When time stood still!
{2}

The sunlight was mercilessly hitting my closed eyelids forcing them to open. My head felt heavy and it was indeed a struggle to keep my eyes open. But the disorientation lasted only for a few seconds. The next moment a dull pain weighed down on my chest when my eyes fell on the sketchbook next to me. Immediately, the tears were back at the doorstep of my eyes.

Asmi had left me…

I had almost exhausted my tears last night after her call. Although I tried calling her again, she blocked my number after the third attempt. There was no point in trying to get in touch with her through any other social networking apps. Technology! Blocking someone out of your life was as easy as getting in touch with a complete stranger. She wanted me out of her life, the message was loud and clear. I loved her too much to give her any more pain in life. Sooner or later this was bound to happen and I was the one to be blamed. Maybe this separation was necessary for her own good. Maybe it was needed for both of us…

Shit! It really hurts!

I could come up with a hundred more reasons to justify her break-up with me but it did nothing to ease the pain. I felt as if somebody had punched me on the chest with the sole intention of killing me. It was as if the pain would never leave. Just then my phone began to ring. Tara’s name flashed on the screen.

‘Hi Rudra, good morning,’ she chirped into the phone.

‘Hey Tara, good morning. Why have you called so early in the morning?’

‘Not again, Rudra! I hope you have not forgotten that we have a client meeting at 11 today. We need to go through the presentation again because I made a few changes last night. Have you prepared the final draft of the design?’ she asked without pausing.

‘Yes. I finished it yesterday evening.’

‘Thank God! Alright then, I will drop my husband at the metro station and reach office. Please be there before 10. See you,’ she said and disconnected the call.

Great! Of all days, today was a Monday morning and to make matters worse, I had a client meeting. It meant that I would have to maintain a pleasing attitude and sport a fake smile all through my ordeal. Mechanically, I pulled myself out of the bed and went to take a shower. The cold water was comforting in that hot morning. Summers in Chennai are something that you would not wish to experience even in your wildest dreams. The humidity would just want you to tear away the clothes sticking to your body. I reached office 20 minutes before Tara’s arrival. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise seeing me seated at my cabin before her arrival.

‘What a pleasant surprise!’ she beamed sitting next to me at her work desk.

Soon, we went in for the meeting and together we performed well. The client was happy with our design which satisfied my manager immensely. After his brief speech of appreciation we went into the cafeteria for a break. Ditching my usual tea, I helped myself to a mug of piping hot coffee. Tara’s eyes followed me until I pulled a chair opposite to hers and sipped on the coffee.

‘What’s the matter, Rudra? You look very tired.’

I bit my lower lip trying to control the emotions that were choking my throat. This feeling of intense pain was new to me. Asmi was my first girlfriend and this was my first ever break up. Some of my friends had gone through ugly break ups which I had witnessed right before my eyes. But never in my wildest dreams, had I ever imagined that one day, I would have to go through it. There was no point in lying to Tara. She knew me better than most of my friends because practically we spent over eight hours a day with each other.

‘Asmi ended our relationship last night.’

Tara almost spat out the tea she had just sipped.

‘What?!! Are you kidding me? If this is a joke Rudra, then certainly I am not enjoying it,’ she said fixing me with her stern gaze.

I shook my head letting out a long drawn breath.

‘I wish it is a joke or a bad dream from which I could wake up any moment. But it is not. She is gone, Tara.’

‘And you let her go?! You both have been a couple for over two years. You cannot just end an amazing relationship with just one stupid phone call. I know how much she means to you.’

Tara knew how to hit me with the right words so that they punctured a hole in my heart. She was not going to let me sulk with self-pity. The pain which had been numbed with a dose of hectic work was back with a vengeance in my chest. I felt like screaming my lungs out or breaking the glass door of the cafeteria. The more I tried to stop thinking about Asmi, the pain got worse. I had only heard of heartache but never knew it existed until she left me.

‘What am I going to do Tara?’ I asked helplessly. I was expecting her to give me an earful, instead she gently squeezed my hand.

‘You have to talk to her Rudra. Don’t sit here waiting for her call because she will not call you back. You have to go and talk to her in person. You should not end something that means the world to you. Get her back. A woman like Asmi will happen only once in life. No matter how many women enter your life after this, nobody will be as good as her for you. Every woman you meet, you will keep looking for Asmi in her.’

My throat went dry hearing her words.

She was right! My Asmi was unique and that was why I fell for her in the first place. Now, I could not lose her.

The next moment I was out of the cafeteria. I had to meet Asmi to tell her that I was no longer the same. The fight we had, would never repeat. She was precious for me and I would never again take her for granted. Love for her surged in my heart like a shooting star. This moment, if only she knew how much I loved her! There was no time to waste and I raced against time to meet the woman who made my world spin around her…

                                     To be continued...

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