The Twilight Companions

Meera had settled with a book and her glass of milk. She normally read for some time after her dinner. The following line caught her interest; How to like the flowers we are,… knowing nothing of the fate we simply inherit from others. It took her back to the incidents of the past few months. She realized that this line had been so true for her. 

A sprain in the ankle had led to a beautiful and respectable companionship. She smiled thinking of how her life was much pleasant now. Just then the phone beeped. It was a good night message from Rakesh. The companion, she was just thinking of. She wished him back, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. 

Meera was living in Mumbai for 32 years. She had come here after her marriage to Kartik. They had a son Vineet, who had moved to the UK about 7 years back. He had gone there for higher studies but later decided to stay on. Meera and Kartik didn’t object to it then. They had each other for company and things were fine. But after Kartik’s demise, three years back, things were a bit difficult for Meera. She had started feeling lonely and she didn’t know what to do with her time. Vineet had insisted on her visiting UK but she never felt keen about leaving Mumbai. Vineet was married to Naina and they had a two-year-old son Kabir. Though she missed spending time with her grandson, she still didn’t feel like going there. Vineet also never forced her about it. He would keep sending her messages over Whatsapp every day and make Skype calls every weekend. Meera would skip her evening walk and wait eagerly for Vineet’s call. 

Meera had tried to keep herself busy by making visits to the nearby temples, going for her morning and evening walks, and reading. She had a limited group of friends with whom she interacted regularly. One such day, during her morning walk, she noticed a man sitting on a bench and staring at all the women who were walking there, including her. She found him a bit uncouth but continued her walk. She noticed the same thing for the next 3-4 days as well. Later, that day when he saw her noticing her, he actually smiled at her. Out of courtesy, she smiled back. This man was a regular at the park and he had a fixed place to sit, from where he could see a lot of people walking around. 

One day Meera had been a little upset since Vineet had been unable to make a Skype call with her the previous day. She was an independent woman, who liked to do things in her own way. But still, there were times she felt lonely and unwanted. She felt as if people around her didn’t have time for her. With this frame of mind, she continued her walking. Suddenly she tripped over a small stone and sprained her ankle. She was finding it very difficult to move. She just held her ankle and was trying to think of a way out to go back home. Suddenly she realized that someone had started massaging her ankle. This was the same man who was staring at the women around. He asked Meera ‘ Madam, do you recollect which side did your leg bend when it sprained? She just looked at him and said ‘To the right, I think’. ‘Good’, he said and started pressing her ankle to the left side. He got up and supported Meera ‘I will hold you, please try to get up. She did and realized that the pain was considerably less. Though she was limping, she was able to walk now. 

‘How far do you have to go”? he asked. ‘Just to the end of this street’, she replied. ‘Come along, I will help you reach home’ he said and they started walking together. After this incident, Meera could not escape talking to him. They started exchanging pleasantries every day. She realized that this man used to get some books with him sometimes and read them. Sometimes he would be playing with some kid. While walking her home the other day, he had mentioned his name as Rakesh. He had shown her the building that he lived in and said that he had recently moved in. and was still making friends. 

That day, it was quite surprising for Meera to see that the bench that Rakesh always used was empty. She looked nearby to see if he was playing with some kids. But he was not to be seen anywhere. In the last couple of months, there had never been a single day when he had missed coming to the park. She presumed that maybe he was out of town and would be back in a day or two. It had now been 4 days since she had last seen Rakesh. She was getting a bit worried. She had contemplated going to his house to find out about him. But she was not sure about his family’s reactions to her visit. She was neither a sibling nor a spouse nor a friend, so she was quite apprehensive to go and enquire about him. Nevertheless, she decided to go and meet him. Meera walked up to the building where he lived and upon inquiring with the security guard, she got his flat number. She rang the bell to his flat and waited for a family member to open the door. She was mentally preparing for her self-introduction. When the door opened Rakesh was at the door. He smiled and said ‘Hey Meera, so good to see you. But you took so many days to come and visit me. I thought you would be here, the very first day I was absent in the park’ When he realized that Meera looked a bit unsettled, he said ‘Come in please, I am just kidding. 

