“Yeah now it’s finally your turn. So
truth or dare?” asked a delighted Anjali.
The bottle looked Surabhi in the eye. What
should she choose? Surely she won’t say “dare”. What if they make her dance to
the tunes of ‘munni badnam hui” in front of her neighbor’s balcony again, like
they did the last time. Ohhh! That was embarrassing, especially when their 15
year old son had watched her and next day came with a bunch of roses. And if
she chose to say “truth”, they will surely ask some thwarting question. She
hated this game. But a choice had to be made!
“What Surabhi? U chicken?” mocked Rajiv.
“Truth” said Surabhi looking straight at
Rajiv. And then she realized what she had done. Amrit was there, the guy who
had recently joined their team. Smart, handsome and a great personality. She
surely didn’t want to say things that will make him think she is weird.
Before Rajiv could ask, Anjali
interrupted, “so, tell me, what is it you see in a guy who wants to date you”
Relief flooded over Surabhi and Anjali
winked at her. She was helping her. Now
Surabhi answered, “The guy should be simple, honest, faithful, and should love
me. “
“And?” asked Rajiv. “What about status?
Money?”
“I don’t want a millionaire; he should
just earn enough to make a living. And about status, I don’t care about that
either.”
Amrit seemed to have liked her answer.
After the dinner was over, Amrit asked Surabhi,” did you mean what you said
back then? About what you want in a guy?”
“Yes. And I mean it to every syllable”
answered Surabhi.
Soon they started going out together,
and within a month, they were in a relationship. Amrit was loving, caring and
faithful to her. She was the only thing he had on his mind.
Life was honey and roses. They would go
to office together, come back together, spend a lot of time… people started
getting jealous of how happy they were.
But nothing lasts forever. They started
having fights on silly things, avoided each other, and finally broke up after a
year of relationship. Nobody knew what went wrong, and they never talked about
it. Not even to their close friends. Friends tried to sort things between them
but you cannot cure something unless you know what it is about.
About three years after their break up,
while Surabhi was travelling via train, she met Amrit. They shared the same
compartment. For some time, it was really weird, as they avoided looking at
each other. After asking how they are doing, the conversation seemed to stop.
Then Surabhi said, “I read about your
company a few days ago in the paper. Congratulation on the best entrepreneur
award”
“Thanks.
But I didn’t see any articles about you since two years. You were in the
talk of most people I met. But then you suddenly vanished. What happened? Sorry
that I kept tabs on you. Old habits die hard. I thought of visiting you last
time when I was in city but then heard that you moved. What do you do now?”
Surabhi’s heart gave a flutter. After
all this time, he still thought about her?
Even thought of visiting her? But why? And how could he still think
about her after everything?
She was taken back to the time when they
have their last conversation. The day they broke off.
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Amrit
‘What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with
you?” thundered Surabhi. “All you talk about is being content with what you
have! How can you not be ambitious? How can you not try to be more?”
“Surabhi, all I want for us to be happy
with what we have. Is there something wrong in that? Are you not happy with me?
I have dreamt of our future together!”
“When you don’t strive to reach heights,
what future are we going to make? It’s like you don’t want a promotion. I have
heard you declined it”
“Yes I did. I am content with what we
have. It’s time for us to take this relationship to the next level. I want to
talk to your parents. I want to introduce you to my parents”
“You will meet my parents and tell them
what? That you don’t want progress? That you won’t let me go ahead with my
career or that you declined a promotion?”
“I will tell them that I love you. I
want you for life.”
“Ha! As if they are going to agree to
that!”
“Enough Surabhi! A year ago, all you
wanted was a cottage on a country side and a dog and a lawn and me. You were
happy with spending a quiet evening on the beach with me. Today what you want is a penthouse, a
Mercedes, a promotion! It’s as if you have transformed”
“That was a fantasy! Wake up to the real
world. People change Amrit. Priorities change that is what takes us forward”
“No! I won’t have it. You are completely
different from the person I fell in love with.”
“But I am happy with the person I am
today. You are unhappy with this relationship, and then let’s get this over
with”
“Yes. Let’s do that. I am not the one
you want now. And I cannot be just another object in your life. All your words
have been fake. You say u like simplicity, but when it gets simple, you hate
it. You don’t want a bank balance, but then you want a handsome salary! You say
you like country side but when you go there, all you want is to sit in an A/c
car with your shades! You say you enjoy the beach… but then you can’t live
without your sunscreen for two seconds!
You are not what you show others. Try being honest with yourself
sometimes. I love you, but I will not be
kicked around by you. Never! ” Amrit said and slammed the door after he left.
That was the last they spoke to each
other…
Amrit cleared his throat, “Surabhi? I
asked what u you do now. Are you alright?”
“I
work at an NGO that works for orphans.”
“NGO! What about your corporate job?”
“Been there, done that. Didn’t find
peace. It was madness all the time. Now my working hours are short, I get to
live in peace.”
“Where do you live?”
“I bought a cottage a year ago, on the
countryside”
“Wow! You fulfilled your dream. Did you get
a dog?”
“No not yet” said Surabhi with a lump in
her throat. Tears were forming in her eyes and she was pleading them to stop.
Not now! Not now please.
After a few minutes of silence, Amrit
asked,” did you ever think of me in all this time? Ever at all”
Surabhi felt as if someone had punched
her in the stomach. She had thought about him millions of times. Cried many
nights, but never dared to seek him. She was the one who lost sight of light
and pushed him away!
She couldn’t stop those tears any
longer. “I am sorry. I have been so wrong. So so wrong about everything! I lost
the most beautiful thing in my life, you”
Amrit hugged her, “sshhh! Don’t cry.
Don’t cry honey. It’s alright. People screw up. That’s life. If not for you, I
would have never quit my job and started my own company. You have done me more
good than anyone else. What we had was
really special. But people indeed change. And sometimes change is good. Look at
yourself. You have finally got what you wanted from the beginning. Don’t cry
any more. I don’t have anything against you”
Surabhi controlled her tears. Moved away
from Amrit’s embrace as the train slowed down. “I have to go. Bye. Be well”
“Wait! But this isn’t your station” by
the time Amrit said so; Surabhi had already taken her bag and moved into the
crowd at the station.
The weeks that followed this incident
was difficult for Surabhi. She wouldn’t go anywhere, return any calls, Amrit
called her many times, but after a week, he stopped calling. She was enveloped
by the emptiness that surrounded her.
One day there was a knock on the door.
The maid came and said, “koi sahib aap k liye pooch rahe hain”
“bol do ki mein ghar pe nehi hun”
Surabhi said indifferently.
“Thik hai, par bole ki ye app ko de dun”
And she handed Surabhi a box. When she
opened the box, she was dumbfounded! A puppy was yelping inside. She ran to the
door to see Amrit standing there.
“Told you… we will get a dog of our
choice.” Said Amit with a smile on his face.
Surabhi threw herself at him and he held
her to him. She cried and he soothed her with soft words. “I love you. Though
you will not admit easily, but I know you love me too, and we complete each
other. There has been no one for me but you. And now we can make it come true.”
“I love you! God! I love you more than
you can imagine” Said Surabhi amid the tears.
“ohh! Finally! Now that we have our
facts, do u think you have a room for me here?
Our parents are coming tomorrow and we are getting married ASAP. I
talked to them on both our behalf. “
Surabhi nodded her head in his embrace.
P.S.: be it a man or a woman, we are far
more complicated than we care to admit, and greed for more is human nature.
