They met…

With eyes tearful

Hearts painful

Memories beautiful…

As they said farewell

With shattered souls,

Emotions ablaze like coals,

Rancor no word consoles!

That last lingering touch,

Spoke a volume of agony..

The world had so very nastily

Rejected their affectionate destiny!

As they parted ways…

Promising to never meet,

There was no retreat,

A fairytale left incomplete!!

“Look in to my eyes”, as he reached his hand to feel her trembling body, “I truly missed you, I should have never let you go!” With every inch of courage she could gather within her existence she raised her gaze, hearing what he had just confessed. “It’s too late, much much too late for us now.” The words came out in mumbles, tearful and pained voice.

On a night similar to the present, two heavy hearts had bid farewell, as a sacrifice, for the happiness of their loved ones. On a night similar to the present two pained, tear stricken eyes looked away, escaping from the gaze of that one face they longed to see forever.

On a night similar to the present two shattered souls parted ways, promising to never meet again. The final caress, the final kiss, that last lingering, warm encounter of the lips, the last embrace of two bodies that were destined to be solemnised for eternity.. When they literally tore away from each others envelope, tearing their hearts into the tiniest little fragments, shattered!

It was a decade since that agonising night, as much as the memories of it stung Maya on difficult moments, taking her back to his embrace, feeling of his lips on hers as real as it was a decade back, yet she had accepted the realities. Maya had very much moved on with her family life, living beautiful moments with her affectionate husband and two warm and loving children, it was all her universe revolved around anymore!

Until one day she received a phone call…

The voice on the other end too familiar, the voice that could have her heart melt at a single whisper, the voice that on many lonely nights had echoed in her mind, the voice came as a warning.. A warning of her own uncontrollable emotions, that she had with so much effort and strength put aside, the emotions came back in ten folds, gushing through her every nerve, rushing through her every tiny cell, at the sound of his voice.

“I need to see you, please please meet me, ” came the plea from the other end. Mayas mind in shreds, screaming to her cut the call, end the conversation, say bye!! Her heart on the other end wailing, pleading to her to not get in touch with those emotions again, reminding her of all those tears that were shed before she found the courage to move on, reminding her of the nights, in the death of darkness, that emptiness in her soul brought down an ocean of tears! Maya was warned by her own body!

“Umm I’m sorry Shoaib, I will not be able to,”Maya spoke those words with her highest level of determination, because as much as her heart and soul warned her, she knew there was nothing in the world she wanted more than to see him once.” It was nice hearing from you, but kindly refrain from contacti…….” she was brought to silence in mid-sentence.

 “Please Maya,” said Shoaib, his heart throbbing! Shoaib’s heart was longing to meet her, he had not been able to move on completely. His mind had held onto her dear memories, every single detail etched onto his mind, every little miniature detail of Maya was carved into his soul, never to be forgotten. “Just meet me once, I really need to see you, I promise to never trouble you again!”

Maya was in dilemma and Shoaib knew how unfair he was being, he was very well aware of the life she had adjusted into beautifully, he had watched her from a distance for a very long time. He very well knew his plea to her was selfish, he knew very well the pain her heart would endure. But all he wanted once was to feel her presence again, look into her deep eyes, and watch her warm smile, hoping it would warm his cold, frozen heart!

Maya had heard about Shoaibs disrupted life, aware of the reality that he had never been able to move on, ending his unhappy marriage. She had with all her strength kept those thoughts away from her mind, even though a few times she felt an uncomfortable gaze, assuming it to be her imagination, Maya had a few times felt his invisible presence. This phone call validated that those were not assumptions, her imagination had not been playing games on her after all.

At her point of weakest decision making, going against her own will, she agreed to meet him. As she walked into the restaurant they had very carefully decided on, at a distance from her residence, his eyes traced her as though he had been longing for this glance of her walking towards him this whole decade! Maya found in those eyes still the same affection and admiration, the kind that no matter how much she denied, she had never received the same admiration again, after him.

After a pleasant courtship and a fabulous dinner, covering many conversations regarding life experiences and its lessons, discussions on common friends, and various flowing topics, Maya realised it was time for her to leave, her children would be in search of her. “Just a small walk on the beach?” Shoaib asked as Maya made clear her intention of leaving, “like old times”, he added. Maya felt weak again, falling into the softness of his tone and the pleading in his eyes! They strolled through the sandy beach, the waves and the sea reminding of many sweet memories, a sense of deja vu!

It was certainly a quiet walk, their bodies in a sense of trance, the priceless moments they had spent together playing vividly on both their minds! Shoaib stopped walking, and looked her in the eye, she went numb. He placed his hand on her face, and stroked her cheek with his fingers, as though he was still in disbelief that she was finally beside him after all these years. Maya trembling, her body screaming at her to move, to run, but she stood there unable to resist the moment. “Look into my eyes”, Shoaib confessed, “I truly missed you, I should have never let you go!”

“It’s too late, much much too late for us now.” Maya lifted her gaze, looked him deeply in his eyes. This time she knew she had to listen to the warnings of her body, she knew if she didn’t resist in this moment, it would end painfully for them both! “You have to move on Shoaib, what we had was precious, I will always hold onto those memories of you, but my present is equally precious to me. I can’t let my past disrupt my present. We made a decision, it was one that both of us made together, and now is too late to change it.” And a decade later again they bid farewell, tearing their hearts again, into the tiniest little fragments, shattered!

Written by Sakinas Expressions
Illustration by DRG