing he wished for. All that he wanted was to shut himself and spend time with his own self.

Ding Dong. The doorbell which went for the second time, finally made him rise from the couch potato that he had lately become. Reluctantly he walked towards the door and opened it. And before he could realize what was going on, he was thrown back. Failing to keep his balance, he fell with a thud with his back hitting the expensive Italian marble which his mom had chosen with great detail.. 

Caught unaware, he tried to concentrate. His eyes grew wider. He could not believe this was happening. It had to be a dream. It was so unreal to be true. But the wetness that he felt on his lips woke him up from his slumber. It was definitely true. She was here kissing him madly. And suddenly he realized that his mouth was open with shock. He had not even kissed her back. But he had to admit that it felt great to be kissed again. 2 months had passed since they had even talked to each other. He loved her. And he was happy to see her again. Tears took the better of him. They wouldn't stay behind that heavy heart. They just flowed.

"Your lips taste salty", she said and winked. "Eating a lot of salt these days, huh?", she asked jokingly. And she licked his tears off.

He laughed. He wanted to ask her a million questions about where had she gone. What had got into her head? Why had she left him alone? And more importantly, why had she come back? But this was not the time to ask her. These questions could wait. The only thing which couldn't wait was his thing that got hard with her touch. The kiss made him hungry. Hungry for his own Urvashi. The girl whom he loved.

He took her face in his hands and bit her lips. She moaned and he bit even harder. She let out a scream and he licked her. He kissed her like it was his first time. She let his tongue slip into her mouth. He ran it all over her teeth. He was ready to become her toothbrush that day.

His one hand started moving down. And before she knew it, he cupped her boobs and started caressing them. How much had he missed her boobs. He remembered how he used to keep his hand on her two assets while she slept beside him. He had really missed her body just as much as he had missed her. But now he had to concentrate on her since he was doing it after 2 months. 2 full months complete. He unbuttoned her shirt. He had already got a glimpse of her black lingerie. They had bought it together. He knew that even today she had taken care of his likes and dislikes. And he felt the urge to tear her bra apart. And eat her like he never had tasted her. She gasped as he tore open the bra. 

"I thought that you loved this bra", she said. "And hey, how am I going to go back"

"I ain't letting you go anywhere this time"

And yet again they were lost in a never ending kiss. But it did end. When her hand reached over his thing. It got harder with her hand over it. She quickly unzipped him and freed him off his jeans. It was evident from the hurry that she too was hot inside. And within another 30 seconds, they both stood naked in front of each other. He picked her up and carried her to his room.After a series of kisses, tight hugs and licking and purring he finally entered that steaming hot entrance. Their thighs made a sound as they hit against each other. The moaning grew louder. But neither of the two were ready to stop. They wanted to go on and on. The entire day. And the night was waiting for them too...

Down and under

As she descended from the stairs, her knees felt wobbly. Slowly and steadily she took one step at a time. With each step, she hoped that she wouldn't fall. Her right hand held the iron railing so tightly that small beads of perspiration formed on the inside of her hand. The corners of the railing dug into her skin which made the tip of her fingers red and it pained. But that pain was nothing as compared to what she had been carrying since ages. But did that really matter now. She had learned to live with it. All these years, she wanted to end her life and get over with it for once and for all. But she had survived. Every moment, every day, every week, every month, every year. All those days that went by. All those days that she suffered. She emerged as a new Jaya. She tried her best to conquer her own self in every way and she succeeded. But somewhere deep inside she knew that the wound had left a permanent mark and had left her crippled for her to limp the entire life. 

But she was a not one of those who would loose so easily. Her indispensable fate had taught her to fight the odd. And there she was standing on her legs with her right hand on the railing and with a crutch under her left arm, fighting to climb down the last 7 stairs left out of the total 9. That was her way of looking at things. Her way of making things look easy. Her positive attitude. And that is what made her survive the obstacles that she was destined to face in her life. 

