Pursuit Of Liberation

Homecoming

One Year Later

It was a usual day at the DA's office. Not much noise, not much communication but lots of work. Lisa had grown a little quiet. She didn't smile as much. She didn't find any reason to. When her mother asked her what was wrong, she would smile then. She would smile her you-know-what's-wrong smile. When Harrison praised her for her work, she would smile then. When she would win a case, she would smile then, and that was the only time when her smile would reach her eyes. Except, she would smile when she read his journal, over and over again.

It had been a year since he had left, but she could smell him in every corner of her house. She still cleaned that room everyday, in the hope that he would return soon. And whenever she found that hope waning a little, she would see the dried up rose kept on her table and read the last page of his journal. "Where else can I go?" he had written. She knew he would come back. It was just a matter of time.

Lisa kept that journal in her bag, always. Whenever she would feel low or have a bad day or terribly miss him, she would go to the bathroom and write on the remaining pages of his journal. It gave her the feeling that she was talking to him and he was listening too. It calmed her nerves and she would feel so light.

She was missing him today. It had been exactly a year since she had last seen him. She was trying to focus on her current case when Tina shouted from the desk beside hers, "Lisa look! Isn't it your first client?"

Lisa dropped her pen and nervously looked behind her to find nobody. She looked at Tina with a raised brow to clarify what she meant. "The newspaper, Lisa." She said, handing her the paper.

Tina had become a good friend. She was good competition at work and a good listener and a friend when they were not competing. Tina knew that there was a man in Lisa's life, who is not with her at the moment as he has gone to establish himself. Why, who, when were all unknown variables and she didn't ask her. She said that she would wait for her to have complete faith in her.

Lisa took the paper and read the headlines. For people who were looking at her would have guessed that either angels were spotted on earth or the missing things and people were retrieved from the Bermuda Triangle.

But it was something else. Something that moistened Lisa's eyes which she instantly hid.

"ANOTHER WIN. HATRICK FOR ADEN COLLINS."

Lisa was overjoyed and overwhelmed. She wanted to hug him so bad. But she couldn't. She sent up a small prayer of gratitude. She then took a deep breath and said, "yeah! He was my first client. Good for him. He's doing good."

Tina smiled at her taking back the paper, "He was a lawyer too. Such a coincidence right?" Her eyes had got back to the paper.

"Tell me about it." Lisa said and excusing herself she went to the bathroom. She kept her bag on the platform and took out the journal.

Congratulations Aden! I am so happy for you. You are making a name for yourself. Come back soon. I love you.

She kept the journal back in her bag, splashed a good amount of water on her face and got back to her case.

When she was done for the day, she drove to the garden next to her apartment, where she would go daily with Aden.

She came here everyday and sat on the same bench. She could feel him everywhere, only, he wasn't there.

She sat on the bench and started scribbling in the journal,
It's a peaceful evening, Aden. I would have liked to spend it with you. I think Tina knows about you because she very suspiciously eyes me when I come from the bathroom. But she never asks me anything. I like that about her. She gives a person his space. Like I am giving you. But how long Aden? Come home. To me.