~"Some answers remain unanswered till the moment we close our eyes, forever. The mystery of getting the answers keeps us going till the very end. Maybe that's what life is."~
____________________________
I took my phone. It was Viyaan.
God! What the hell did this guy want now?
I picked up. His usual rantings, saying sorry, begging for forgiveness started. I gave him a piece of mind. I literally shouted at him in the middle of the road. People around would have probably tagged me as a crazy psychopath.
I rang the doorbell of that mansion. A lady probably in her late fifties opened the gate. I greeted her as they say in Punjab.
"Sat Sri Akal aunty. I'm a friend of Hriday's."
She gave me a grave expression and signalled me to follow her. I did so. I followed her and went inside. That place was huge, just like my place. The walls were adorned with family pictures. I saw Hriday, his cute dimpled smile reminded me of that familiar warmth.
"Didi, a girl has come, she says she is Hriday beta's friend." She was calling out someone.
Hearing this, a lady, which according to the family pictures would be his mom, I guess, came out. Her face reflected sadness. She was walking down the stairs. The uncanny silence was somehow hurting me inside.
The lady came near me, asked me to sit and placed a hand over my shoulder.
"You knew Hriday, beta?"
I nodded.
She broke down into tears when I said that. I couldn't find words to say. I waited for her to break this barrier of silence between us. At first she asked my name and sat silent for a while.
Finally she said, "I guess you don't know Mannat. One and a half years back, when he got selected into London School Of Photography, we didn't want him to go. We wanted him to study and handle family business here. He ran away from home, to Shimla, before leaving for London, that's what we got to know later.
He wanted to be a photographer. We forced our decisions upon him. He was in Shimla for a week. And while returning back..."
She broke down again.
"What happened aunty? Where is Hriday?" Tears started making their way out of my eyes too.
"While coming back, he was in a bus. As we were told, it was night time, the weather was bad. It was raining. The bus collided with a truck. And Hriday, my Hriday left us that day, forever. It's all our fault. Had we not imposed our decision on him, he would have been studying photography today at London.
I cried, I couldn't stop myself. His mother hugged me and cried. How could this be possible. One and half years? I asked aunty again, when did the accident happen?
Her answer was the same.
But if Hriday was no more, who was it who brought me out of my trauma.
I met Hriday six months back. That means at that time, Hriday had been dead for a year. Many thoughts were circling inside my head. How could someone who isn't anymore save my life. I didn't want to jump to conclusions.
His mom asked me to stay. I did. She introduced to his dad. Both of them lived with a regret, of letting him go and not understanding him.
I told them, "If Hriday would have been here he would want you to live their life, happily. He would want you to remember him. He would want you to stay strong. He would want you to lead their life and never give up. As far as I knew him he would want you to live with his memories so that they make you smile, not cry."
His parents talked about him to me. They even took me to his room. That familiar scent made me nostalgic. My answers were still unanswered. Nobody had any answer to it. All I know was, I owe my life to that person. His mom took out an album from one of the drawers of the room. It was a collection of the pictures he clicked. They were amazing.
That night I couldn't sleep at all. I looked at the diary he gave me. How could this be true? If Hriday was gone, who was he? Who was my guide? Who saved me?
I was helpless. Tears were my companion. I had come to seek answers. Rather, the questions puzzled me further.
All I know was one thing, that life was precious. We all have people who love us. If one day we are gone, some people's lives are affected forever. No matter how alone we think we are, there is always one person on this entire planet who loves us. We just need to think about some people before we think to end it. Their love would stop us. I was so blinded by my miseries that I actually forgot about all those who loved me.
Hriday taught me this.
But who was he?
That would remain a question, forever.
____________________
I carried on with my life. Those questions were still unanswered. But maybe that's what kept me going. Maybe one day, I'll have the answers. But I never lost hope. If life gave me a second chance, that was because of Hriday. He was someone I remembered every day. The warmth of his presence, his dimpled smile, his big nerdy glasses were what changed my life, forever. He did exist, maybe not here but somewhere. One day, I'll probably see him and thank him for changing me and my life.
There are times I call his name in the dark, just to see my Ray Of Hope, my Hriday. But then I remember the words he said to me when he left, " Goodbye Mannat. You're a strong girl. I'm always around you."
He was always around, my guardian angel, my guide, my Hriday, my heart.
*The End*
____________________________
I took my phone. It was Viyaan.
God! What the hell did this guy want now?