She was born a very healthy child. She had often heard her grandmother telling her about what relatives and neighbors used to say when she was born. They used to point to her mother and say, "Look Neena. Look at your daughter. She will look like a princess when she turns into a woman". Or they would say, "This girl can become Miss Universe" and would even envy her parents and say "Mr and Mrs Sharma, I wish my daughter was as pretty as yours". Her grandmother would tell her stories of how every mother was jealous of their small, yet closely binded family. "The evil eyes took the better of you, Jaya", she would say and then would turn her head away so that Jaya couldn't see her tears. But Jaya always knew that her grandmother was weeping. She wouldn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to console that old woman who had brought her up after her parents died in a plane crash. She didn't know whether a hug would be enough for all that she had done for her after she was diagnosed to have polio. She was 4 years old then. Living alone with her dearest grandmom.  No parents to take her to school. No parents to scold her. No parents to love her. But only her grandmother who had become so important in her life that she did not feel the absence of her own parents. 

Trying her best to hurry down the stairs, Jaya felt weak. This is not how she was. Her way was different. Where had her positive attitude gone. This was not the time for her to loose the battle. She had to make it fast. She had to go to her grandmom. She had to climb down those stairs and call out to somebody for help. The phone. Thats all she needed. "How could I have been so irresponsible. How could I have left the cordless downstairs." And it was taking more than ever to climb down. But she had to hurry up. Or else it would be late. She had to do something for her grandmother. The doctor. Yes, the doctor. She wanted to call him. But the bloddy phone. She had left it downstairs. She wanted to slap herself. She couldn't imagine her life without her grandmother who was lying on her death bed counting her last few minutes and there she was stuck on the staircase unable to go on...

There I go...

That tiny smile on your face,
is making it difficult for me to leave
I wish I could hug you
one last time.
I wish I could hold you tight
and never let go
But I hate to wake you up
Coz' I don't wanna see you cry
And that would make me weak.



Honey, I am leaving now.
By the time you wake up,
I would be out of this town
In a far flung area
Out of your reach.
But you will always be on my mind
And in my heart.

I will be gone for sometime,
Forgive me for hiding this from you

I wouldn't have been able to see your tears

And so I am leaving

Without telling you.

I hope that you would wait for me

Until I return with a wedding ring.

If only I could say sorry,

for the times I betrayed you

for the times I didn't love you

But don't worry my baby

I will return

and take you with me

and we would be together again.

This post has been inspired by John Denver's 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'. Today, while taking a morning walk, I was listening to this song. And instantly I knew that I would write something similar to this. I ain't good like him but yeah, it did inspire me to write.

Ciao

I saw you today

I saw you today

Standing behind the counter at the cafe

That square face

Those drunken eyes

That neat hairstyle

Those wide lips

I saw you today

You turned

And smiled at me

"What can I get you ma'am?", you asked.

I could say nothing

'Coz I saw that same square face

that same neat hairstyle

those same drunken eyes 

those same wide lips

Only it wasn't you.

The years of togetherness

(Read the preceding Part 1 | Part 2 before reading this story)

She walked and walked. She didn't want to look back. Hot tears poured down her cheeks and flowed all the way to her neck until they disappeared under her neckline. She shivered with cold but didn't want to stop. Not even to wrap the stole around her almost bare shoulders. She kept walking. Her toes were stiff from the 3 and a half inch heels that she wore. But she didn't want to be bothered about it. There were bigger things in her life that needed attention. For instance, one was what she just saw. And then came a fresh stream of tears. She couldn't believe her eyes. And at this point of time she wanted to be alone. She wanted to walk in this heavy rain. Her heels and the cold didn't really pose as a barrier. Infact, she felt more bruised. And that was the state that she wanted to be in. Bruised and battered. Big raindrops fell on her head. It was hurting her but now there was no looking back. She had to go on. And so, she walked and walked.

*******

Sahil stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared at his reflection. He looked around. He and Meerha had re-designed this bathroom with great detail. Unlike the rooms and the kitchen. Both of them had an eye for bathrooms. Quite an unusual thing, it was. He remembered the first conversation they ever had. Or maybe it was second. Yeah, the second time when they had met at a common friend's place. And they both wanted to use the loo. And astonishingly, they had ended up discussing the loo since it was a masterpiece. Those expensive looking tiles, that open shower, those sleek wooden cabinets, the black and white marble combination, those luxurious looking taps, fitting and fixtures. Everything was just perfect. And they had discussed it all. He didn't realize that a smile had crept onto his face. And then he was aware of his surroundings. He was in the same bathroom that he and Meerha had designed on their own. Yes, it was definitely unusual to be similar in this respect. But now things were different. He opened the tap, bent down and splashed cold water on his face. Though he was a bit taken aback of the coldness but that was all that was left behind in his life now. She was gone. If only he hadn't been such an ass. 

