Continued from previous part.
And so time passed . Then , exactly one month and three days later , I found myself standing at the barrackpore bus stop . It was a cold Sunday evening and I was returning from a friend's place . I was almost shivering with cold . The newspapers said it was the coldest day of the season , 7 degree C in Kolkata , the cool westerlies making the situation worse .
' Wanna have coffee ?' I was quite amazed by a familiar voice .
' Hey Avi . How are you ?' I said
' Fine . Come on , let's go there and talk ' .
I followed him to a nearby Cafe coffee day .
We ordered coffee and our conversation started . I was fascinated by his looks again - he was wearing a chocolate blazer , a cream shirt and jet black denims .
' Kolkata is unexpectedly cold today . You quite vanished after that evening ', he broke the silence .
' No , not really ', I replied quickly .
' A week after we met , I went to Jadavpur for some work and was waiting at the bus stop at the same time , but didn't see you ', he said .
' Oh ! you were waiting for me ?' I joked with him for the first time .
' Ya , i thought i would have an interesting conversation but I had to travel alone ', he said quite seriously .
' Hey , come on . I was just kidding . Maybe I didn't go to school that day ', I said .
' Ya . It's okay . So what are you doing here ?' His 'interrogation' started .
' I went to a friend's place . I was waiting for a bus to return home '.
' School friend '.
' College friend '.
' Only friend or ...?'
' Oh please I don't have a boyfriend ', I checked him . Our coffees arrived .
' Even I am single ', he spoke , Munching on the cookies .
' What ? Impossible . I mean why so ?' I was surprised .
' Hey , What makes it impossible ? Even you are single ', he sounded irritated .
' No , I mean you have many reasons to have a girlfriend '.
' Really ? Like ?'
' You are a software engineer , handsome , smart , well behaved and above all , such a good company . What else is needed ?' I gave my thoughts away .
He responded , ' Well , thanks for all the compliments . But while you know a little bit about me , you don't know what my family is like . My parents are very conservative . They will kill me if they come to know I am so friendly with girls or that I stay alone and have a girlfriend . They are dead against love marriage . I will have to marry a girl of their choice ...'
' Unbelievable . I mean , if the girl is fine then what's the problem ? It's twenty-first century , after all ' I interrupted .
' They will never understand . You can say it's not in our traditions to go for love marriages or affairs before marriage . In fact , none of my relatives have had one such marriage . I know it's really strange but I can't break the rules '.
' It's not any rule , just a forceful imposition of one's own thoughts ' I concluded .
Our conversation ended soon as I was getting late .
' See you soon !' Was his usual farewell .
Our third encounter was quite soon . Two weeks later , in fact . At a shopping mall .
' Spring Shopping ?' The time I saw him first .
' Hey , What a pleasant surprise ! No , no just a casual outing . Tell me , how are you ?'
Oh , just the usual '.
' You came for shopping alone ?' He asked .
' Yup , just to buy some basic things .'
That was perhaps shortest conversation as he was in a hurry that day . He had to attend a function at some relative's place .
' Okay , bye ! Have fun !' I waited for him to say , ' See you soon !' But to my surprise , he asked hesistently , ' Hey , if you don't mind , can I have your number ?' He then added quickly , ' Don't get me wrong . Just for a casual chitchat '.
' Oh sure . I don't mind !' We exachanged our numbers and bade goodbye - Ofcourse after his enthusiastic ' See you soon !'
After that day we used to chat over phone daily - sometimes for a few minutes , sometimes for hours - about regular updates , our whereabouts and everything . I don't know why I enjoyed chatting with this stranger so much , although he was no longer a stranger to me . In fact my fear to be close to someone also vanished after meeting him .
We become very close friends , sharing each and everything with each other . We waited every day for the time when we would be free and could talk . We become restless if for some reason we could not talk . Such a small , handy thing like a mobile phone can get two people so close to each other . Both of us could not make out what was happening to us , but we never discussed it . We were scared to do so , owing to his ' family rules' .
After four months of chatting and casual meetings here and there , came the day of our last meeting , 30 April 2018 .
It was his birthday and we planned to spend the evening together at a restaurant which was somewhere close to the school where I used to study .
' You know , I used to study there ', I said pointing towards the school .
' Really , even I ...' he paused .
' Hey , what's your full name ?' He asked immediately .
' Diyali Pradhan , But why ?' I could not figure out why he asked .
He was silent for a few minutes .
' What happened '? I persisted .
' You know my full name is Avigyan Ray '.
Now both of us were silent . We didn't want to say . Our voices choked , words vanished . Our food appeared but neither of us even looked at it .
' I think I should leave ', I started saying , almost with tears in my eyes .
Usually when best friends meet after years they hug each other happily and ask so many things and say so many things . But ours was a different story . We had tears in our eyes . We also had so many questions in our minds , so many things to say , but none of us could utter a single word .
' Ya , you are right . And I think we should never meet again . I cannot afford to lose you once again ', his reply shocked me but he explained me soon after .
' Let me be clear with you . You are also aware of the fact that if our meetings and chatting continue like this , we will fall in love with each other . And after knowing that you are the one I was missing for so many years , I am quite sure we will not be able to control our feelings . And to be very frank , it's so easy to fall for you . So ...' he paused again .
' You stole my words ...' I could only say this much .
We bade each other farewell for the last time and left . This time there was no 'See you soon'.
After that day we never met or talked . My city Kolkata ! It gave me my best friend , snatched him from me and again returned him after many years , only to snatch him away again and never give him back....
Now whenever I miss my bus and wait for the next one at the Jadavpur bus stop it makes me nostalgic . Tears don't listen to me and come out without warning . I sob silently , but there is no one to care . My phone's music list has become my companion again .
Whenever I recall those moments , I just wonder , ' Why did I met Avi that day ? A stranger , or was he ?'
____________ Completed _________
Aksar iss duniya mein Anjaane milte h
Anjaani raaho mein milke kho jatte h
Lekin hamesha wo yaad aate hai ..
Lekin hamesha wo yaad aate hai ..! 🥺
Byy love Sonaa 😭