I picked up. His usual rantings, saying sorry, begging for forgiveness started. I gave him a piece of mind. I literally shouted at him in the middle of the road. People around would have probably tagged me as a crazy psychopath.
I rang the doorbell of that mansion. A lady probably in her late fifties opened the gate. I greeted her as they say in Punjab.
"Sat Sri Akal aunty. I'm a friend of Hriday's."
She gave me a grave expression and signalled me to follow her. I did so. I followed her and went inside. That place was huge, just like my place. The walls were adorned with family pictures. I saw Hriday, his cute dimpled smile reminded me of that familiar warmth.
"Didi, a girl has come, she says she is Hriday beta's friend." She was calling out someone.
Hearing this, a lady, which according to the family pictures would be his mom, I guess, came out. Her face reflected sadness. She was walking down the stairs. The uncanny silence was somehow hurting me inside.
The lady came near me, asked me to sit and placed a hand over my shoulder.
"You knew Hriday, beta?"
I nodded.
She broke down into tears when I said that. I couldn't find words to say. I waited for her to break this barrier of silence between us. At first she asked my name and sat silent for a while.
Finally she said, "I guess you don't know Mannat. One and a half years back, when he got selected into London School Of Photography, we didn't want him to go. We wanted him to study and handle family business here. He ran away from home, to Shimla, before leaving for London, that's what we got to know later.
He wanted to be a photographer. We forced our decisions upon him. He was in Shimla for a week. And while returning back..."
She broke down again.
"What happened aunty? Where is Hriday?" Tears started making their way out of my eyes too.
"While coming back, he was in a bus. As we were told, it was night time, the weather was bad. It was raining. The bus collided with a truck. And Hriday, my Hriday left us that day, forever. It's all our fault. Had we not imposed our decision on him, he would have been studying photography today at London.
I cried, I couldn't stop myself. His mother hugged me and cried. How could this be possible. One and half years? I asked aunty again, when did the accident happen?
Her answer was the same.
But if Hriday was no more, who was it who brought me out of my trauma.
I met Hriday six months back. That means at that time, Hriday had been dead for a year. Many thoughts were circling inside my head. How could someone who isn't anymore save my life. I didn't want to jump to conclusions.
His mom asked me to stay. I did. She introduced to his dad. Both of them lived with a regret, of letting him go and not understanding him.
I told them, "If Hriday would have been here he would want you to live their life, happily. He would want you to remember him. He would want you to stay strong. He would want you to lead their life and never give up. As far as I knew him he would want you to live with his memories so that they make you smile, not cry."
His parents talked about him to me. They even took me to his room. That familiar scent made me nostalgic. My answers were still unanswered. Nobody had any answer to it. All I know was, I owe my life to that person. His mom took out an album from one of the drawers of the room. It was a collection of the pictures he clicked. They were amazing.
That night I couldn't sleep at all. I looked at the diary he gave me. How could this be true? If Hriday was gone, who was he? Who was my guide? Who saved me?
I was helpless. Tears were my companion. I had come to seek answers. Rather, the questions puzzled me further.
All I know was one thing, that life was precious. We all have people who love us. If one day we are gone, some people's lives are affected forever. No matter how alone we think we are, there is always one person on this entire planet who loves us. We just need to think about some people before we think to end it. Their love would stop us. I was so blinded by my miseries that I actually forgot about all those who loved me.
Hriday taught me this.
But who was he?
That would remain a question, forever.
____________________
I carried on with my life. Those questions were still unanswered. But maybe that's what kept me going. Maybe one day, I'll have the answers. But I never lost hope. If life gave me a second chance, that was because of Hriday. He was someone I remembered every day. The warmth of his presence, his dimpled smile, his big nerdy glasses were what changed my life, forever. He did exist, maybe not here but somewhere. One day, I'll probably see him and thank him for changing me and my life.
There are times I call his name in the dark, just to see my Ray Of Hope, my Hriday. But then I remember the words he said to me when he left, " Goodbye Mannat. You're a strong girl. I'm always around you."
He was always around, my guardian angel, my guide, my Hriday, my heart.
*The End*
amazing story..simply loved it..yeah i too have a guardian angel but she's alive and I owe my life to her! God only knows how your stories are related 2 my life :) keep up the good work miss! :)
ReplyDeleteThankyou Arpit. I'm glad you liked it :) and wow, that's really amazing if you can relate. What else would a writer want !
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