Gone with time

It has been a really long day for Anita. Usually her days are this long. She wakes up at 5 o’clock to make breakfast for her family, getting her toddlers ready for school and dropping them off on her way to the office. Her office is a long way from the city center; it is a 90 minutes drive for her one way to office without traffic. It has been 6 months she has been following this routine after she separated with her husband.

Today has been no exception; except she had more presentations, more clients to attend and her boss threatened to fire her because of no fault of hers. She was tired and desperately wanted to be at home, with her kids. She glanced at her watch; it was 6 in the evening. She had one more meeting to attend and some more paper work to do for this evening.

“Miss Malhotra!” someone called from behind. Anita wasn't expecting anyone at this hour. Her next meeting would begin in ten minutes and she was busy with some last minute preparations. She spun around, it was Mr. .. err.. who’s this? She had no idea who he was. The man was in his early 20s, tall, athletic build and a tattoo peeped from the side of his collar. Understanding Anita’s discomfort, the man spoke.

“Good evening Miss Malhotra! I am Mr. Rajiv Datta, one of the new interns.”

“Yeah! Okay. So, how can I help you?” Anita responded.

“Mr. Dawan has send me to inform you that there has been some last minute changes in the plan, and he wants to see you.” Datta said.

Anita’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Last minute changes!’ Anita thought ‘What sort? Was she fired?’ without any word she got up and gestured Datta to take her to Mr. Dhawan. She was having many random thoughts.

“He wants to speak to you alone” Datta finally broke the silence, Anita realized they had already reached Dhawan’s office.

“Thank you Rajiv!” Anita exclaimed and knocked on the perfectly frosted glass door.

“Come in!”

“You wanted to see me Sir?” Anita spoke gathering all her courage.

“Ah! Well, yes Miss Malhotra. Please have a seat” Dhawan said slowly.

Anita knew something was wrong. She was sweating inside, still she managed to smile.

“Miss Malhotra! I am sorry for this last minute inconvenience. You must have been preparing for your meeting.”

“That is no problem sir!”

“There is another meeting within half an hour. The clients have arrived; they are in the waiting lounge. There has been a special request from their behalf. They want you to preside the meeting.”

“I don’t understand Sir! Me? I don’t know anything about this project.” Anita blurted out.

“Miss. Malhotra, I understand your concern and worry but we cannot let them down. I will brief you about the project now; you will have to do this!” Dhawan said calmly.

Anita couldn’t understand how to react. She had not expected this. She kept staring at her boss in disbelief. Mr. Dawan handed her some confidential files and explained the project in a brief, he showed her some presentations in a jiffy. Anita was not too sure about how this would go. She was completely unprepared. She excused herself from Mr. Dhawan’s office, came back to her chamber. The meeting was scheduled to start within ten minutes. She blankly stared at her computer screen, then to the beautiful photo frame beside it. That photograph was taken five years back on her second marriage anniversary. This photograph brought back many memories and special moments; she always kept it on her desk. She missed those old days.

She took a deep breath, collected all the essential files, switched off her cell phone and proceeded towards the conference room. It was time and she had to overcome this challenge. She had been overcoming so many challenges and she convinced herself that this too will pass.

She was standing in front of the opaque glass door. She could vaguely see her team mates through it. She touched the cold knob to make her way in. The knob felt like a cold sword, cutting through her senses. She took another deep breath and pushed the door.

The conference room was full. Everyone was waiting for her.

“Good Evening everyone..!” she stopped right at the middle of the sentence. She was blankly looking at the person right in front of her. It was a known face she was seeing after almost a decade. She stopped her thoughts before they could wander off. She finished her introduction quickly “I am Miss. Anita Malhotra, the Senior Marketing Executive of Ryod and Jones Inc. and I would be your host for the evening. I think we'll begin now. First I'd like to welcome you all” with a sincere smile. Turning at those she didn't knew she continued, “I know most of you, but there are a few unfamiliar faces, would you please introduce yourselves?”

