Part Four. . .

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance with any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Four

Smriti hated the long holidays, especially the unplanned ones. The weekends seemed long enough; long holidays meant days when she couldn’t figure out how the day had to be spent!! Unlike most people her age, she loved the working days at office because they sped and got over even before she realised the day had passed. Whenever she was aware of consecutive holidays approaching, she planned a trip to her parents’ or her elder sister’s place. But this was an unexpected one; their office was shut down till the rainfall situation was under control. Mumbai literally flooded in the rainy seasons and this year the rainfall was exorbitant; it added to the woes of the people to the extent that local life had shut down to a nil. Everybody had been asked to stay indoors till the floods in the street diminished fully. However the downpour exhibited no signs of stopping or mercy. The black clouds hovering over the sky continued pouring and further inundating the city.

Smriti opened her outlook, finding there wasn’t much task to be done, she shut down the laptop. She wasn’t in a mood to read anything. As the dabbawalas were non functional owing to the rains, she had to step into the kitchen to cook her meal. It had been quite some time that she had actually made herself a good wholesome luncheon. She opened the refrigerator, which was pretty much empty, stood there negotiating her food menu options available. It was time she did some grocery shopping for emergency situations like the current one; she made a mental note. Not finding much, she ended up preparing plain daal, egg curry and rice. After the lunch and the kitchen clean up, which she did as slowly as she could to kill the time, she retired to her bedroom; the TV signals were down too due to the rainfall situations. She opened her almirah and found out the contents were too messy and needed some tidying up. She felt elated, she finally had a task to do, which would almost take the rest of the day.

After cleaning the cupboards, she progressed to the locker. She took out the contents, lined them up on her bed. There were jewellery sets her mother and sister had gifted her, which she rarely wore, mostly for office parties. There was a money bag with a wad of notes in denominations of thousand, her safe deposit. There were silver coins of Goddesses which her mother had instructed to be kept in the locker at all times, so that her wealth status would grow. There were some ruby and diamond rings, gifts by her father, which she wore only when she visited her family. At the far end of the locker, there was a fat old diary which had a small lock on it.

The moment she took the diary in her hands, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She shuddered feeling cold and dizzy. “Do not open it. You already know the content by heart. Reading it would do you no good.” She could hear her brain whispering into her ears and she knew it was right. She kept it aside and carried on with her cleaning activity. Within an hour, the almirah was organised, clean and looked much better. She lied on her bed exhausted. While lying down her hands brushed a paperback, she scanned her bed for the source; she had forgotten to keep the diary inside.

“Read me.” She could hear the diary almost whispering out to her.

She held it in her hands. She tried to remember the last time she had read it fully; she realised never. Whenever she started reading, she would stop midway. After reaching a point, it would take a toll on her to the extent that she would need to discontinue. It was a long time ago she had attempted to read it, now things had changed, she was more determined and brave, besides she had outgrown the pain, she thought.

She looked outside towards the sky. The rains would not stop for some days, the meteorology department had predicted and she didn’t have much to do. It was time she read it once fully, that would refresh her memories and make her more determined to do what she ought to do.

She opened the diary which smelled of the rose petals, she had used as bookmarks in many pages.

 

3^rd January 2004

Dear diary,

Amruta gifted me this diary today, saying it was a good idea to record teenage, so that when we grow old we could look back to the journey. How silly of her to do that. I love reading, not writing, that too wasting time recording day to day mundane activities!! How childish of her, she is only an elder sister by age, but mom says am the more matured one. I asked her whether she had done so when she was in her teens, she showed me her floral note book; in which she had scrambled about all the important incidents of her teenage. When I asked if I could read it, she said I wasn’t old enough. Whatever that meant, I have decided to read it when she goes out the next time. I hope she doesn’t do the same, else the very first entry is gonna make her cross with me.

