Success in love is… Part 27

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5  Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11,Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26

“Amma!” I exclaimed in shock keeping my hand on the cheek which showed no sense of pain. Well, how can a mother’s slap be painful?
“No one drinks like this with just a month left for marriage” she said with a stern look.
Before I could explain anything that would pacify the fuming eyes, which have always made me apologize for all my childhood mistakes almost instantly, my love came running near me and held my hand.
“He doesn’t drink anymore, Auntie.” She said as I looked at her in awe.

I turned to see my Mom like a hurt puppy and expected her eyes to dramatically change to love like the good old childhood days. She turned to look at me with the same stern look. I looked down, already doctoring my apology.
“Sorry dear. But look at him, how pathetic he looks.” Mom said to my love and she moved near her to hug her.
Now, I didn’t understand why she is apologizing to my love when I am the one who got hurt. I looked at her in disbelief as mom was arranging the lose strands of hairs near her new daughter’s ears which actually look good when left unarranged.

My dad came near with a smile, kept his hand around my shoulder and whispered, “What happened?”
Now, this didn’t seem to be a good position as he was looking at ladies with a smile. I turned to see if he really is interested in my reply or just making his presence felt and saving me from my Mom. His gaze was still fixed on the ladies as they continued talking in feeble tone, much like sisters. “Guys! You have all come to meet me” I thought and started my explanation in attempts to gain my dad’s attention.

“He hasn’t slept since you left.” The intern came from nowhere to complain to my love and I forgot my explanation with her sudden arrival.
“Why do you strain this much son?” my love’s dad came into the scene.
“Oh no uncle. Don’t you understand? He was longing to see your daughter and can’t sleep without her.” The intern gave a pass here and continued after everyone sans me, had a smile, “I mean, he can’t sleep without seeing her.”

Now, Insomnia does loose its strength when you receive a tight slap. But with too many people talking to you and new people joining the club every passing minute, I looked around with enough ambiguity to fall back into it. This ambiguity reached its peak when my Cousins joined us. I started thinking, “How come all these people are jobless today and why is everyone here”. I really had doubts if my dad had taken the Swaraj mazda executive bus for a yearlong rent to make these frequent travels. I smiled at the crowd that gathered around me to look like I am happy seeing them and my Cousins came close to give painless blow on my stomach and hugged me.

“Shaadi mubharak ho” said my Facebook-sick cousin whose latest likes were ironically a few regional novels. It was ironic because the younger generation has almost stopped reading regional novels. English had slowly overtook the love for our languages, yes languages, restricting ourselves to our native language alone even if we knew other regional languages is making it difficult for us to understand the plights of a fellow Indian of different state than an American or English.

“Shaadi?” I was wondering and suddenly the lights went away and countdown began for the New Year. Before I realized we were bundled into a big circle of love and each of us passed the greetings with one another.

It took another hour to greet everyone and we came back home. No one was drowsy to go to bed. Not even me. Well! How can I be? As everyone went in, I grabbed my love and took her to balcony just outside the door.
“What’s all this?
“What’s What?
“Marriage in a Month?”
“Why not?”
“Why am I the last one to know?”
“Does that make a difference?”
“A lot.”
“I thought it will be the biggest surprise for the New Year.” She came near and touched my cheek.
“It was. It was bigger than any other surprises. But..” the decibels of my words were decreasing and went beyond human hearing as she came near and rested her face on my chest.

‘God! Why do I lose all my anger when she hugs me. Well I wasn’t all that angry but something inside said I am not completely happy. This is something I have to have jumped in joy and ran in rounds becoming half-insane. I was missing the thrills of a marriage let alone a hard fought love marriage. I had imagined a different scene with different set of emotions when she comes back from home. But she turned it all upside down and I should act happy when I am not sure if I am so’.

She was still lying on my chest and I raised her chin to face me. The same old mesmerizing eyes that glitter were looking into their counterpart and I wept away the tears of triumph from her chin. I didn’t know if I had made up my mind but I forgot what I was thinking. Dilemma had been a permanent feeling in my life. It just fades in and fades out, never disappears.