She settled down. The other delegates continued with their introductions. She was lost in her own thoughts, deep down the memory lane. She looked up as the person in front of her introduced himself.

“Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am Mr. Anurag Rastogi, Managing Director of Sunforma Inc.”

Anurag looked at Anita and smiled. She now understood what this special request was about. Anita felt a pinch as the memories started gushing in.

I

|| 17 years ago, In one such gloomy summer afternoons Anita sat at a cool corner of her favorite restaurant. She was a regular there and the staffs knew here well, they gave her a glass of cold coffee and left her with the menu to decide. They knew that she wouldn't order anything else till Anurag arrives, and that he would be inevitably late. After around 30 minutes, Anurag rushed in, sat down in front of Anita, grasped a breath and went on to explain what had happened. This was his usual; he always had some story to back him. Anita didn't mind, she loved to wait, she loved him. Anita and Anurag had been knowing each other for years now, but their friendship started lately.

 They loved spending time together.

Anita had some special plans for that day. Anurag was possibly completely unaware of it. He continued with his explanations when suddenly Anita held his hand and slowly but distinctly said “I Love you”. Anurag wasn't surprised, he knew this. He looked into her eyes, they spoke a thousand words. Anurag leaned forward, held her face, smiled and whispered “I know. I love you too.” Anita was very happy.

They ordered their favorite dishes and wine to celebrate.

They went to Anurag’s place from there, turned on their favourite movie. Anita sat on the couch and Anurag lay down beside her. She was running her fingers through his hair, caressing him and gently stroking his cheeks. They didn’t speak but their silence did. Anurag hugged her gently but firmly. They cuddled and loved. Anurag broke the silence after a while.

“I want you to know something Anu.” he said, “There was a girl in my life, Smriti, a good friend of mine. It has been years we have not spoken, but I want you to know that I loved her. There were some misunderstandings and she stopped talking, she completely broke our friendship.” Anu was listening in silence. He continued “I love you but you must know that she holds a special place in my heart.”

“Do you still love her?” Anita finally spoke.

“Yes! And it will take some time to forget her. Will you give me that time?”Anurag said.

Anita looked into his eyes, she could see his pain, she was sad but she loved him. “Yes, I am sure you will soon get over it”

Days passed by, they were happy together. They didn’t speak of Smriti for days. Anita hoped that the love of her life gets over his past soon, she couldn’t bear his pain and she wanted him to be completely hers. Anurag didn’t want his friends to know about their relationship because he was still stuck with his past, so he introduced Anita as her best friend. Anita didn’t mind. She loved him. With every passing day she waited and hoped that things would finally work out. ||

Anita felt a warm touch on her hand; it brought her back to the present. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she completely forgot about the meeting, she had no idea what was being discussed. She somehow managed to say something relevant and let the next speaker speak. She looked at Anurag and slowly went back to her thoughts.

II

||Kruti was Anurag’s classmate and a good friend. They lived closed to each other so they used to hangout frequently, Kruti used to come over to Anurag’s place almost every other day. Anurag didn’t take Anita’s calls at those times, occasionally he received to let her know he was busy and that he couldn’t talk. She didn’t complain at first but as this became a regular she started to feel bad. She started to realize that he was taking her for granted. This thought disturbed her, made her sad. She could feel a distance growing, they started fighting. She didn’t want to lose him.

One day, Anurag called her up. He was drunk. He told her “You know what? I am finally getting over Smriti.” Anita didn’t say anything, he continued “but, I think I love Kruti.” He told her what was in his heart. Anita absorbed the harsh truth in silence. She feared this day would come. She finally said “That is okay baby. Tell her everything. You will feel better, don’t keep your feelings contained. That will hurt.” They hung up.

Anita sat by her hostel window, staring at the lily pool outside blankly. She was upset, terribly broke.

She cried her heart out. She lit a cigarette, closed the lights and sat in silence.

She woke up when the harsh sunlight fell on her face, the head hurt. She couldn’t remember when exactly she fell asleep. She checked her phone, there were some missed calls, all of them from Anurag.