I do not know what to write. Let me think. Should I talk about college or should I rant about my family and friends. I have no idea how far this diary writing is going to proceed. Am not even sure if I would be able to fill some decent pages!! My life isn’t quite happening yet, I turned 16 few days back. I joined college few months ago. Despite the big fuss about college life that I had heard, I find it quite boring on the contrary. My friends bunk classes and go for the movies and all, but I am not in favour of skipping classes and then attending the tuitions. That would be foolishness. There are few cute guys in my class but all are nerds. I don’t feel anyone matching my level. Every guy my age is busy hitting on a pretty girl and every girl my age is busy giving airs to herself or turning any guy who is after her into a pet dog. I mostly hang out with Amruta(my elder sister) and her friend circle, especially Nisha didi, Siddharh bhaiya and  Sanjeev bhaiya. They are into engineering college now and I feel their discussion suits my taste. I feel more involved in their debates about politics, current affairs and future of India rather than the color of nailpaint, the shopping and the other stupid things my friends do. My friends call me boring, which I don’t object. Amruta is a sister as well as a best friend. If she feels this diary is going to be an object of happiness in my coming days, then I trust her judgement. Honestly by the end of two pages I feel you are turning out to be a great friend. You are listening to me silently and without any opinions and judgements!! I think we are friends now. Will see you soon.

Goodnight

Smriti

P.S – Am excited about the trekking trip with Amruta and her friends, planned for the coming Sunday. Am sure it’s going to be fun.

 

 

9^th January 2000

Dear diary,

I just got back home few minutes ago. I couldn’t wait to pen down the happenings of the day. We trekked all the way to the top of a mountain with backpacks filled with juice, fruits and some water. The ascent was tiring, everyone was exhausted. By the time we reached the peak, I was sweating profusely. I simply said I wish there was an AC room here and the next moment a resort appeared out of nowhere. I went mad with happiness. Sanjeev bhaiya made fun of me saying I was really a kid, which I vehemently opposed. At the rooms Nisha di, Amruta di, Siddharth bhaiya all retired for a short nap. But I wasn’t sleepy at all neither was Sanjeev bhaiya. We decided to explore the nearby jungle on our own. It was so beautiful. There were trees everywhere, there were all kindsof tiny insects and we saw some rare vareity of birds too. We discovered a beautiful lake!! I felt I had stepped into one of those English movies with beautiful sceneries in it. We chatted for quite sometime. He told me about his future plans of making it big in core industry. He had already started working on some business proposals that he would offer the companies before his college ended. He didn’t want to be a slave in any IT or any other industry, working under somebody. He wanted to be a freelancer. I felt quite nice to talk to him. Although we had spent a lot of time together as a part of a big group, this was the first time we actually talked person to person. I felt happy Amruta had such nice decent friends, I wished I had some too. When I said this aloud, he said I was a part of their group even though I was younger in age. He said I could always count him in my good friends. I felt kind of happy to hear that.He asked about me and my ambitions in life. I said there was nothing much to say, so he started asking questions on books I had read. He predicted my life’s pattern on the books I had chosen to read. He said reading was a very nice habit which I should never give up, even when I would become busy in future, I should always take out time to read. That was a nice thing to say. He said he would gift me his collection which he had hardly read. He said he would read books based on my feedback, he said he trusted my opinion. I was touched by his words and the generosity he showed while we talked. Not even for a second I felt I was talking to someone elder to me or an unknown. After an hour or two we went to the resort to find all of them awake and freshened up. We played dumbsharaj, truth and dare, word games, antakshari. It was an awesome day. I enjoyed each and every second of it. I thanked Amruta after we got back home. My parents were happy to know that I had enjoyed myself, which I rarely did, in their opinion.

Of all things the strangest and most funniest thing that happened today was during truth and dare I chose dare and Siddharth bhaiya asked me not to use the word bhaiya while I addressed Sanjeev bhaiya. When I gave a queer look he said that made them sound old. I asked why should I not use the word bhaiya for Sanjeev bhaiya only and why not for him also. To that he simply shrugged. Finally this is what I said “Ok I won’t call Sanjeev bhaiya, bhaiya from today.” Everyone laughed a lot hearing my statement. Personally I am not very sure how far I am going to stick to this resolution!!

