Writing this short story after 2 months. Hope you embrace it, the way i did while writing it :)
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In the small town of Aligarh, everything was misty and this years’ torrential rains had surprised everyone. There was barely an hour when it would not rain. The Kachchi- Pakki roads had become muddy and slippery. The shops had closed, for the waters had started to seep inside. And the time being well past 2 am, Misha knew people were well past their second dream for the night.
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In the small town of Aligarh, everything was misty and this years’ torrential rains had surprised everyone. There was barely an hour when it would not rain. The Kachchi- Pakki roads had become muddy and slippery. The shops had closed, for the waters had started to seep inside. And the time being well past 2 am, Misha knew people were well past their second dream for the night.
The only 2 places that Misha guessed would be open were
the “Banwari Wines” the alcohol shop, or “Shoppie” as the board read, that she had
visited last year on her birthday, and the “Nightingale” dance bar that was
right next to it. As the clock struck 3, Misha’s back continued to ache.
Misha walked out of her room and stood in the little
balcony of her 2nd floor house. Stroking delicately, she looked down
at her bump of 8.5 months and said, “Baby. The day I met your father, it was
raining just as heavily.” As she re-called the Monsoon of 2002, Misha didn’t realize
when her eyes started overflowing.
She was 23 back then. Dusky complexioned, with big intimidating eyes, she looked like a lost goddess. And Ravi, was stationed in Aligarh for a year with the Indian Railways. He was all of 25 and his family lived back in Bhopal. He met them once every two months and would be immersed in work on other days. He was one of the youngest recruits the Indian Railways had selected in the recent past and came from strong reference. This had made him famous in the department instantly.
On one rainy afternoon, not sure why, he decided to
take a detour to office. He took the path less travelled and embrace the beauty
of small houses and slow living. He was in no hurry today. His manager was on
leave for a few days and that gave him some time to breathe.
Wondering aimlessly, sometimes stopping by to pick a fallen
flower, and other times to take shelter when it became too windy, Ravi was
happy. Relaxed. Just as it became too windy, he stepped inside a home run
ration shop. That’s when his eyes fell on the most beautiful sight.
Standing there, drenched and shivering, with the cotton
saree that hugged her figure not so modestly now, was Misha. Ravi couldn’t believe
his eyes. Not that he looked through and through every woman he met, he was a
happily married man. He never felt the need to look “outside” for love,
affection or reassurance. His parents had married him a year back and he was doing
just fine.
Until now.
Not until he met Misha. He felt a foreign rush. A desperation
to walk up to her, to look into her eyes, to smile and hug her. A Desperation
to touch her. A drop of water on Misha’s left cheek caught his attention. His
eyes followed the drop that danced its way from her chin, through her sculpted
neck and down her blouse.
She looked up at him and gave a faint smile. Ravi was
caught off-guard and clumsily looked away. Together they stood at the doorstep
and looked outside, Misha waiting for the rain to slow down and Ravi, praying
the rains wouldn’t stop anytime soon. “Hello, I am Ravi”, he declared looking
at her. She said, “Misha”, in her slow husky voice.
And this is where it all began. He would often take
de-tour and plan to “accidently” meet her. She too had guessed the days he
would come and she would wait for him, in the same shop. Their meetings grew
from public places and gardens to her house.
With every passing month, they came closer and closer. The
time they spent at home in each other’s arms and in the little balcony, was
more than the time they spent outside. To the extent, that his frequents to
Bhopal reduced overtime. “There’s too much work Pallavi”, he would tell his
wife. Misha knew being in love with a married man had no future. Her friends
told the same. But this was her “Forever”. And now “Forever” was real. She couldn’t
let it go for anyone.
A few weeks later, Misha’s periods got delayed, and she
realized she was carrying Ravi’s baby. She was elated and heartbroken at the
same time. She decided to break the good news to him that evening. At the
pre-decided time, they met and her heart was thumping its’ loudest today. Just
as she was mustering the courage to say, “Ravi, I am pregnant. It’s our baby!”,
she looked into Ravi’s eyes. He had tears in his eyes and she began to worry.
“What happened Ravi?” she asked, scared to hear
whatever the answer be.
“My tenure here has completed. It’s time for me to
leave Misha”, He replied.
“What!” Said Misha in disbelief.
“I am leaving tonight, from the last train to Bhopal”
He said while sobbing like a baby.
A volcano of anger, disbelief, love and mixed feelings
had erupted inside her, but she didn’t show even an iota of it on her face. Misha
took a deep breath and let the news sink in.
How was she going to deal with pregnancy all by
herself? Should she still tell Ravi about their baby? Will it make him stay
back? Or should she get the baby aborted?
There were endless questions making rounds in her head.
Even while she was looking into Ravi’s eyes, she was not really “looking” at
him. She was lost. Ravi held her by her shoulders and said, “Misha? Are you
hearing me? I am leaving tonight. This is our last evening together.”
She wondered what response he expected from her. “Ok”,
was all she could manage. Misha had decided to not tell him about their baby.
She was angry with him, but more disappointed with her destiny. “First you take
my parents away. Then the one man I fell in love with. I wont let you take my
baby now. I will raise the baby myself. I will not let you decide what happens
to me now” she yelled at her destiny in her head, picturing it as a person
standing far away.
They spent the evening sitting together, barely
speaking. A few tears rolling down their cheeks at times. But no words were spoken.
Misha walked back to an empty home that night. She cried all night and fell
asleep some-where in between.
The lightening brought Misha back to reality. Her
breath had become heavier now. And the frequency of her contractions had reduced.
She remembered from the numerous books she read about pregnancy, that these
were signs that the baby would come anytime now. Her water broke and she held
the railing of her balcony.
She called out to her neighbor “Aunty.. Aunty..” for
she knew the baby was an impatient one. She picked up the phone that was lying nearby and called Aunty. After
four rings, she picked up “Hello? Kaun?”
“Aunty Misha here. Please come fast. The
baby is coming out.”
Aunty dropped the phone, grabbed her bag of “Essentials”
that she had kept ready for Misha – It had all the things that she believed
Misha could need during and after the child birth. Misha had started feeling the
baby move further down and the pain was now unbearable. She sat in the corner
of her little balcony and held her stomach tightly.
Her eyes were becoming heavy now. She could feel the
rain drops fall on her face and that felt good. It reminded her of that monsoon
with Ravi. At this very moment, she was missing him more than ever. Her breath
became heavy and eyes heavier. She could hear aunty call out to her. She could
hear her steps.
“Aunty.. here..” she gasped.
And just as Aunty found her in the balcony, half
drenched in the pool of her own water, Misha couldn’t strain any longer. She closed
her eyes and started breathing from her mouth. She knew she was in safe hands.
She knew the baby was in safe hands.
this story just touched my heart deep inside...very well written...keep writing.
ReplyDeleteYayy!! Thank you Anonymous :))
DeleteVery Well Written..😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Umakant ! :))
Deleteextremely well penned, beautifully captured the streak of emotions, couldn't take my eyes off as the story unfolded itself, a short story with loads left unsaid.
ReplyDeleteDid the man really love this girl? What was his real emotion towards her? Was it just a fling for him?!
ReplyDeleteU really have a uncanny knack of putting emotions into simple n effective words... wow...Power to u
ReplyDeleteSo happy you liked it :)) Thank you so much Gurpreet !
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