I reached Shillong Airport just in time and stood in the
check-in queue looking for her all around. My brain clearly knew she is at
Guwahati but could not convince the heart yet. Boarded my flight and now I
started to stare my mobile phone. I waited and waited for a call or message
from her. Something stopped me inside to initiate the conversation.
The cabin crew started making announcements to turn off the
electronic devices and I opened her contact and looked up the messages. Her
last message read ‘Good Night’ and then it struck me, ‘what if she has sent a
message to my old number?’ ‘what if she tried to call me?’. The flight
completed taxiing and it was almost ready for takeoff as my mobile tower
started to drop points one by one.
“Hi this is Bala. This
is my new number” and hit send. I never knew whether it reached her. It was
a 4-hour flight and I must wait to see if it really got delivered.
The flight landed 15 minutes early. I walked out of the flight to pick up my baggage and
started to walk out of the airport.
“How cool it would be if she was waiting there to receive me
with a hug?”, heart started it.
“Seriously? Now? Let him use me for sometime. You better stop watching
the stupid emotional movies that has climax scenes at airport or a railway
station!”, brain retorted.
I kept walking and smiling within myself with my random
thoughts. I checked my mobile again and I got a beep. The message delivered successfully. I got a call within seconds and
I knew even before looking at the name that it was her. I gave it a full 10
seconds and picked up walking towards the Airport bus stand.
If you have someone who can call you to hear your silence,
do not leave them. If they can understand the silence, go to any extent to be
with them.
“I was waiting for you to tell this… all along, from the
moment I met you again. What took you so long! You kept going away, don’t you
like me?”, she started after a full 30 seconds of silence.
Ego stops you from initiating. Your brain stops you from
initiating. Every emotion tries to stop you and you must cut through every one
of them to reach the bottom of your heart. Is that why people say love resides
deep inside? Regret is much painful than the failure. Follow your heart.
“Do I really have to say? Sounds, language and words came
much later to this universe. The feelings were existent much earlier, no?”, I
said. “You smiled, didn’t you?”, I added.
“No, I did not.”, she tried to control her emotions and
continued, “Was that even a joke?”
I smiled as I boarded the bus and sat in a window seat.
“If you were here, I would have given you…”, before I could
complete, she said, “given me? what? You bought me a gift? Or…?”, she was
excited like a kid.
“I was just about to say - Snickers!”, I said.
“Chee.. Peanuts!”, she said. I - we laughed, like really laughed. The bus started moving, and we both switched
to text. I was so curious to know what she thought about the letter and asked,
Me - “You did not respond for the letter? Did you?”
She – “What letter? ;)”
That’s both the worst and best thing about texts and smileys.
You never know whether that’s a sarcasm or what tone it is. After another 10
minutes, received a “Good Night. Let this be a new beginning :)”. As I smiled
looking at the text, I felt peace within me. Checked the time it was 11:59 and
I dozed off.
The heart felt a lot lighter and is that why people call Love, eternal happiness?
