The Boundaries of Love

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"No." Papa said the moment I announced how Shravan asked me to visit him, "that boy has managed to make your life miserable as it is. Now he wants you to go there. What's he thinking anyway? Is this some kind of a joke, one moment he decides to go MIA and on another he decides that you need to go there? If he wants to meet you, he should come here. Why you?"

"He wants me to show something." I argued, "And, Papa, I want to go. I need to go."

When he shook his head, I pleaded, "You are not getting my point, Papa. Please. I promise I will not do anything that embarrasses you. Please trust me."

Maybe there was something in my voice, Papa didn't argue back. I can tell, I sounded desperate, which I was. Somehow I needed my answers. I needed to know, why did he choose to stay away from me; I needed to know if he never thought once about me. Four long months. I remember how I lost it for the first time when he didn't bother to pick up my call. I stayed up the whole night clutching my phone in my hand with a fear that something had happened to him. But he never called back. The next day, when I called, his phone was switched off. His secretary, Mrs Srinivas said Shravan had already sent his resignation letter.

This is not what I was expecting when he asked me to marry him. This is not what he had said to me while he confessed that he is in love with me. I cannot let him decide the future of our relationship if there's something he needs to show me, then I'll make sure he gets his fair chance to explain his stance.

After the overnight flight, I sigh out loud. I didn't get any sleep. I was giddy with the excitement of meeting Shravan at last. Akshay has managed to get the earliest ticket as possible, which was after five days our conversation over e-mails, and for that, I'll always be grateful to him. Though the nearest airport to Essex is London Stansted, but there is no direct flight and not to mention, it would have taken more than 20 hours for me to be with Shravan.

I had emailed the details of my flight, to which he replied with a curt okay. I had managed to get his phone number as well. But I was shocked when he told me, he doesn't use his phone much, only for office purposes. And he prefers emails more. Though he had emailed me first, I could tell, he wasn't really much into the conversation, again which is really odd to me. Shravan and I used to message the silliest things possible, that too without getting bored.

Scolding my jittery heart, I walk out of Heathrow airport. Shravan mentioned he is already here, waiting for me. And there he is, towering over most of the people. In a soft pink sweater and blue jeans, he looks soothing. He waves his hand to me which I reciprocate. Walking towards the main exit, he motions his head to follow him. There are already too many people around, he can't exactly dodge them and come near me. Sending a quick text to Preety that I have landed, I drag my suitcase as I follow him with a leap in my feet. He stops when he gets a little place to stand peacefully.

The sudden chilly morning breeze knocks my breath as I tighten my jacket around me. Shravan is looking at me with a soft smile playing on his face. But I can see the hesitance in his eyes as though he doesn’t know what to do with me. I walk straight towards him, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Slowly my eyes haze as I could feel his figure distort slightly. This is the moment I was waiting for for so long. I thought I would run into his arms the moment I would see him, but looking at him, the way his hands are tucked in his pockets, I don’t know what to do anymore. Keeping my tears at bay, I secure my gaze on his face. He looks tired, and he looks a lot leaner.