One look at Rakesh and Meera knew that he had been unwell. His face looked swollen and he looked a bit weak. After taking a seat, she inquired if he was unwell and Rakesh told her that he had been down with fever and his BP was fluctuating and hence he had not been around at the park. During the conversation, she learned that Rakesh lived by himself as he was a widower, and there had been no kids. He had a maid who came and cooked for him and kept the house clean. After a few minutes, she insisted on leaving and was back in her apartment.

Once she was in her own company, she realized that things might be so tough for Rakesh. She decided to continue going to his house to meet him till he was well again. The next morning, she went for her morning walk and from there to Rakesh’s house. He was quite surprised to see her and said ‘I am sure going to have a great day today. I have such a beautiful visitor right in the morning’. Meera realized that this was probably the way Rakesh normally spoke and decided to ignore his comments. They had their coffee together and with a promise to come back in the evening, Meera left. Meera was busy through the day with her cooking, reading, and so on. While leaving for her evening walk, she thought it would be nice if she cooks something for Rakesh and takes it along.

Rakesh was too busy with his TV programs but was unknowingly glancing at the clock again and again. It had been 5 years since Neetu, his wife had passed away. She had succumbed to cancer, leaving him all alone. In the absence of any kids in their lives, they had chosen to pamper each other. Rakesh had taken to all these antics, because of Neetu. The thought of no kids would lead Neetu to depression very often. To keep her cheerful and happy Rakesh would resort to playful talks and would act in an immature behavior. More so in the last few days of her life, he had tried to keep her as happy as possible. And now he resorted to these kinds of antics, with kids especially, to keep himself cheerful. He didn’t know of many adults who would not get offended by his playful comments and remarks. But somehow Meera had been an exception. When he was around Meera, he felt that he could be what he wanted to, behave the way he wanted to and still not worry about offending her. Though she did come across as a very serious and stern person, there was something about her that drew him to her. This was not about physical attraction. At the age of 60, mere companionship would be more satisfying than any amount of physical relationship. The sound of the doorbell disrupted his thoughts. He smiled while he walked to open the door because he knew that Meera was at the door. 

Meera looked much more cheerful than she had been in the earlier days. He commented ‘Looks like meeting me regularly is doing wonders to your complexion. You look so pretty.’ Meera smiled and said ‘Yes, Rakesh, you can’t imagine the effect it has on me. By the way, my company seems to be working well too. How’s the BP reading today? I am sure it is normal’ saying so she just walked into the kitchen. Rakesh stood near the entrance of the kitchen and observed her. She seemed so much at home in his kitchen. She was heating something and when he got closer he realized that she had brought Khichdi for him, along with some curds and peas and potato curry. He was touched by this gesture. Indeed his BP had become normal and he could resume his morning walks soon. Thanks to Meera’s company. But he didn’t tell her anything. He just said ‘Wow, I didn’t know we had a dinner date. If you had told me earlier about this, I would have arranged for some candles and flowers. Meera turned back and said ‘Rakesh, you are impossible. You think at the age of 55, I will go out on a date. To which Rakesh replied, ‘If I am ready to go on a date at the age of 60, why can’t you? You are still younger than me’. And he laughed. She just shook her head in disbelief and moved to the drawing-room. Rakesh made some coffee for them. They sat and chatted about their lives, till it was dinner time. After years, both of them had a cozy dinner, where they were not eating alone. And they didn’t have to take the trouble of getting dressed and make an effort to look good. They didn’t have to put up a pretense of enjoying the evening because they truly enjoyed each other’s company. 

Rakesh had resumed his walks. He didn’t have any major conversations with Meera at the park, but they had coffee together, after their walks every day. Occasionally they would have dinner together. They had crossed the age where they would have to justify their routines to the world or to their family. 

Maybe Vineet would skip his Skype call with Meera but never would she skip her good morning message to Rakesh nor would he skip his good night message. 

It was just wonderful how two strangers had become best friends. Not bound by any relationship or a commitment, just a feeling of mutual admiration and concern. Just by a need to fill the vacuum in each other’s lives, just to be there for each other, and look forward to their life, every single day.