Anchal took
the phone and looked at Rohaan; she couldn’t realize how to express gratitude
to her innocent brother, he was indeed very understanding and helpful. After Rohaan
left the room, she was bewildered; should she call Sagnik for one more time and
tell him everything? Or, should she avoid Sagnik and move on? She couldn’t understand what to do; she then
kept the cell phone aside and tried to concentrate on her studies. She could
hardly concentrate, all she was thinking about Sagnik; finally she decided to
give him a call.
“Hello”,
Sagnik said.
“Hi, baby”,
she sobbed.
“Pumpkin!!! Baby,
where are you? Why aren’t you talking to me? Did I do something wrong?” he
enquired.
“I’m so
sorry”, she sobbed again.
“What is the
matter?”
“Nothing…”
“Please tell
me”, he requested. She couldn’t control her feelings any longer, she started
crying hard; Sagnik was confounded for some time and then he started consoling
her. He asked her the matter but she couldn’t reveal the entire matter to him. She
told him that her parents were conscious of their relationship and they were
indeed displeased about it. She didn’t let him know how she got tortured by her
family; she didn’t even reveal that she got slapped by her father and he asked her
not to continue her coaching classes. Sagnik realized that she was in total
mess but he didn’t want to ask her hell lots of questions and prick her
further. Hence he tried to comfort her and to some extent he succeeded; his
talks made her smile once again and all her pain was drenched away. She thought
of giving her luck one more chance, she believed that her God won’t let her
down this time. All she could think of,was, giving her relationship one more
chance and she decided that no matter what happens she would sail through every
difficulty. For the next few months everything was going very smooth; her
Nanny, her cousin elder sister and ofcourse Rohaan helped her throughout. They
loved Sagnik and considered him to be absolutely perfect for Anchal. Not in her
wildest dreams she thought that life was about to play its crooked game once
again, Avisek got aware of the matter somehow and he was almost preparing his
cruelest plan ever. Anchal’s account was hacked one more time and she was
helpless, she couldn’t figure out her next step to protect her love from Avisek
and his filthy plans.
“I don’t
understand Nanny, what I shall do?” she said.
“Well, all I
can say to have faith on God and have patience”, Nanny replied.
“Till how
long I have to suffer so much? I don’t understand why Avisek hates me so much,
why is he so jealous with me? I tried hard to please him but he still hates me
so much…”
“No dear, don’t
cry”, Nanny said and wiped away the tears.
“He is my brother Nanny, my own brother; still
he hates me so much. I don’t know what he wants from me?”
“Life is
very mysterious; it plays its own games and even gives justice to everyone. It
may ditch you most of the times but it will also give you the ultimate bliss. Don’t
get disheartened sweetheart, I know you deserve happiness and maybe HE is
planning something better for you.”
“All I’m
afraid is if Dad tries to hurt Sagnik…”
“No, he
won’t hurt him…”
“Nanny, he
said he will kill him if he comes to know that I’m still talking to him. Avisek
got aware of it and he will definitely let Dad know about it”, she sobbed hard.
“You don’t
worry, I will talk to Avisek”, she said politely. Anchal tried to convince
herself that everything would go fine but could never relax; she was getting
anxious as the days went by. She was getting more and more depressed but she harbored
no complaints, she spent sleepless nights thinking about the darkness
approaching towards them but she never revealed a single word to Sagnik. Seeing
Anchal so agitated and disturbed, her cousin rang up Sagnik without Anchal’s
knowledge and confided into him the entire matter. Sagnik was shocked to hear
that Anchal’s dad didn’t allow her anymore for the IIT coaching, he even
slapped her unsympathetically. At first he got very pissed off but then he felt
very guilty; he considered himself to be the only reason for her condition.
Inspite of his guilt he felt happy because her love for him was so immense that
after being tormented so much she still believed that their love would survive.
She never let their love kneel down before the tough times and kept on smiling.
Sagnik was determined that no matters what happens next, he would never let his
love go away from him, he will never lose hope. Both of them used to converse
more often, Sagnik never revealed to her that he was aware of everything. He
often tried to make her laugh and live her life without worries where as
Anchal, she too tried hard to suppress her anxiety infront of Sagnik and
behaved as if she was enjoying every moment with him.True ,she did enjoy every
moment with him, but with restlessness clung to her like her own shadow. They
even went out for dates; Anchal’s cousin helped her while she went out with
Sagnik, she started believing that finally happiness was bestowed in her
destiny. They chatted till late into nights and everything was going very
smooth.
……….
……….
……….
“When
everything was going so good, then what went wrong?” Bidya poked in. Sagnik
didn’t respond anything and looked away; his eyes were full of tears.
“I don’t
know how to console people, I’m indeed a big time loser in this case”, she
said.
