Unkept Promises

Chapter XV

Meenakshi shut her umbrella which was drenched and started sweeping her muddy shoes on the doormat. She had just returned from her visit to her old town Moors which was almost six hours of bus ride away. Rain had started pouring randomly and was getting heavier. She sighed brushing her almost wet jacket, "Thank god I arrived before this darn rain got any heavier and luckily Shila lend me her umbrella."

She was about to call out for Ameena when the doorbell rang. Confused she looked around, café was closed so who it might be? She even wondered if she could ignore it, then it rang again. She sighed annoyed as she was exhausted from her travel and the very emotional day she had.

She walked to the door thinking whoever it might be was going to get some earful. She swung open the door shouting, "Read the sign...." She paused halfway and stared at a tall man who stood in front of her covering his forehead as if trying to escape the rain.

She gasped, eyes widened, and heart beating faster as if she had seen a ghost. She was seeing a ghost.

The man looked equally shocked and stood there with his jaw dropped and eyes widened.

She finally exclaimed, "Kunwar?"

He stood with same confused look staring back at her. Slowly his eye brows twitched, forehead wrinkled and eyes started tearing as his mind was coming to senses.

"Mi amor?"

Meenakshi drew back and dropped to the floor shutting her eyes hard and with her hand clasping her heart, as if she was trying to control its pace.

Kunwar immediately sat next to her on the floor, "Mi amor? Is it really you?" he voice squeaked.

Meenakshi kept her eyes shut but tears started rolling down wetting her face. She was speechless and her heart was racing. She then felt his hands holding her by shoulders and she whimpered.

"Is it really you? Look at me Mi amor! Look at me!" his voice trembled

She slowly opened her eyes filled with tears and looked at his face. His perfect face, the one she had fallen in love with the moment she had laid eyes on. Time had worn his young face, it had wrinkled his forehead and greyed his hair but his eyes looked the same. These eyes, she looked into them every day. Right now they were looking back at her with same love, the same way they did twenty two years back.

"Oh Kunwar!" she held on to his arms and sobbed frantically. "I am sorry! I should have waited for you!"

"No, no...I should be the one apologizing.." his voice broke, "....I was too late, I never forgave myself for not being able to keep my promise...." "....I looked for you everywhere....every possible place I could think of....I am sorry I could not get back to you soon Mi amor..I am sorry!" both cried remembering all the times they had missed each other, all the times they ached alone, all the times they grieved alone, all the times they prayed to see each other again.

After almost an hour, both sat opposite each other on one of the empty tables not knowing what to talk about. Both kept staring at other hoping them to start some conversation. All these years they had countless conversations with one another in their thoughts but now as they sat there in front of each other, they were at loss for words.

Kunwar finally spoke, "So father?"

"He passed away 6 years back..." Meenakshi replied lowering her eyes.

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Father and I moved here after you left..."

Kunwar's face tightened, "I hated myself for not saying bye to you that day." He looked at her with guilty eyes, "If only I had known how my plan would backfire..." he paused, "....how I wish if I could change that day. That last day." His eyes teared up, "had I known that would be the last time I would get to see you and hold you, I would not have let you go. I would not have."

Meenakshi wanted to hug him and tell him, "its OK now. We are together now." But she kept silent. He was someone else's husband, someone else's father, then she remembered what she had to tell him. She had to tell him about Ameena, his daughter.

"Kunwar I have to tell you something important!"
He listened attentively to whatever she had to say.

"When you left....I was pregnant..."

His jaw dropped in shock and his red eyes widened even more, "What? Why didn't you tell me?

"I found out myself after you had left the town. Father and I left before anyone would I find out."

He clenched his fist and shook his head, "My goodness, how stupid was I? I made you suffer so much....and all alone...."

"I was not alone once she was born"

"She?" his eyes twinkled.

"Yes Ameena, your daughter. She has your eyes."

Another tear drop rolled down her cheek Kunwar sighed loud and kept looking at Meenakshi's face in amazement, happiness and sadness.

"But" she cleared her throat "...we had to give her a reason why her father was not with her...."

He lowered his eyes and nodded, "I understand."
"It must stay that way. We cannot complicate things for our children." She said, "I heard you have a son too?"

He looked up, "Yes I do."

That is when a loud knock came at the door. Knock was heavy and continuous.

Meenakshi hurried and opened the door. Her neighbor stood there completely drenched, breathing heavily. He spoke, "Come quick!! Your guest is lying unconscious at the riverbank."

"Rubin?" she exclaimed in worry.

Kunwar stood startled, "Rubin? That's my son!"

Meenakshi looked at his face shocked at what she just heard.

Kunwar walked to the neighbor, "Where is he?" hurrying out.

"By the river bank.." he replied "...we have called the town doctor, he must have reached there by now." All three of them hasted towards river bank.

Ameena woken by loud banging at the door came down running and as soon as she heard Rubin's name her heart started pounding with fear. She ran out of house, following behind her mother and two men.

When she reached the riverbank, it was crowded and people were murmuring to each other. Her heart almost stopped when she overheard them randomly speak;
"...metal debris pierced the neck..."
"...what was he even doing there in such bad weather?"
"...poor guy...too young to die such horrible death..."

Ameena was gasping for air as she pushed her way to the front. She kept praying it not to be Rubin. Somehow she pushed past the crowd and reached at the front. She saw town doctor standing in front of a body, talking to a man and mother was standing next to him. Doctor gestured and said something when the man sat down holding his head with both his hands. She saw mother trying to console him.

She moved her teary eyes around as her mind got numb. She saw a body lying next to them, it looked as if he was sleeping. He looked calm, completely unbothered by raindrops falling on his face, no twitches to splattering raindrops, unaffected by murmurs of crowd. He lay there, on their spot emotionless. She kept staring at his face hoping he would open his eyes any minute now.

He would tell her it was all a prank, an elaborate mean joke but she promised herself she would not be mad. She promised she will not be mad at him but he did not move, he did not open his eyes.

Ameena remembered his voice, "Is that lucky someone me?" she closed her eyes and replied in her head, "Yes it is you! It is you I want to be with, with or without eyesight. Now come back to me! Please come back!"

***

Meenakshi held trembling Kunwar when two men covered Rubin's face and prepared the stretcher to move his body.

He finally spoke, "I failed! I failed again! I failed you! I failed our daughter! I failed my wife and I failed him! I should have told him the truth when I had the chance, he deserved to know. I should have apologized for not being able to love him enough when I had the chance, I should have loved him like my own..."

He looked at Meenakshi with his red eyes, "I could not love him like my own neither could I tell him the truth about his real father, I should have...I should have!"

The End.