“Not too chatty today, is it?” she sighed and sat next to him reading. This was her daily routine, talking to him, reading him stories from his favorite books and filling him in about her relatives and friends in between.
“So Anita has been calling me for over a month now to see her new cat Muggles” said Bani in between reading from Wuthering Heights out loud.
“But how can I leave you here it’s not that she would like me bringing you along!” she continued “Maybe I can go and come back in a day eh?” and just as she said that in came her brother Bikram.
“Staying in again sis?” he said smiling but that vanished as soon as his eyes fell on Gaurav.
“Bani?” said Gaurav holding the phone close to him “Are you still there?”
“Uh hun” came the feeble response from the other end.
“Don’t be upset Bani” said Gaurav in a calming tone “We’ll be fine. Don’t you want to be with me?”
“Of-course I do” said Bani sitting by her bedroom window looking at the train tracks and for a moment losing track of the fact that she was on the phone.
“Bani?” called Gaurav again.
“Yes..” she said “I do want to be with you..but a registered marriage?”
“Bani…we don’t belong to the same caste” he said “You know they’re never going to agree.”
“Hmm…” she said touching the ring that Gaurav had gifted her “Okay…let’s do it.”
“Good” he said “We’ll meet at the station and then go to the court tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay…” she said “Oh and Gaurav don’t be late!”
“What?” Bani said standing up”I’m just reading Bikram..what’s there to get so upset about?”
“Because you are reading to the picture of Gaurav…When will you realize that he has left, it has been ten years already…the day he took the train out was the end of what you had…Move on sis..don’t do this to yourself! Not anymore I beg of you”
At this Bani looked out of the window and saw the train pass by, again thinking ‘The trees, the houses and the track, all oddly quiet today Gaurav. Not a thing has changed since you left. Seasons perhaps but everything else seems to be frozen in time. I even have a few grays now you know. Oh and don’t mind Bikram he just loves me too much. You know they say you always wanted to leave me, this was always your intent. But I don’t believe them. I have to wait for you. I can’t stop now after coming so far. Maybe a decade back I could have but not now! But I often wonder what was really your intent when you left like that?’
“Where are you Gaurav? It’s been four hours already!” thought Bani waiting at the station. She was beginning to get restless now. Looking at the entrance of the station at one moment and at her watch the next, she wondered what could have been keeping Gaurav from getting there.
It was already dark now and she had to go home so she decided to leave and call Gaurav from home. Maybe it was an emergency that had held him back. There was nothing to worry she thought. But just when she was about to walk out of the station her eyes fell on him seated on a moving train.
But before she could fathom anything or even bat an eyelid the train passed. Their eyes only met momentarily when he seemed to say something to her, a sorry maybe.
Bani didn’t know what struck her then but she kept standing there until her brother brought her back home that night.
*** Present Day***Bani picked up Gaurav’s picture from the table and turning to Bikram said “All I want is to keep leading my life the way I’ve been, hoping for Gaurav to return without being judged. Of-course, this wasn’t the life I had planned for but then this is all I now know.Don’t make it any harder please”as in their minds through the clarity of retrospect, the obvious conclusion surfaced: things don’t always turn out as planned.
Word count: 750
Linking this to yeahwrite’s the speakeasy #154 with the prompt which entails including the following sentence as the LAST line of the submission: “Through the clarity of retrospect, the obvious conclusion surfaced: things don’t always turn out as planned.” and also a reference to the media prompt- Intent by Tanmay Shah.
Oh I loved it, Naba! Keeping up pretences and feeling love for the one that left you is not easy. How well you have captured it. Well done, you!
I like you've narrated it between the present and the incident ten years back.. nice story 🙂
I like how you filled in the story by switching back and forth between present and past. I might be cynical, but I'm not so sure her family didn't have something to do with him being on that train. I feel for her, stuck in the past without the prospect of a future.
The reflection was perfect to tie the present and past together. It is such a sweet sadness that she sits there waiting for him, unable to cope from her loss of love. I must wonder why he ever got on the train.
You inspire to write Naba 🙂 Perfect story telling..
I wonder what would have made Gaurav leave l like that. Loved the story.
I wish Bani would move on and look for happiness that she so deserves.
Oh, this is so sad. Poor Bani. I love the way we find out about Gaurav slowly. Great use of the prompts! 🙂
Poor Bani. I wonder what why Gaurav left without her?
So sad. I too love the way you jumped from past to present.
Well that made me sad, it's truly quite difficult to move on and to heal, but ten years is a very long time 🙁
Thanks Shailaja 🙂 Glad you liked it and thanks for the suggestion that day!
Thanks so much 🙂
I feel the same way Janna… Sad that she will perhaps never know ! Thanks for dropping by !
I know it's sad when we don't know the answers and still cant move ahead…! Thanks for dropping by Renada 🙂
Ohh this just made my day! Thanks so much 🙂
Thanks Rajalakshmi 🙂 I'm too still not sure about why he left…
I wish that too! Thanks for dropping by Purba 🙂
Thanks Suzzane 🙂 Glad you liked it!
I know! I wish she knew the answer ! Thanks for dropping by Mollie 🙂
Thanks Stacie..Glad you liked it 🙂
I know…It's so sad that life doesn't always give the answers we want… Thanks for dropping by !
very awesome and in depth narration, I could actually walk with the characters!! This will be my favorite, I am bookmarking for reading again!
Thanks so much Sri! 🙂
This was interesting how you hoped from past to present. Very sad to lose a decade of your life to someone who obviously never deserved it.
What a sad story-to keep waiting for someone without hearing from them -for a decade-ooh!Heart breaking take on the prompt and very well written Nabanita:-)
A very sad story, which you've developed very well using the flash backs…very well written.
You left us with a little mystery – I like that. How romantic, that she's still waiting for him.
There is a melancholy thread running throughout your story and the flashbacks seem to reinforce that. Nice work.
Nabanita, how poignant this story was. At first, I thought perhaps Guarav was her son, and then, as you switched from the present to the past and back again, I felt her pain, and her desperation as she continued to hold on to false hope. This was very well written, and you held my attention from the beginning to the end.
Blessings,
Cheryl
Glad you found it interesting Kathy 🙂 And yes it is indeed very sad to lose precious time in uncertainty!
Glad that you liked it 🙂 Thanks for dropping by
Thanks 🙂
Thanks Christine..Glad that you liked it !
Thanks Jacqueline 🙂
I'm glad my story could do that…Thanks so much Cheryl for dropping by!
That was a gripping tale, esp. the way you narrated it.. across timelines.. but I agree with Purba.. I wish Bani moves on.. she deserves a lot more.
What a story, Naba! I have goosebumps. You have stitched past & present so well.
There are people like Bani? (Veer-Zaara movie had such a couple!)
Great to find a mention of my name 🙂 Hehe!
Glad you liked the way of narration Seeta 🙂 And I know Bani should really move on…
haha…yes Anita I know there are such people and it's sad that we hold on to uncertainty but the heart just doesn't let go..sadly no?
Thanks for reading 🙂
You narrated it perfectly. The moving between the past and present was nicely done. Maybe, Bani needs to just put the past behind once and for all.
Hi Nabanita, I liked the way two timeframes are interwoven. Really good work and am sure you will continue expand on this story outside of your word-limited submission :-).