Daastan [#MissionDesi]

Chapter 27

Gruesome minutes shuffled in front of me, mocking my restlessness, yawning at my great attempts at pushing them ahead as they slipped by lazily like a creepy thing crawling across the floor.

I wished for the days to pass by quickly when I talked with her every day on the phone. Meetings with my clients had turned into a whole different affair. My eyes would be looking but not taking in anything, so did my ears and my words, spewing out figures which not in the least made any sense to me.

My eyes would constantly be shifting to my cell phone, waiting for her message to light up the screen or it shuddering on the desk as I looked at the faces, bodies erect on the chairs, pretending to pay attention to their surroundings but lost in their own world, which I hoped involved someone they loved.

I was in love once again! My heart was speeding like a cannonball, ready to hit the target. I thought of ways to make her happy, came up with ideas, which died down as quickly as they came.

One week later, the day came to take action. Having delegated work to the office staff to handle, I took the earliest flight and landed in Bangalore, deciding to surprise Sujatha.

I hailed a cab directly to Daffodils. Stars came out in the ink blue sky, winking at me. The moon kept me company, travelling alongside my vehicle. Birds were returning back to their home, so was I, where my heart truly belonged. I felt a deep sense of peace enveloping me.

I paid my fare and stood at the entrance, waiting for Sujatha.

Couple of women in saree, stepped out of the building. They were leaning in together, gossiping and giggling at the tales spewing out of their mouths.

Seeing me standing there, one of them came up to me. "Its you Sir! Sujatha madam will be leaving soon," she said, eyeing the bouquet of deep crimson roses in my hands.

"Nice roses Sir!" said another one, her eyebrows wiggling up and down. I lifted the bouquet, covering my face which seemed to have taken on the colour of the roses.

Sujatha stepped out of the building, her fingers scrolling the screen of her cell phone.

She didn't see me and walked by without a glance at the man holding roses. And before I knew it, I cleared my throat, reeling out a song. 'Dil hote jo mere seene me do, dusra dil bhi me tujhe deta todneko!' Those last lines caught up in my throat and I sputtered, hacking into my sleeves.

She stood there, mouth opened wide. Seconds passed by without a word between us. I knelt down on my knees, holding out the bouquet. She took it from my hands and nose dived into it, taking in the fragrance. "Thanks!" She smiled.

My hands reached into my pocket and came out with a red velvet box held out in my stretched palm. With another hand, I lifted the lid and plucked it out, pinching the ring between my thumb and index finger. Our gold wedding ring. It glittered under the yellow light of the sodium lamp in the darkness. "Will you marry me?" I looked up at her expectantly.

She smiled through her tears, nodding her head and extended her hand out to me. I took it and slipped the ring through her finger. Tears slid down her face. And soon more drops joined in, mixing with her tears. We looked up in the sky. Under the lights, rain drops fell down like magic dust sprinkled by the fairies. And they fell on the roses too, perched like tiny pearls.

I took her hand and dragged her inside to take shelter from the rain outside. She stopped in her tracks and instead pulled me out again, water sliding down our head and clothes, soaking them.

She looked like a rain angel, if there was such a term. Her eyes caught mine looking at them. We were close, too close, our breath coming out and rising upwards like clouds.

My face moved closer to hers. And in that intimate moment, she showed her vulnerability. She hesitated but then gave in. My lips touched hers, light feathery touch at first, testing, absorbing the feeling so as not to shock the senses.

And then we leaned further into the kiss, into each other, oblivious to our surroundings. We leaned towards love, our hearts hammering, pushing against our chests to cling as one, like our wedding rings in our interlinked fingers.

The song means: If I had two hearts in my chest, I would have given you another one too, to break it.