“Same here”,
Dipanita said.
“I’m
absolutely fine”, he tried hard to smile. “I feel bad because I couldn’t help
her, she suffered everything all alone. She is the best soul I have ever come
across.”
“What went
wrong?” Dipanita enquired.
“Many
things, many issues we came across but then there was a time when I thought it
would be better for her if we depart. Hence I asked her to meet me for the last
time; it was our last date and I saw her for the last time; I bade her good-bye
for the final time…”
……….
……….
……….
“You ok???”
Aditi enquired.
“I don’t
know”, Sagnik said.
“I know it’s
hard to decide but still think twice before you take the final step”, she said.
“I know”, he
said and then all of a sudden he broke down in tears. He hugged Aditi tightly
and cried hard, he was never so disheartened previously; he was never so feeble
before. He behaved like a kid, as if he lost his very first crayons while he
was about to draw his perfect master piece. Aditi tried to console him but she
knew well that her words could never ease his pain.
“Sagnik,
stop crying dear, please”, she said. “Since the day we became best friends I
have known that you are a very strong person and very brave. I know the
situations are dismal but if you get weak then you can never convince Anchal
and you got your exam semester approaching.”
“I know, I
need to be strong, I know …. I need… to be… strong”, he murmured. Finally the
day arrived, he was about to meet Anchal, he was totally broken from inside yet
he was smiling. Anchal wasn’t mentally prepared about the ferocious winds
approaching her love castle; she considered it to be like any other date. They
went to the place where they started their relationship; Sagnik thought it
would be better to end the relationship from where it had started. He was
waiting for Anchal and his eyes were full of tears, the thought of not seeing
her, not feeling her soft skin, not kissing her tender lips, perforated his
soul. He thought loving her was so easy than to get away from her, but then he
needed to be strong and he wiped away the tears which made their ways to his
lips.
“Hi”, a sweet voice said. The voice was not of some unknown
girl, she was the only girl of his life. He closed his eyes and felt the
essence of her voice for and imprisoned it forever; he turned back and saw her,
his eyes captured her picture and stored it forever. He smiled at her and she
came towards him and hugged him tightly. There was not much public and hence
she was desperate enough to hug him in the public place. He felt her touch and
hugged her back, he couldn’t control himself anymore. Anchal looked at him and
his eyes were wet, she could then feel the upcoming storm which was approaching
silently.
“I love you Anchal”, he said. “But…”
“Tum thik ho?”
“I can’t continue this relationship Anchal”, he said and
looked away. She kept quiet and was stunned for some time, she couldn’t believe
her ears but when she saw him sobbing; she leaned her head on his shoulder and
held his hand tight.
“I don’t know the reason why you said such thing but I know
you love me a lot”, she sobbed. The moment she said that Sagnik hugged her
tight and cried out loud, he couldn’t let her go. Both of them continued sobbing
till they realized that they were in the park, Sagnik wiped away her tears and
held her hand tight; this time he was looking directly into her eyes.
“Anchal, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone and I
don’t know whether I will ever be able to love so much like te way I loved you
but I want to end this relationship for your happiness. Anchal, the dreams
which you have seen for yourself and the things you have planned for your
future is more important than our love...”
“I want to be with you, you are the best part of my future”,
she interrupted. He smiled at her and pressed her cheeks, then he said her that
her cousin rang him up and said him everything. Anchal was shocked when she
heard that Sagnik was aware of everything and no longer could she face him.
“You kept everything to yourself, you suffered everything all
alone, you never let me know your pain and how can you expect that I will let
you suffer when I know everything. Anchal I’m not telling you to get out of my
life, I’m telling to give this relation a break for time being, atleast till
you achieved your goals and if after that Destiny is with us, we will be with
each-other.”
Anchal remained quiet and said nothing and tears kept rolling
down her cheeks, Sagnik cupped her face and kissed her lips and then her fore
head. “You are my angel Anchal, but I can’t let you suffer all alone”, he said.
“I know you love me more than I love you and I respect your
decision. I will work hard and achieve my dreams and ofcourse I will wait till
our Destiny unites us once again”, she said and kissed his fore-head.
“I love you Pumpkin”, he said and smiled. They conversed for
some times, they shared their experiences with each other. Sagnik made her
smile as he didn’t want her to cry and get feeble while they were about to
depart. As usual Sagnik gave her the red rose but this time it was of plastic
not the real-one, Anchal looked at him in surprise.
“You might be thinking why I gave you this instead of the
real one; it’s because I don’t know when we are going to meet, infact whether
we can ever be able to meet or not, so I want the rose to be perfect till the
day we meet”, Sagnik said and a tear rolled down his cheeks.
“We will meet”, she replied. “I know, we will.”
