Love And Hate – Short Story of Broken Heart
Love And Hate – Short Story of Broken Heart
I can see our tree silouhetted against the full moon from where I am now. It is the most beautiful sight in the world.
Our tree. where we carved our names like love struck teenagers. Of course, when we did it we were love struck teenagers. We remained love struck teenagers for fifteen years.
Do you remember that moonlit night like this when you proposed to me. Under that same tree. It was our secret haven, where we met each weekend. I used to sneak out of the hostel into the back seat of your car, and we would drive up to the bottom of the hill. Then climb up through the forest to the top of the cliff and sit under our tree for hours, talking , dreaming.The rest of our life lay before us, into the horizon.
Remember the day you carried me up? And dropped me after five steps? How we laughed that day. The forest below, the town beyond and the mountains around us were witness to our love story. If there is heaven on earth it was Fischer’s Rock. I dont like the way it is now. Concrete steps, teeming with tourists and tea stalls and parking attendants at the base. The only thing that has not changed it our tree. And our names carved on it. Yes,Raj. That is the only thing that has not changed. That is why I wanted to end it under the same tree. Where it all began.
Where did it go wrong my darling? How could it go wrong? I still blame myself for not seeing those signs. I laughed and teased you when you jumped to grab your phone the moment it rang. When you ran outside to take your calls. When you deleted your text messages the moment you read them. Little did I know then that it was really her at that time. I should have sensed something during those urgent business trips you began to go on so frequently.
I should have sensed it in your fingers when you touched me like a stranger in the same bedroom where our souls had merged so many times over the years. In your blank eyes when you looked at me. In that empty echo when you said my name. I should have known. But I was blinded. By love. My love. What made you move away? No, dont answer me. I dont want to know.
Life should come full circle Raj, the divorce papers should be signed where the ring was slipped on my finger. You called me a fool. It was not a last ditch effort to change your mind with sentimental nonsense, as you put it.
“It is over. Do you understand? OVER” you screamed.
I know Raj. I know that it was over the day Asha told me that she saw you with that w**re in Bangalore. But I refused to believe it. Blinded by love. My love. I refused to believe it till that day you actually spelled it out to me. Uttered HER name in MY bedroom to me. Said that you Loved Her. And that you had stopped loving me. that was when it actually dawned to me that it was really OVER.
Love happens just once Raj. It is either what you had with me or what you have with her. I still believe that it was what you had with me. But then, you tried to barter your house and bank balance in return for your freedom. Freedom from me. I became an empty shell from that moment on.
I wanted to cling on, Raj. I wanted to try harder. You wont believe the sleepless nights on our empty bed that I spent wondering what to do to get you back. But deep down I knew. Knew that you were far away, gone forever. I even wondered whether there had been anything right from the beginning. Fifteen years of my life just disappeared in one day. And then, I saw you two together. Laughing and holding hands, out there, for the whole world to see.
That was the day I began to hate you. That was the day I decided.
Asha would have opened my email by now. She would be distraught at first, afterall I am her best friend. But then the activist in her would get all fired up. I know she will take it further. She will not let you get away. Her news channel would have the highest TRP ratings for atleast a month. Thanks to me.
Our cook, gardener and driver would testify in my favour. Even the man at the teastall at the bottom of our hill would be on my side. Everyone needs their two minutes of fame.
You would be dragged through the filth. You , and your w**re.
I loved that look on your face,Raj. That bewildered, confused look, as I shouted for help and stepped off the edge of the cliff, smiling. The fear on your face as my scream echoed across the valley below. Do you realise that even then, you didnt let go of those unsigned divorce papers you were clutching in your right hand? You wont be needing it now anyway.
I wish I could see the headlines tomorrow. “Well known industrialist Rajiv Krishnan murders wife who refuses to give him a divorce”
A cloud slowly moves across the moon now. The sounds of the forest are getting louder. The crickets are chirping loudly. Looks like it will rain tonight. Somewhere in the far distance I hear an eerie howl. But there is nothing to fear now.
I hope the police find my body before a hyena does.
The stiffness has set in. Rigor mortis, they call it.
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