She called back. “Hello!”

“Hi! Good morning” Anurag’s sleepy voice came floating

“Good morning! You okay now?”

“I am fine. Hey! What happened last night? I don’t remember anything.” said Anurag with genuine concern.

“You don’t remember anything? Umm… well… you said you love Kruti”

“Whaaaat?” exclaimed Anurag. Anita wasn’t sure whether the surprise was for real or not.

“Yes! Don’t be surprised. I have been telling you this many times. Good that you realized finally. Go and tell her.” Anita said with pain and concern.

They hung up. Anita kept on thinking about their small conversation, she realized that all these years she had been waiting unnecessarily. He was never with her. First it was Smriti and now Kruti. She decided to move on with her life and never ever think of Anurag again.

She broke up with him. Anurag sounded upset with her decision. He was furious; he exclaimed “Now, when finally I decided to be with you, you are breaking up. This is ridiculous!” Anita didn’t want to give any second thought to her decision because she knew very well what was going to happen. She was upset too, but that was her final decision.

After that day, they hardly spoke. Months passed. Both were busy with their life. Anita now was with another guy. Three years had passed.

Nothing lasts forever, neither did this relationship. ||

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Anita came back to her senses with the beeping sound on her phone. She glanced at her cell phone. There was a new message from some private number. She opened it.

Kiske bare mein soch rahe ho? Meeting bhi to attend karo!  ;)

(About whom are you thinking? Concentrate on the meeting too!  ;) )

The message has been undersigned as Anurag.

Anita looked at his face once and then texted him back “Meet me after the meeting!”

III

One day, they had accidently met. Call it co-incidence or destiny it was their old favourite restaurant. This sudden meeting brought back endless memories. They chatted for a long time of old days. They decided to meet the next day after office.

The next day, Anita was quite exited. She had missed him all these years. Anurag picked her up from office and offered her a drink. They decided to go to his place. As they entered the house, Anita could feel all the old memories. Every nook and corner of the house spoke to her. They missed her too. They sat down in the living room in silence. They were reliving those moments. None of them spoke.

Anurag brought the drinks. They laughed and giggled like old times. They were watching their old favourite movie. They forgot all the differences for some time, enjoying every bit to time.

It was getting late. Anita had to leave. They wished each other good bye and promising to meet again, and then they hugged. That hug was special. None of them wanted to end that moment, they simple closed their eyes and hugged. They looked into each other’s eyes, slowly closed them and kissed. They didn’t know for how long but they kissed. They started weeping with mixed feeling. Anurag said “I missed you. I missed you so much”. Anita’s throat was dry out of anxiety; she feared to fall in love again but didn’t want this moment to pass by. She whispered “I missed you too.”

That was the last time they met. Anita had been transferred to a different city. They spoke rarely. Anurag was also busy with his business and work and couldn’t spare time. Soon all contact between them broke. ||

And now, after so many years they meet again here, in this conference room. The discussion was almost over and Anita had no clue about it. All delegates thanked each other and proceeded to the banquet lounge, there was a small party.

“Hey! Anita, how have you been? Long time” Anurag exclaimed as he came near her in the banquet hall.

“Hello! Anurag, it has been ages. I am fine, what ‘bout you?” Anita asked with genuine concern.

“Same old work. Still a bachelor! You?”

Anita laughed, “Yeah? Good for you! Am pretty occupied with work and my children. I am a single mother.”

“I am sorry? What happened?” he exclaimed.

“Separated! Oh! It’s a long story” Anita sighed.

“You know what? I knew about this. I wanted to talk to you, that’s why I requested you to be in this meeting” Anurag admitted, he then kneeled down holding Anita’s hand and added “You have always been there for me, I never understood that. Sometimes we have been chasing each other and sometimes running away all our life. I say, we have run enough. There is only one question I would like to ask you.”

He reached out for something in his pocket. He pulled out a ring and bringing it in front of her asked:

“Will you marry me? Please?”