Destiny

Image courtesy of FrameAngel at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

She looked at her wrist. “My God, it’s already 10,” she thought. Tiny beads of perspiration dotted her forehead. In another second the bindi would start trickling down. Jaya ran across the busy road unmindful of the speeding vehicles. She narrowly missed being hit by the motorbike. But she did not notice how lucky she was.

Once in her chair Jaya let out a sigh of relief. Good, Boss had not called her as yet. She must go over the day’s schedule once again. Just then the phone rang. But she was in no mood to take it. It was Jayant calling. Her face clouded at the very thought of Jayant. She decided to shut him off and move on.

The buzz over the intercom brought her back to the present. It was Boss, calling. She went inside. The meeting lasted for ten ‘long’ minutes.  Stepping out from the AC cabin was like being transferred from a freezer to a hot oven. But so preoccupied was she with her own thoughts that she did not notice the difference. Tears welled up in her eyes. She stifled a sob and slowly wiped a drop of salted water from the corner of her eyes. “No, I must be strong. I will not cry,” she resolved. Yet, it took all her energy to keep up to her resolve. The minutes ticked by. The phone rang once again. The silent mode was set. The phone was kept to rest in the interiors of her spacious drawer. Jaya went back to work. The day was a hectic one. Meetings, meetings , meetings. She forgot Jayant, forgot the mobile.

Back home, lying in the comfort of her bed, she closed her eyes trying to forget the nightmare of the previous night. Suddenly she had an urge to speak to Maya. Maya was her pal and close confidant of 20 years. She opened her bag and took out the phone. Her eyes ‘popped out’ in amazement. 38 missed calls in 10 minutes! She wondered what was going on. She noted that they all came from one common number- Jayant’s mobile.

“Should I call him or should I not?” Her mind wavered. Her heart told her to call back, but her mind did not permit her to do that. Torn between the two, she put the phone down and moved towards the kitchen.

The kettle on, she started preparing the evening meal.  Suddenly she had an urge to call him up. The phone rang, and then went blank. She tried again and again. But the response was the same. “The person you are calling is not responding. Please try after some time.” She threw the phone down and went to have her meal. “Why should I bother,” she thought. The events of the previous evening slowly unwound before her eyes.

She was ready and all smiles when Jayant had arrived. She was sure he would propose to her today. She wanted to make the event a very special one so she had decorated the house with fresh flowers, the variety that Jayant loved. Jayant came, but did not seem to notice the smile on Jaya’s lips nor the flowers she had so lovingly chosen for him. He was immersed deep in thought. Worry lines were drawn across the forehead. Jaya chattered on. Yet, Jayant did not speak a word. Suddenly as if the devil had got into him, he shouted at her to stop and stomped out of the house. The meal, the flowers forgotten, Jaya wept like never before. She decided she would not call him nor speak to him till he repented for his action.

The meal over, Jaya went to bed.

Sitting in the warmth of her bed Jaya sipped on her morning tea. It was Sunday meaning rest day. Cup in one hand, eyes closed she slowly picked up the newspaper. Suddenly, the cup went crashing on the floor, tea spilled all over the bed. But Jaya was not bothered. Her eyes were wide open as if in a trance. There splashed right in front of her eyes, on the front page was a photo of Jayant, lying, bleeding below his bike.

The bang of the open door brought her back to the present. She jumped out of bed and hurriedly dressed up. She must reach by his side.

A pal of gloom had spread over the entire house. People were talking in hushed tones. Slowly, on shaking legs she reached his side. One look at him and she burst into tears.

The funeral over, Jaya slowly made for the exit. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find Neena, Jayant’s sister by her side. Both of them hugged each other and wept silently. Time seemed to stand still. Slowly Neena took out an envelope from her pockets and shoved it into Jaya’s hands. They once again hugged each other and parted without speaking a single word.

Back in the confines of her now cold bed, Jaya wept till sleep overcame her. The piercing light made her shield her eyes. Slowly she opened them to see Kamala the maid balancing a tray laden with food. “Madam, have you seen today’s newspaper. Poor boy he tried to save a girl who nearly ran into his bike. But see what happened, the girl was saved. He died. Oh! By the way it was right in front of your office Madam, yesterday. Did you by any chance see the sight?”

Jaya was aghast. Suddenly she remembered having narrowly missed a hit. Truth dawned on her. Jayant had died saving her. She was inconsolable.

Numb with grief she slowly opened the tears soaked envelop. There was a note inside.

Dear Jaya,

Sorry to have shouted at you like that. But, what can I do? Life has played a dirty trick on me. My days are numbered. Cancer is eating into me. The day you receive this note I will have left for the other world. But I would like you to know, I always loved you.

Yours and yours only,

Jayant

Note:

The missed calls were sent by a passerby to the first name recorded on Jayant’s mobile.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for 
Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

This time we had to write a post including the sentence - 

"38 missed calls in 10 minutes! He/She wondered what was going on."

Thank you for walking in. By the way don’t forget to leave your footprints in the form of comments and suggestions. 

Your words mean a lot to me.

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