Episode - 3: The Paradise has a Heart

There was a minute of complete silence except the fire crackling. Roja slowly let out the breath that she had been holding. Without even looking around, she could feel that all eyes were on her.

‘I need a hot shower,’ she blurted and quickly stepped out of the room. She focused on her breathing to keep the conflicting thoughts out of her mind. Wahib and his wife followed her.

‘Your room is on the first floor, right next to the bookshelves,’ said Wahib pointing towards it.

‘Thank you.’

Roja slid her arms into the handles of her backpack and managed to carry her trolley bag up to the room. The room was minimally furnished with a double cot, dressing table, two chairs and a small room heater. The bathroom was equipped with a geyser and a bathtub but the bathtub did not look like it had been used often. The first thing that Roja noticed as she entered the room was the cold. She turned on the small room heater and kept her feet and hands in front of it. She deliberately avoided thinking about what had transpired a few minutes ago. She badly wanted a nice hot water bath and luckily the geyser had already been switched on. But it was so cold that she had to think twice before undressing. Finally, pulling herself together, she left the fresh clothes in front of the heater and dashed to the bathroom. The hot water felt like heaven over her skin and the entire bathroom turned steamy after a while. Quickly changing into fresh clothes and a warm sweater, she once again sat in front of the heater and wore a pair of cotton socks, over which she wore a pair of woollen socks. Thermals and double socks were a must in cold weather conditions. Slowly her stomach began rumbling and that was when she realised that her last meal had been in the flight. But she wast not ready yet to go downstairs. To face him. Just then, she heard a soft knock on the door. Her heart skipped a beat.

Should I open the door? Or let me just sit here pretending that I did not hear it. Come on, I am not a school kid. Why am I so nervous? What if it is someone else? What if it is indeed him? So what!? Damn it! Let me just open that door!

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. A wave of relief washed over her.

‘Karna! Hi!’ she said with an involuntary smile.

‘How are you, Roja?’ he asked in his smooth voice.

‘I am doing great, thank you. I Think you should come in; it is pretty cold to keep the door open.’

He walked in and she closed the door. Karna was Agnivesh's best friend and later he had become Roja's friend too. In fact, he had been a great source of support and consolation during the most difficult days of her past. Roja sat down on the bed while he sat on the chair facing her.

‘How are you, Karna?’

‘I am good. I did not expect to see you here after all these years.’

‘Me too. So how is life? Did you get married?’ she asked teasing him.

‘Well, I would not get married without letting you know. Nothing has changed much; I am still running my business. I did face some losses due to COVID but now things are beginning to get back to normalcy.

You are the one who suddenly ghosted me,’ he said with disappointment loud and clear in his voice. Roja shook her head in exasperation.

‘We both know that I did the right thing. It was too painful to be in touch with you after all that happened. Your presence always reminded me of him...’

There were a few moments of silence. Both of them had been transported back in time. Memories that she was trying hard to forget while he was diligently holding onto for four long years. Karna quietly watched her as she kept rubbing her palms before the heater. She looked different, quite different from the girl that he had seen four years ago. Suddenly, she looked up and their eyes met briefly for a moment.

He was rudely pulled back to reality.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked as if he already knew the answer.

‘Thank God you asked me. I am starving. I was going to ask aunty if I could order food from a restaurant,’ she said.

‘No need for that. We had ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant and the food was picked up some time ago. We can share it with you.’

Roja was apprehensive about accepting the offer although it was very tempting.  

‘It’s okay Karna, I can order again. Please don't take too much trouble for me.’

‘Come on, Roja! There is enough food to be shared. If you want to eat here, I will get it for you. I understand that you may not be very comfortable about eating with us, although I would certainly prefer that,’ he said winking at her.

She thought for a moment and shook her head.

‘Alright, let’s do this. I will come down and eat dinner with you guys. The sooner I face him, the better. How long can I hide from him?’ she said with a slow smile.

Karna was not surprised. This woman had always been an unsolved mystery for him and even more so after all these years of distance.

‘Great! I'll wait for you downstairs,’ he said and walked towards the door. Before stepping out, he looked back at her.

‘Roja, won't you ask me about him?’

Without hesitation she looked straight into his eyes and shook her head. Karna closed the door behind him. Her eyes were still incapable of lying to him. She picked up her woolen cap and held it in front of the heater for a minute before putting it on her head. She wore the woolen gloves and looked at her reflection in the mirror. After applying the moisturizer and the lip balm, she was ready to go. Satisfied that she looked much better than her arrival, she left the heater running and shut the door.

Agnivesh pulled the last puff from his cigarette and snubbed the butt under his shoes. He was breathing heavily to stop is teeth from chattering. He was standing alone on the front porch of the house, still unable to believe that he had just seen the long-lost love of his life. He could never use the term “ex-girlfriend” for her. How could she be his ex, when he was still fond of her natural evocative fragrance and magnetic presence? His heart was pounding so loud that anyone near him could hear it. He heard the door open and Vasu stood next to him.

‘Agni, it is damn cold here. Let’s go inside. Karna invited Roja to join us for dinner and she agreed,’ he said quickly.

Agnivesh looked at him in utter disbelief

‘Is he even my friend? Traitor!’

To be continued...