The Exchange

Switzerland

He stood at the airport, staring at the monitor, thinking where he should go next. As he saw Switzerland flash across the screen, he immediately remembered an entry written on one of the first pages of her diary..."Mera docman bungee jumping karega." Switzerland had some of the best bungee jumping in the world. So, it was settled. He would take the first flight he saw, which took off in just two hours. As he walked through security, one of the agents gestured him to step aside. He quietly complied, waiting for him to finish looking inside his backpack. The agent took out the diary, starting to violently flip through the pages, accidentally causing the slightest rip through her handwriting... Abhimaniyu stared in horror, snatching the diary back. "How dare you? Do you have no respect for someone else's things? Look what you have done???" He roared pointing to the tear. 

The agent looked at him confused, telling him to calm down. "Sir, it has not even ripped. Please calm down before I have to call reinforcement." 

But, already having lost all control, he continued yelling, his heart beating faster and faster. He did not stop until he was escorted into a detention room and questioned for well over an hour. When he finally got out, he had missed his flight, but there was another one later that day he could take. Until then, he went into the first store he saw, buying glue and tape. He sat at his gate, gently piecing the page back together until her handwriting was fully visible again. Finally content, he placed the diary back into his backpack and waited to board his flight. 

***** 

"Akshara", Maya barged into her room, throwing a suitcase onto her bed. 

"Akshara, jaldi se packing karlo...hum Switzerland jaa rahe hain...bhaiya ne ek venue book kara hai ek bahut bare concert kilye..aaj hi nikalna hai...aur please...woh gandi si hoodie mat pehenlena.. airport jaa rahe hain...backstage nahi..." 

Before Akshara could respond, Maya left, skipping out the room, grimacing in anticipation of this new opportunity. Without thinking twice, Akshara started taking her clothes out of the closet and placing them into her suitcase. At the very back of her closet was a photo that she had wrapped in a white shirt...in his white shirt. She gently took it out, and pressed it to her lips, holding it up against her nose...secretly wishing that his scent would still be there...but with every day, it had faded...and with every day, she felt as if she had lost a part of him. Unable to feel him, she unwrapped the photo and stared at what was inside... them standing next to each other, wrapped in each others arms at their wedding. She slowly ran her hand across his face, stroking it as if he was standing in front of her. But, right as she felt herself getting carried away, she quickly wrapped the photo again and placed it inside her suitcase...wherever she went, that shirt and photo went with her. 

As she left her room with her suitcase, Maya came down the hall, rolling her eyes..."mujhe pata tha..tum wohi gandi si hoodie hi pehno gi...ab jaldi chalo...bhaiya already car mein hai..."