In love With Memories

A familiar face ascending on the mall’s escalator rang the bell for me. She was there, in flesh, right before my eyes, it felt like a dream.

It has been three years since I last saw her. My heart started to smash against my chest. It was probably trying to fissure out a sight of its long desired view though my chest. The person who filled it with enough love and warmth to last for a lifetime was right there, how it could let her go without proper display of gratitude.

The escalator was on move bringing her closer to me with every passing second. My eyes glued itself to the most angelic creation of god, completely ignoring the existence of world around. I recognised her fragrance from that distance, filtering it from the scores of people in the vicinity. The presence of her aroma in environs, elicited a melodious sensation running through my veins.

Her eyes caught mine and I skipped few breaths for sure. I could feel that gaze peeping in to my soul. Every memory of days we spent together was alive between the two pairs of bonded eyes.

SOME TIME IN THE PAST

“Sampreet Accepted your friend request” the pop up display on my computer screen drew my attention.

Among the few random selected beautiful faces from the Orkut, someone finally has accepted my friend request. I didn’t waste a second

Sachin: Hi….

Sachin: Hellooooo,, knock knock anybody home ???

Sampreet: do we know each other….??

Sachin: Nops..Not yet but the process has been Initiated.

Sampreet: And why do you thing that I might be interested???

Sachin: guhh…

………

I was 27 then and life has grimly taught me few lessons in my recent years. The grimmest of it was when my apparent ‘true type love story’ turned out to be ‘just a relationship’.

And Unlike love, modernly upgraded term ‘relationship’ is quite user friendly. It has many loop holes purposefully created to fit the modern generation requirement. Mostly this type of relationship leads you to nowhere, with not a slightest clue of what to do next. In short I was completely lost.

She was 29 then, a small town girl with even smaller dreams. She had never been in any kind of romantic relationship before but could have challenged love legends in defense of her self developed theories of love.

Slowly and gradually the chats were replaced by phone calls which later started to consume most hours of our days. These hours became my escape from reality. We mostly talked about things that never made much sense but those few hours certainly gave some sense to my life.

Few months passed and in the process we got to know each other better enough to compete against age old friends. Simplicity in her thought had healing effects. Talking to her was like getting out of my complicated jungle of thoughts and walking in to her beautiful garden of ease.

 

“Life is beautiful Sachin, all you need to do is develop your personal happy angle to look at it.” She said in her regular soft voice over phone.

“Don’t lecture me Sampreet. That’s easy for you to say. What the hell in the world you know about love? The pain of broken heart cannot be just wiped away with mare change of perception.” I shouted.

“Are you seriously in love with her?” She asked with an attached sarcasm.

Of course I do.  I replied in irritation.

“I don’t think so. If you are really in love with her you would have been happy knowing that she is happy somewhere. Rather you are gloomy all the time crying over the fact that you have been abandoned. What I see here is, you are a selfish son of a gun only concerned about your own happiness.” She shouted, probably for the first time in her life.

‘Am I being selfish?’ this thought started turning my head upside down.

“Ha ha ha ha, see one angle of my thought forced you to rethink your grief. If you want I can suggest you hundred more and you select what suits you the best”  And she kept laughing with increasing intensity.

Ha ha ha”… and I joined her.

She changed my attitude towards life. With her I learned to accept things, simplify my thoughts and live life in the present. Apart from all this something additional happened, I fell in love with her. However, I didn’t admit it to her, I was afraid that my acceptance might spoil our relationship.

Time was with wings, months passed and our friendship became the best ever thing that happened to me.

Sampreet: Hi, u there

Sachin : Yup.

Sampreet: I have 2 big  news for you.

Sachin: What’s new in it, every incident is a big news for you. :-P. Let me guess, your dog barked today..m I right??lol

Sampreet : I m serious. L

Sachin: He He He…you and serious…kidding again lol

Sampreet: I m getting married.

Sampreet: You there??