*******

"Hurry up, you lazy bone", Meerha snorted when Sahil jumped into bed yet again. 

"Come on, honey. We still have time", he said and loked at her from the corner of his eyes. And by look which she returned, he knew that he must get ready or else he wouldn't get anything to at tonight.

"Okay, Okay. Don't give me that look. Where are my clothes?", he said. He got up and opened his almirah. "Temme what do I wear tonight.. I'll dress up the way you want me to. Everything according to you tonight, honey"

She laughed. "Don't get into that maska chaska. If it hadn't been our fourth anniversary, I would have blasted you today. God, why can't you wear decent clothes. All those people who say that girls take a long time to get ready, should be given your example..!!" She couldn't help but smile. She came over to him and rested her head on the back oh his shoulder. "Happy anniversay, baby".

She couldn't believe that they had completed 4 years of their relationship together. 4 years had passed since they first met each other. Ofcourse they were separated for a long period of 10 months when he got a job in Sydney.  And she followed suit. The only difference being that she come for an MBA. She had 2 years at the max till she could shove her mom from getting her married. And now, having spent about 11 months here in Sydney, she was confident that when they go back they would tell their parents about their relationship. And that they would get married. She heaved a sigh of relief. She had to focus on today. There was still a year left for her to think about their future and how they would convince her mom.  But now, it was their fourth anniversary. The day she had been waiting for. The day she had carefully chosen her clothes. A short black tube top dress which ended just above her knees, with a stole draped around her shoulders to give that raunchy yet elegant look. Yes, this was the day she had been waiting for. 

*******

"A table for two please", she said to the waiter whom she spotted first.

"I am sorry ma'am. There is a waiting of 45 minutes."

Sahil looked at Meerha in disbelief and asked, "Didn't you book the table for us?"

"Well...mmmm.... I forgot", she said sheepishly. 

And then they were out. Sahil, a bit angry but not wanting to spoil the night, said with a great enthusiasm, "Lets go to Moulin Rouge Downunder". And then he smiled at her.

"No Honey. It will be too expensive"

But Sahil was not going to listen to her. He was one of those strong headed guys who would not do anything to have their way. And so he did. They drove to the best club in Sydney. Moulin Rouge.

*******

Meerha looked for Sahil but he was nowhere to be seen. What was talking him so long? She wondered if he needed any help. And then she laughed at her own stupidity. Who would need help to pee? But then she was worried because he was too drunk to even walk. But now it had been 25 minutes since he had left her Something was definitely wrong. She felt a sudden urge to get up and go downstairs. She took the stairs down and stood in front of the washroom. When a guy came out, she asked him politely if he could check if Sahil was inside and quickly described him how he looked. That small bulky guy went inside and came after a minute or so. He said that there was no one inside of that description. That made Meerha scared. What could have possibly happened. She turned her back and started to leave and at the same time she got angry 'coz he had left his phone with her. 

Just when she took the first step upstairs she thought that she heard Sahil's voice. She stepped down and concentrated. She followed the voice. It was coming from behind a wooden door. She put her ears close to the door and tried to hear. She could hear a girl moaning and could hear Sahil's voice say, "Calm down honey. It will be alright."

Her hands shook when they reached out to the door knob. She hoped that the voice wasn't Sahil's. He couldn't be inside. He couldn't be with another woman. Not on this day. Not on their anniversary. Not on any other day. But she did not have the courage to open the door. It couldn't be him. But before she could console her mind and heart, she heard the girl shout which was followed by Sahil's voice which said, "I am sorry. Didn't wanna hurt you. Did it pain" And the screams got louder. Meerha could take no more. She hastily opened the door and there she saw him. Naked. With another woman. Right in front of her eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she couldn't move a limb. She stood there watching the two figures enjoying the moment of intimacy. And then he saw here standing at the door. She tried to look into his eyes but he turned away. Probably ashamed. Or maybe with attitude. She had no clue if he had done that deliberately or was it that he had let himself go. What mattered more was what he did was wrong. She turned and left the door ajar. She ran out of the club with tears flowing. She didn't want to look back. Not at his betrayal.