“You look great.” I said to her.
“I know.”
“That was a joke.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know you.” She said pinching my back.
“I know” I said to end the conversation that made sense only to us and made my hug tighter.

She left after a few more minutes of cuddle and I stood there analyzing myself. “Why am I not feeling good about all these things that are meant to be good?”

After a brief moment of introspection and getting lost in the blankness, I entered the house to see why it had become silent there. The hall had been changed to a dormitory and so was the bedroom and all the minimal furniture we had were dumped in one corner. The ladies were chatting with girls sleeping on their laps. The men were into discussions in the hall and my cousins were making fun of each other, viewing the Facebook photos and the comments that they received.

I found myself the odd one there and kept thinking what I should be doing now.
“Come son. Join us” her dad called me.
“No Uncle. I have a small work in lab. Forgot it when you all came. I will have to go back and do it now so that we can continue the experiments tomorrow.”

The Intern raised her head from the discussion that the ladies were having and quickly turned to see my love who pretended that she never heard what I spoke. Both dads were looking at me in disbelief. I had to break the silence that had spread among us but didn’t have anything that will be apt. I just nodded my head to the empty space in between the two dads and left the house.

The cell phone which was about to end its life temporarily, said the time is 2AM, not the right time to travel in the lonely roads. But I might ruin their happiness if I stay here, as I wasn’t sure what the hell I was feeling. If at all we had an Interpreter organ between the brain and heart.

I took out the bicycle I had left here few days back. I reached the gate of our Apartment in a few seconds and turned to our balcony which hosted our love. Alone, arms on the railings, she stood there motionless. I stopped the bicycle with my leg, well forgot the brakes. Yes, it is involuntary action to clutch the brakes in normal times but not now. I saw her and we got locked in our eyes, though the darkness meant we can’t see each other’s eyes clearly. I stood there not knowing if her cheeks are wet. She didn’t move her hands to wipe away the tears if she had them.

I didn’t know what to gesture her. Should I wave a bye, a kiss or just a nod. I looked down analyzing what to do. When I finally decided to wave a bye and looked up, she wasn’t there. I looked at the balcony for few moments in anticipation of her arrival.

I started to my lab. The lonely roads and the cold breeze would have taken away all the chaos from my mind, but her appearance on the balcony and her departure were fresh in mind and I couldn’t conclude what she going through. Life is just a permanently fumbled headphone wire for me.

Thoughts going blank and driving becoming an involuntary act happens to me often just to get jerked off when someone behind blows or yells at someone else. Yes, I continue to have a smooth ride until I realize that I had gone blank. The speeding truck that didn’t leave any space for me on the road brought me back to my nerves and I turned to see the truck and yell a few profanities, when I managed to stop the bicycle before a pit. But the truck took a jerk, with a loud horn and brake a few meters behind me but continued to speed after that. It took time for me to realize that the jerk happened right in front of our apartment where there is enough space for two trucks to pass side by side.

The rational mind with all its options narrowed down on something I prayed not to have happened. I rushed to my apartment gate and on the way lost my grip twice when my right foot slipped to hit the road. Right foot on both occasions. Heart raced harder and harder, thanks to my abstinence from any form of exercise. Slowly I realized that there is someone on the floor near the gate and my right foot slipped again. This time it really got hurt and I had to ride slowly towards the person.

I realized that reality is worse than my worst dreams, when I saw my love. The heart now raced high speed out of its shell and I tried to get down from a moving bicycle with a broken right toe and hurt it again. Falling from a bicycle never happened to me, even in my childhood learning sessions and I didn’t know to cover my face before landing on it. I fumbled to turn to see her with my broken toe, bruised chin and few other unknown joints paining.

Success in love is… Part 26

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5  Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11,Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25

I went back to the television and sat there watching whatever that was running in it. Well, I was just seeing in that direction with thoughts fixed somewhere else. I went to the bed room and lied next to her. After I wrapped myself in the three bed sheets, I turned to see her sleeping. She was beautiful as always and I was there admiring her all over again. A few minutes passed in bliss and she moved in sleep and hugged me. I laid back with her face in my shoulder and hand around me. I was going back to times we had spent together and ordeal she faced to reach here. I fell asleep with her breath blowing over my heart and making it lighter than it had already become.

