Twilight

Aroma of fresh air, shiny glass windows of LIC building, autos, bikes moving with purpose on that busy Mount Road, washed clean by the late monsoon rain and us, waiting in that nondescript bus stop for 23C.

Romanticizing about a life which could-have-been was easy. But it was a heavy burden to bear. After the initial feeling of guilt, the darkness of a future without him loomed large, leaving Meera miserable and bruised. A year had gone by since that New Year’s morning of 2015 when she woke up to a coherent confession left by Sushant on Messenger. The person on whom she nursed a massive crush back in school was saying the same words to her after all these years. Her immediate reaction was denial and then she read the message again. And again. He say the words “admire” and “let go”, so had he let go?

She had been quick in typing out a smart, clean reply.  Forgetting to share the thoughts which had crossed her mind a hundred times in these years. It was a painful recollection for Meera.

“Foolish girl!”. If only she had bared her heart then, she thought with a deep sigh nursing that regret which had lived with her since that day,

With a partner who was always on the move she longed for company, few reassuring words and comfort of a familiar love. Was it loneliness? Was it the absence of a loving partner? Or was it her own past pushing her to confess? The battle raging within her heart had finally overpowered her mind.

Sushant had not promised her anything. But the questions kept haunting her.

Why did he say he liked her after all these years? Why now? Why after she had got married?

The mouse arrow hovered over Message button for a few seconds before she clicked it. Her eyes scanned the words for the hundredth time. Panic was rising in her chest. Heart beating too fast, her fingers nervously typed,

“Hi Sushant…how are you doing?”

Sometimes it is never too late to reply.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.