The winds gushed over his face, a flock of seagulls flew over his ship, as his ship reached the shore captain Dev could see his childhood friends but not the girl he loved once. It was 24th December and Christmas Eve, and he was returning to Vizag after a gap of 10 years. He had spent his childhood and early youth in Vizag. Soon after he had joined merchant navy his parents had left Vizag and had settled in Kolkata.
The ship reached the port town of Visakhapatnam. As Dev alighted his friends Sunil and Abdul embraced him. They were very happy for seeing their childhood friend after a long time. He was there to stay in the city for three days. While travelling to his guesthouse he passed by Sivaji park. He saw the couples romancing in the park.
While unpacking after reaching the guesthouse nostalgias came flashing to his mind, Annanya and he used to frequently visit this park, Dev thought. He opened his suitcase and took out a small box. He opened the box, inside was a cufflink. He had kept the cufflinks for last ten years. It was Christmas eve ten years back, Annanya had gifted this cufflink to him as Christmas gift. She was a Bengali catholic. Her father was working in Vizag port and as fate would have it both Dev and Annanya fell in love.
Dev looked at the cufflinks; he thought Annanya must be happily married by now with kids. Or she had become a nun as she would often say. He felt a longing to see Annanya once again.
“Ten years had passed, will it be proper to visit her. What will her husband say?” Dev thought.
Still he could not resist the urge of seeing Annanya once again. In the evening as he drove to her house in the southern most part of Vizag Dev could feel some excitement within him, it is the same excitement he felt when the first time they had met for a date.
On reaching her house he looked at it, he saw Annanya standing in the balcony in the first floor. As he pressed the door bell, he was out of breadth. After a couple of minutes the door opened Annanya was standing on the other end. A boy was holding on to her hand.
Both were speechless as if the time had stopped. She looked as beautiful before in a yellow saree.
She muttered “How are you? After such a long time, I had thought I will never see you again.”
“Mama who is he?” The child asked Annanya.
“I came just today for some official work, will leave day after tomorrow” Dev replied looking at the child.
“You always wanted to be a sea gull and roam the world. Are you happy? “she asked.
“Annanya I have always loved you. I have never loved anyone except you. I am wearing the cufflinks you gave me as a Christmas gift. I wish I could turn back the years.”
Annanya did not reply.
Dev said “I just came to see you; you have a lovely child, now I will leave.”
“I remember I did not give you any Christmas gift.” He turned and said.
She replied “Remember the day we made love before you went away. Actually you had given me the most beautiful gift of my life”. She put her hand on her son’s head.” He is yours”
Dev was speechless.
“Why did not you tell me?”
“I was waiting when you will come by yourself to me. I have waited for this day for 10 years.” She replied.
So Christmas is a day when we all have our wishes fulfilled just like Dev’s and Annanya’s.
–END–