I woke up with the sun, as soon it rose to shine through my window pane. Sunrise seemed to be a remote thing happening underground all these days. I got up to see a clean half of the bed next to mine. Of course she should have woken up early. I found my way to the kitchen to stop my gastric juices from eating my stomach. I came back to the hall and switched on the TV with a hand full of eatables. As a few songs got over along with the eatables, I realized she is not home. ‘Should have left to work.’ I thought and continued the songs and snacks.

The lab seemed to be filled with activity when I entered it. Before I could complete the Brainstorming, the intern stepped out of the Animal cell culture cabin and smiled, “Is this the time you come to lab?” 
She had transformed my lab into a place that looks as it should.
“I am actually early today. The lab has had a few changes since you left.” I said.
“Ya. I can see that. But, not anymore. Now sit down here and check out the photos from yesterday’s treat.”
So we started going through the photos that we took last night in her mobile. She stopped with the a photo in which I was looking at my love and zoomed it.
“What’s this?
“What?”
“You guys. Both of you have wet eye lids.”
“What?” I looked at it again and I could see that. That was the time when we came back from the argument in the Café terrace.
“Too much light I guess. I live underground these days.” I smiled.
“Hmmm” she turned to see me, smiled and nodded. “Nocturnal to the core. But since I am back you can take proper sleep.” She pretended as if she had bought my lie and I pretended as if I trusted her buying that. Sometimes we know more than we need to.
“Hope so.” I said putting an end to the pretences.

I made myself busy with the research and she kept herself engaged in the various outcomes in our research that she had missed. After a couple of hours she dragged me to the cafeteria and as we sat for lunch, asked “So how was last night?” and smiled.
I had a smile spreading within the inner portions of the tight lipped mouth. “We slept.”
“Ya. Ya. What else will people do at night?” She said in a tone that demanded my smile to break its barriers.
I threw a tissue paper on her and said, “Shall we go back to the lab?”
She held my hand and said, “Ok ok no more questions. Just say your plans for New Year.”
“Haven’t planned for anything. The campus will have a party right.”
“Another party with these nerds?”
“Ya. With us nerds.”

“Just don’t have any plans. You are anyway bad in that. We will plan. By the way where is the girl you slept with last night?”
She smiled and made signs for apology as I gave a look which meant anger, shock or both.
“She left before I woke up. Should be busy with work.”
“God! You are pathetic than a one night stand.” She said, stood up and continued, “I will call her. Now go back and do some work.” She smiled and ran away after that, making me revisit to my heart assessing if I am careless about the relationship or careful about her privacy.

I went back to the lab and was making sure of the temperatures in the Incubators, when she came in with a confused look.
“What happened last night?”
Again the same question I thought and turned to see a confused look.
“What?”
“She is on the way to Erode. Doesn’t tell me the reason why she is going.”
“No. Her dad was ill. But she spoke with him and he is alright now. But why did she go?” I was revising all that happened yesterday.
“She asked me not to tell you. May be I shouldn’t have. Sorry.”
“Hey don’t worry. May be she was in a hurry. I will talk to her.” I said and she turned to go back.
“Wait! She asked you not to tell me?”
“Yes”
“Fine. I will wait for her to call me.”
“Hope everything is fine.”
“Yes. It will be.”

I called her dad to make sure everything is fine. He spoke as if he doesn’t know about her travel and I didn’t reveal it either. The rest of the day went with my focus on my phone which never brought any message from my love. I was worried. I figured out that I can’t simply sit here and wait for her call and decided to go to Erode. I got my friend’s car and started to Erode after explaining the various activities going on in the lab to the Intern.