All in all it was a memorable day. I loved the lake side view and the discussions we had. This was the first time in my life I talked this long with somebody and opened my heart out. I felt safe in his company and I felt happy to share with him. He earned trust with his words. Although he looks very nice but I think he has a very nice heart.

Signing off

Goodnight,

Your pal - Smriti

 

 

 

To be continued. . .

 

Part Three. . .

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance with any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Three

“Did you check all the doors' locks before you left?”

“Yes I did.”

“Did you check the taps for any leaking water?”

“Yup did that too.”

“Did you…………..”

“Calm down darling, you double checked everything yourself after I checked. Now stop thinking too much about the apartment. We are on our way, let’s focus on this trip and forget about our usual daily life for a while!” Somesh stopped Aakriti in the mid sentence, in an attempt to calm down his wife who was having another of her panic attacks of something gone amiss somewhere. Aakriti’s face still displayed signs of tension, so he asked “What is it that’s troubling you so much?”

“I had a bad dream yesterday night, kind of a nightmare. Had this trip not been associated with a business engagement, I would have asked you to cancel it. I don’t remember the exact dream but I feel kind of uneasy from the moment I had it, as if something really bad is about to happen, something is gonna go wrong. I am not able to shut these thoughts.” Aakriti said looking out of the window of the cab they were traveling in.

“Awwww…sweetie come here. It’s just a dream, what can possibly happen to you when I am right here with you? I assure you, once we reach there and you check out the resort, the breathtaking beauty of nature, you are gonna forget everything else. For now just don’t think about it.”

Aakriti nodded while resting her head on Somesh’s shoulder and trying to get some sleep. The moment she closed her eyes the same scene flashed inside her thoughts that she had witnessed in her dream that morning, a dark figure, probably a girl, holding a knife which was dripping blood, towering over her, giving a  victorious laughter. She chose not to speak about it to Somesh, who got anxious if she was disturbed. Aakriti wondered if it was a dream or some kind of premonition about any impending danger. Whatever it was, the feeling was strange and she had never felt like this before. She hoped Somesh was right that the trip would take her mind off these weird thoughts, besides with him alongside her she had no reason to worry.

In merely three hours they were at their destination, Paihia, the jewel of the Bay of Islands. Both Aakriti and Somesh were awestruck when they checked in at their resort, which had a royal touch to it. Both of them had already googled and checked out the pictures, but the reality was bigger and better . The view from the balcony of their suite was picturesque; it overlooked the bay, there were tourists lined up along the shore, there were motorboats gushing through the water, there were birds  in the sky, the air smelt fresh, everything was lovely and romantic.

“So do you like it?”

“It’s like a dream!!”

“Am glad you liked it. So do you need some rest or should we start exploring the city?” Somesh asked.

“Before we explore the city don’t you think there’s a lot to be explored in this resort itself? I mean look at the suite, it’s as big as our entire house! The bathroom is bigger than our hall!! Just check out the chandeliers in each room, the paintings, the crockery, the dining set, the furniture, the curtains, the bedsheets. Did you check the size of the bed? It’s huge!! This place feels like Mumbai’s Taj, only more lavish.”

“So you wish to spend the whole day in the room? I think I know what you mean.” Somesh replied with a glint of mischief in his voice.

Aakriti blushed when she interpreted Somesh’s comment. She replied “You naughty fellow!! All I meant was………......leave it. So what’s on our itinerary?”

“Well there’s swim with the dolphins, kayaking, fishing, lying idle  at the beach for starters. Once the business meeting is over we can head for the Haruru falls. In the evening there’s a ferry ride to ‘Romantic Rusell’, the day winds up at the open air restaurant in the resort. That’s the agenda for our simple day, my dear.”

“You call it a simple day?? Well I forgot you have been to similar or even better places as part of your job, so nothing seems so special to you. It’s just me as excited as a two year old would be to visit a chocolate factory.” Aakriti said with a gloomy face.

