Life..Love Interrupted

Jul 29
NabanitaDhar

‘Hello, Malini?’ said the voice on the other side of the phone.
‘Yes who is this?’ she yawned as she frowned at being woken up in the dead of the night. She was tired and had just managed to doze off when the phone rang. Who would be calling her at this unearthly hour she thought as she looked at her table clock.
‘This is Meera; Prateek’s colleague from Seattle. I am sorry to call at this hour but I have news for you.’
At the mention of Prateek; Malini sat up instantly. The mention of the word news drew her mind immediately to the worst possible that could have happened. Why would Meera give her news about Prateek? He would call her up. What would this lady possibly have to tell her that Prateek couldn’t do himself? She tried shrugging over the terrible feeling that suddenly overpowered her; maybe it’s nothing she tried to tell herself. Then with fear in her heart she said ‘Yes tell me Meera.’
‘I am so sorry Malini; I hate giving this news to you but he is no more. Actually’ and then came a crashing sound from the other side of the call. ’Malini are you there?’  said Meera as she heard the loud thud.
With the words ‘He is no more’ Malini’s whole world came crashing down along with the receiver. Malini couldn’t believe her ears. Did she hear right? No it wasn’t possible; she just spoke to him in the morning but what about the call? She looked towards their photograph on her bedside; they looked so happy together. 
He had just gone there a month back; she was soon to join him after tying up a few loose ends here in Chennai. It couldn’t be happening to her. This had to be a nightmare. She closed and opened her eyes repeatedly to wake up from this horrible dream. But fact was it wasn’t one; it was the harsh truth of her life. What happened and how; she didn’t even have the heart to listen to it all. Her cell phone now kept ringing as the landline was off the hook but she was too shaken up to answer that. She didn’t have the courage to listen to any detail about what might have taken him away.
As tears rolled down her eyes, she shivered in the middle of Chennai’s summer; her eyes red and body pale. She placed her hands gently on her stomach and looked towards the brown envelope that lay by her bedside. It was her pregnancy report; yes she was expecting. They had finally decided to plan a baby; they were in that place in life where everything was more or less settled. She was going to tell him the next morning. Infact he too was anxious to know the results of her test. Now he wasn’t there any longer and she would never get to tell him this big news; to see the excitement in his face. She wanted to cry but it was hard. All she wished for was Prateek. She wanted to bury her face on his chest and weep out loud. She fell on his side of the bed; hugged his pillow and cried incessantly.
‘Oh Prateek please come back. Please please come back. Prateek I love you please come back. I want to speak to you; talk to you and hold you. Oh Prateek please come back’ she wept and called out to him.
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
I’d walk right up to Heaven
                                    And bring you home again. ~Author Unknown

Hearing her cries; Malini’s sister-in-law, Priya came calling to her room and found her on the bed with the pillow half wet and the howling growing louder by the second. All Priya could hear was the name of Prateek and that scared her out of her wits. It wasn’t hard to guess what might have happened; the phone off the reciver; Malini crying out loud.
Malini’s cell phone rang again and this time Priya picked it up.
‘Hello’ she said as she realised it was a call from Seattle.
‘Malini?’ said Meera from the other side.
‘No this is Priya, her sister-in-law. Has something happened?’ she asked timidly.

‘I am so sorry to inform you Priya, Prateek had met a terrible accident on his way to office and we lost him. I am so sorry’ sobbed Meera from the other end.
Priya felt numb but mustered the strength to talk to Meera.
‘Thank you Meera for informing us. Can I call you in the same number in some time; I need to gather myself and Malini. Hope you understand’ she said this and hung up.
Priya walked up to Malini and as she sat down with tears in her eyes; looking towards the room when many a time the three of them stayed up late chatting and playing games her eyes fell on the envelope too with the Maternity Clinic’s name printed on the front. She picked it up and as she read the reports; her heart was overwhelmed with pain for Malini more than Prateek. It was tragic. No matter how much Priya wanted to comfort Malini; she knew nothing could soothe her at this point atleast. They cried and with them cried the stars that peeped into their room from the windows.
With what a deep devotedness of woe
I wept thy absence – o’er and o’er again
Thinking of thee, still thee, till thought grew pain,
And memory, like a drop that, night and day,
Falls cold and ceaseless, wore my heart away!
~Thomas Moore

Life is full of uncertainty. Never wait for telling your loved one how important they are for you or giving that all important piece of news. Remember nobody knows what tomorrow has in store for you. Living with regret is one of the hardest things to do. Malini will always live with the remorse of failing to live her life with Prateek and with an even greater disappointment of letting him in on what could have been the last joy of his life!
We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.  ~Kenji Miyazawa

42 thoughts on “Life..Love Interrupted”

  1. I have tears in my eyes. Very well narrated. Hope its entirely fiction, and not a post, related to anyone's real life.

  2. Not what I expected to read first thing in the morning but gives an important life lesson about cherishing each moment. Good one!

  3. It made my heart ache..so painful..may no body come in such a situation in life..Its a fiction, Right????God!!!so scaring and so pitiful..

  17. Very nice story Nabanita…lots of emotions in it !! Yeah life is uncertain and we should make it a point to tell the people who mean to you that you love them !!!

  21. Thanks for this moving piece – each time I read a piece of fiction from you my mind immediately moves to Nicholas Sparks' writings 🙂

    I will be at the Indiblogger Meet at Bengaluru this weekend! Would you be coming?

    Keep writing 🙂

  22. Its DARK – pretty dark in emotion.. yet somehow I want to look at it as a ray of hope announcing itself from the folds of that brown envelope !

  26. I know Indu..its so sad and pathetic when something like this happens; but unfortunately it does..!

  30. I just came across, could not stop reading it. Very touching Nabanita, very touching. I'm still having the chills.

  36. aahhh here it comes. Thankfully you haven't put deadly twists in this one 🙂
    As always, lovely work of fiction. You are great at making people wet their eyes and hearts with emotions 🙂

  41. @vinay singh: love u loads shou.

    @nabanita: realised how much more he loves me when he became sentimental after reading this. thanx so much!

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