I didn’t know how fast I drove but I reached the old couple’s tea shop in the outskirts of Krishnagiri. They haven’t seen me for long and sat with me for a discussion. From their eager eyes I couldn’t stop myself from saying what happened. The said all that happened in short and they smiled. “You two will make a great couple.” She said and went in to bring tea for us.
“So you are going to see her.” The old man asked me.
“Yes.”
“I won’t do it if I were you.” He said, looked at me for a moment and continued, “Women need their time alone too. Just like us. From what you told us, she is very strong and has gone to see her Dad. Let her come back to you and explain. She will have her story. You can play angry and there can be romance. Don’t spoil all that by going there. Moreover don’t spoil her time at her home with her parents.”
“Hey don’t spoil the child. He can’t stay away from her.” The old woman came out with tea.
“No. He is right. She should have her personal life too. Her decisions have always been correct. She would have called me if she needs me.” I said.
They had a small argument within themselves if I should go to Erode or not. I smiled as I watched them argue and they stopped midway seeing my smile.

I reached the campus by 3AM. I didn’t get any sleep with my mind centered on her travel and more towards the denial of information. I was devising all possible reasons for her denial but nothing seem to fit in. But heart that I have, always said she is right. With a battle between mind and heart, there is no clear victory. That day went like hell with me reaching lab before anyone. Well, I get up late only when I sleep. Now that I didn’t sleep, I was early. I made sure no one finds out my thought and involved myself in research as much as possible. Avoiding coffee and lunch breaks helped me escape the Intern’s gazes. Whenever she tried to talk I diverted the topic and involved the discussion in our experiments.

But it was clear that she knew about my state of mind. She did most of the work while I did some easy stuff that I had put off for long. She left the lab at 10pm after I promised her that I will be normal tomorrow and everything is fine. I reached my room by 2AM, started browsing through the long list of photos we had taken. Some made me smile; some made me laugh; some loaded moisture under the tired eyes. Before I realized the early morning rays flowed in through the window edge much like a single golden strand from heaven.

I didn’t want to be early today and scare the Intern. So I tried to sleep, in vain, against my lucid dreams, which again were centered on her reasons for sudden negligence. I had become a self-induced Insomniac. When I reached lab by 11, The New Year’s Eve had all its color in the Campus as everyone was busy in decorations and arrangements. The lab looked different as well.
“I have planned everything and all our work will be over by 8PM.” The intern was saying as she made all arrangements for today’s experiments.
“Great”. I said and went to check my children in the Incubator. Well if we all are God’s children, the bacteria that I cultured should be mine. I smiled at the thought as the rational mind that I have, kicked itself.

The intern kept herself busy with the schedule that she had made and I focused in the research mechanically. Heart, obviously was wandering few hundred miles away in search of answers. The same easy experiments demanded greater concentrations, thanks to the sleepless night. Soon the clock struck Eight and the intern was pulling me to come out of our lab. We went to the Celebrations lawn which was abuzz with activity. We joined the fellow lab mates in final decorations needed for the party. The party started by 10pm with all Professors joining us and soon the DJ, Dance and Drinks started to fill the party. I moved from one group to another and involved myself in the chatter and avoided the intern whom I feared, would drag me to the Dance floor any moment.

The sparking lights, the Colors and the loud music were making my Insomnia show its rough side. I sat in a table with an unpredictable pain in forehead and the Extraocular muscles. I closed my eyes and the moisture inside spread out making my vision unclear.

The table had a lot of glasses: empty, half filled or full based on the time the holder went to dance. I searched for water and drank it from the packed drinking water can. I turned to the crowd where one person got my attention. She was moving towards me and I shook my head and sprinkled some water on my face to see clearly. I smiled at her as soon as I realized that she resembles my love and stood up.

Just then I received a tight slap from a very familiar person standing next to me making me stumble and sit back on the chair. The person who resembled my love took hurried steps towards me.

