A short story-8

Dedicated to all the lovers in this world...happy Valentine's day.


Valentine's Day
------------------------
Priya was looking out through the window in her office room on the 40th floor of a New York skyscraper. The pitch black sky was in stark contrast to the snow that was coming down steadily. Not too bad, she thought. She had always loved snow. She could never forget her first experience with snow.

It had only been her third month in the United States then. She was sitting in the library, preparing for her midterm test. "Probability and Random Processes" was boring to put it mildly, she thought. She had been thinking about the probability involved in an arranged marriage ever since her cousin got divorced a couple of years back. "Not very exciting at all", she muttered. If she were to marry somebody, it had to be a guy she was in love with. She just had to find out who the lucky guy was.

She accidentally looked out through the window. It was raining. A second look got her all excited. It was snowing! She forgot all about her midterm examination and rushed out through the doors. Snow in october? One of her seniors had mentioned, "Not before Christmas". So much for predictability!

There was a steady flurry. The concrete platform outside the library looked like it had a coating of ice. She took a couple of steps on the sleet and immediately lost balance and fell down, resting on her hands awkwardly, spraining her wrist. She was lying flat on the floor facing the sky, taking down all the snow falling down and crying aloud in pain.

A few seconds later, she heard a voice.
"Are you alright?"
"No. I am not alright. Do i look alright?", she was trying her best to keep her voice from breaking down.

She looked in the direction from which the voice came. A handsome guy was standing there, sporting a sympathetic look. He took her to the university hospital in his car and dropped her back at her place. Not many words were exchanged because she was in pain and the painkillers made her feel drowsy. She thanked him for his patience and kindness.

She learnt the next day that his name was Rahul. She learnt the next week that he was two years elder to her. She learnt the next month that he too was a big fan of Archer. She learnt the next year that he was in love with her. It took her 6 hours before she said she loved him too. After all, he was extremely lovable and very predictable...nothing random about him. Starting that year, Gandhi Jayanthi became doubly special to her...

Priya was done for the day at work. Tomorrow will be her last. She closed her office door and headed towards the elevator. The board on her office door read "Priya Rahul, Research Analyst, Probability Modeling". She got into the elevator and selected P2, where she had her Mercedes parked. Rahul had gifted it to her last year, on the occasion of her fortieth birthday.

The year after Rahul had proposed his love for her, she graduated and joined a startup company in upstate New York. He got his doctorate degree in Geology 6 months later and started working in New York too. After initial apprehensions, their respective parents were convinced about their love for each other. They got married in Chennai, a week after he completed one year at work. She was really happy with life. They decided to go back to India for good after their fifth anniversary.

Priya got out of the elevator and walked upto her car and got into it. It was a 20 minute drive to the hotel in which she stayed now. Her memories went back to that day...the day she would never forget for life.

"Happy Anniversary, Priya", Rahul kissed her on her cheek.
"Thanks Rahul. Happy Anniversary", she kissed him back.
"Five years", he smiled.
"Yes. It's been a lovely journey", she said.
They now had a two year old son, Sunil.
"So, did you think about when we should go back?"
"Go back where?"
"To India"
"Oh...Rahul, what do we not have here? We have our lovely family, our own house, nice careers, luxurious and peaceful life. Do you think we can afford to have all this in India?"
"What do you mean? Ofcourse, we can", he sounded weak.
"No Rahul. You have to think about it. I do not want to go back to India. This is our country. We should apply for citizenship. We can visit India every other year ofcourse"
"But we agreed"
"Oh, come on Rahul. People change. Decisions change"
"But you hate change. You like things to be straightforward and predictable"
"Well, i used to..."
"Priya. Our parents are back in India. It is neither feasible for us to bring our ageing parents here nor would they like to come here and live their last days in an alien land. Atleast you have brothers. Am a single kid. Do you love me more or do you love this country more?", he knew he was not making sense.
"Rahul. Don't be a kid. Your cousins live in India. Your parents should be fine. You can visit every year, maybe"
Rahul could not believe what he was hearing. It wasn't the Priya he knew. He had never felt the need to discuss the issue prior to this day because he did not have the slightest doubt that she'd fail to live up to their decision. He left the room without speaking another word.

She parked the car in the allotted spot and got into her hotel room. It had stopped snowing. She called Divya to confirm if she'd pick the car up the following night. She did not remember what the offered price was. She did not care. Their house was sold last week.
It was February 14th in India. She was waiting for Sunil to call. He had turned thirteen the previous week. Time was flying by really fast, she thought. Her little kid was now a teenager. Her mobile rang.
"Hello Amma"
"Hi Sunil. How are you?"
"Am doing great. Chennai is very nice. Very hot compared to New York though. But I love granma and granpa. They take very good care of me. Oh, i almost forgot...happy Anniversary ma"
She did not realize that she was crying. Sixteen years had passed since that day in Chennai when she had exchanged numerous marriage vows with Rahul, the meanings of which she wasn't aware of. But there was one vow she knew she had made, but failed to keep up...well, almost. She was late by eleven years...but that's ok.
"Thanks da kannaa. Give the phone to your dad"

"It's a very mild heart attack Priya. He's not been his own lately, ever since his dad underwent a major surgery last year. He has also put on so much weight. He needs special care. Give him what he wants. Anything to keep him happy", said Manoj, their family doctor.

It had been a month since that terrible day.
"Hello...Priya"
"Hello Idiot. Happy in India? Don't you dare give me any more heart attacks"
"Happy Anniversary Priya. I love you"
"I love you too...and so much more than this stupid country"
"I know"
"I'll see you on monday"
"Looking forward to that. Happy Valentine's day"
"Happy Valentine's day", she hung the phone.

She had never been more happier in life and still found it hard to stop the tears flowing liberally out of her eyes. She looked out through the window. It was beginning to snow again...