Garima looked at the old carton lying in front of her. When
she had walked into the attic the other day, she had not anticipated finding it
there.
Today, she was back to look at what the carton held. She
knew it held a piece of her heart. Sitting on the floor, she pulled the carton
closer and put her hand inside.
From the touch, she knew what it was. She pulled it out
and flipped through the pages; it was a story she had learned to forget. A dried rose
fell onto her lap. She picked it up and as tears welled up in her eyes,
memories of that day came back.
Source: Google
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She stepped out of the Barakhamba metro station and noticed it
was quite sunny for a January morning. She hurried towards the Statesman House.
From a distance, she saw Adi waiting
at the door of the Oxford Bookstore.
Adi looked at her
and handed her a pink rose. Garima didn’t like red roses. She preferred pink
and every time she would meet Adi,
she would get one. How can I do this to Adi, Garima thought.
They sat at a table in the other corner of Cha Bar so that nobody could see them. Adi
held Garima’s hands as she rested them on the table. “We can’t be together, Adi.
Papaji wants me to marry his friend’s son. I have been trying to say no but
he isn’t listening. I managed to come and see you today,” Garima said, moving her hands away and looking
beyond Adi. But, Adi was looking into Garima’s eyes, as if trying to reach her soul.
“We can run away.”
“No!” exclaimed Garima. How could Adi even suggest something like this? Running away was not an
option. It never was. Even when they had gotten into this relationship, they knew no one would approve it.
They kept sitting there in silence for sometime. After what seemed like ages, Adi got up and asked
Garima to walk. They walked in CP's inner circle for sometime, their hearts and minds somewhere else. Then, Adi held Garima’s hand
and said, “Please don’t leave me, Garu. I can’t live without you. I will go
mad.”
Source: Google
Garima looked the other way. She knew no one would understand them and for Adi’s sake, she had to be tough. She took a deep breath and said, “We always knew our fate, Adi. We knew we couldn’t be together forever.”
She could hear Adi
sobbing. Her heart ached. She wanted to hug Adi
but she was amazed at her own self-control. She was breaking Adi’s heart into a million pieces. “Would
Adi ever be ok?” This question had
come to Garima’s mind a thousand times but she didn’t have an answer. All that
she had was love for Adi. A love she
had to kill with her own hands.
Adi begged, cried,
but Garima kept her composure. Finally, Adi
looked at her and said, “If that’s what makes you happy then so be it. When I
fell in love with you, I promised you that I will stand by your decisions and
your happiness will be my happiness.”
Adi’s eyes were
tearing through Garima’s soul. Garima lowered her eyes. Adi continued, “Keep that rose with you, Garu. Don’t throw it away.
It will always remind you of me, if you ever want to think of me,” and started
to walk away.
Garima held out her hand, trying to stop Adi. “What if I want to meet you again?”
“You will find me in the smell of that rose, Garu.”
That was the last time Garima saw Adi.
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Garima opened her eyes. She could hear footsteps downstairs.
Ishan was home. Garima kept the rose in the book and rushed downstairs. “Mom, Jenny is coming home today, remember?” Ishan said. Garima nodded. Ishan and
Jenny were set to marry in two months.
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About 11, 000 kms away, a woman, in her 50s was sitting on a bed
scribbling something in her torn notebook. The doctor asked, “What are you writing today?” Without
looking up, Adi turned her book
towards the doctor. The name “Garima” was scribbled all over.
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