That Girl... He hated but loved the most (Part 1)

“Oh My God.”, He cried out aloud. His hands rested on the handrail of his gallery and eyes scanned the premise of his society with deep concern.

“What happened?”, she said joining her husband. She was carrying a tray with two cups of hot ginger tea.

Mitesh turned and smiled at his wife. Reetika looked gorgeous in her grey salwar kameez. Her recent hairdo just elevated her prettiness. Mitesh, being a loving husband, had noticed this change a couple of days ago and commented how well it suited her. He never missed a chance to appreciate, not just for the name sake, but genuinely the presence of beauty around him. The only difference was that he could afford to be expressive when it came to his wife but reserved his comments for other ladies in the fear of being misunderstood.

“You look gorgeous.”, he complimented her. They both sat opposite to each other. While she placed the tray on the small table that separated them.

“Come on. Stop it.”, she replied and gave him a coy smile.

He smiled again and stretched his hands to caress her smooth and silky hair until the Rain Gods interrupted. They saw sharp lightening piercing the sky followed by rumbling sound of thunder.

“The rain hasn’t stopped since last night.”, her concerning voice said.

“Imagine if I was working today and had to travel.”, he added thanking Almighty.

They remained silent for a while, assessing the worsening weather outside and enjoying their tea. This brief moment of silence gave Mitesh a chance to meander. He never liked monsoon but had many bittersweet memories clung to it. One of them which he remembered and hated the most, began to linger in his mind.

Reetika, like a seasoned observer, watched her husband lost in his own world. That wasn’t the first time when he behaved in that manner. By nature, Mitesh was shy and quiet as a person. He always preferred to keep things to himself. Something that was only known to his mother other than her.

“What is it?”, she asked breaking his reverie.

He grabbed his cup and took a sip and said, “hmm, the tea is good.”

She stared at him inquisitively and waited for the right response.

“Oh, sorry. Nothing. Just some old memories.”, he responded appropriately.

“Am I a part of it?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Okay. Would you like to share it with me?”

“Of course, yes. You are my wife. You ought to know everything.”

“That’s so sweet of you. What is it about?”

“It is about a girl in my school.”

On hearing that Reetika’s heart raced. She composed herself somehow. She didn’t give him any hint of her discomfort and like a good listener she cupped her face in her hands, showing her great interest to the story Mitesh was about to tell.

Mitesh, on the other hand, completely oblivious to what Reetika was going through began his tale.

“I was in 8th grade. The school had just re-opened. The long summer vacation had ended. We all were happy to be back in school. A few days of June had passed and suddenly the weather had changed its mood. Normally, it wouldn’t rain much in June. The pattern was simple. The downpour would hover between mild to moderate rainfall. That too for short intervals. But in one of those days, I remember it poured throughout the night and continued in the morning too.”

“Just like today. The only difference is that you are not in school anymore.”, she said and giggled.

“Right. And unlike today, we didn’t have mobile phones or the internet.”

“Yes.”

“So, it wasn’t easier for schools to inform parents in advance.”

She nodded in agreement.

“We often found that the School is closed for the day after reaching its gate.”

She giggled again, perhaps, recalling one of her experience.

He waited for a moment and then continued, “So, coming to the point. When it was raining cats and dogs, only a few students, including me, had turned up in the class. Apparently, the rain got heavier enough for school authorities to make us wait in the class with no lectures or teachers around.”

“Wow.”

“Yes. We were playing some stupid games to keep ourselves busy. Then, suddenly a girl accompanied with one of our teachers appeared at the door of our classroom.”

“Oh. That girl.”, she said feeling palpitation in her heart. She had no choice but to let him continue. ‘Perhaps, this is the day.’, She thought.

“Yes, my dear.”, he said and pecked her cheek with his hands and then added, “Well, we discovered that she was a new admission. Of course, the teacher said so. And like any parent would do, that teacher dropped her at the door and whisked off.”

“Leaving a poor girl amidst demons.”, she said biting her lips.

“You are right. We were not just demons. We were their uncles. The teacher whisked off quickly for a reason.”

She rolled her eyes feeling that it was a bit exaggerated.

“It seems you are not convinced. Well, I reserve the demon part for next time. But now let me focus on the girl.”, he said and laughed.

“No. I believe you. Please continue your story.”

“Good. But the demons, the one like me, do have a good heart.”

She reserved her comments and allowed him to continue.

“So, I gestured my friend Nisha to help her. Nisha immediately left the seat and held her hand welcome her in the class.”

“How did she look?”

“She was pretty. Had a fair skin and a very innocent face. She looked anxious or nervous being her first day at school, I guess. Her walk was very sophisticated. I mean, she was careful while she walked…”, he stopped. He was looking outside while describing her. He didn’t realize of going a little far in his description. And then diffidently returned his gaze to Reetika.

Reetika gave him a pleasant smile and waited for inevitable. She kept mumbling, ‘Perhaps, today is the day.’ 

