The Little Balcony | Ravi and Misha | The Short Story

Writing this short story after 2 months. Hope you embrace it, the way i did while writing it :)
____

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 2^nd 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.