Filled with void

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.