“That was long back. I don’t even know how she looks today.”, he said thinking his description of that girl wouldn’t have gone well with his wife. He didn’t want to hurt her talking about someone who is nothing to him today.

“Yes, our appearances do change as we age. We don’t look the same as we did in our childhood.”, she affirmed his thoughts.

“You are absolutely right…”, he agreed but added, “However, some of our features get carried to adulthood as well.”

“I agree…”

“In fact, some of her feature matches with yours.”, he interrupted.

“Is this becoming about me now?”, she said as her hands trembled which she hid behind her head.

“My apologies. I better return to my story.”

“Please.”, she said feeling partly relieved.

“Okay…”, then gathering his thoughts he continued, “I learnt that she studied in one of the top schools in Mumbai before and landed up here because of her father’s transfer.”

“How did you know all this?”, she asked with a puzzled face.

“My friend Nisha who became her friend too. She gave me this intel.”

“Oh okay. So, Nisha spied for you.”

“A little bit. Anyways, soon we became good friends. But my friendship with that girl did not please some.”

“Who?”

“In particular to a guy, not my friend, who was her self-proclaimed lover.”

“Self-proclaimed lover.”, she repeated laughing out loud.

“Yes. He saw me as a threat.”

“As a threat?”

“What if I woo her? That will put an end to his love story.”

“Did you like her?”

“Yes, I did…”, his response was bit too quick. He watched Reetika’s pupils widening, not sure how his response was interpreted. Sensing the need for an explanation, he continued, “Look Reetika. I was just a schoolboy. I was not prepared for this build up around me. My friends constantly poked me and tried to impose that there was something special between me and her.”

“Was there anything special then?”, she asked carefully choosing her question.

“I wasn’t sure. I did feel different but look at my age. One thing was clear to me that school wasn’t the place for all this stuff. Anyways, it didn’t matter. She saved me an effort to explore.”

“How?”

“Time flew and when we got promoted to 10th grade, our divisions changed and she was in a different class. Her self-proclaimed lover…”, Reetika laughed on hearing him say that which he acknowledged and then continued, “You call it as his luck or not, he too was in her class.”

He paused and glanced at his cup. He lifted it up just enough to check if he had finished his tea. He had indeed.

“Care for another one. Anyways, the weather permits.”, Reetika asked him, reading between the lines.

“Why not. Your wish is my command.”

She got up and picked up their cups. To stretch his limbs and muscles which got rigid in this cold weather, he too got up and followed her to the kitchen.

It continued to pour heavily. He looked from the kitchen window; he couldn’t see anything except water all around.

On the other hand, Reetika turned on the gas stove, placed the empty container on it and quickly filled it up with the ingredients that is required for making the tea.

“Did he get close to her? That self-proclaimed lover.”, she couldn’t stop laughing as she said it.

“He did. But the ploy he exercised to achieve was shameful. He came to me asking for a textbook of a particular subject. He said that he would be punished if the teacher didn’t see it handy with him as he forgot to bring that one that day. So, I gave it to him on good faith. He sounded genuine because that teacher taught us too and specifically urged everyone to have it. Anyways, that lecture was over. I didn’t know that he would turn that textbook into a tool. That bastard wrote her name on the last page which normally left blank and showed it to her.”

“Then?”

“Then what. That girl stopped talking to me.”

“Are you sure? It was just the name.”

“Well, her lover…”, that pinched Reetika a bit the way he put it but allowed him to continue, “was an artist. He drew two figures, labelled them as me and her and showed us in compromising position.”

“That is a straight put-off for any girl. She had every right to be upset and be angry.”

“That she certainly was, that is why she stopped talking to me. I tried to connect with her oblivious to what took place. I was confused. Then one fine day I saw her happily talking to that lover. She even left and came to school with him. I thought that is why she stopped talking to me.”

“You could have spoken to her right after this incident. Made her confront that bastard who was behaving like a good dog.”

“I could have only if I had discovered it right at that moment and not later after a few weeks. After I learnt, I rushed to meet her, but she didn’t give me a chance to speak. Ultimately, I had to decide if I wanted to look like a fool who would plead or request to talk which she would refuse or save myself from a possible embarrassment. I chose the latter.”

Mitesh was taken aback little with Reetika’s keen involvement in this story. He felt as if she clarified on that girl’s behalf giving her a benefit of doubt.

The tea was ready. She quickly refilled their cups and they headed towards their gallery again. This time Reetika followed Mitesh allowing him to lead.

Once they settled on their respective seats, Mitesh continued, “Things would have ended with school. Had she not met me in college.”

“Interesting.”, Reetika uttered cheerily but thought ‘this is getting close now.’

“I had forgotten about that girl completely. I was surrounded by new people and new friends. I couldn’t keep in touch with my school friends. They chose their own paths which didn’t cross mine. I was happy until I saw that girl again entering the college gate. Her entry was similar to the way she did it in the school. The only difference was that instead of the teacher, she was accompanied with a familiar face. Our common friend – Nisha.

