Sweetheart under the moonlight

Hearts reunite

.... Until I saw her. Finally.

~Viraj~

The road to my office was busier than other days. It wasn't so crowded usually. I got informed that some construction work was going on ahead on the road. So I had to take another route to reach there on time. On my way, I had to pass through the slums.

The slum area had always bothered me. The sight of the children there always felt concerning. I saw them running barefooted on the road, playing with their friends. They enjoyed life with the little things they had. Looking at them, I remembered my own childhood, though mine was totally opposite to theirs. I was a privileged child, but that privilege deprived me of enjoying life in its raw form.

While I was looking at the children there, I thought of getting something to eat for them. So I got out of my car and took some food from a shop nearby. As I was crossing the road, I saw a speeding car coming towards the children who didn't even notice it. The other kids were running and playing around the edge of the road while one was still attempting to go towards them. The car was recklessly coming towards them so I rushed to save the child. Right before the car could hit him, I pushed him away and fell down on the road, beside the car.

The door of the car opened and I saw a man come out of it. He looked decent and  rich. From his appearance, I could see that he was a little annoyed at the whole situation. I stood up from the ground, while my left hand got injured. It was bleeding. The man was coming towards me when I saw the other door of the car being opened. And then, I froze. My heartbeat stopped for a while. It was Maithili! She was right in front of me after a whole damn three years, still looking as pure and pretty as she looked before. For a moment, I felt I was dreaming, like I did every other day. But the pain in my hand made me realise that I was in my senses. It was not a dream. She was actually there. My chaand, the bright chaand that could take away all the darkness from my life was just standing a few feet away from me.

I could see that she was looking at me with amusement. I could not figure out if she was happy or shocked on seeing me, but she definitely looked surprised. I saw her walking towards me. No, she was running towards me. God! I couldn't ask for anything more. I just desperately wanted to hold her tightly in my arms so that I could let go all the pain I held within me through the years.  I wanted to tell her how much I missed her, and how I would die if she would no longer be in my life. All I wanted was to hold her and never let her go. 

Amidst all the thoughts that passed through my mind, I didn't even realise that Maithili was standing right in front of me. We were facing each other. After three years.

"Viraj.... Your hand... ", she said while pointing to my left hand which was all smothered with blood. Her eyes were filled with tears. Gosh! No! This can't happen. The blood would ruin everything.

I quickly put my hand behind my back. I can't let it ruin our meeting after all the years. "Maithili... I'm sorry... See there's no blood now... You can relax... Okay?", I said in an attempt to calm her down.

"Viraj, I no longer have the phobia. Show me your hand... You're too hurt", she uttered while reaching for my hand.
"True. I'm definitely too hurt", I said, indicating at the possibility that the guy with whom Maithili was present in the car might be someone she loves. They may be dating. Or who knows, they might even be married. But the mere sight of Maithili with another man was killing me.

She held my hand, and gave me a look of sympathy. And at that moment, we were standing too close to each other. I could feel her breath on my shoulders. I knew she was anxious. I've been close to her before but this felt something else. It felt too special. It felt as if I got my breath back after being dead for a long time.

"Is it hurting?", she asked while still holding my hand.

"Not anymore", I replied.

"Then why are you crying?", she asked looking straight into my eyes.

I didn't even realize that the tears were already flowing from my eyes at the mere sight of her. I wasn't crying because of the pain. I was crying because after all the three damn years, Maithili was standing right in front of me. I quickly wiped my tears and gave her a faint smile.

"Maithili, let's go. He said he's okay. We're getting late", said the guy who was with Maithili. What an inconsiderate human he was! I didn't want him to take me to a hospital or nurse me or anything else. But at least he could have checked if the child who was almost going to be hit by his car was okay or not. At that instant moment, I had a strong urge of dislike against that man, I don't know why.

"Viraj, I'm so sorry. Please take care of yourself. And since I found you now, please meet me someday. You have no idea how much I missed you. I wish to tell you about so many things... ", I heard Maithili say.

"You're staying here?", I asked her.

"No, I'm now living in Pune. I'm here for a couple of days to attend an event with Laksh. Oh wait... Let me introduce you guys".

"Laksh, this is Viraj. One of my closest friend. There's a long story about how we met and all which I'll tell you on our way", she said while gesturing towards me. Well, to be honest, I never wished to be addressed by Maithili as just a 'close friend'. "And Viraj, this is Laksh, my boyfriend". Her words didn't feel less than a knife piercing through my heart. Boyfriend. She had a boyfriend. And I, I was still expecting her to wait for me. I was still hoping that maybe, someday,we'll meet again and fall in love and ours would be the most beautiful love story ever. How foolish of me to think that she was the same as I was! How could I forget that we were always opposites? She couldn't stay stagnant for long. And I, I feared change.

I smiled at Laksh, though I didn't want to.  "Hi Viraj, nice to meet you. And so sorry for your loss man. Since we are getting late, why don't you come and visit us tomorrow night? It'd be good to have you with us for dinner", Laksh uttered. I didn't want to be a spectator for their love story. I didn't want to be a part of their dinner. Or their life. But then, I saw Maithili's face. And damn! How could I even stay away from her? Even getting a glimpse of her was sufficient for me to survive. So I agreed for the dinner.

"That'll be great, Viraj! Please come tomorrow. We'll be waiting for you", Maithili said. 'We'. I hated that 'we'.

"Come, we'll drop you off at the hospital since your hand is still bleeding", Laksh said.

" No, it's fine. I'll just go home. This bleeding will stop in a while", I replied, trying to be as calm and composed as possible. Soon, they got in their car and went away, after making sure I was okay. 'They'. I hated 'they'.