Sampreet:  ?????????????????

Sachin: Yeah, congratulation..What is the other news..?

Sampreet: what happened…it seems that u r not happy knowing this??

Sampreet:  ??? Anyways, the other news is that……I m in love with u

Sachin: Calling u right away.

“What was that moron way of proposing” I screamed in excitement as soon as she picked the phone.

“Hello Mr.! I am not the experienced one here. You should have proposed first. Being tired of waiting for you, I did it my way. Now dare you yell at me” She replied in her usual innocent voice.

“What is the point telling it now when you are getting married?”  Two contradicting news at the same time has catalyzed my thoughts to hope between excitement and anxiety.

“Why are you getting tensed? We both know that we cannot marry each other. you are having your complication and I have mine. Right now what is important here is that I love you and I wanted you to know it before all this gets over.” She summarized the already known situation to me but her last sentence kind of panicked me.

How could she be calm in situation like this…

“I love you too Sampreet but…” I was interrupted before completion

“Don’t think too much. You will spoil the day. Let’s celebrate and let the people of our respective towns’ feel that something good has happened to us this day.” Her tone suddenly took the gear of excitement.

“Right away Domino, I am heading for Howrah Bridge. Scan news channels in an hour, you will find a man declaring his love for you standing at the top of the bridge.” I found myself smiling. God she is something.

“Whatever, just don’t get yourself locked in some mental hospital. We don’t have time for all these. I am getting married in three months, remember? She giggled.

“You are a bi##h you know that?”

“That makes you a dog. Anyway, Jokes apart, Here are few rules you need to follow.” I was enjoying her efficiently expressive voice

What rules? I interrupted

“We are now couples duffer. we need to follow some universal rules. Number one Stop trying on other girls as you are committed to me from this day to the day I get married.

Number two book your tickets for Chandigarh, I want to see my first love in person before its time for goodbye.” Her voice turned cold with the end of the sentence.

“Sampreet! You ok? I knew she was in tears.

“Yeah, I am Ok. I have to go now. Catch you later”…and she hung the phone.

So here I was, in love with a girl whom I have never met and who is getting married to someone else in couple of months. The strangest of all was, at the very first day of the love story we knew when and how this going to end.

Exactly one month later I was on the flight to Chandigarh. My unreasonable frequent laughs must have been giving an idea to the fellow passengers of me being demented. With time my excitement was enhancing resulting abnormality in my behavior. The woman beside me immediately requested for seat change, when she found me smiling at news of brutal rape running on to the TV screen. But I swear to God, I was not at all focused on the news.

This was my first visit to Chandigarh and in any first visit; restroom is the trickiest thing to find. I wanted to get in to my best avatar before meeting her and for that a washroom was mandatory. After interviewing few gentlemen I finally got in to one. Next fifteen minutes were utilized for best possible beautification with limited resource.

Outside the exit was deluged with receivers of the arrivals. Among the crowd of black waving hands I spotted a fair one. The source face of the beautiful fair hand was completely covered with some cloth except for its eyes.

“Hello Sampreet”  I greeted gazing directly in to those bewitching  eyes.

“Hi, How did you recognized me..” She asked surprised

“Look around dumbo you are the only fair girl in the vicinity” I replied with a chuckle

When she uncovered her face, I felt like some crisp autumn breeze fanning every emotion of my heart.

As we walked towards the stand, she kept laughing mostly looking away from me. I wondered, does She find me funny or cute or both? Doesn’t matter, I was still basking in the first glimpse or her tranquil face.

As soon as we sat on the cab, she took hold of my hand. I looked at her in bewilderment..

“I longed to touch the voice that made me fall in love” She murmured

To my surprise I was still ogling at her face, capturing every curve of the beauteous architecture. Her eyes carried a unique confidence, a confidence that hasn’t moved a single ugly step towards arrogance.