Then they depart forever, both of them smiled at each-other
to prove that they are strong enough to accept the fact with ease but in inside
the pain of separation started boiling at its highest point. Sagnik returned
home and took his cell phone and went through all her text, he checked her
mails, her photographs and broke down in tears. For many days he locked himself
in his room and he was least bothered about his approaching semester exams. His
room-mates enquired about the matter but he could tell nothing, all he was lost
in her thought. Anchal never called him after that day; she was indeed strong
enough to endure everything silently. Infact she was in a war to win her love
over her fate, but she forgot that few things we can’t change, they are
destined to be snatched away. Semester exams were on and somehow Sagnik managed
to concentrate in his studies, Anchal often came across his mind but he
controlled himself each time he thought himself getting weak. Everything was
somehow getting normal but then all of a sudden Sagnik found Anchal’s landline
number flashing and it was late at night. For a moment he thought he was
dreaming but then he pinched himself, he wasn’t dreaming. He was very happy to
see her name flashing, he picked up the call but then he couldn’t speak at all.
It wasn’t Anchal, it was her brother Avisek. He was literally abusing Sagnik
for no reason from the moment he received the call. At first he was stunned and
couldn’t relate what’s going on but later he heard some girl shrieking very
badly. The girl was no one other than Anchal, Sagnik went pale and he couldn’t
utter a word. He held the phone for a while and then the line got disconnected.
He didn’t realize what happened, he again dialed her number. He got to talk to
him as he wanted to know why Anchal was shrieking so badly. At first no one
picked up the call but later Avisek received his call.
“Hello”, Sagnik said.
“How dare you to call here, you filthy bastard”, Avisek roared
over the phone. Sagnik could still hear her screaming loudly, his anxiety level
got increased. He was least bothered what Avisek was telling, all he cared
about Anchal.
“I want to talk to Anchal, what happened to her?” he
enquired.
“Don’t you dare pronounce her name, if you want to see her
alive”, he said and disconnected the line. Sagnik stood perplexed and then
broke down in tears, he dialed her number one more time but the phone didn’t
ring. He couldn’t understand what to do? Whom to call and ask for help? What
happened to Anchal? Why was she screaming so loud? He couldn’t tolerate his
restlessness, the next day was his Semester exam and all he wanted to run away
to Anchal’s place. He rang Aditi but she didn’t pick up his call as it was late
at night, he give a call to all his friends but none picked up his call. His
frustration was increasing as the time passed by, he kept trying her number but
it was unreachable. After half an hour he collapsed as he couldn’t take the
frustration any more. His roomies got terrified and soon called the doctor and
was taken to the hospital. When he got his senses back he just wished
everything to be a night mare but when he checked his call records he realized
that everything that happened was real. Because of him Anchal was cruelly
tortured by her family, she got to suffered so much. Her screams kept on
echoing in his mind, her pain and her helplessness tormented Sagnik every
moment. After a week or so he received a mail from Anchal’s cousin, she said
him not to contact Anchal anyway if he wanted her to be alive. When Sagnik
enquired about Anchal and the matter, he got no answer from her, infact she
never replied to him.
………
……….
………….
“I don’t know what happened that day... I don’t know how she
is... I don’t know whether she cracked her IIT or not, I got no clue whether
she is dead or alive”, Sagnik stammered whereas Dipanita and Bidya, they were still
stunned and their eyes were full of tears. Both of them went numb, they
couldn’t utter a word.
“I am sure, she will be fine”, Bidya broke the silence after
a long time. Sagnik looked at her and smiled; she then wiped away his tears.
Dipanita was still quite unable to utter a single word, she couldn’t imagine
how Anchal endured everything; she did respect Anchal’s patience and endurance
but for then she could only pray for Anchal and hope that she was fine.
“She is very strong Sagnik, she isn’t that weak and I’m sure
she is fighting till now”, Dipanita said. Three of them were so emotional that
none can make other feel comfortable; Bidya’s cell rang and she excused
herself.
“I’m so sorry, I hope you are okay”, Sagnik said.
“I think I should be the one telling this”, Dipanita said. He
used to ask me the same way you asked me, whenever both of us were upset, he
cared for me whether I was feeling better or not. Why you left me and walked
away? Why?
“So,
now it’s your turn to tell the story”, he said.
“Oh!
Please, one story was enough for today and my destination will be arriving
soon”, she smiled.
“This
is cheating…”
“Well,
I want to ask you one thing, will you ever be able to love anyone else?” she
enquired.
“Why
not??? Anchal is my past, my beautiful past, I never regret by loving her but
that doesn’t mean I will not build my present and future. If we are destined
for each-other we will be together but if not I will always welcome love in my
life.”