I waved at Nisha and she returned my gesture and started walking towards me. I excused myself from the new group and marched in her direction. While speaking to her, she gestured me to talk to that girl who stood like a stranger, not looking at my direction at all. I shook my head and denied. Perhaps, I learnt to protect my self-respect.”, he said and took a sip from his tea before it turns cold.

“May be, she regretted about what happened in the past. She might have been afraid to talk to you again.”, she voiced out in support of that girl and took a sip from her cup as if his action reminded her to do so.

“Fair enough. That could be the reason. But it wasn’t me to stop talking after all. If not directly, she could have put those words in my ears through that common friend.”, he acknowledged her point of view.

Reetika wanted to say so much but kept it to herself. She nodded in agreement gesticulating him to continue.

Mitesh took two big sips of his tea and finished his cup. He immediately looked at Reetika who had clung to her cup between her hands close to our mouth. She was in no mood to share.

“Then one day Nisha asked to meet her after the college hours. She said it was urgent. So, I obliged to her request and waited at the gate. She, in the company of that girl, walked towards me. And this time, surprisingly, that girl greeted me and stretched her hands to shake. I couldn’t refuse, by design my hands stretched out and shook her hands too. Nisha was relieved to see that but I was puzzled and I froze.”

Reetika giggled visualizing the scene.

“Then she requested if we all could walk home. Together. I thought ‘What is going on here!’, I wasn’t surprised any more. I doubted if I was dreaming. That girl who first stopped talking to me and didn’t give me a chance to clarify and now suddenly wanted to walk home with me after so many years.”, he said and rolled his tongue around his lips which had dried.

She laughed heartily. In particular to his expressions.

He waited for her laughter to die down and then continued, “I remember myself saying yes. I said yes not only for that day but for other few days as well. I was astounded but did not stop to think. I felt there was something fishy there.”, he said and saw Reetika’s expression change. She looked concerned, however he continued, “I figured their purpose in a week’s time.”

“What was it?”, She asked. Her tone was flat this time.

“That girl was being followed by two boys from her class. They didn’t just stick to following but also hurled unwelcoming comments while pursuing them. Those comments apparently had stopped while I accompanied them, but they continued to follow. I figured that. Thanks to Nisha, she unknowingly helped me. I caught her looking behind again and again. I became suspicious.”

“Then?”, she asked. Her tone was low and subdued. She thought, ‘May be this time he…’

“Then what? I confronted both – them and their followers. First their followers and ensured they don’t do it again. My college friends helped me with that bit. Then, it was their turn. Knowing the purpose, I told them my services as their bodyguard was not required and I wished to be relieved.”

He paused and touched his head. He closed and opened his eyes a couple of times. He behaved as if something was happening to him. Reetika was about to get up but he stopped her there and resumed.

“I am okay.”, he affirmed.

“You sure?”, she wanted to double-check.

“Yes. Anyways, next day that girl came looking for me in my class. She couldn’t find me but knew my friends. She left a message for me i.e. to meet her once again at the gate. I was late that day. I received her message and decided to meet her…”, he said and felt a pain on his forehead. He massaged it with his thumb and index finger.

Reetika got up from her seat this time and went close to him and said, “It is okay. we can talk about it later. You go and take rest.”

“No, no, no. I am fine.”, he said and asked her to take her seat and then continued, “When I met her that evening…”, his eyes were filled with tear about to roll anytime, “she gave me a letter. That girl never stopped to surprise me.”

“Do you still have that letter?”, she asked keeping her fingers crossed.

“No. I don’t remember what I did with it. I might have thrown it away.”

“What did it say?”, she said hoping today is the day.

“It said… “, he paused and then after some deliberation said, “I don’t want to talk about it. Anyway…”, looking at the worsened climate outside, “…she holds no value in my life. I don’t remember her name. I don’t know why but I just remember her as a girl.”, his voice deepening and looking straight in her eyes, “…I hate her as much as I love you.”, he concluded and kept massaging his forehead.

Mitesh behaved as if some unpleasant memories rose from the dead. He shook his head and looked regretful for talking about it. After a while, he left her alone in the gallery.

Reetika was not surprised at all. She could see it coming the moment he started to speak about that girl. It wasn’t the first time he spoke about her or tell this tale. Leaving apart few additions in the story which she looked at it as improvement, there was nothing new. He could never surpass the letter. He would stop and behave the same way as he did today. But she somehow felt it is different this time. Another chance went begging.

Nevertheless, she had no regrets. It wasn’t the story she was after but Mitesh’s memory. She never craved to understand or know what lied beyond this letter. What was the complete story? She never cared. Why? Because, THAT GIRL IN THE STORY WAS NONE OTHER THAN REETIKA, whom he hated and loved the most.

(To be continued in Part 2)