Emptiness

The day was bright and the sky devoid of clouds; the chirping of the birds added a sparkle to the mesmerizing aura of the April diurnal. The street was as good as empty except a few stray dogs that appeared to have been starving for ages. Mr. and Mrs. Sarmah had been out of town for quite a number of days now, leaving their only daughter Priya all alone in their massive erudite apartment. Priya had now gotten used to such solitude for her parents rarely stayed at home and even when they did, they had not the minimum time for their daughter. Initially, she did feel derelict but with the passage of time, she adapted to her solitary life. Her only succor was Rahul, the love of her life whom she had met with nearly a year ago and within this short span of time, he had become the reason of her smile. Her engrossment with him was so robust that she could not even imagine her life without him. Rahul too was wholeheartedly in love with Priya but his recent posting at Tezpur had created a kind of breach in their relationship; he had not been able to give her the time which he used to give earlier. But Priya never complained; her accommodating nature had been motivated by her long seclusion from her parents right from her childhood days. In this case, however, it was more the fear of losing him that coxswained her reception than indulgence; she was cognizant of the ramifications of cantankerousness in a relationship.

It had been quite some time when she had last spoken to Rahul; they had been conversing only through SMSs for the last couple of weeks. She had tried to call him a number of times but he did not answer any of her calls and always justified his triviality with a simple text saying ‘Sorry my love…was busy when u called’. At times, Rahul’s laxity did infuriate her but every time she swayed herself on the pretext that he might really had been busy.

Rahul’s indifference towards Priya had augmented with the passing of time. He now rarely replied even to her messages. She knew there was something wrong; something which Rahul had not been telling her. Is he fed up of me? Priya often soliloquized and the very next moment she solaced herself with the demanding schedule of Rahul which yielded him little time for her. Nonetheless, in some corner of her heart she knew that that was not the Rahul she had adored; he was no longer the reason of her smile, only his reminiscences were.

Priya had always been fascinated by the monsoons of Guwahati; she loved walking in the rain. It was a rainy June evening and she was on her way to home from college. She never used an umbrella and on that day she had even proscribed her driver to pick her up; she loved it when the drops of the rain embraced her. However, in course of a few minutes the shower intensified, making it difficult for Priya to continue her stroll. She tried calling up her driver but there was no answer from the other side. ‘Stop galling me every time’, she looked up towards the sky. And it was at that moment of anguish when her eyes caught the sight of a lad standing in the shelter of a small paan shop, fully drenched in the shower, just a few yards away from her. He was not extraordinarily attractive but had the ambiance of an average looking typical Assamese chap. But it were his eyes that enticed Priya the very moment she got a clear view of him; she noticed an unusual enigma in his eyes which completely overwhelmed her. She kept on staring at him until he finally took notice of her existence and reverted to her gaze with a humble but mesmerizing smile which was ample enough to apprise Priya with the fantastic phenomenon of ‘love at first sight’; she had fallen for that guy in the 'paan shop' who was no other than her own Rahul. This very moment marked the beginning of a new chapter in Priya’s life; an episode of love, sensuality and sheer bliss was to be witnessed by her in the days to come. But that was a year back!

It was Priya’s birthday. Her mom had called her in the morning and enquired if she had the dearth of anything at home but like always, she had disremembered her daughter’s day of birth. She did receive a few messages from her friends who had the mindfulness of her special day and quite a many posts on her Facebook wall. However, her gazed was fixed on her cellphone’s screen in the anticipation of a call from the person whose wish meant the most for her. He cannot forget my birthday at least, Priya crooned. Unfortunately, it was apparent that Rahul had indeed forgotten her birthday. Halfheartedly, she put her phone by her side and turned her gaze towards the deserted street which appeared emblematic of the barrenness in her life. Sluggishly, her eyelids became heavy and she fell into a profound slumber.

“What took you so long to wish me you idiot? Do you know how upset it made me? You mean the world for me sweetheart!”

“I know my baby but trust me, I was too busy with my presentation. And see, I have come to wish you in person as a gesture of apology for wishing you late. Now cheer up and give me a hug my angel. I have been dying to get one!”

With those words Rahul moved closer to Priya and took her in his arms. The proximity of Rahul had always given Priya an ethereal ecstasy and today, after such a long interval, his embrace felt more soothing than ever before; Priya appeared to have got her life back. She did not want that moment to pass by; she could live in the coziness of her Rahul’s arms for eternity.

Priya’s siesta was disturbed by the constant ringing of her cellphone and she opened her eyes with sheer reluctance. I had been dreaming all this while, Priya bewailed and picked her phone up to find seven missed calls from Rahul. Finally he remembered, Priya exclaimed joyously and pressed the call button.

“Hello!” a female voice answered the call.

Priya was startled. “Hello! Can I speak to Rahul please?”

“Surely you can but whom should I say is calling?” the voice on the other side enquired.

“Priya”, Priya replied.

“Priya, Priya, Priya…you mean Priya from Guwahati right?” the seemingly lady threw her second question.

“Yes but who are you?” Priya counter questioned.

“First of all,” the lady’s voice caught up a more pleasing tone, “a very happy birthday to you. Rahul has been trying to reach you since the morning but I guess you are not answering his calls...” Priya was least interested in carrying out the conversation further. Just shut up and hand over the phone to Rahul, Priya intended to say but somehow managed to thwart her thoughts from evolving into an avowal. Priya had missed the middle portion of the lady’s discourse while abusing her in her mind but her last words clung to Priya’s ears like thunder from the sky. “…as for me, I am Akangsha, your friend’s fiancée,” the lady on the other side of the phone declared. Those five words were powerful enough to shatter Priya’s world forever. She was crestfallen. She didn’t know how to react. The phone slithered away from her ear naively and fell onto the ground. She went numb; the phantasmagorias of Rahul holding her in his arms ran through her mind. She tried to weep but the impact of that gruesome event had shriveled her tears. With a deep sigh she fell on her knees and gaped at the desolate street; the ‘emptiness’ had returned to her life.

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