After half an hour of drive we finally reached my pre-booked room in a hotel. The room was big and was elegantly decorated with beautiful curtains. It had a admirable king size bed with  a royal looking table lamp placed in its one side and a magnificent 2+2 sofa set placed on the other. The complete room was themed white, perfect enough to be confused as some snow world.

“Ooo my God, how much did you pay for it.” She almost screamed with her first step inside the room.

“Not much” I replied quickly

“And what’s your definition of ‘NOT MUCH’?” She was not giving up type

“Almost half of my month’s salary.” I tried looking away from her.

“Whaaaaaat, why? She went screaming again

She looked so amazing with those shocked expressions that I failed to resist my arms in its daring attempt of bringing her close.

“An extraordinary love story deserves an extraordinary ambience.” I replied, gazing directly in to her eyes.

Our eyes locked for a minute and then she rested her head on my chest. Time stopped that very moment. Everything went extremely quite except for the harmony of our breaths dancing on the rhythm of interplaying heart beats.

A knock on the door brought us back to the mother earth.”Room service sir” a voice was aiding the knock.

Next few hours were magical; no world existed beyond the periphery of those four walls. We talked and talked and talked…

Don’t know how but that idiot clock managed to drew her attention away from us for a moment and she jumped out of the bed in shock.

“Oh God its 7 Pm, I need to run home. I will catch you tomorrow morning” She spoke out entire three sentences in one go.

“No way, you are not going anywhere” Now it was my turn to get shocked.

“I have to, what will I say to my parents?” She replied with a long exhale breathing out her compulsion and turned towards the door to exit. I wanted to stop her and in the effort I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me. Her body moved a spiral path destined in to my arms.

Our merged bodies initiated some undefined magnetism that led our lips to lock together. Her soft lips were alternating between the grip of my mine and its savory was beyond explanation. The Softness of love started to turn in to fire of desire, fueled further by her ambrosial exhales

After few minutes I paused to ask again ” Do you really want to go back home tonight?”

“I think I can do something about it” she replied with mesmerized looks and lurched towards the table to get to her phone.

I was unable to drift my eyes away of her while she remained busy making necessary arrangements over phone. After the call she came to me smiling

“It’s done. I am staying here with you tonight but I need to go home first. Will be back in an hour”

“What did you say to your parents?” I inquired controlling my over excited emotions.

“I told them that me and my friends are planning for girls night out today. Took few of my friends in confidence and they agreed” She replied with a snigger

We kissed few more times before she left.

Even in her absence the, room appeared spellbound to her reminiscent. My eyes kept on auditing the room for its perfectness, everything was exquisite but somewhere it fizzled to meet my satisfaction. As soon as I realized the AWOL, I rushed to nearest market for a purchase that could fix the awry.

I was lighting the 20th candle when the door bell rang. Quickly switching off the lights I turned the stereo on.

“Come on in” I responded settling myself comfortably on the Sofa.

Her hurried steps took a pause when she entered the room. The beauty of her surprised expressions were enhanced many folds in the sparkling light of burning candles.

Admiring the sight for few minutes, her browsing eyes finally interlocked with mine.

Celine dions words were softly playing in to the background

 

And in your eyes I see ribbons of color

I see us inside of each other

I feel my unconscious merge with yours

And I hear a voice say, “What’s his is hers”

 I’m falling into you

This dream could come true

And it feels so good falling into you……..

 

Tears rolled out of her eyes and found its way down to her smiling lips. She ran and crashed in to my arms. Her lips were almost touching mine. The aroma of her breath was giving birth to an uncontrollable urge to kiss her but my eyes were not ready to let go the delightful view of her divine face. The battle between the two came to an end with a fortuitous touch of our lips. The pleasure of the touch compelled the eyes to close in order to adore the gently flourishing ecstasy. If kiss is the language of love, countless words of love were shred between us, declaring the inception of a paradisaical love in making. Mind lost the track of time, it was the only night we had and there was an intense desire to live hundred lives in each passing second. Our cloths found their way out of the bed surrendering to the heat of melting bodies. I wanted to worship every inch of her flawless body so that those artistic curves can gain lasting imprints on the walls of my memory.

