Nisha stood there exuberantly. Her face shining brilliantly,
one that made diamonds feel ashamed. Her lehenga was a beautiful red with
numerous golden patterns that made it so distinctive. You could tell that it
was designed with utmost care and every single string of sequin and mirror work
was woven with much finesse. Her maangtika, a ruby red stone placed beautifully
on the center of her forehead, accentuated her heart shaped face. She looked
more beautiful than she is given credit for. A mango shaped gold and red earring
with clear-cut diamonds sparkled from her ears. In Sanskrit, the word
‘Kaan-phool’ is used to describe earrings, which means ‘flower of the ears’. She
looked beautiful.
Naren sat there sipping his kaapi and wondering if he
would ever find such happiness. As he put out his cigarette bud, he decided to
take one last look at her. She stood beside her man adjusting the tresses of
hair that gently brushed her face. Their eyes met. Her eyes did not reflect the
happiness that her smile did. She was hiding something, or atleast so he
thought. The two minutes felt like a few hours. There was a feeling of
familiarity, a feeling that is overvalued and sometimes under, a feeling that
could cause your heart to beat faster, and a feeling that increases endorphins
in your body.
She walked away from her entire battalion and her eyes
signaled. Naren got out of his car and walked towards her. She had changed a
lot from how she was back in college. She was prettier. She had grown from a
naïve caterpillar to a delicate butterfly. They stood in front of each other,
silently. The eyes were doing the talking. They re-lived every minute they
spent together back in college, remembering the walks in the rain, the gol
guppas outside college, and the coffee at the dhaabas. It was a blissful two
minutes. An unusual feeling dawned upon them, a feeling that said ‘if you don’t
grab this moment you lose everything’. They both did not hesitate. Grabbed and
ran …
Years later, Nisha is in the same attire, same place. She
still looked beautiful. She still seemed happy. She was sitting with a man, a
man who was not Naren. She was telling him that it was the day of her
engagement and that in a few hours she was going to be ringed. She introduced
Naren to the man and told him all about her college stories.
Nisha’s parents stood beside her, weeping. The man looked at
her parents, his eyes filled with questions, much like any other doctor.
Nisha’s parents started to explain. Naren is a doll that Nisha plays with. This
dates back to 5 years when she was going to get engaged and suddenly met her
college sweetheart. She decided to abandon the engagement and eloped with
Naren. Naren met with a horrifying accident and had died 5 years ago. Nisha
never accepted this. She placed her heart in the doll, that she fondly calls
Naren. With time comes acceptance, but for some there is just…emptiness.