“Come on. I was kidding!! With you beside me, every small thing multiplies manifold. This resort is undoubtedly the best place I have ever been to in my entire life; but it’s best not because of its architecture or accessories, it’s because am here with you, the woman of my dreams.”

“Aww Somesh, it’s been 10 years!! You still talk like the people talk when they are freshly into a relationship. I think we it’s time we moved on from sweet babble talk to more matured talk, the way our age group indulges in.”

“Ok. Ok. Aakriti aren’t we getting late for the sightseeing with all this wasteful argument. Would you mind hurrying up, please? We have a day to be spent behaving matured, indulging in serious topic discussions and ultimately a boring day. So please freshen up soon.” Somesh said with his face screwed up to feign a grown up look on his face.

Aakriti went mad laughing and said “The older you looks even more funnier than the present you. Oh Somesh, stop it, am sorry I even asked you to behave grown up, just be as you are, stop acting silly. My stomach is hurting with the laughter now.”

“Oh that means I look funny?” Somesh frowned his lips, expressing sadness and turned around to walk away. Just then Aakriti came from behind, hugged him, planted a kiss on his neck and said “I am sorry sweetie. I didn’t mean that way, I was just kidding. I love you and I love this place.”

“I was kidding too sweetheart. I love this place too and believe me we are going to have an amazing and memorable trip.” Somesh said turning around, holding Aakriti in his arms.

 

To be continued. . .

Part Two. . .

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance with any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional.

 

 

Two

Smriti hurried while locking her apartment door to catch the lift, which as always was 10 floors below hers, the other one was 12 floors below. Her mood further soured when she saw both the lifts were going down. She mentally calculated the time the lifts would come to take up to the 24^th floor, provided they came uninterrupted, against the time she would take if she made her descent by the stairs. She decided upon the stairs rather than waiting for the lifts, which stopped at every floor, like local trains and were basically of no use at all. Although when she reached the ground floor she would be exhausted, but she didn’t wish to be late for her meeting. She was never late till date and she wanted to keep the same record for as long as she could, may be forever.

She was well versed with the traffic condition which changed with every day of the week. On Mondays she took 80 minutes to reach the office which reduced to 50 on Wednesdays, Fridays it generally took 60 minutes, same on Tuesdays. After keeping record for almost a month she had deciphered this pattern and thus started at the appropriate time for office. Her colleagues, who got late to work, would always blame the Mumbai traffic, to which she would reply, you guys just don’t know how to handle it!

She reached her desk exactly 5 minutes before the start of the meeting. She muttered “Phew, just in time!” to herself.

“Which you always are…” a voice said from behind her. Although she already knew who it was, she turned and said “Oh Aniket, I didn’t see you entering. Thank you for the compliment, you do know I prefer to be on time.”

“Save your thanks for later, when I actually compliment you. You look stunning today, tell me what’s your secret?” he asked with a naughty smile.

“Her secret is that she is single and tensionfree.” added Niyati while entering the cabin.

“Then by that do you mean am good looking too? Well I’m single too!”

“Oh please Aniket, give me a break!! If flirting, dating and hitting on random girls means being single then I think I need you need to revisit  the dictionary.”

Smriti was smirking at her seat listening to the usual bickering of her friends cum colleagues while she organised things at her laptop for the meeting.

Everyone sobered up when their manager entered. The meeting started and went on for a good three hours. After convincing their manager enough about the proposal, they dispersed.

Three of them headed for the cafeteria.

“Smriti, you are our star!! I get pissed off with the vague questions our manager asks, they are so pointless, stupid and silly. However you weave convincing answers for those unfathomable questions and do it with so much ease. No wonder you always get top ratings.” Niyati said.

Smriti smiled in response and sipped her coffee in silence.

“So Smriti what’s the plan for tonight? I heard about this cool cafe which opened recently at Bandra. What say, let’s check it out tonight, three of us?” Aniket said.

“Oh no no, my fiancee would slaughter me if I didn’t go for the weekly prayer at his parent’s place. Sorry guys better you both check it out and let me know your feedback.” Niyati added.

