He saw her standing by the railing, her back turned to him. There was something familiar about the figure. Could it be? Yes , it was her. Swapna. The girl he, Rohit, had proposed to one week back. He went nearer. Her whole body seemed to be shaking. He was so near now he could almost touch her. Almost , but not quite. "Swapna", he called her softly. She didnt seem to hear. And then the memories came flooding back.
He remembered asking her out to Coffee Day the previous Monday.
"What for" she had asked, flashing that winsome smile at him.
"Theres something I need to tell you". Her eyes had clouded briefly at that - or was that just his imagination, his nervous heart playing tricks on his mind?
They reached Coffee Day. He gave the order , "One Cappucino and One Hot Chocolate". She smiled softly, maybe at the fact that he remembered her favourite drink. It had been after all nearly 3 months now since they had gone out together.
The order came. He just couldnt bring himself to speak.She broke the silence.
"What was it you wanted to tell me"?
He started. There was something he couldnt quite place in her tone of voice. Almost as if she knew what it was he was going to say. All the talk he had practised for weeks was forgotten.
"Will you marry me, Swapna? " , he asked.
There was that look again in her eyes. For the life of him he couldnt make out what it was. Pity, hopelessness, pride all mingled into one.
She got up pushing away her untasted cup of coffee.
"You know it cant be Rohit", she said and walked out of his life.
He had been heartbroken then, not knowing what to do with his life. He had run around like a mad man. That had been one week back. Strangely enough, one week hence, now that he was so near her , he didnt feel that despair. His mind was empty, devoid of all feelings, at peace with itself. He realized why her body was shaking. She was sobbing softly.
"Rohit, Rohit". He started. Could it be? Was she really uttering his name? He was about to grab her into his arms , when there was a call from behind, "Swapna , where are you? ". He turned. It was her father. Her father did not even look at him. Swapna hugged her father and broke into heart breaking sobs.
"There , there my dear", her father patted her head, "Dont blame yourself for what happened".
And then it all came back to him. The mad rush from Coffee Day, back to office and in that brief moment of madness, the plunge from the eighth floor window. And then , blessed darkness.
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5 comments:
Nice one ! Seems to have inspired by 'sixth sense' genre of stories/movies
Good one but very sixth sense'ish :)
Before any more Sixth Sense comments come in let me clarify...it was inspired by a recent viewing of Ghost :P
I am dumfounded, couldn't quite understand, why was she sobbing, I don't think she was sobbing for saying no to Rohit, but then why was she crying ? UhUhhhh
anon...she was sobbing because in her heart of hearts she loved Rohit ( I prefer to believe that ) . Remember when she says "It cant be" there is a look of hopelessness in her eyes. Also she cant but feel guilty for being responsible for Rohit's death.
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