Hysteria of fading time came back to existence when the first light of sun entered the room filtering through the gigantic window. The first light of morning enhanced the beauty of the white themed room. Her naked body glittered in its reflection as if some precious stone has been lodged in to a bed of snow, meant to sparkle in the reflection of sunlight. This was the most beautiful morning I have ever lived but deep down I was scared that this might also be the last for many years to come. We were still in each other’s arm with her eyes tickling my heart thorough its gaze.

Suddenly few droplets of tear appeared in her eyes and soon departed the source to hit the pillow beneath.

“Hay please don’t Cry” I entreated wiping her tears

“I promise I won’t cry while you are gone” She replied forcing smile on her face.

I looked at her in bewildered while she continued.

“We brought these tears in existence. No one else can ever understand its real significance apart from us. Let me cry my heart out till you are here to comprehend it for real.” Her murmur got heavier as she spoke. Unable to hold it further she cried aloud pushing her face hard against my chest. Embracing her tight, I too unchained my tear glands. Kissing soon accompanied the tears. Our lips were locked again, moistened constantly by flood of tears.

Eventually it was time to leave. When we turned back from the door to take a last glance of the room, all memories from previous day flashed before our eyes as some movie of our own. We saw ourselves laughing and crying, making love and expressing love. In short we saw ourselves living for real within those four walls.

We spoke nothing when we walked towards the waiting cab, words found it difficult to find its way out.

“So it’s a goodbye then” I broke the silence forcing smile on my face.

“I guess so” She replied taking hold of my hand.

I hugged her and kissed her goodbye. In response she handed me a letter.

“I wrote a letter for you this morning. Read it after your flight takes off.”

She kept on waving her hand as the cab drifted away. I saw her fading away from my sight with  increasing distance and soon she was out of my sight, Forever

 

BACK INTO PRESENT

“Hi Sachin” Her voice brought me back to the present

“Hello Sampreet, how are you? I snapped with a smile

“I am good. Long time but you haven’t changed a bit.” She replied with her usual mesmerizing smile

“Neither have you ” Somehow our eyes were doing more talking then real exchanged worlds’ wanted to hold her but some invisible wall restrained me from doing so.

“Hay sweetheart, here you are. I have been searching for you all over.” A man suddenly appeared from nowhere.

“Ashish, meet my friend Sachin, Sachin he is my husband Ashish” she ran the introduction drill.

We both greeted each other. After exchange of formal sentences for few minutes I wished goodbye to them and took off.

“It was really nice to see you Sachin”  I heard her voice as I turned to leave.

“Same here Sampreet” I replied with a smile and moved towards the escalator to leave.

On the way out of the mall, I took out the letter which she gave me during our last depart, to read it for the nth time.

 

Dear Love,

Last day was the most beautiful day of my life. Everything was so magical. I wish it could have continued forever but didn’t pray for it. With time I have realized that life is all about change and God himself could not change this rule.

Looking back at our story it is indeed a beautiful love story. We didn’t have enough time to fight or to set unnecessary expectation from each other. Only thing to remember is love. This was our sweet little “DDLJ” or “The Notebook” minus of all negative emotions.

The most important thing that made this day beautiful was “PRESENT”. I cried this morning because Present was turning in to past and I realized that I can never relive these moment ever again.

Even if we bump into each other in future, things won’t be same. Time will change and with it we will change. I promise that I won’t ever grieve over “Us not being together” rather I will frame these memories and keep it in my heart for ever. I will visit these memories to relax, to enjoy and to feel the unconditional love again & again. I will never allow the pain of separation ruin these memories.

If we meet again in future, listen to my eyes not my words.

Wish you a wonderful life ahead.

Love you

Sampreet

 

“Love is a beautiful feeling; people destroy it when they force it to last forever”

–END–