“I tell you Niyati, leave this guy, he is always into pooja path. These spiritual proceedings are better done at old age, our age is for partying, boozing and having fun.  Besides if you don’t join us there are thick chances that Smriti would come alone with me, she is kind of scared of my dashing personality.” Aniket said guffawing along with it.

“It’s nothing like that Aniket. Am not scared of you, kido; however I can’t come tonight because I need to work on the client presentation.” Smriti replied non chalantly.

Niyati placed a hand on Smriti’s palm and said “Smriti, who are you fooling? You always have your excuses ready. How long are you gonna be in your cocoon? It’s high time you come out of it, live life, meet guys, date, fall in love, marry, have kids!! Get over your mourning period babes, you have mourned too long.”

Aniket placed a hand on Niyati’s shoulder signalling her to stop. He gestured her towards Smriti’s face which had turned red. She was definitely crying.

“Ok girls let’s give the discussion a rest and start over with our work. If you both have forgotten let me remind you people, there’s a pile of workload awaiting us to be done by EOD.”

Thus three of them retired to their cubicles and the rest of the day passed uneventfully.

After getting back home, Smriti freshened up and called up her mother. The conversation was mostly one sided with her mother doing most of the talking, the topics were always the same, about Smriti’s future plans, complaints about her father’s irresponsible behaviour, updates about relatives whose existence Smriti had totally forgotten, ultimately culminating at her marriageable age; which Smriti would tactfully avoid and disconnect the call. She had been able to put off this important event for almost five years now and she planned to keep it under the covers for a long time, given a chance forever. It was not like she didn’t get any suitable proposals; she met guys who were decent enough to spend life with; there were guys who were richer than she could ever be in her entire lifetime; there were guys who had truly loved her; there were guys who were thoughtful, intelligent, smart and kind; there were guys who were aware of her life’s motto yet were ready to accept her; but there was none who could replace him.

 Post call, she would have her dinner, a tiffin box of home cooked food which she bought from the famous Mumbai Dabbawaalas. Despite being a regular customer for almost a year now, she still liked the taste. It was delectable, palatable, piquant, good-tasting and made her feel like having her mom’s hand cooked food.

Dinner followed by some left over office work, which normally took an hour or more. Only after she was completely satisfied with the output she would turn off the laptop. Sleep would still be far away from her eyes, thus she would sit with a novel at the balcony. The rocking chair would rock her soothingly, relieving her from all her worries and transporting her to another world. Sometimes she would be so immersed in the book, she would lose track of time; sometimes she would stay up all night to finish a book.

Nights when she didn’t feel like reading she would simply sit at the balcony and gaze at the scene outside. Her balcony overlooked other apartments in her society. Every window was like a theatre playing a movie, to her. She knew a lot of the people who stayed in those apartments, although she hadn’t met or known them personally, she knew their stories. Watching them carry on with their simple regular lives made her feel she was a part of it all; as if she was a part of one big family. Seeing parents helping their kids with their homework, couples having dinner, teenagers dancing to wild tunes, old aged people praying; was way better means of entertainment than a television could ever provide.

Only sometimes when she felt alone, she felt the dire need of a person alongside her, like a soulmate; at such times she reminded herself of the true purpose of her life. Her mind had died the day she underwent the betrayal. This was merely a body alive, alive for a purpose, alive with a mission; after which the soul would be free.

She had left it upon God for a long time, she had believed in His powers of punishment and righteousness, but when she had inspected closely she had found God was only helpful to those who helped themselves. Just trusting and believing was never enough, one should take steps to fulfil their desired actions. Life’s proceedings were never by chance; they always carried a message along with them. Sometimes people were too engrossed or deaf to heed them. Smriti had got her message a long time ago, she knew what she had to do in order to attain her salvation, she knew what she had to do to obtain her mental peace, she knew what was lost was lost forever, but she couldn’t have borne all the suffering and pain for nothing at all. She knew she had to take the revenge.

To be continued. . .

