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‘Can you see love?’

‘No. I mean, yeah, you can see love.’

‘Love is also like air. It’s just that we don’t notice the dirt at first.’

Even as Sudha had woken up again in Chandar’s memories, he came back to the café from his other world. Pummy was standing in a corner of the terrace, looking at the mountain. He went to the terrace and said to her, ‘Musafir Café is a good name.’

‘I had so many plans for this café. I would have constructed four-five rooms on the upper floor where people could stay. The mountain would be visible from every room. I wouldn’t have taken money from them. The people who would come to stay would have cooked and narrated their stories.’

‘I have decided that I won’t pay for my tea in this café.’

‘As in?’

‘As in whatever you’re falling short of, take it from me and finalize this deal.’

‘You have no idea what you want to do in life and you’re talking about loaning me so much money?’

‘Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m doing it. Before I get rid of this obsession, finalize the deal.’

‘But you don’t even know me properly.’

‘That doesn’t make any difference, you don’t know me well either. You know yourself well, that’s more than enough.’

‘Why do you want this café? Nobody pays so much money just for free tea.’

‘When I was in college, and somebody would ask me what I wanted to do in life I could think of only one answer. That I wanted to retire at forty and open a bookstore in a small town. If someone came to buy books then fine, or else I would just keep sipping tea all day, read books, call children from nearby houses and narrate stories to them. Basically, I wanted a world made up of books, chai, hills and rains. I could never think bigger than that. Now looking at this café, I am reminded of that old answer of my childhood. I can imagine a corner full of books in this café. Yeah, the only difference is that I have retired ten years early. You’ll let me keep books in one corner, won’t you?’

On hearing this, Pummy grabbed Chandar, hugged him and whispered in his ear, ‘Deal done.’

The mountain in front of them inched a bit closer as Pummy embraced Chandar. The waiter looked at Chandar and smiled. Chandar said to Pummy, while still in her embrace, ‘To celebrate this, get me a paratha at least. I am really hungry and I need a treat for this café.’

Those who have nothing to lose often take quick decisions. The day we understand that none of us here has anything to lose except our lives, that day we take the first step of our lives towards being true to ourselves. Even as we live in the world and are forever connected with the outside, we tend to forget that we have a whole world inside of us too.

Chandar didn’t waste time in taking this step towards being true to himself. Chandar and Pummy went to her office after leaving the café. Chandar did the calculations and said that the money would be transferred in two days.

Pummy still couldn’t believe that all of this was happening for real. She confirmed the deal with the owner by giving him Rs 50,000. Then she opened her notebook and showed Chandar the new layout of Musafir Café. The upper floor had space for three to four rooms on one side and a two-room flat on the other. A 500-square-feet balcony would overlook the mountain. A staircase would go right up from the middle of the café. From the layout, it looked more like a home than a café. Pummy told him that she had decided that she would live here. Every morning she would sit in the balcony and sip tea while looking at the mountain. Get drenched in the rain, light a bonfire during winters and pontificate on life’s philosophies after getting drunk.

Pummy had a very simple plan when it came to life. Plans about life should not be big; they should be simple. If the plans get too big, there’s no space left for life.

Chandar was happy to see Pummy’s happiness. He wanted to call up Sudha to tell her that he had invested in a café. He wanted Sudha to come and live with him. In that moment, he just wanted Sudha back. For the first time he thought that his insistence on marriage and a perfect life was a sham. Pummy invited Chandar to Mussoorie Club for dinner. Meanwhile, he also started to look for his own corner in the new layout of Musafir Café.

M for Mussoorie Club

Pummy and Chandar’s names were written together on a table at the Mussoorie Club. A bottle of champagne was waiting for them. Pummy had put on very light makeup and was wearing a black dress. Chandar had shaved after fifteen days and had gelled his hair.

‘Cheers! Whoa, a candlelight dinner! Thanks, Pummy!’

‘Cheers! There’s nothing to thank me for.’

‘You look good when you dress up.’

‘And not otherwise?’

‘Not as much as you do right now.’

‘Why did you shave? A beard suits you, no one ever told you that before?’

‘No, no one did. You’re the first girl who’s saying this.’