In A New City (Part - 3 )

3rd and Final part - Time flies!!!!!

<Please read the previous parts of this story with the same title to connect with this part>

With eyes wide open and a fake smile, I said "Hi" to him. Though he also knew on what is left between us, he replied back with another "Hi". Suddenly the air felt heavy to me. I felt heaviness in my hands and my body. Unable to move anywhere, I turned my face towards the channel and continued to do what I was doing a few minutes back....staring at the water. Falling short of words and thoughts, I stood numb in the exact position.....As if I was mimicking those street actors who do this for a living. I was framing sentences in my mind on what to talk further. Shall I talk about our common friends, or about his family, or about his current job or whether I should just keep mum?

Ankit was still looking at me and might have understood my uneasiness by then. After a while, he moved his face away from me, towards the lamp post. The silence between us continued for some more time. 

While I was still clueless on what to talk, he asked me "The snow heap looks like gold dust. Do you feel the same Sachi..?" There he was back with an ice-breaker. And....and his thoughts were still resembling mine... at least on the snow heap. 

As we finally had a topic to talk about, I turned back with much more ease. Without looking at his face, I went straight towards the snow heap and replied back to him "Yes, indeed!!!".... Holding some ice in my palms I moved towards the bench and sat there. He continued to watch my actions silently. It was my turn to progress the discussion, so without looking at his face I asked him "How's everybody at home?"....there was another minute of silence...He replied after a few seconds "Yes, everyone is recovering now from Mom's death and learning to live without her".

 This news came to me as a shock. Aunty leaving us that early is something I had never thought of. Her beautiful smiling face started flashing in front of me. I used to share a beautiful bond with her and there was a time when I used to call her every week. I couldn't believe my ears nor my eyes could hold back those few drops. While I was lost in memory of the good old times with her, Ankit came and sat quietly next to me. Next, he explained to me about her health issues in the past few years that made her weaker day by day. I silently listen to him. Knowing that I was still not out of the untimely shock, he shook me from my shoulder and asked "Are you ok, Sachi?....

Immediately I cleared my throat and wiped my moist eyes. I nodded my head in acceptance. While I expressed my grief on the news, I knew Ankit needed a lot of time to accept the fact.

By that time, the discomfort between us had reduced a lot. We spoke about our old friends, their whereabouts. We remembered the good old time during our tenure in our previous organization and also discussed our present lives. It is crazy how fast time flies and how things progress. The way the time had flown in the past few years indicates nothing waits.... literally nothing!!!!

With the evening growing colder, we realized it's time to go back to our respective apartments. We both stood up and started walking towards the bridge. The evening had fully blown up by then, lit with street lights. The smell of freshly brewed coffee from the cafe nearby instantly hit us. We both looked at each other with bright eyes and started laughing. Coffee is another thing, that we both have liked a lot. While remembering our past days of Bangalore filter Coffee, we went straight towards the cafe to grab 2 of them. Next few minutes we planned for another small get together along with other friends in the city. Giving assurance that next time I will pick his call, I bid farewell from him with a smiling face. We picked up our respective paths and started walking towards our destinations. Unlike before, this time we had chosen to walk alone.....And that felt absolutely normal.

That evening, I felt grown up.

That evening, I felt light. 

The heaviness I had in my heart had gone away. Seems we had buried our unpleasant memories in that gliterring snow. It was not late to realise the fact that, maturity and time can help you get over things really fast. That day I understood the importance of the term "Move on" and why we should not hold back on to past. 

Things can change...

Feelings can change...

Relationships can change...

And.......

"You can also Change".

And City can also change....."not before I finish exploring this new one😉"