 

Part One. .

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance with any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional.

One

Somesh put off the alarm in the first beep itself and tiptoed out of the bed. He glanced at his wife, sleeping blissfully with a smile etched across her face; maybe she was having a beautiful dream, Somesh contemplated. 

He draped the blanket around her, double checked if the window curtains were banishing any ray of sunlight from entering the room or falling on her face, which would definitely wake her up. He didn’t want her to wake up anytime soon, he dint want her to wake her up just yet, before he was ready.

Aakriti could sleep soundly with the TV or music on in full volume, or him talking on the phone beside her, but she couldn’t sleep with any lights (sunlight or tubelight or any sort of light) falling on her eyelids. She needed total darkness for as long as she slept. So Somesh ensured the room was dark, even though the sun was shining brightly outside, while he left the room, making a mental note of the things he was supposed to do before Aakriti woke up. He realised he was running late, so he executed his daily chores with haste.

He entered the kitchen and started preparing her favorite breakfast – dosa, vada, steamed idli and sambar. Despite being abroad for almost five years now, she savoured the south Indian dishes, the most. Whenever they were dining outside, if she found out the menu had south Indian delicacies, her eyes would beam with happiness. He loved the ways her eyes popped whenever she was happy, she looked even more elegant when she did that and he fell in love with her all over again.

Aakriti was his treasure, his pillar of strength, his salvation, the love of his life, his girlfriend for quiet some time and now lawfully wedded wife. He often wondered how did he get so lucky to have found her. He felt true skin deep happiness everytime he saw her face when he woke up in the mornings. He felt his life was perfect, from the moment Aakriti had stepped into it and taken control over him and his crumbling life. Everytime his friends as well as colleagues groaned and complained about their wives and miserable lives, he only smiled, congratulating himself inwardly for not being like them or not leading such sorry lives. Ever since they both had joined a MNC, had moved to Auckland, taken a home here and settled down, they were leading life straight out of a fairytale. Both his and Aakriti’s families kept on insisting it was high time they had kids. They knew that too, they had plans underway, but they kept saying each other, just a little more time is all we need, exactly how much time, both weren’t sure.

After the breakfast was ready, it was time to set the table. He decorated it with petals of rose and lilies, placed the fine china cutleries, which they used only on rare & special occasions, well this was most certainly one, he thought. Finally he placed the manila colored envelop adjacent to the spoon stand on the table. He felt proud of himself of being able to pull out half of his plan in time. He checked the DVD player, television, the CD all was in place, where he wanted them to be. He adjusted the cushions of the sofa, so that she could watch it with ease, he checked the sticky notes were all in place. Satisfied with all the set up, he pulled the curtains of the bedroom allowing white sunlight to wash the room and disturb Aakriti’s sleep, while he rushed into the bathroom, to freshen up. Having locked the door of his bathroom he gave himself a high five, for having successfully pulled up the plan of action with so much ease.

As the mixture of hot and cold water escaped through the nozzle of the shower and fell on his face and body, he envisaged the action of events unfurling outside.

  The sunlight would have surely disturbed Aakriti, she would have tried covering her face with the quilt, but that way she would have felt warm, as Somesh had switched off the AC, next she would have called out to him, enquiring the reason behind the AC being turned off and the window curtains being open. Unable to get any response from him, she would have got up from the bed, cursing him to have disturbed her peaceful slumber. She would have either walked towards the curtains or the AC switch; nevertheless she would have found the sticky note which read

Hello Gorgeous, goodmorning. Sorry to have woken you up this way, but there’s a reason behind this. Now shake off your sleep and brace yourself for a surprise.

 – Love your faithful husband.

He tried to imagine the look her face would have wore after she read this note. She would have definitely smiled, and wondered what was on Somesh’s mind, she would have searched the room for him, seeing the locked bathroom and the shower noise coming from within, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to comprehend, he was inside. She would have scanned the bedroom for any more sticky notes and would have walked to the dining room as instructed in the next note stuck to her phone. There she would have found the table with breakfast along with the decoration and she would have squealed with delight. She would have reached out to the envelop and would have tried to find out the contents, but while trying to open it, she would have found the instruction on the seal which read

 “Do not open just yet, walk to the television for now. This can wait.” 

