Closure

“What are you doing? Writing as usual I guess. Writing doesn’t pay, ask all the writers. Do something lucrative. Go outside the house and earn”. Dipankar was angry as usual seeing Leena sitting at her writing desk and scribbling something in her notebook.

It had been ten years now in this marriage with Dipankar. He lived overseas, came during the holidays to be with his family, send money though, regularly to Leena. Money buys everything. A good life, big house, quality education for Shankh, their eight-year-old, she was a budding musician too. Other than this financial relationship with Leena, Dipankar was an extremely secretive and private person. Leena initially had tried to enter that space but was rudely pushed out of the frame. Then onwards they remained a couple but strangers. Their household also comprised of “Chocolate”, the dark brown, two-year-old Alsatian bitch. Chocolate happened to be Shankh’s, favorite playmate too.

The time was Christmas, New Year was fast approaching. There was happiness, joy, magic in the air. Oh! That irritating ring again, on Dipankar’s phone; must be Shayla, the brunette working in his office. He always addressed her as “My Colleague” but whenever her calls came he would disappear with his phone for a good half hour either to the terrace or leave the house on the pretext of some errands. Talking over the phone, Dipankar leaves the house to buy a pack of cigarettes. Leena was perplexed. Dipankar would never take Shayla’s call in front of her. Whenever she asked him he would revert to the mute mode, never bothering to reply to her queries.

The three of them were going to Rajasthan for the holidays on a package tour; Jaipur, Bikaner, Mount Abu, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. It was a good ten days tour. Leena was not at all interested in going for the tour but Shankh was super excited so with an indecisive spirit and not expecting any positive outcomes from this tour, Leena says yes.

It was 23^rd December and her travel bags were all neatly packed and laid out in the drawing room. Leena gets up at 5.30 A.M in the morning to put on the geyser and for preparing some tea and snacks. “Why have you packed so much for a ten-day tour? Are we going to a wedding to Lucknow?” Dipankar was at it again, nagging, controlling and bellowing at the top of his voice. Shankh hurriedly gets up from the bed and rushes to the washroom hearing her father shout, scared that he might shout at her too for some unknown fault of hers. Chocolate started barking and amidst all this chaos Leena indifferent as ever goes about her chores.

The “Ola” came sharp at 8.30 A.M. She had booked it fifteen minutes earlier. Their “Volvo” was scheduled to leave at 10.30 A.M from Connaught Place. Dipankar wanted to reach early and was now shouting at the Ola driver on the placement of the luggage in the vehicle; sometimes stopping to change the direction of his anger mixed with cuss words towards Leena who was busy closing the windows, turning off the lights and checking the geyser switch. It was around 10.00 A.M. They had reached Connaught Place to their designated venue. It was Saturday hence not much of a crowd at that time of the day. At the pick-up point two couples were standing and a family of four.

It was at this bus stop she was transfixed by a pair of eyes. Twenty-one year old Vikrant was on this trip too along with his parents and sister. The Chopras wanted to make the most of these holidays and so were busy yapping and laughing with each other. Vikrant, however, felt distracted once he saw Leena who was thirty-eight, a bored, cynical, disillusioned housewife who was somewhat pretty. Leena on her part was transfixed by those eyes, a pair of large, black eyes, kind of warm, impudent, impulsive were looking straight at her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the face too, dark-skinned with a sharp nose, very sensuous mouth and thick, black hair kind of unruly, falling a wee bit on the forehead. He was tall too. The writer within her bobbed her head up, laughed and nick-named the stranger “Sexy Eyes” sort of like the Indian version of the “Mills and Boons” hero.

The trip to Rajasthan started with side glances or even staring at each other unabashedly. The two, impulsive as ever, cared a hang and Dipankar was on the phone as usual. Jaipur was the first stopover. Leena was enjoying sight-seeing, visiting museums and forts. Shopping at Bapu Bazaar and Johari Bazaar was fun. Occasionally though she felt someone’s hand brush past her as if trying to hold on to hers. Vikrant was always somewhere around at these moments. However none spoke to the other but Leena was happy, very happy.

The sand- dunes of Jaisalmer was where they brought in the New-Year. The camel ride was great fun. Their entire group had a whale of a time, back at the hotel; eating, drinking, dancing and partying till 2.00 A.M in the morning. However, when the clock struck twelve to usher in a brand new year, Vikrant gave Leena, standing near him, a warm hug. She was taken aback for a moment, very happy but not knowing how to react. She was ecstatic thinking it was the best new-year celebration ever.

The next day the group disbanded going back to their respective homes. However, both Leena and Vikrant stayed in touch. They remained connected through social media. As days passed Leena became more and more attached to Vikrant who made her laugh through his silly jokes. He even made fun of her lack of technical know-how. At these times Leena felt both; embarrassed and happy but more, happy as he made her laugh. Chatting with him she forgot her loneliness, her emptiness, and gloom.

There was one thing odd though. Vikrant never shared much about himself. He flirted with her, replied to her messages, made her laugh and also send photos of him. He made her feel special, needed, she was in a happy space now. Dipankar had gone back, the holidays were over. It was again Shankh, Chocolate, she herself and her writing in that house. Time passed, she was getting restless, eager to see him, meet him again in person. She had become very, attached and emotionally dependent upon him.

The planning was elaborate. Their first date together, at Connaught Place, where they had first met. Vikrant had promised that he would wait for her at the Janpath Metro Station and she had promised him that she would reach by 1.00 P.M. It was over 2.00 P.M now and Vikrant was nowhere in sight. Leena tried calling him up, her calls went unanswered. She ran frantically outside the station to see if he was waiting for her there but Vikrant was not there either. She so badly wanted to see him. She went up till the Janpath Market, bought an odd thing or two, meanwhile calling up Vikrant again and again. Vikrant didn’t respond even once. Tired, hungry and utterly flummoxed as to what had transpired that day, Leena retracts her steps back to the metro station, sending him one last text on WhatsApp – missing you, as usual, still.