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‘I don’t know what’s inside, Koyal, if that’s what you’re asking. And I think I will leave you for a bit so that you can see it for yourself in privacy,’ said Surya Aunty, getting up.
Once she had gone, Koyal stared at the package in her hands in utter terror.
‘What are you doing now, Nili?’ she mumbled, a sinking feeling overcoming her.
She opened the package and then stared at the neat envelope that fell on her lap.
A letter.
From Nili.
And, just like that, the old Koyal surfaced again. She felt anger surge through her and an urge to tear the letter apart into pieces began to consume her. Her breathing became laboured and the world began to turn red.
‘No, I don’t want to hear why you were right in doing what you did, Nili. No, I don’t want to hear anything from you,’ she mumbled angrily. She was about to tear the letter and storm out of Atharv’s house when a voice, deep and sensible, rang through her head.
Wisdom, it said simply, is what helps us overcome our shortcomings.
Koyal slumped into the sofa and rested her head against the cool wall.
And then she got up and ran out of the room and did not stop till she was outside in the rain, the letter clutched to her heart.
Nili, the girl because of whom her life had taken a turn it was not supposed to.
Nili, the girl because of whom she had chosen to spend ten years away from the one man who truly ever mattered to her.
Nili, the one person she had agreed to forgive.
Nili, the one person she could never really forgive.
Nili, the one person she really needed to forgive.
Read it, a voice in her head said. Listen to what she has to say. It will give you her perspective and maybe then you can truly close this chapter in your heart too.
What if, thought Koyal, horrified, she tells me to never see Atharv again? Will I be able to ignore the wishes of a dead woman?
What if she tells me to never go near Mansha? she thought and then felt immense surprise as the tears began to flow. No, not Mansha, please don’t take Mansha away from me, she begged silently.
She walked aimlessly in the rain, shivering in the cold, with nothing to cover her up.
And then, she stopped.
Be brave, Koyal. Hear what she wanted to tell you and then decide.
But I can’t read this and pretend she never said anything to me.
But that would be a lie, the voice said.
But that would be easier.
The strong do what is right, not what is easier.
A feeling of calm descended upon her, Koyal sat down on a bench at a bus stop and opened the letter. Her hands trembled and she told herself they did because of the rain and the cold that was seeping though her white cotton top.
A woman passed by, looked at her sympathetically and asked her if she needed her umbrella.
‘No, thank you,’ said Koyal, thankful for the stanger’s kindness.
She opened the letter.