You didnt call

While I lay awake in the wee hours

I stared at my mobile phone

The whole day had gone by

And you still hadn't called.

It all started like this...

When the sun peeped in

through the windows in my room

And slowly I opened my eyes

I knew you would call and say

"What a lovely morning it is.."

But you didn't call.

While sitting in the loo thinking about you

I had my ears clinging to the wall

hoping to hear my phone ringing

The phone rang and i rushed out.

An old friend had called

But you didnt call.

I got ready and went downstairs

As I sat at the breakfast table

staring at the boiled eggs lying on the plate

I picked up my phone to see

if I had missed a call from you

But you didnt call.

I sat in my car and drove

finding my way through the busy traffic

I kept my phone on the seat next to mine

So that when you call,

I can instantly pick the phone up

But you didnt call.

I reached office and sat on my desk

A thought came to me

"Maybe you had left a mail"

So, very eagerly I connected to the internet

only to find that there wasn't any mail from you

You still didn't call.

With a frown on my face,

I worked through the files piled up in front of me

I was in no mood to work.

All I wanted was to hear your voice

But you didn't call.

And then finally the phone rang, but not my cell phone

It was my boss who called on the intercom

And asked me to come to his cabin

I could figure out that it would be bad

I knew that your voice would relax my muscles

But you didn't call.

My boss scolded me left, right and centre

He slammed his fist on the table and threw the file at me

I couldn't hear anything

I just stared at his moving hands and jaws

Something must be wrong and I didnt understand

Why you hadn't called.

Back at my desk, I again looked at my phone

No, there weren't any missed calls

I saw my collegues eating lunch

One of them waved and gestured me to come

I ignored and sat down.

I was still clueless as to

Why you didn't call.

Silently I took out my lunch

And I began to eat

The food was extremely tasteless

It seemed as if the spices had been removed
And then I knew why the food tasted so blank

Because you hadn't called.

I was in no mood to work but I had no choice

I think I knew what to do

I would engross myself in work so that I don't get time to miss you

Yes, thats what I am going to do

So, I looked at my phone one last time in case you had called

But you didn't call.

I looked at the watch as the clock struck six.

4 hours I had burried myself in the files

My whole body ached for your touch

I badly wanted to go back home and rest my head on your shoulders

But how could I meet you, when

You hadn't even called.

Half-heartedly I got up and walked towards my car

Maybe you had no idea how I felt when you call.

Maybe you didnt know that my arteries didn't carry oxygenated blood

Instead, they carry your love that is filled in my heart

Absurd it may seem, but its true

I wanted to rejuvinate my body

But you still had not called.

I drove back in silence,

I even switched off the radio

Which was mere noise without you

I found traffic on my way back

But there were bigger things to frustrate me, for instance,

You didnt call.

As I stepped into my two bed room apartment

I could smell your presence

Or is it that the air was playing Hide-n-Seek with me

Or should i say Smell-n-Seek

But whatever It was, I knew

That you didn't call.

The day didn't pass the way I had expected

Infact, it was nowhere near it

My day went by without talking to you

I thought that we would talk every few hours,

But Alas, you didnt call.

As the darkness grew dense

And the night hypnotised everybody to sleep

I cried,

I cried because I was helpless

I cried simply because you didn't call.

Without food, without water

I poured myself onto the pillow

I cried myself to sleep

But somewhere deep inside I knew

that someday you would call

just like the way you used to

Or else

Next morning I will wake up

I will assume that you would call and say

"What a lovely morning it is.."

And then I would stare at my phone

expecting that you would call

But the words that will come out of my mouth will be

"You didn't call."

