The Scars ✓

Epilogue

Twenty second day of May, a regular summer Saturday was not so regular for a twenty-two year old Kiara Kaushik. 1:04 AM and she was wide-awake ready to board her flight to Canada. While moving about the room, she remembered the first time she had entered the airport, a twelve year old naive girl who did not know that her first international exposure would leave an impact of a lifetime.

I can't wait to be with you in the same space! His voice echoed in her ears.

She smiled to herself and thought that this was not how she had planned to meet him after a decade. She packed last-minute little things in her suitcase and shut the zipper slowly. The last things that she kept in the front pocket were a small, pocket sized notebook and a polaroid. What was ironical was that the last two things weighed more than her entire suitcase; they weighed much more than her other memories. Heaviness was all she felt.

It's always memories over moments, Kiara. Moments are temporary, memories last a lifetime. He'd once told her.

She plodded her way out of the house and down the flight of stairs. With trembling hands, she opened the door to her cab, sat down and then greeted the old man who was driving her towards her fear. Taking a shallow breath, she put her head on the window which had numerous tiny dew drops flying against the glass, mirroring her emotions and the turmoil that was going inside her. She asked for a single sign, that could make her believe that it'll get better and she wasn't really alone and that's when she heard the familiar tune of Can't Take My Eyes Off You playing. She smiled sadly at the song and closed her eyes, remembering the time she had danced on it. With him.

"I can't dance!" She'd said.

"Keep your feet on mine, I'll take the lead. Just follow me!"

"We're on a glass floor that is about two hundred floors above the ground. What part of 'I'm acrophobic' do you not understand?"

He smiled at her and said, "Trust me."

She visibly relaxed at his words and took the steps that closed the gap between them.

"Oh God, we're so high up!" She said as she looked down to where they were standing.

"Hey, hey, look at me. Don't look anywhere but my face okay?" He said as he snaked one arm around her waist and the other under her chin.

"Okay." She said but he did not feel her body loose that tension.

"You're still tense, babe. You've got to lighten up."

"Yeah, it's not the height that's making me nervous right now." She said, a pink hue forming on her cheeks but she could not move her eyes from his face.

He realised what she meant and amusement danced in his eyes. He moved his hand from beneath her chin and tucked a loose piece of hair that had fallen out. "Yeah? What is it then? This?" He asked as he settled his hand on her cheek and his thumb caressed her slowly. She involuntarily leaned into his hand which made a small smile appear on his face. "Or this?" He asked as he tightened his arm around her waist.

Her blush brightened visibly and she could not help but break their intense gaze. He chuckled at her innocence and muttered under his breath, "God, how did I land myself with a girl like you. I like you. So much."

"I-I like you too." She replied, not meeting his eyes. His face lit up at these words and he pulled her even closer and started singing along to the chorus of the song, Can't TakeMy Eyes Off You.

She shook her head at the memory and wiped the tears that had fallen down the same cheek he'd once caressed.

"We're here, Ma'am." The cab driver said, looking at her through the rear view mirror inside the cab.