Success in love is… Part 25

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5  Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11,Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24

I held her hand and she turned to see me. The eyes that were hiding the tears smiled and a micro nod conveyed she is fine. She extended her free hand to the intern who looked at us with guilt. She continued before I could ask anything:

“Yes! I love you. But that doesn’t mean I want to marry or live with you. You gave me the much needed hope, when I said about my past love to you. The burnt I had in my heart which I didn’t want to visit and heal, vanished all of a sudden when I saw your eyes glow up in appreciation after hearing me say I didn’t pursue the relationship. I haven’t seen anyone who had such a reaction; it was either sympathy or anger. You are someone whom I won’t be remembering as a friend but as someone who had made it to my heart like my Mom and Dad.”
She gave a pause and wiped off her tears. “I started living without any regret in heart. Life became pleasant after a long time.”
Her dad kept his hand on her shoulder and wipe off the remaining wetness from her face. He looked worried.

She came forward and caught the drop which fell off my love’s chin and they smiled forcing a few more fall. They hugged each other and she said, “I was worried when you said you love him. Seeing your tears, I thought I have made another person feel bad.”
“Another person feel bad! What? You have made everyone feel great when they finally understood you.” The Intern spoke like she had known her for ages.
“And these tears did not come because of him but because I realized my Dad is the same person who would find all my worries before I tell them to him. I have been longing for his love all these days as he doesn’t show them unless necessary.”
“Love you Dad. Thanks for showing me that you are the same person.”
He smiled and she hugged him. He kissed her forehead and turned to see us and smiled.

My Roommate came exactly when we were back to normal and the intern introduced him to her Dad and started reciting few funny moments we shared in lab. The whole atmosphere of the cafeteria changed once again and the air was filled with happiness.
My love who was watching us and walked to the Balcony. After a few minutes, I went near and hugged her from behind. Her tears spread equally on our chins. I made her turn and she wiped them off from our faces.
“I want to marry you” I said with wetness spreading inside my eyes.
“Why are you asking this now?” she asked with the stress on the last word.
“I want the whole world to know that you are my everything and I belong here” I said and pointed to her.
“Is marriage necessary for that?” she was not meeting my eyes.
“No. But something inside me tells that we should tie the knot soon. So that I can kiss you whenever I want and you can hit me as you wish.”
“As if they don’t happen now.”
“Oh! Come on dear. Why are you doing this?” I kept my hands on her shoulder and searched for mischief in her eyes. But they showed something else, they showed pain.

But I couldn’t understand what was bothering her. I lifted her face and asked her with a tear rolling down, “Don’t you want to marry me soon?”
“Of Course I do. I wake up every day in hopes that you would say this to me. But why today? Do you think I am hurt from what she said? Are you doing this out of guilt?” she asked with new tears flowing faster than the older ones.
“No dear. I was certainly worried when she said about love but I also knew you are mature enough to handle this. In fact I already had spoke to your dad two days back and said marriage in 2-3 months is fine for me. I can’t say No to him this time.” I spoke in a hurry to put her tear glands to rest, “You were very busy the past two days, so I couldn’t tell this to you.”

“You spoke to my dad? And accepted?” She asked in suspicion and surprise.
“Yes. I had called him to know a few places around Coimbatore for a friend and we spoke. May be the tone he spoke with and the fact that he was hospitalized, made me accept it. But I have been feeling great since I said Yes.” I said and suddenly realized that I should not have said what I said.
“Hospitalized?!!! Why? What happened to him?” she asked holding my collars with her eyes searching deep into mine.
“He had High BP and was admitted to make a few checks. He is fine now.”
“BP! You didn’t ask anything else.” I could see her get worried and kept my hand on her shoulder.

She pushed it down and made a call on her cell and went to the other end of the Balcony. She became restless as the calls went unattended. I went near her, “He is alright dear. I spoke to him and he himself said he is fine.”
“Of course. He will say only that. I can’t imagine why you didn’t tell me. I know it will take time for you guys to get close for what he did to us but I didn’t expect you to be this careless.”
“It’s not like that dear. He is alright.” I said with half the confidence I had went I said that first.
Just then she received a call and went a few feet away. Instant drops fell down without forming channels on her chin. She shouted, cried, plead on the phone while I watched in anticipation that everything is normal. Your confidence shatters when your loved one is in tears. You try to pin the sun and moon together to make things normal again. But here I can’t do anything. I visualized the call I had with her dad. He certainly sounded weak but also confident and her mom who spoke next discussed things about marriage and didn’t say anything about him. But looking at my love’s tears I couldn’t be sure. My patience was reaching its threshold when she finally kept the call. For a moment she wiped off the tears and looked at me. I took a step and she took two. She came near grabbed my shirt, pulled me close and said