“I
don’t… know…”
“Listen
dear, love might give us pain but we fall in love to experience happiness
rather than to hold the pain. I do love Anchal and I know I can never love
someone like I loved her but that doesn’t mean I can never be in love. I will
be in love; it’s that I am waiting for the correct person.”
“Quite
practical”, she giggled.
“One
should be”, he smiled too. “I want to ask you something…”
“Go
ahead”, she said.
“What
do you expect from your ex? Answer truly”, he said.
“Thank
you.”
“What?”
“I
mean I just want to hear ‘Thank you’, he always said that he was lucky enough
to have me, I am his greatest support and many more but he never appreciated me
and now when I am a stranger to him, I want him to appreciate me”, she said.
“I
don’t know, are you really so good or I’m just dreaming.”
“You
are dreaming”, she giggled. “You are a good soul hence you feel that everyone
is as good as you.”
“So
very funny”, he laughed. “I have observed
you since the time I have noticed you, I felt you are afraid of something.
Afraid to fall in love, afraid to trust, afraid of giving life a chance; I
don’t know the reason, all I want to say move on.”
“Okayyyyy,
let’s see”, she smiled.
“I’m
not telling you to forget your past or hate him or something else. I am telling
you to carry your past but built your future”, he said. They then talked for a
while and exchange their mail ids to stay in terms; the journey was indeed memorable
for both. Then the train came to halt, before she got down she turned back to
him and said, “I really had a wonderful experience with you, you are a very
nice person. I never thought I would meet someone so good, all strangers are
not bad.”
“Oh,
so I think you are impressed, so can I have your number”, he winked at her.
“I’m
sorry I can’t give you my number but I can promise you something. On my ex’s
birthday I will definitely send him the book I was writing for him, no matter
what happens and the very next mail I will send it to you. I will show you my
story…”
“Really???
Oh, thank you so much”, he said excitingly. “I will be waiting for your mail.”
“One
more thing, you are right, I am afraid of something. The something is that if I
moved on in my life and years after I still see him struggling with his past
and running behind darkness, will I be happy to see him like that, will I give
justice to my soul-mate? I can’t love someone like I loved him…”
“I
couldn’t get you…”
“Just
think, you moved on with some-one and you find Anchal still waiting for you
after years, suppose she never got out of her past …then… strange na??? I know
I’m crack but I can’t change myself, anyways good-bye and have a safe journey”,
she said and then she left. For a moment, Sagnik couldn’t get out of her words,
he couldn’t understand what to say or how to react but whatever she said touched
his heart. He later realized better not to think of the consequences as the
thought itself started haunting him.
Months later, Sagnik received
Dipanita’s mail, till then they never had a chat, Dipanita never showed up but
she kept her promise. She mailed her the soft-copy of her book which she was
writing for her ex. After a week Sagnik mailed her…
To my dearest stranger,
I am very angry, you never showed up. I thought
you gave me some fake id and I really didn’t expect your mail. I read your book
and completed it today itself, I must say you are a very good soul. I’m not
buttering you but truly I felt that your love for him is immense. And the guy, I
must say he is so honest and truthful, seriously, so transparent regarding
feelings. He is also a lovely soul. Now coming to u, u really endured a lot,
his frustration, his anger everything.. But I think he didn’t mean it literally
or may b he meant it, I don’t know, but u, dear u bear a lot. After reading ur
story I gt immobilized. I was recollecting ur story, each n evry momnts of
urs.. wat I felt he is just afraid that he won't be able to love you as much
as you love him..!! so perfectly you have arranged everything and I’m sure
after reading this he can resist himself frm talking to u. don't be scared, he is a boy after all and you still are his
best friend..! I thnk after reading the story he ought to realize how much u
love him and if not then he is an idiot & definitely he will thank you. J
To be honest and frankly speaking, I am quite jealous of him.
Don’t mind, it’s quite natural to get jealous. He does feel something for u,
not love, not friendship something more than dat and one thing I must say he is
afraid to lose you, I can bet that. Your story really moved me so much, I m
really very impressed with your dedication and devotion and if I give any
lecture to u den it will be an insult to ur feelings. So I wont insult u n ur
feelings. N if I have to say anything then I would say ask him to open up little,
share things and honestly you both deserve each other. GOD BLESSES YOU BOTH!
Hope your endless waiting gets a reward. And I got good news for u; I am in
love once again n guess the girl…???? Smitha (snail)… n plz pray that Anchal is
fine and she too moved on because what you said last time the thought haunt me
till now.. plz pray that she must moved on.. Take care and stay happy.
Love stranger.
After
reading the mail, she smiled and recalled her meeting with the sweetest
stranger she had ever met. She was very happy for Sagnik that he found his
perfect partner and she did pray for Anchal to be sound and safe.
“I’m
also committed Sagnik”, she thought. “But, Am I really committed???”
The End…
