Where are we headed today?

Love Story

They held hands and inched closer to each other. He looked into her eyes. They exuded the same love and warmth that he had gotten used to in the past few months; except that today, they betrayed fear. He gave her a smile, the all so endearing smile that she had madly fallen in love with, the first time she saw him.

It was July of last year. Lightning and thunder descended upon the grounds in tandem. It was pouring cats and dogs. I was shown to the room where I was to conduct the interview. Walking in, I kept my dripping umbrella in a corner and sat at the table before burying my fingers in the backpack for a notepad and a pen. When I looked up, there he was walking slowly towards me and smiling. My heart skipped a beat. I was face to face with the man the whole city was talking about and I was going to get to ask him questions.

 “Hello? Hello! What were you thinking?”, she heard him say, snapping her out of her reverie and back to the present.

“Where are we headed today?” She was expecting this question.

During the interview, he had spoken passionately about his love for travel and his dream of visiting exotic locations. He wanted to experience everything; the natural beauty, food, culture, life itself. By the end of the interview, I realized it was the beginning of something beautiful. I found myself sharing his dream. I found myself finding excuses to meet him, over and over again. He would wait for me impatiently, to talk to me, and to experience life. Together we had been to beautiful places. The ancient Shiva temple in the Sahyadri hills, the lush green tea plantations in Assam, the snowclad Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Why, we even scaled the Alps and camped in the Prairies. As we discovered the world, we discovered each other.

“I…I am not sure I can do this. Not today.” She murmured without looking up at him.

He gently lifted up her chin and said, “Hey, look at me. Worry does not suit your face. You are a tough woman! By the way, how do I look? I had a nice long shower and I even shaved!”

A myriad of thoughts and memories crisscrossed in her mind. She rested her head against his chest and he engulfed her in his arms, gently rocking her. His steady heartbeat had a calming effect on her. It always did.

Who was I when we met? A regular person with a regular life. Home to work and back home and my day was done. The regular mundane routine. No thrill, no surprises, no nothing. I was merely ticking off days in the calendar. For me, July 15^th was just another day, when my editor called me to his office. He usually handed over writing tasks to me that others rejected, barked orders and the meeting would be over. This time it was different. As I listened to him, I knew this was going to be an opportunity of a lifetime. Little did I know that my entire life was going to change.

“Didn’t you once say that worry and fear is sometimes a good thing? It forces you to have a Plan B in place. What is my plan B? I don’t want a plan B.” Tears had started to trickle down her cheeks.

I met him every Thursday. I remember the day I had walked in all upset and I had started to vent the minute I saw him. I was to interview a TV actor for the Sunday edition. It was Thursday evening already and I had not been able to get an appointment with him. The actor’s personal secretary was dilly dallying and had stopped taking my calls even. I had no hope now that I could get this interview and was going to fail. “Time for plan B”, he had said. I had stared at him blankly. “Find out what his shooting schedule is for tomorrow and just show up!” I was flabbergasted. “Would he not be upset with me for just showing up?” He had replied in his signature calm voice, “To get what you want, you have to do what it takes”. He taught me to take ownership of my life, to think, to live. I stopped the ‘dead man walking’ routine. I started to aspire, to dream. I wanted to hold on to the dream forever.

“By the way, what was the readers’ reaction to the interview? Who is managing my fan mail?” He laughed, trying to get her to cheer up.

She had come into my life like a breath of fresh air. She had conducted my interview. How hard she had tried to come across as an experienced journalist. She had thrown questions at me that I am sure she had spent hours preparing for…the standard cookie cutter questions. I guess popularity and notoriety both get people interested in the most meaningless things. Somehow, she sat riveted as I narrated the story of my life. Her large eyes giving away a mix of emotions, of shock, sadness and even awe at times. I felt drawn to her in that first meeting itself. One meeting led to another. I looked forward to playing her agony aunt and loved to see the admiration in her eyes for me. Oh, and the trips we had taken together! Priceless! I worried about her though. She needed to toughen up.

He lifted up her chin and said, “Let’s hit the beach today. What say?”

She looked up, tears still streaming down her face. With a resolve, she smiled and said, “OK. Let’s go!”.

With that, she opened her backpack just like she did each time. Her hand reached in and pulled out ’50 Things To Do in Goa’ and she began reading as he closed his eyes. And just like that, they were in Goa. Walking hand-in-hand on Varca beach watching the sunset, devouring Prawns Xacuti at Fisherman’s Wharf and sipping the finest port wine. They were so lost in each other and it was nearly midnight. She looked up from the book. A couple of shadows loomed over him.

“It’s time”, a shadow said. He slowly opened his eyes, a smile on his face. “I loved Goa. Didn’t you?”. She nodded and buried her head in his arms.

“We will continue our journey. Just in another place, another time. I love you.” He turned and walked away, the shadows following closely.

I stared at the man I had come to love, admire and worship as he walked to the gallows.  The world did not believe his story. To me, it did not matter. He was everything to me. He was my special place where I could crash and he would piece me together, where I found hope, where I found life. We celebrated every moment we got with each other. I am not going to cry anymore. I have precious memories, stored away in every corner of my heart. They will give me the strength to carry on.

As I leave the jailhouse, I hear him whisper in my ear - where are we headed today? - I smile as I reach into my backpack and pull out a book.

 

Author's Note

Any feedback is welcome.