“For the past two days I have been feeling like I have come a long distance away from my Dad. Now, when she spoke about her Dad being the same, I can’t stop myself from holding the tears. That’s why I came out. He has been there for me all my life but now he is down ill and I stand here few hundred kilometers away from him, unaware of what I should do. You could have told me. Nothing that kept me busy these days would have meant more than his good health.” She said and took her hand from my shirt. She continued in between her sobs, “I don’t know if it’s your fault of not being responsible enough, my mother’s fault of not informing me or my own fault of not calling him frequently, but I feel low inside my heart.”

A few seconds of absolute silence prevailed when she shed the remaining tears and I stood there watching the person for whose happiness I would go to the ends of the world, cry in pain. My roommate’s voice echoed from the café and ordered us to come in. She smiled, wiped of the tears and the sadness from her face and walked in. I stood there not knowing what to do.
I called her dad and it was answered by her Mom.
“What happened to Uncle?” I asked, which was the first time, I had called him so.
“He was travelling in his car and a kid suddenly came before the car from his house. The Driver stopped the car in time but Uncle had become tensed and rushed out see the kid, if he is fine. After making sure the kid is fine, he got into the car. The driver said, uncle’s hands were trembling and he fainted in sometime. Driver took him to the hospital nearby. The doctors said he was having High BP and made him stay there for a day to take tests. He is absolutely fine now.”
“Can I speak with him?” I asked.
“He has gone out without cell phone as usual. Is there anything I can tell him?”
“Nothing. I will call him later.”
“Okay. Take care.”

I walked into the café. The gang had made plans for dinner and the Intern’s dad wanted to take us to Oberoi where he was staying. I stood there unsure if I should go with them? Will she want to be alone? Are we going to Erode? But she joined the intern in making everyone come. I stood there wondering how she had masked everything that’s inside. The Intern’s dad came and put his arm over my shoulder.
“What happened sir? You seem to be lost.”
“Nothing sir” and said with enough masking to convince him that I am normal.
“Thanks for everything. My girl is really happy here. It’s long since I had seen her like this.”
“Please don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything.”
“Sometimes you don’t have to do anything. Just your presence, a missed call, a micro smile makes a huge impact in the person who loves you.” He said seeing his daughter.
“It sure does.” I said looking at my love.
“Life is just about being there for our loved ones when they need us. I realized that because of you. I thought children don’t stay the same loving apple pies when they turn into adults and move away. But they have the same problem as their parents do. We keep an Everest of love covered inside our heart until it dawns on us to shed the snow and let the love see light. After all, every child and parent long for the child’s childhood days. But we forget that the lovely past can just repeat itself if we open up our hearts.”

He said and took a few steps to meet our Professor, who had been refusing the intern’s plea and held his hand asking, “Please come. The family is never complete without the head.” 
Everyone stopped speaking and watched as the Professor took a few seconds to say, “Yes. I will be ready in 15mins.”
The Oberoi was spectacular as it should be and we had nice time. We were the last few people to come out of the restaurant after the usual crowd started getting irritated with our high decibel chats and laughs. I was dropped at my love’s place, as no one was driving back to the Campus.

We entered the home and again I could witness the super clean house with all things kept where they should be. I sat down to watch songs in Television while she changed and came near me. She stood near and watched the song for a moment and went to the bedroom. I went in next and asked, “Are you okay?”
“No, I am not.”
“Sorry. I thought it’s not a big issue.”
“It’s not a big issue.”
“It’s not like that dear. I care about him.”
“I am angry with myself and not with you. Don’t worry. I will be normal when I wake up. Switch off the lights except the night lamp when you come to sleep.”
“Come?” I said within my mouth.
“Yes. It’s a new house. You will catch cold if you don’t sleep on the bed. You can hug me if you still feel colder.”
I smiled when she finished saying all this like she was reading the news headline in the national television.