Road To Canberra OR Road To Love

[Read Part 1 (The envelope) before reading this]

She took out the packet of Winfield Blue cigarette from under her bed. As her long arms reached out for the lighter lying on the bedside table, she thought about Sahil. Then she lit the cigarette and took a small puff. As her lungs got filled with air, Meerha looked at Sahil who was sleeping peacefully beside her. All types of questions created havoc in her mind. Do I really love him? Did I really come all the way to Australia especially for him? "Mmm.. I guess so. But I am not sure" she thought. And then she felt guilt that how she could have thought such a thing. Of course she loved him. "If this was true then why am I being doubtful of my own intentions", she questioned herself. Yes, she loved him.

Meerha again looked at her beloved. She took a huge drag of the cigarette and inhaled the air so heavily that it stirred almost every nerve in her body. She found herself relaxing. Yes, she loved him. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been sleeping with him all the while. If 3 years is not a long duration, then it is not short either. She knew that her body responded to his touch. His eyes still aroused her. She felt an empty space when he was not around. She woke every morning only to hear his voice again. Merely thinking about him made her want more. There was love between them. She wanted to bear his children. She wanted to be by his side when they grew old. She wanted to love him as much as she could. No, maybe even more. They would make a happy family. Thinking thus, she extinguished the remaining one and a half inch cigarette in the ashtray and crawled into bed beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and stared at his sleeping body. Yes she really did love him. Without a doubt..!!

*******

Meerha tried to open her eyes. But she quickly batted the eyelids and shut them when the sunlight poured into her room through the half opened window. Aarrghh...She hates it when Sahil pulls back the cream shaded nylon curtains and leaves the window open in the morning. Angrily, She got off the bed, got into her baby pink sheepskin slippers and wrapped the matching morning gown over her slim body. She could hear some noise coming from the kitchen. She descended the stairs and upon reaching the kitchen door, she leaned her entire body towards the wall, as if her body weight was now supported by the wall itself. She watched him work meticulously. Meerha couldn’t help but laugh when he tripped over the chair and almost dropped the glass full of milk. Sahil, who was unaware of her presence, heard her laughing and sheepishly let out a small laugh himself.

“How is my baby doing today”, he said while putting the glass carefully on the tiled slab and started walking towards her. He hugged her with all his strength.


“Hey, control honey. I can’t breathe”, she said.


“Hahaha. You gotta gain some weight”. Sahil looked at her from head to toe and then said “Come, Lemme cook something good for you.”


“No thanks. Please don’t mess with my kitchen”, Meerha said sternly.


Sahil opened his mouth wide open in shock. “Whaat..?? You gotta be kidding. Meerha, You have no clue how good I am at handling kitchen. I am a good cook”, he said boastingly”. He turned his back towards her and started marching towards the gas stove. “Trust me baby. I am the just too good”, he said laughingly “You know what, when I was in college, all the girls used to say that I would make a good husband. I was called the Lady’s Man, saying this he looked at Meerha who raised her eyebrows and gave him a look that clearly indicated that she wasn’t interested to know what other girls thought about him. And all the while Sahil spoke, Meerha pondered over the million dollar question to which she had no answer. “Why do guys think that they are good with the kitchen? It is a nuisance to have them around". When she was a kid, she herself wanted to get married to a guy who would help her in the kitchen, who would help her pick up stuff from the market, who would help her clean the house. She wanted a man who would help her in all the house chores. But that was when she was a kid. Full stop. That was a dream. Now she found it to be stupid. She would rather get married to a guy who would not interfere with the household work. Now there was a different dream in her eyes. The rooms, the kitchen, the dining hall, the lobby, the balcony, the bathroom and every part of the house would be how she would like it to be. And definitely not according to others. She pictured her dream house and smiled. "Whoa, It's gonna be my house", she thought.

*******

"You will love this, said Sahil and planted a small kiss on her cheeks. She smiled and kissed him back. She had to agree with him. This was the first time they were travelling out of Sydney since she got admission in the University of Sydney. The two months that she had spent in Sydney were way too hectic. With loads of assignments, case studies and presentations on her mind, she could hardly find time to see around the city. But going to Canberra was the last thing on her mind. She was glad that Sahil planned it out. So much for a surprise. Meerha nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement. She turned to sahil and said, "Baby, I love you so much" and opened her arms wide for Sahil to get engulfed in. "I love you too", he said and hugged her back. He pulled her close so that their bodies touched. He bent his head towards her and licked her lips with his tongue. And before she could respond, his lips met hers and with intense passion and involvement and they both took shelter under each others sincere love.

