Those Thirteen Letters.

The Beginning

A broken sparrow once asked, does true love exist. I can still feel the innocence of those eyes, that stuttering of the tongue, and the awkwardness in her expressions, she was young, little one as i remember. That sound of emptiness in her voice turned me into a prisoner whose presence has been forgotten, I always thought love is an ideal theory where assumptions and expectations are the only variables. That day i somehow sidestepped from the question but deep down i knew it was a debt i had to pay.

Some years later we met again, little one had grown up, there was a debt and the owner had arrived. There were no formalities, no hi, no hello, like the wind of forgotten past she turned the clock back in time. Really the river of love is strange it's memories always flow backwards.

"Can we meet tonight, "she said.

"Let us meet later, at the old park, around 10:00 pm," is all I could sum up.

The moon was full, she came in a traditional dress, flawless, sacred, exquisite but her eyes shared another story.

"U remember, "she asked.

"True l...o ..v..e ...,"i whispered.

"So what is it, "she questioned.

I replied, "true love is a nightmare where the petitioner dies unheard ."

With a broken smile she asked, "why so?".

I replied, "because when love enters there is no escape other than total surrender."

"To whom should one surrender, when someone is half in love ,Mr half writer, "she quietly asked.

"Being half in love is like surrendering yourself to a thousand sighs, by the way does that someone have a name, "i replied.

"You frame characters in others stories yet you failed to recognise your place in our tale, "she canvassed.

There i stood looking at the moon like a fallen leaf of a chinar not knowing it's past. When! I never took her seriously, besides she was my neighbour we grew up on the same street we weren't even close.

Looking out of my window that night i tried to ask the monois it true?, she was much younger and somebody i kept remembering as a known stranger, across the lane i could see her sitting on the balcony.

Should i be angry or should I confess to my sins, but life my dear is not about making confessions to a broken star. She fell in love she kept it to herself now what was the fun after all these silent years, which devil told her to break the vow of silence.

As the silence began her romance with night sky i moved out of my house for a walk, she could see me coming, there she knew that unanswered story had to be sung, she just waved at me and i approached her gate

She unlocked the door, her heart rate was too erratic, puzzled she looked. Yeh by the way her name was Maria.

Maria, "what!.......you could not wait till the morning."

Me, "who knows what the new dawn will sing."

Maria, "you should have know."

Me, "yes, that you are a kid."

Maria, "if you agree let us revisit the shrine where its seeds were sown."

Me, "where.".

Maria, "our school."

Me, "school, you kidding."

Maria,"naa, just childhood crush."

Me, "what nonsense, we were miles apart in school."

Maria, "since when love needed an approval from the moon."

Me, "don't try coating your words, i just want few answers."

Both of us left in the shade of the moon towards our High school, it never had gates, for its playfield was used by locals for celebrations and games. As we stepped on the green grass, she held my arm like an old lover with a smile and I just moved along.

"You know this is all I wanted, "maria reflected.

"This is the curse of the moon, "i replied.

"Still i will own them, without conditions, "she declared out loud.

"It is your story, i am just a character, "i remarked.

"My song, my love, my youth, my nights but your arms, "she voiced.

"Just tell me how it happened, "i asked.

"Love at first sight happens in fairy tales, it took time before I realised it had made my heart it's home, "maria replied.

"So what you found in me that was intriguing, "i enquired.

"Emotions don't fall for attributes, love ain't an algorithm, "maria remarked.

"And I am no Walter Mitty, "i stated.

Maria smiled and said, "patience was never your strong suit."

I added, "Neither was half love."

"Can't you see the full moon," maria asked.

"Moon lives in phases, "i stated

"And with every phase you fall more in love, "maria said.

"I am here for the past not for the moon, "i remarked.

A.wasee