Success in love is… Part 24

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5  Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11,Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23

“Hello”

“Yes. So you are my daughter’s mentor in lab?”
“Menter! Nope we a fellow researchers under the same Professor.”
“Whatever. She says you have been a great person to be with and intends to spoil her future in your lab.”
“Spoil her future? Our lab is one of the very few labs in India which are comparable to labs in top institutions worldwide. I can’t comment about your decisions and your daughter’s future but our lab is the best.”
“Ha! Smart answer. I really don’t understand why would anyone forgo a life in the States for a lab like yours. I presume your Prof won’t be offering her a PhD now.”
“Ya! He has his own standards but your daughter is smart, she can start her PhD in a year.”
“You don’t have to tell how smart my daughter is. I know her more. I haven’t said no for any of her desires but now she is asking something that is far too sub-standard from what I had imagined.”
I kept quiet, not sure whom or what he is referring as sub-standard. I mean “Far too Sub-standard”

“By the way, Are you a Hindu? I can’t make out from your name. Nowadays people have started keeping these neutral names, names that can belong to more than one faith.”
“A Social Humanist”
“A What?”
“Nothing Sir. I don’t think my religion is of any significance in deciding your daughter’s career.”
“I wish it isn’t.” He paused for a moment, cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway I will be coming there to have a look and take the final decision. I will let you know when I come.”
“Sure. But before you do that please ask her to mail my Prof regarding your visit.”
“Whatever.”

He kept the phone and I stood looking at my lab from the cafeteria. “A sub-standard place” according to her Dad is assumed to be the best in the country. I had a smile thinking about the Indian parent’s obsession with foreign countries in the west. A son/daughter settled abroad who leads a dog’s life there is assumed to be a well-settled and happy chap compared to a person having a comfortable and happy life here.
I had a discussion with my Prof about the intern and he promised that he will consider her if she intends to join our team again. He also cautioned that the projects need someone who is committed to research and not the laboratory or to fellow researchers. “You can’t become emotionally attached to your workplace or colleagues, in a research set up.” He mentioned at last sounding like a Nerd which we all are, in a way or the other.

My happiness came by train on the next Friday. She had asked me to wait outside her coach and I did as instructed. For the first time I was on time and the train was late. I sat on a chair and closed my eyes which were burning from lack of sleep. Last two days weren’t easy for me. The success in research meant we have to repeat our studies a numerous times to be sure. I had to set up all the arrangements for the next round of experiments. The entire family had called me asking about her arrival, place of stay, Nature of the job, and lot of other things about her for which I didn’t have any answer. Doing justice to the kind of person I have grown into, I haven’t asked her any such details. Aren’t they her decisions? Why is everyone asking me and getting upset when I say I don’t know? She has control of her life and as independent as she can get. Sometimes if we stand away and see our loved ones handle life’s problems on their own, we have a high risk of being looked upon as less caring, and insensitive. But unless they face the wind how are they going to learn to sail? I spoke philosophy with family but inside my heart I felt I haven’t cared enough.

A whistle followed by the classic train sound woke me up and I stood up and moved to the edge of the platform almost involuntarily. I turned either side and couldn’t find any train. I abstained from the idea of jumping down to the rails and check out the metal rods with my ears. I turned to see the people around and no one gave any signs of the train’s arrival. Before I could start to analyze, the Satabadi express passed on the opposite platform towards Chennai. I smiled and came back to my seat. For a moment I didn’t have anything to think about, except for her. If she had been here, she would have laughed her hearts out, hugged me and I would have said “This didn’t happen”in her ears. She would have bargained for a few chocolates and a animation movie which we would have watched already. As always I would have acted as if it was a tough task and agreed at last. She would have said “You are so so loveable.” Though we very well know that I would go anywhere in this world and beyond, if she holds my hand and talks to my ears, we would do all this drama, again and again.