He hoped she had obeyed the instruction and did as she was told, and after reaching the sofa set she would have found another sticky note on the CD which said

“Watch this!!”

Unable to bear the aroma of the breakfast along with the eagerness to watch the contents of the CD, she would have grabbed the brush and paste while she switched on the DVD player and the television. After serving herself with one item each from the menu, she would have settled down on the sofa and rested herself over the cushions while watching the video. However Somesh was pretty sure, when the CD would have started playing she would have definitely kept the plate of food aside and would have immersed in the video. A few tear drops would have escaped her eyes and she would have wanted to hug him just at the very moment and thank him for the wonderful gift.

He walked in to the room, showered and fresh, witnessing the exact scene he had weaved in his mind, with Aakriti’s back towards him, cuddled in the sofa, shedding silent tears, with the plate of food kept aside, the video ended just then, he walked around the sofa set, stood facing her, saying “Happy 10^th Anniversary Aakriti. Exactly a decade ago we met for the first time.”, with wide open arms, into which she rushed in and gave him a long tight hug and said “Same to you sweetheart.”

After quiet some time she let go of him. Both of them proceeded towards the table to have their breakfast. She ate in silence and he waited for her to speak. He sensed his normally chatty wife was restrained today, didn’t she like his surprise, didn’t she like the video, what was it that was troubling her. Just when he was about to ask she said “The sambar is delicious, so are the vadas and idlis too are quite good. Tell me you didn’t make them, tell me you ordered it from the Indian Restaurant down the lane.” He smiled seeing her giving one of her naughty smile while she said that.

“Let’s say I cook better than you!!” saying so he winked.

“Ahh, yes of course. Well then please take over the kitchen chores from today.” Saying so she winked too.

“Oh no no. I was simply kidding, you know the kitchen belongs to you. I do know how much you love cooking, I can’t take that away from you.”

She nodded. “Somesh how and when did you compose the CD?” she said with her voice sounding serious and low.

“Let me think. At times when you were out shopping, sleeping or having your long phone calls with your family and friends. Well was my effort worth it? Did you like it?”

“Did I like it? Are you kidding me? I absolutely loved it. I can’t believe the extent of trouble you took to surprise me. How did you get hold of all the pics and videos that we have had since the day we met? Some of the pics and videos I saw for the first time, myself!! Each one of them opened a floodgate of memories!! Each of the pics and videos made the old memories come alive with them.” She sounded emotional as she talked, which meant she was touched by his gesture, he thought.

“I had to make a few phonecalls to some common friends and ask them to scan through their archives and send any pics of ours if they had. I guess I was lucky, when all of them sent few pics each which proved my effort successful. Like a story I set the pictures from the oldest to the most recent ones, along with the videos. You see it was nothing much as compared to the price to make you happy.” Somesh said modestly.

Aakriti knew he meant what he said. She reached out for the manila envelop, there was a package plan of three nights and four day trip at Bay of Islands which covered Paihia, Cape Reinga and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Her mouth went wide open when she saw the hotel where they were gonna stay charged a whopping 3000 NZD.

“Are we spending all our savings on this trip?” she asked.

“Actually the company is paying for the trip. There is a meeting with the clients tied up along with our informal trip, but that’s gonna take hardly few hours each day. The rest of the time is all ours.”

“This sounds so awesome. Ever since we have shifted here we have been on roadtrips, but this is the first trip we are going to actually stay at such an royal place. Imagine spending 1.5 lakhs just for five days!! I thought you were out of your minds to have booked this place. Thank god the company is paying for it.”

“Well when the reason is grand the celebration should be grandeur too, don’t you agree?” he asked.

“I agree. Cheers to our pictureperfect relationship. Cheers to us.” They clinked their glasses filled with champagne.




To be continued. . .