Sara's Trilemma

Blast From The Past

"What are you doing here?" he asked, the soft velvety tinge of his voice was already caressing my ears.

"I... um..." I lowered my gaze awkwardly before straightening myself. "I work here...at the. At the Purple magazine."

"That's great Mini!" And with that all the old memories came gushing back, probing my brain to acknowledge how I used to love the man standing in front of me. And he used my nickname.

The girl tugged his arm and he acknowledged. "Where are my manners?" he shook his head, overwhelmed. "Sweetie, she is Mini, I mean Sara Anand." The girl smiled at me and took my hand and shook it, rather mechanically I assumed. "And Sara, she is my fiancé, Cara Cavanagh."

And as if the floor slipped beneath my feet, I stood there unable to remain composed and nonchalant. 'Fiancé?' I asked through the shut mouth. Thousands of questions exploded in my numb brain. I didn't know if I should laugh, or cry or I didn't know, maybe run away and never to step into the Seven Empire again.

The girl looked younger, with blond bangs and a ponytail. Her eyes were deep azure colored with a skin that was pale and supple. She was a beauty. I let out a short sigh.

"Hey, Ha-ware-ya?" she asked in her thick pro-Irish accent. "I've heard a quiet a lot about yaa!"

"Is it?" I paused, wondered for a moment, what was she heard about me from him. "Well, it's nice meeting you," I smiled owing to the obligation to look polite, but inside I was screaming with agony, heartbreak and much more weird emotions I was experiencing at the same time like I was sunken in a very dark pit and all hope seemed lost.

"What are you doing in India?" I queried in a barely audible tone.

"I am back now. And I am renting a space here in the Seven Empire to open my clinic. This clinic will soon turn to Viraj Kaushik's clinic."

"Great!" I squeaked in reaction, knowing how it would affect me, working in the near proximity of now committed ex with some lingering feelings I still had for him. "You got engaged!" I smiled questioning him in a surprise.

"Yea. We met in Dublin and I instantly fell for her." He looked ever so lovingly at her and leaned down. I found myself staring at the couple as they were close to kissing each other in front of me. I would have puked in disgust or ran away in another direction never to come back again, but fortunately, they touched their foreheads like some eternal love gesture.

The awkward silence was bound to follow, as we stood there with absolutely nothing to say. "I should leave." I blurted a few moments later. "I guess we will see each other."

"We will," he promised. "We have a lot to catch up. Here is my card, we should definitely have a dinner together." there was a short pause. "All three of us."

I sighed and smiled forcefully, turned and walked away with a heavy heart.

*

The Purple magazine cafeteria was bustling with people, sitting in the usual groups with loud chatter. I spotted Tanya and Kush sitting in our regular booth on the corner with a good view of rest of the tables. With a good amount of natural sunlight reflecting from the white surfaces, it was the brightest and cheerful cafeteria in the complex.

Due to the sudden lack of hunger, I only poured myself a thin coriander soup and a sandwich and made my way towards them.

"What happened to you?" Tanya queried biting a mouthful of paratha. Kush was looking upbeat in his light pink T-shirt and grey blazer. Apparently, his shoot finished early.