*******

"Sahil, hum jaa to rahe hain, but whats the plan like?", she said when they had finally boarded the plane to Canberra. "Have you thought what we are going to do there or will it come as a surprise as well. You haven't planned anything as yet, have you?


"Hold on, Sugar." He kissed her again and said, "I have planned everything." He looked into her eyes and very slowly he brought his upper eye lids in contact with his lower eyelids motioning that there is nothing to be worried about specially when he was there. "Main hoon na", he said jokingly. "Listen, we will hire a car when we reach Canberra."


Meerha started to say something but he stopped her. "Dont worry honey, I have already made the payment. So dont try to change my mind. Its gonna be just you and me and..."


She stopped him and said, "Please Sahil, dont waste money like this. We could have taken a bus"


Sahil ignored her and started telling her about the place they would go to. "The car is going to pick us up from the airport. I have hired a guy who would guide us through the roads and on reaching Mt Ainslie, we will dump him somewhere. Sahil gave a mischievous look. She could see the glow in his eyes. She knew that he must have promised to pay extra bucks to that tourist guide to leave them all alone. She couldnt help but smile too. He started again, "From Mt Ainslie we will drive through Mt. Pleasant, Black Mountain and the Red Hill. 3 hours we will be together", he said. "All alone"


Meerha was too excited to say anything. She could hear Sahil tell her the entire plan, but she was not listening. She couldnt concentrate. It was just that she couldn't wait to reach Canberra and drive through the serene mountains. She imagined herself with Sahil making love on the lush green grass in the middle of the huge mountains with nobody to disturb them. Nobody...!!


(To be continued...)

The Envelope..

Meerha barged into her brother's room and ignored his continuous reminders to knock the door before entering. "Hey what do you think you are doing. Aren't you supposed to knock" he said and hastily opened the top drawer of his study table to put something in. 


"Guess what..!! I am finally going there". Meerha's eyes danced with joy when she said this. 


"Whaaaattt...", Mrigank got up from his seat and hugged her tight. "Are you serious..!!"

"Oh my god!. I can't believe this is happening to me.I am finally going to Australia" she said and instantaneously she was lost in her dream. She imagined herself in Sydney standing on the Harbour Bridge watching the sun vanish into the horizon. She saw herself lying on Bondi beach getting a tan. The spectacular view of the Blue mountain would take her breath away and she would never want to come back.


"Have you told mom?", Mrigank said breaking the silence that was created and bringing her back in the present. She realised that neither of them had uttered a word for two minutes while her mind was taking a tour of Australia. 


"I have no idea how am I going to do that."


"Hmmm" he said and then there was again silence.


"You ought to help me Mrigank. You know what this means to me."


Hearing Meerha call him 'Mrigank', gave him a fair idea how serious she was. She would never call him anything but Mrigu. He knew that her sister would not let this go so easily. He had to do something.

*******

Everyone was eating silently. They could not imagine that Meerha would do such a thing. Her mom was so furious that she left the dinner on the dining table in the middle of the talk  Mrigank could see the anger in her eyes. Or maybe it was sorrow. No anger. Sorrow. Anger. Whatever it was, it definitely did bother her. Meerha just looked at her dad expecting that he would say something, expecting that he would console her like the way he did when she was a kid. She just wanted  somebody to hug her. The silence was killing her. 


"Dad, please say something" she tried to look into her father's eyes who turned away at her glance. 


"Meerha, It was least expected from you." her dad said and neatly placed the spoon on the empty plate in front of him. He rose from his chair and started to go. "I cannot do anything", he added.

*******

After his sister left from his room, Mrigank sat on the corner of his bed and thought about what he would tell his mom. He remembered the day when Meerha made him promise that he would not utter a word about this to anyone. He tried to convince her that what she was doing was wrong. She couldn't just pack her bags and go after her boyfriend of 2 years who was now in Australia. Mom would never agree. And he also knew that she was looking for a match for Meerha who had absolutely no clue about their mom's intention. But now it was going out of his hands. He had to tell her. He didnt want Meerha to go. She couldn't. He would not let her. 

