The Infinite Wait
It was around 9 at night when it started to drizzle. It was soon greeted with thunder and lightning. I got off my computer, which I was staring at for hours, and made my way towards the balcony. The silence after a clap of thunder is extremely tranquilizing to me. As the few drops of rain splashed my face, with a cool breeze fanning my hair, I closed my eyes. The sound of rain falling in the trees whistled past my ears. When the rain mingled with the earth, a pleasant aroma triggered my senses. The hustle of town and the pressure of my assignments, I went oblivious to everything. I was brought back from my trance by the vibration of my cell phone.
I received a message. The name Aaru on the notifications
brought warmth to my body and a smile to my face. It has been so many years of
knowing her; however, every time I get a text or a call from her, I still get
butterflies.
"Finally done packing all my luggage…cannot wait to
see you tomorrow,” read her message.
Well, her name is Aarushka, but I call her Aaru. When I
first did that, it used to get on her nerve. Nevertheless, I did not stop. But
you see, girls are different creatures. It was just another evening when we
were on our usual stroll. With my fingers filling the gap between hers, I
addressed her by her actual name.
She pinched me hard and said, "Don't you dare call
me by my name again! Say Aaru like you always do. It feels special coming from
you."
Saying so, she encircled my left arm with her right hand
and rested her head on my shoulder. With the dusk looming and the sun hidden
behind the mountain already, I could not resist pecking her. "I love you,
Aaru," I whispered.
Currently, she is in Bangladesh. She recently completed
her MBBS and is flying back tomorrow. We have been in a long-distance
relationship for the past 5 years; the last time I saw her was 11 months ago.
The prospect of long-distance relations startled me at first. I mean, how often
do we see such relations last these days? When she first told me, she would go
to Dhaka, I remember the distraught-I going to meet my friend, Sahas.
He had said, "I just want to remind you of a line from
my favorite book - Will a thirsty man quench his thirst from a spring of
dream?"
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| View of Dharan, Nepal on the descend of Chindey Danda. |
I would be lying if I say his words did not bug me then.
I had witnessed relationships that I thought to be ideal fall like a house of
cards by a gust of wind. Nevertheless, we made it through, and it is coming to an
end tomorrow. In less than 24 hours, she will be here.
The next morning, I was still asleep when her call woke me
up from my slumber.
"Heyyyyyy," I answered somnolently.
"Unbelievable! You are still in bed. But I love your
drowsy voice," she giggled.
"Haha...what are you doing right now?" I asked.
"Just made past the security check. We will be
boarding in less than an hour," she said.
"I will head to the airport now. I cannot wait to
see you. You have a good flight, okay?" I replied ecstatically, throwing
my blanket and getting off my bed.
"Oye, ani ni, my parents are coming to the
airport. Since they do not know about us, can we meet later in the
evening?" she asked solemnly.
"Okay," was all I could say.
"Listen, I am going to tell mamu about
us. I cannot wait to be in your arms; please, wait a little more. Got to go,
okay, bye," she said and ended the call.
Her words "cannot wait to be in your arms" made
my heart pound for longing.
I took a shower, had breakfast, but the time hardly
passed. The evening looked light-years away, and I was dying to behold my Aaru.
But the fact that her parents would be at the airport got me between the devil
and the deep blue sea. I tried watching videos on YouTube and scrolling on
Facebook to digress my mind.
Contrary to what she said, I decided to go to the
airport. I had no patience to wait until the end of the day to meet her. I put
on my favorite hoodie, wore the cologne and watch she had gifted, grabbed the
motorbike keys, and rode towards the airport. The ride on the dirty and congested streets of Kathmandu felt different that day. It was as though I was flying.
I saw Aarushka's parents and her sister, with their
eyes locked at the arrival gate when I reached the airport.
"Darshan uncle, darshan aunty,"
I greeted namaste.
"K chha babu? What brought you
here?" aunty asked enthusiastically.
"My friends, Sailesh and Rahul are coming back from
Dhaka, aunty. I am here to welcome them back. A little surprise, you
know." I answered, feeling proud of my made-up answer.
"Even our Aarushka is returning today. You can meet
your three friends now," said uncle with a smile.
"Oh wow! I did not know that," I said.
I could see Akesha, Aaru's sister, who knew very well
about our relationship, was enjoying every bit of my awkwardness there. To make
the matter worse, she said, "You did not bring any bouquet for your
FRIENDS?"
"Flower? Umm, you know...the boys do not care about
flowers," I replied and frowned at her.
I peeked at my watch; it was 15 past 2, still 5 minutes
from her scheduled arrival time. All our eyes were glued to the arrival gate. I
was usually able to identify her just by her silhouette, but still, my eyes
were yearning as far as I could see, scrutinizing every person, hoping it was
her.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the distance that
startled every person at the airport. Within a couple of minutes, there was a huge
commotion. I heard the alarming sound of fire trucks and ambulances.
Apparently, an accident had occurred. I could already see Akesha and aunty
wrapped in uncle's arm nervously. Everyone was petrified.
As I looked above the sky, I saw the dark smoke of
despondency slowly devouring the sunlight. At that moment, I remembered God,
praying to avoid the catastrophe that I was not daring to contemplate. With the ruckus
and clamor at the airport, I was insensible to all those. However, my ears were pierced by the words "US Bangla aircraft has crashed on the runway."
A
cold bolt shoots down my spine.
It was then I realized Aaru and I were like dewdrops. We
were excited about the dawn but little did we know we were not meant to
survive the light.
Amazing creativity and writing skill. Words are beautifully placed and the preciseness is awesome. Keep posting in upcoming days. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much bro.
DeleteAwesome writing bhai. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Didi.
DeleteIt would have been more interesting if the story longed even after the crash
ReplyDeleteThank you for your honest opinion, Sonia. Since this plot struck my mind, the whole idea was to end the story once Aaru dies, leaving the rest for readers to imagine.
DeleteThis is just so well written daai!..
ReplyDeleteI'm so touched by the story!
Thank you, Anwiti :)
DeleteThe last two sentences gave me goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I had worked really hard on those two sentences to convey death without mentioning the word.
Delete