Crossing the Mirage - Passing Through Youth

Chapter 25 - Embrace of Love

With no response for long, Sathya held on to the buzzer a little longer. When Prema opened the door in her bathrobe, she found herself staring wide-eyed as Sathya remained speechless.

"Oh, you," she welcomed him being the first to recover, "looks like its Godsend."

"What a pleasant surprise!"

"What do you mean?" she said, surprised in turn.

"I find it's all so puzzling," he said trying to figure out the equation, "you, at Chandra's place!"

"What!" she exclaimed looking at the gate.

"I thought it's his house," he said equally surprised.

"How long have you known each other?" she said having come to see Chandra's good turn.

"We met only recently," he said unable to make head or tail of the equation.

"Oh, I see, step into our small world," she said in delight.

"How kind of him that he brought me to the threshold," said Sathya smelling a rat, and went in behind her.

"I told him our story without naming you," she said.

"Now I see," said Sathya sitting in the sofa, "he made it two plus two after hearing my version of it. What a lovely way he made us meet!"

"I'm glad you still recall our saga," she said, sitting by his side.

"Can either of us ever forget it?" he said and added in apparent hurry. "I'm dying to tell you something. When is Vasu expected?"

"He won't be back till a week," she said all smiles. "So you've all my eyes and ears till then."

"Thank you," he said smilingly, "but I won't bore you for that long."

"Hope you don't mind if I engage you as long," she said, going into the kitchen. "Let's have some coffee first."

"It is ages since I had anything from your hand," he said, following her into the kitchen.

"Haven't you got married?"

"I failed to induce any."

"Don't tell lies," she said heartily, "you ladies' man!"

"Don't you know I'm unlucky in love?" as he said, his manner mirrored the sadness of his heart.

"Don't be so mean," she said equally affected by his manner. "Why don't you say we're unlucky in love?"

"I was blind to your beauty when you loved me," he said as he sighed. "And when I could visualize your charms, you opted to get out of my sight, that's the crux of my tragedy."

"Don't you realize the same was the case with me?" she said sounding sad. "I craved for you when you were tentative and shunned you as you were insistent."

"To tell you the truth," he began tentatively, "I realized only recently how my conceit would've affected your life. It took the meanness of a woman to make me realize how mean I was to you. It was a sort of poetic justice for you that made me cry in shame and regret all that night. Ever since, I was dying to tell you that fate had paid me back in the same coin. I hope you will care to listen, at least this time."

"I'm sorry on both counts," she said melancholically. "Don't I know that not giving you my ear then was the cause of my ruin? How I rued that mistake I only know. Maybe, I owed it to my horrible fate. Barring that accursed time, I always felt your fortunes and misfortunes are mine as well. Oh, tell me what happened?"

As Sathya narrated the tale of his unrequited love, Prema saw the mirror images of her past agonies.

"It's thus fate made it even for me," he said in the end. "Now it's up to you to forgive me."