He came out of his room and walked towards Meerha who was standing in passage near the stairs. The sight of Meerha looking so cheerful stopped him from going any further. He loved his sister. He wanted her to be happy. He reluctantly shoved away the thought and startede walking towards her.

"Listen Meerha, he said, "What you are doing is really wrong. I am going to tell mom"

"You are kidding, right?" she gave him a questioning look.

"No, I am serious. I am very serious. I can't let you do this. Sahil is a nice guy but that does not mean that you would leave your family and go live with him when you know that even he has not established himself there. How will you survive."  He looked at her sulking face and tried to explain, "Meerha, its just been 10 months since he started working there. You are really out of your mind. Or maybe I am an idiot that I didn't stop you in the very beginning"

"Mrigu, I need to tell you something but please don't mention anything to mom or dad. Plea..." she stopped in between when she heard her mom call out from the kitchen.

"Mrigank, Meerha. Come down. Dinner is ready"

Both of them descended from the stairs when they heard her voice. Meerha nudged him with an elbow and gave him a pleading look asking him not to tell anything to anybody. He ignored.

The moment they all sat on the dining table, Mrigank began, "Mom Dad, ummm, Meerha is going to Australia." 

Both the parents looked at each other, then at Mrigank and finally at Meerha. "What do you mean she is going? Don't trouble you sister. You have grown up now and stop pulling her leg", she said laughingly and expected her daughter to shout at her brother for teasing her like they always did when they were kids. When neither of them said anything, she figured that something was wrong. She looked at her husband who seemed puzzled himself.

"I demand to know everything", their mom said.

After a mnute of silence, she said "Mom, I am going to australia in 2 weeks time. I am sorry for hiding this all the while but I couldnt ...."

"Stop. I dont want to hear anything. I will not take any excuses" She looked at her husband yet again expecting him to say something this time atleast but he seemed least bothered. She ignored him and looked at Meerha. "If you have decided that you want to go and you didn't even bother to take our permission then we wont stop you. You are free to go and nobody would stop you. Nobody.." Saying this she roughly pushed her chair back and left without saying anything.

*******

"Why was everyone behaving like this. This is not how I wanted the things to be like. No. This is not done.", she said to herself  when she was all alone in her room. "I am not going to talk to anybody now. I will not tell them anything. My mom, my dad and even my bro does not understand me. They didn't even give me an opportunity to explain." She decided that she would not talk to anybody and would leave in two weeks. "They will miss me when I am gone. They surely will.."

*******

Two weeks passed and it was time for Meerha to go. The days in between were miserable for everybody at home. The house was always filled with silence. She needed her parent's help but she did not approach them. Nor did they. Her ego was big enough for everybody. She knew she was right. She wasn't going there for Sahil. Not 'just' Sahil atleast. But how could she tell anybody. Mrigank too had not given her a chance to tell him why she was going. She wanted to tell him but he acted too brotherly. 

She was about to leave. She wanted to hug her mom before going but maybe her mom was too angry at her that she went to sleep when it was time for her daughter to leave. She searched the house for her dad and found him sitting in his favourite room in the house, the library. She gave him a quick hug. A tear ran down her cheek. She promised herself that she wouldn't get weak. It was time to be strong. It was time to go ahead.

"Bye dad. Please take care of mom. And dont worry about me. I'll be fine." She could sense more tears bursting out of her eyes and before they could come out she started walking away. She heard her dad telling her to take good care of herself but she didn't want to turn back. Meerha went straight to her mom's room where she was sleeping  and planted a small kiss on her cheek. She took out an envelope from her handbag and kept it on the table beside her mother. Everything would be okay when her mom would see this. She was positive about it. She looked at her mom one last time and ran out of the room, grabbed her 2 suitcases and rushed out of the house. She wanted to meet her darling Mrigu but even he had ignored her. She went and sat in the cab that she had called to take her to the airport. Her mind went back to envelope that she had left in her mom's room. She let out a small laugh and couldn't help but wonder what her mother's reaction would be when she saw the copy of full scholarship which the University of Sydney had offered her for an MBA...