Now the whistle and classic train sound was accompanied with panic in the platform. I stood up and walked to the S9 coach’s door. She jumped from the train before it stopped and ran a few steps to jump on to my chest, planting a kiss on my cheeks. Before I could realize, I have made every single person in the Bangalore cantonment Platform envy me. She didn’t showed any signs of getting down even after a hundred eyes passed watching us.
“Shall we get your luggage.”
“Nope. I don’t have any. I had sent everything through movers and packers.”
“Wow! I didn’t expect that. Shall I keep my luggage down?”
“Nope. I am not going to allow you do that. Just hold me for some more time, till I gain back the spirit to kick you for what you just said.”
“Come on yaar. There are people around us.”
“So what? Am I stopping them from hugging their lovers?

She bit my ear after saying this and jumped down to run before I hit her. I didn’t chase her but stood there looking at my life get backs its colors. She came back to me and I held her face in my hands. She closed her eyes as the cold hands sent chills and I kissed her forehead saying “I love you”

She informed about her place of stay which was close to my lab, closer to my lab mates house and far from her office. She took me to the flat and we spent the rest to the day receiving her luggage, unpacking and arranging it. After the basic arrangements were over, I headed to the bath in order to make sure, I don’t get cold from dust allergy. I came out to find a dusted, wiped house filled with the pleasant agarbathi smoke. She came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea and gave it to me. I felt like I have a family already.

Days passed with her getting busy with work and we kept ourselves together as much as we can. One such evening she called to say that she is on the way to my Lab and we promised to have dinner together. As I walked out to make a reservation in the nearby restaurant, I saw her coming in. She had a dull look and her smile wasn’t the one that brings smile in me. Her Dad walked beside her and looked very much like a big businessman in her suit and Blackberry. The intern gave a hug and I shook hands with her dad. She informed that they have met the Prof and he had asked her to join as a junior research fellow. Her Dad was looking around and asked if he can smoke. I took him to the smoking Lobby.
“So how is our Lab?”
“Ya. It’s good. Though not comparable to the labs in US, this is good.”
I restrained from stating again the elegance of my lab and smiled.
“So you are a Hindu.”
I wiped the remains of the Thilak that had managed to stay from the early morning temple visit and asked, “Now?”
“Yes. You are a Hindu. With or without the thilak.”
“I am not a Hindu. I don’t believe in any God. I feel anyone who shows acts of kindness and love are divine.”
“Don’t speak this atheist crap with me. You are in India not Russia to be an atheist. These communist have spoiled everything”
“Well actually atheism is more common in Japan, Sweden, France and Germany which are not communist. By the way, Communism is a economic phenomenon and administers all powers to the state and in turn to the people. It just disowns all practices that control people by force. And mostly importantly I can’t say I am either.”
“So you accept God.”
“I accept God as the love people show. I can’t trust that the showers of blessings from the heaven are any better than those I get from people who love me.”

We entered the cafeteria and the intern was speaking to a friend.
“All her life, she has got all that she wanted.”
I smiled as he nodded his head in disappointment and looked into my eyes.
“But now. She wants to be here, a place that can’t offer much to her. She had become emotional about this place. She hasn’t been very lucky with love. I hope she is not disappointed this time.”
I looked at him in surprise. Before I could think anything, I was dragged to stand up and given a kiss on my cheeks.
“Hey our first project offer was signed today. A big deal. We are going to do the interiors for the new Hidesign Showroom.” My love spoke as I smiled and said “Congrats”
The intern came back to our table and we all took our seats. The ladies were having a brief gossip session and she came back to lean on my shoulders.

“She is my life.” I introduced her to Intern’s dad.
He smiled and the turned to see the intern as she spoke.
“They are just too good Dad.”
As we smiled, her Dad seemed very disappointed and turned to daughter to say, “I thought you loved him.”
The intern’s smile vanished and she held her head down. She looked up after a moment with wet eyes and her Dad kept his hand on her shoulder.
“I thought no one will find out” she said.

I looked at her in surprise and couldn’t understand what just happened. As I was trying to analyzing the situation, she left my hand, lifted her head from my shoulder and sat upright in her chair. I turned see my love turning away from me, biting her lips, hiding her disappointment and holding her tears.