Think twice.....

                                                            

Every morning Natasha would come early to wait and see him at the office. And he was Virat ,who would always arrive late. Natasha and Virat would work in the same office. They would live in Bhopal with parents. Both held good positions in a multinational company. Virat had been working in that office for a longer time, but he hardly talked to anyone. He was always deeply involved in his work. Natasha  joined about 8–9 months ago. She didn’t know why, but among all the other young men, she ended up liking only the strict and stern Virat.He had only two friends in the office —Gargi and Akshar. Gargi was also quite attractive, and Natasha felt jealous of that, which was natural. Virat would come to the office on his bike . Sometimes Gargi would  ride with him, and sometimes Akshar. After almost 10 months Viraat started talking with Natasha. But there was no sense of warmth. Instead of that there was a statement of-just a colleague. Natasha was beautiful too yet it didn’t seem like Virat had any special interest in her. Natasha often felt that maybe Virat wasn’t interested in beautiful girls at all, or perhaps he simply didn’t want to fall in love. Natasha didn’t even have a clear answer for why she had fallen in love with him. Once, when she had come late to the office, and boss had scolded her, and at that time Virat had stood up for her and saved her. Apart from that, there wasn’t  any special connection between Natasha and Virat.

That day was Sunday, and Natasha had to go to D-Mart to buy groceries for the house. She and her friend left for D-Mart in the afternoon. They had just saw Virat when they entered in the mall.. But he wasn’t alone—there was a young woman with him. Having seen  this, Natasha was shocked because she had never seen him with anyone like that before. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but both of them were laughing loudly. Having Seen this made Natasha’s heart sink. Although she composed herself and didn’t let her pain show on her face.

“Hey, what happened to you suddenly?” her friend asked.

“Nothing, why?” Natasha replied.

“Then why does your face look so sad? Did you see a ghost in daylight?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Natasha said, but her eyes kept wandering…  again and again, they turned toward Virat.. Natasha kept looking at him from a distance. Virat   and his friend were  laughing loudly and he wrapped up his arm toward her shoulder.—and Natasha’s pain burst out again.

“Where are you ? what are you thinking Natasha? I’ve been asking you for so long—do you want to buy Parachute oil or not?” her friend asked.

“It’s nothing. I don’t want to buy anything,” Natasha said, and once again started looking at the two of them. 

Now she had understood that Virat and that girl were not just friends—they were very close. Even from a distance, it was clear how close he was to her. After that, Natasha had no mood left to stay in the mall. She told her friend that her stomach was hurting, and they left without buying anything. The next day, Natasha reached the office on time. By then, she had understood why Virat never talked much with any girl in the office. But her heart dint want to believe. For a while, Natasha just sat in the same place and phase. It was already lunchtime, and everyone had started opening their tiffin. Just then, the same girl from yesterday walked in through the door. She looked at Virat and raised her hand to greet him. Natasha quietly closed her tiffin and stayed seated.

In a moment, the girl came running toward Virat and hugged him tightly. Today, Virat and that girl were not far away—close enough that their conversation could be heard.

“Sorry, I’m not late, right?” she asked.

“No, no. Let’s have food,” Virat replied.

“Shall we go out for lunch?” the girl asked.

“No, let’s eat here,” Virat said. They both opened their tiffin and even shared food from each other’s boxes. Having Watched this, Natasha felt  even more hurt. Then Virat held that girl’s left hand and looked at it, and instantly became happy. Natasha felt that maybe they were talking about a ring—an engagement ring? Or something else?

She kept watching them. After lunch, the two of them left the office together.  once again Virat held her hand as they walked out.

After that day, Natasha stopped waiting for Virat. It affected her deeply, but it made no difference to Virat. Tears would well up in Natasha’s eyes, yet Virat never noticed them. Almost two months passed like that.

 Discussions about Natasha’s marriage had been started at her home, but she didn’t pay much attention. She also stopped focusing much on Virat. Still, deep inside, she carried a quiet regret which she never showed to anyone.

A few days later, there was going to be an office training in Chennai so anyone could take part.

“Hey Natasha, are you going to Chennai for the training?” Virat asked her.

Natasha had no plans to go, but since Virat asked—

“Yes, I’m going,” she replied out of irritation.

“Oh, I thought you wouldn’t go?”

“It’s training. Everyone should go. It starts from next week,” Natasha said.

“I’m not going,” Virat replied.

“Okay… (of course you won’t go—your special one is here),” Natasha thought to herself.

“Have you registered your name?” Virat asked.

“No, I’ll do it today,” Natasha replied.

A week passed just like that. After that everybody whoever registered their name left for Chennai.  It was early morning flight. All office people reached Chennai by 3pm. They were given 3 star hotel to stay but Natasha wasn’t in any mood of training .Her heart still wanted Viraat who was in some other place. She despaired while thinking about him. It was meeting at 6pm. Having finished meeting everybody had gone to their room. After a while , dinner just finished. Natasha wasn’t able to sleep. At last , she picked her hand bag and went toward beach. As nearer she walked to the beach more her heart wanted him. Under the glow moonlight she was wandering all alone. She looked out for a more flashy moonlight and sat there. She picked the phone out of her bag. And she saw Viraat’s display picture in what’s app. She felt more misery after  seeing his photograph. She pulled her journal out of her purse. Writing in it, had once been a daily habit—but for the past three weeks, the pages had remained untouched. Today, for the first time in a while, she finally had the time… or maybe the courage… to fill the journal pages again.

Slowly, she opened it.

Something slipped out and landed softly in her lap.

She frowned slightly and picked it up. It looked like a letter. Her fingers hesitated for a moment before unfolding it—and then her breath caught.

At the top, in unmistakable handwriting, it read:

To Natasha — from Virat.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Carefully, almost nervously, she unfolded the letter completely… and began to read.

“ My dear Friend Natasha ,Since so long I have been trying to explain you something. But before that, let me tell you  are the most adorable person I have ever known. Do you remember, in the very start of your joining  the office, Boss scolded you for coming late and I saved you. Do you know why? Because accidentally ,on a way to office , I saw a school girl on the back of your scooty .I  understood why you were late. I saw that twice and I got to know that little girl might be your relative or neighbour's. From that day only ,I started knowing you a little .I'm kind of a reserved person, I usually clam up and  mess things up. my cousin Renee is a psycho therapist, and also treating me  ,so I usually hang up with her. M any times She came to our office. You must have a question as what treatment I’m getting for? Its long talk . We will talk about it later. Actually I wanted to talk to about you , I know you like me since the beginning .And I also like you a lot but.... “

Having read that , Natasha stopped reading. She might have felt that Viraat was going to tell her no. He might have other works to do rather than falling in love Or He might be engaged with someone. And she should not be thinking about him. She folded the letter and sat there in dejection watching the sky with heavy heart. After a while, she opened a letter to complete reading. Her eyes were brimming with tears .She saw the blurry words in the letter ,She struggled hard to read with brimming eyes.

“ I also like you a lot but ....... I have some medical conditions that’s why I'm on medications and therapy. Natasha I know that you love me and I love you. But think twice before you step in...”