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Pitajee did not reply for a long time. ‘You seem to have made your decision,’ he said quietly, a hint of desperation in his voice.
Midnight.
How do I begin?
1.00 a.m.
I cannot write a simple email.
2.00 a.m.
Bleh!
3.00 a.m.
Why am I so wide awake? And why, dear lord, can I not put together a simple email?
4.30 a.m.
So after staring at the screen for four hours and creating 117 drafts, I finally read through the short email once more before hitting the ‘send’ button.
Hi Rajeev,
I would like to meet you. Are you planning to come to India any time soon?
Kasturi
4.34 a.m.
I was about to log out of the account, when an email popped back in.
I am booking tickets right away for Saturday.
Rajeev
My mouth felt dry; it was Thursday already.
I reminded myself to breathe as my pulse quickened. This could not really be happening.
19
Car Park, Delhi Domestic Airport, 13 May 2013, 7.00 p.m.
I thought hard as I waited for Anu at the airport. Anu was flying in from Pune and my flight from home had landed half an hour ago. Anu should be out any minute, I told myself, getting a little restless. The plan was for us to go home together and, more importantly, catch up. ‘Kas!’ said Anu, tapping my shoulder.
I turned around to face her and stilled. The first thing about her that struck me was how sad her pretty face looked; there were dark circles under her eyes which looked ready to start watering anytime now. I noticed her hands next, covered in an elaborate henna pattern, a gentle reminder of the ceremony she had just attended. Finally, my eyes fell on the ring on her finger.
I took her hands in mine, feeling the gravity of the situation. She looked at me and shrugged helplessly, not trusting herself with words. She then held my hands in hers, her face registering an emotional struggle as she fiddled with my finger that was no longer adorned with a ring.
‘When I met you last, you had an engagement ring on this finger,’ she said in a low voice
‘When I met you last,’ I said, feeling my throat catch, ‘you did not.’
‘Why?’ she asked, half pleading, her eyes shining with a coat of water. ‘Purva is … is … he is the nicest man we all know.’
I sat down in the driver’s seat and Anu sat in the front passenger seat, but I did not turn on the ignition. Instead, I let my hands rest on the steering wheel.
‘Anu … I don’t feel sure about … about Purva … I could not … I just couldn’t go ahead with the wedding. It would have been so wrong … to marry someone you’re not sure about at all.’
