THANK YOU !

It was Friday evening and Belle's park was about to gain its usual momentum. Reema sat on bench no. 3, which used to be her favourite for 4 years. The setting Sun was busy painting the sky crimson. Thoughts of him made her cheeks reflect the sky. This day exactly 4 years back is memorable to her and so is him. 

In short, Reema was a gloomy and moody girl hitting her late teens with not many friends and drowning due to trust issues, then. She was perfectly fit in her imperfectly perfect world and the doors were closed with some gigantic lock which no one dared to break or better say, she never showed them any such possibilities to be broken. Despite being content with her academic achievements, her 'reserved' nature was a serious concern to her parents. Still, they decided to give it a chance and send her abroad for studies.

Sally, a working woman in her early 30's was her roommate. She was an easy-going, fun-loving, single mother who proudly walked out from the toxic marriage she was trapped in for years. Antony, her 2-year-old lad was all she cared about in the world. Sally's presence brought significant changes in Reema. Reema was in awe every time she thought about Sally's valour and her admiration was sky-high. The transition from initial awkwardness to admiration was certainly evident in Reema's behaviour and finally, she found a trustworthy 'human'. Sally was often introduced as Reema's sister and even couldn't deny it. They were bonded so well naturally and Antony was receiving unconditional love from two mothers.

Reema had never been at the receiving end of any sort of affection from anyone apart from her family, but Sally was an exception. Slowly she tried to trust people around her and there came Manuel to prove her wrong. He was that devilishly handsome guy anyone would drool over and Reema was no exception. Even Manuel was equally indulged in creating their cute moments to be cherished. Sally, out of suspicion, did her best in exposing his deliberate acts of wooing young girls for fun, leaving Reema in severe mental trauma. With those dreadful experiences, an acquaintance was a closed chapter in her life and socializing was nothing less than a nightmare.

It was her psychologist who suggested Belle's park. It was away from the hustle-bustle of the city and a perfect place for a loner like her. The park was a paradise for the ones who valued solitude like anything. It had no other facilities except for a few benches and a couple of swings.

Reema reached the park by 5 and sat on the only bench left, bench no. 3. Keeping her bag aside, she stretched her legs to ease the fatigue of walking from college. She took her walkman and a soft beat was played. She closed her eyes and swayed her legs to the song. She jerked when accidentally hit on something on the floor. She checked on it and found a sketchbook with a bookmark in it. She opened the book and found the image of a flower, all coloured in dark blue and magenta. She kept the book aside as she heard Antony's voice and rushed to him with her handbag.

The next day, she left for college a bit early and by the afternoon they were called to the Botany lab. She was fully focused on her research and that helped her to forget Manuel. While leaving the lab in the evening, her eyes got stuck to that small plant at the left corner of the lab, with dark blue and magenta flowers. She quickly remembered that sketchbook and enquired about it with her colleague. She got to know that this was a special hybrid of Chrysanthemum developed under the supervision of her guide and nobody else have an idea about it other than the ones working there.

She concluded that the owner of the sketchbook might be one among them and decided to meet at Belle's park. She reached the place by 5 and all the benches were already taken. She sat on the lawn and feigned reading a book while examining each bench. To her dismay, none seemed to be familiar. An old couple, a young girl doing meditation, somebody in a hoodie facing the other way, an elderly gentleman scribbling something, a grandma dozing off were seen. Few benches were vacated soon and Reema settled in bench no. 3 worrying about the sketchbook.

She jerked apart when something poked her, ended up grinning when she realised it was the sketchbook and to her surprise, it had the image of a peacock feather on the bookmarked page. She flipped through the book in excitement and each page had an image. She recalled that the image on the first page was the same toy car she saw three days back in the mall. A drawing resembling the patio of the cafe she went to two days ago, drawings of Ferrero Rocher which she gifted Antony yesterday, the dark blue and magenta coloured flowers and a peacock feather were on the adjacent pages.

She was confused. Is someone stalking her? However, all those images were drawn a day ahead of it's happening. She was curious to know about this mysterious person. Nothing but a king emoji was left on the book. She suspected that guy in a hoodie but gave him the benefit of doubt and decided to confront him after confirming.

Reema was busy with her research work in the morning so Sally decided to take her out for lunch. She handed over a pair of earrings made of peacock feathers leaving Reema dumbstruck. What! How could someone predict her life just like that? This is insane! She determined to be cautious thereafter and discovered that the book was always near bench no. 3. She made up her mind to track the person but the only details she could collect was that he wore a rose gold watch and had a black backpack with 'Silence is my Attitude' printed in block letters.

Sally was laughing out loud hearing Reema's description of her anonymous well-wisher. The details gathered were so vague and both of them knew it was insufficient. Still, she was desperate to know about him. Not because they shared a romantic tension, but he evoked the curious kid in her in every encounter. It was pure magic. The vibe lived in those moments just like a magic trick.

Their 'meeting' continued for a couple of years and most of his predictions came true. She missed him so much on her American trip and ended up purchasing the most expensive gift in the lot for him. It was a sleek calligraphy pen along with customised turquoise ink. On returning she left it beside table no. 3 hoping it reaches him safely.

She always thought of replying to him but the thought 'What if it was not for her' kept on ringing. Every time she pushed herself out, deadly glares from her insecurities and trust issues were the result. Helpless, she trusted to go with the flow. Months and days passed by and she was spending her last month in the country. The mind once prayed to have a glance at his face was now wishing to not see him ever again. Maybe she was loving the anticipation and might not want to end it. Moreover, now she has the freedom to visualise him as a kid, an old man or even a boy of her age and she was enjoying it.

This man knowingly or unknowingly has made her crazy as she started being quirky at times and Sally was emotional seeing her chirpy. But the happiness was short-lived when Manuel made a re-entry dragging her parents into his new drama. Her last week was so suffocating with the topic of marriage and she sighed at Sally's assurance to stay strong.

Reema couldn't believe that it was already 4 years in Sweden and for the very last time, she went to Belle's park keeping aside all her miseries waiting for her to board the flight. She checked the bench thoroughly and no trace of the book was there. Her face fell and decided to bid bye to the usual faces in the park before she leaves the place forever.

Nearly after an hour, she came back to the bench to get her sling bag and was elated on seeing the book. She anxiously flipped through the pages and those words left her in tears.

Beautiful calligraphy of the quote 'Hey little fighter, soon everything will be brighter' was written with the customised turquoise ink she gifted him.

She left the park with the best smile that reached her eyes....ever!

The pages of the book were fluttering in the wind displaying the eight-letter word drenched in her happy tears.

                             'THANK YOU!'

Note: 

Few elements in the story like the Rose gold watch and ' Silence is my attitude' are anecdotal. I saw this guy when I was in class 12. 

One evening, while stuck in traffic jam on my way to home from tuition class, a guy caught my attention.  I couldn't see his face as he had a stylish helmet. Only noticeable stuffs were his Rose gold watch and his black bag where 'Silence is my attitude' was written beautifully.