Separated By Choice, Together By Destiny

by Herry M. Business Manager

A tale about how love chooses to come to their life. Separated by choice yet brought together by destiny.

Can you update the file within ten days?, said Mr. Gulatia.

Seven days is all I need, I told him.That’s great.

And I remember about your leave. You will get it. Mr. Gulatia told me.

Mr. Gulatia is the most generous man I have seen. He is a senior colleague at my office. Finally, I will be getting a leave of fifteen days.

I will be visiting my family.Staying alone in a different city feels different. You get to be independent. Friends become family.

All I did was just keep on adjusting with people. Different people…I stayed in a rented flat, frequently visited by my friends. When it rained here, I usually took a cup of coffee thinking about my past life. How my life used to be with my family & friends. I always wanted to speak to someone. I had loads of stories to share with everyone. Things were so different back then. I was into my pool of thoughts when the doorbell rang.

Some Aditya has come to meet you. Shall I send him in? the security guard told me. Okay…Aditya Sharma. He must have come to take the file, I thought to myself.

Hey, Aditya???, I was shocked and puzzled.

Aditya Sengupta. A guy who was at my school. A simple guy who had a dry sense of humor and highly dedicated to his work. It was during our initial years in college when I and Aditya were in a relationship for merely two months or so. We loved each other (liked at least) but then you don’t get everything you wish for. He severed all ties with me for some months. I was so desperate to speak to him, to understand what was wrong. I was given a vague excuse & everything was lost for me. I didn’t know what to do. I continued to believe that he would return someday! But he didn’t. We spoke certain times but he was least bothered. His fame, his success, the recognition he got after a couple of years was enough for him to forget me. I had no other option but to carry on my life without him!

And here I was.. a couple of years later and that very Aditya stood by the door.

Won’t you ask me to come in?, Aditya smiled.

Come .. sit, I told him. He looked around the home. Coffee?, I asked him.Yes, only if you manage to make a decent coffee. How are you? What’s up? I asked him. having coffee I am good. I was here for a meeting. I have a flight to catch at night. I got your address from Sheena. Wanted to meet you. It’s been long. I’ll go to the mall in the evening. I’ll get something for my mom and sister, he told me.

Do you have my number? You should have called. If I wasn’t at home then?I don’t have your number actually. I have Sheena’s & she knows you. Did u mind me coming suddenly?

No.. tell me how are you? Coffee is ready, I told him I am free this evening. I can accompany you to the mall if you want to, I told him.

Yes, that will be good.He told me about his work. We spoke about our families & friends. He told me about his abroad trips and his success. I told him about my office, my friendly boss, the guy at the office who always stalks me, the friendly colleagues, the noisy neighbor.

Surely, I had more to tell him. We went to the mall in the evening. He bought the things he wanted to & then we went to a restaurant.

Soup? asked Aditya. Ok, I told.

He ordered soup for both of us.No eggs please, I told the waiter.

He smiled. He didn’t tell me anything. Sometimes silence speaks more than words..

I don’t eat eggs. I get digestion problems, Aditya had told me seven years back!

What else? he told me.

Nothing. I am going to Kolkata next week. I took a leave of fifteen days. We can meet then, he told me. Why? I asked him instantaneously.

The soups had come by then. I couldn’t make eye contact with him anymore. I looked around the place. I started pretending as if I was typing a text message in my cell. I wanted to ask him so many things but I also wanted to avoid him for that moment. I wanted him to speak something.

Will you marry me? Aditya asked me, still looking into the soup bowl.

Are you speaking to the bowl?, I told him.

No. I am scared. Scared of your reaction. I thought we are different! Aditya didn’t say anything. The waiter had come. We ordered our food and sat quietly. lunch together What’s wrong?, I asked him.

I was not settled at that time. I was scared of commitment issues. I saw my life before me & I realized I had a lot to achieve. That was not something I wanted. I couldn’t prepare myself that way. I was so scared. I don’t know why am I back. I just feel to be back now.

I didn’t say him anything. We had our food. After that, I went to see him off at the airport. And he left. He didn’t ask me anything further because he knew I wasn’t very keen on spending my life with someone like him. Someone who makes a hasty decision of leaving and getting into someone’s life at his own wish.

A week at the office and then back to Kolkata. I bought gifts for my family. I was returning after many months and I was so excited. I would be seeing my mom & dad after a long time. I planned where I would visit in those fifteen days. I called up my relatives and friends to inform them that I was coming. My uncle and mom came to receive me at the airport. I went back home cheerfully.

The first task after returning home was a call. A call to Aditya! I was sure he would be surprised. He must have thought I won’t speak to him again after what happened that evening.

Hello? Aditya?Yes!! He sounded excited.When will we get married? I asked him.That was enough. Things were hectic after that conversation and we got married five months later! The first conversation we had after our marriage, “Why didn’t you say anything that evening?”, he asked me.I didn’t know what to say. I was bewildered. I was so happy and angry at the same time. So I chose to be silent. I wanted to see what would be your reaction. What I went for seven years, I wanted you to go through it for seven days.

Tit for tat? he laughed. To some extent. But you are worse than me”, I told him smiling. A new life, a new beginning! We forgot about our past (at least pretended to forget, we never spoke about that part of our life again) because that was the only way to start something new. All is well that ends well. Finally…