The Monday Blues

S**t I was late once again. This had been happening very regularly lately. Every Monday morning, I would be rushing as fast as I could to reach on time. He would be waiting patiently, without even a semblance of irritation or anxiousness. He would be staring at the door, and as soon as he got a whiff of my perfume before I entered the room, a wide smile would appear on his face. "I knew you would come," he would beam. "Matron said, that you are often late on Mondays," he would continue in a sweet voice as if I wasn't late even by a minute. No complaints, not even a tad of disappointment for having to wait more than almost a quarter of an hour. "I know, you are very busy," he would continue, "You have a job, a family to go back home to. Yet, without fail, you are here every alternate day," he continued today. I felt guilty. If only he knew that I was late because I had taken a detour before coming to meet him. If only he knew, that I regularly sneaked off for my own romantic trysts when he would be waiting for me patiently. I shuddered. "One day, I am going to have to tell him," I thought to myself as I picked up the blue guitar in the corner and started adjusting the keys. 

He was wearing a blue t-shirt today and I realised it was the exact same shade as that of the guitar. I was about to blurt it out when I caught myself and bit my tongue. I handed him the guitar without saying a word, and took his arms in mine, delicately placing his fingers on the chords of the guitar. I put my fingers atop his fingers and we started picking the strings in unison. He was blessed, and soon his fingers were moving swiftly over the guitar strings, my own, in no way able to cope with his speed. I had started teaching him to play the guitar only last year, and he was already surpassing my talent. "It won't be long before you are teaching me, Dheeraj!" I chided. He blushed. "No Di, I could never play as soulfully as you do." I just smiled and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He began playing again, and soon a small crowd gathered at the door of the music room. Once he had finished playing the piece, the small crowd broke into applause. The sound startled Dheeraj. "Di, you did not tell me you had invited an audience," he said with mock disappointment. I replied, "Your music invited them Dheeraj. I did not." When he heard my words, he turned his head towards me, and I saw tears of joy in his sightless blue eyes. He touched my feet and said, "You have given me a purpose Di." I hugged him as he started crying. 

That day, as I left the School, I wiped two shy tears as I passed under the blue board that none of the inmates would ever be able to read. It said, 'Sanjeevan School for the Blind'.