Epistle 93: Inching Closer

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A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Here is the next update! :D :D

Happy Reading! :D :D

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4th January, 2009:

I finally submitted my thesis paper today!

After all those months of hair-pulling, nerve-wracking, body-breaking and mind-boggling research work, I finally managed to put in my draft for the thesis paper submission today. Eight papers cumulatively dotted and linked to each other to give birth to the final thesis paper that's required for my Masters. My faculty was pretty surprised with how quickly I'd completed my thesis paper when more than half the students were not even halfway through theirs. But then again in these fifteen months, they did see my passion and dedication towards what I'm doing and they've been immensely supportive of the same.

And well, Finch definitely gets the special note of thanks in this because he's just been so great when it comes to being an energy booster for me when I'd get all clumsy and lazy. Well, he'd even get rather intimidating at times when he'd go into that 'professor' mode of his, especially with the colourful language he has no control upon when he's in one of those moods, but apart from that he's been just sheer brilliant. And well, I wouldn't really like Ishaani to know this since she'd only break her promise again, but I've somehow caught on to Finch's colourful use of words as well. Influence.

Finch tells me that I'll hopefully get my degree unofficially in March. The actual convocation won't be till before May, but atleast I can start looking out for internships at the placement cell of the University in case I change my mind about wanting to continue working with Mr. Zaveri. But I'm happy working with him right now, and I've decided to continue my job with him only. It's been three months since I've been promoted from being Mr. Zaveri's delivery boy to being his personal assistant. And with each passing day I'm only getting to learn more and more as Mr. Zaveri has now been personally mentoring me.

Ritika was right - this was the next step towards achieving my dreams and my ambition in life. And it was definitely worth all the suspense that I had to bear for it as my birthday gift. And ever since Mr. Zaveri gave me that opportunity, there's been no regrets and certainly no looking back upon whether or not my decision of pursuing my higher studies in Sydney was the right call or no. Because it was. Extremely essential, if I truly did want to achieve my dreams and shine out so that I could become something on my own independently. I had to stand true to all the faith that my parents, Ishaani and especially Mota Babuji have put into me.

And that's why I can't wait for March to come now! I still have to attend my mandatory classes and go about my work as well since I cannot skip that, but I've taken a week's worth of off already from Mr. Zaveri for my trip to Mumbai in March. My salary has definitely gone up six times than what I used to earn as a delivery boy since Mr. Zaveri has now made me an official employee on the company and also has been letting me work this job like an intern now, so I've managed to save enough to atleast sponsor myself a trip to Mumbai without having to worry about borrowing finances.

And that's definitely a good feeling.

The first step towards independence, as Ishaani would put it as. Well, both of us are inching closer by the day towards that independence, I guess. I'm almost done with my Masters, and she'll be appearing for her finals in March after which she'll be an official graduate. The last time we spoke (on my birthday), she was still determined to go to Harvard and pursue an MBA before thinking about coming back and settling down. I'm not sure whether Mota Babuji and Falguni Maa would really allow for it, but then again, they've never stopped her from achieving what she's wanted to do ever before. I don't see why they would now.

I've been meaning to call her up so many times, but I've just been maddeningly busy! The same 6am-2am schedule like always in these past three months and I've just had absolutely no time to breathe whatsoever! And I've been meaning to call her but I'd gotten mugged last month and I lost my phone and I lost all my contacts as well, and I just can't seem to remember the mobile numbers too well. The landline one I remember but it just won't go through! Ishaani did mention the last time that there was some maintenance work going on and that they were probably planning to change the landline number but nothing was sure. And by the time I could ask about it, I'd gotten mugged.

I don't know, but any form of communication just isn't working either! There's some issue with my email id because all the mails keep getting rebounded as well. I would have waiting for the end of January to talk to Ishaani (like we'd decided last year), but I just wanted to let her know that I'll be in Melbourne for three weeks starting from tomorrow with Mr. Zaveri. He's going to take a detour over there to handle the diamond company branch and wants me to gain some more experience in that arena as well since he knows that I do have a good idea about them from my time with Mota Babuji. And also since I've got a new number, I wanted to let her know that.

I've sent her a mail from Finch's email id right now and even a letter just yesterday, so let's see now. I hope that she gets either one of them, because there's been a lot of cases with the letters getting misplaced at the courier office as well these days. But well, hopefully she'll reply to my email soon and I've told Finch to let me know at the earliest whenever he hears from her. The worst thing is that she hardly ever uses her email; it's just lying all idle. But apart from this little setback, I think everything else has been going pretty great on all fronts now and its going as well as I could hope for it to be.

After our little spectacular New Years celebration at Adelaide with just the two of us that involved a lot of sight-seeing, casinos and a little splurging with the alcohol, Finch's gone ahead to call us brothers from different mothers now since we've just formed a whole new bond that goes beyond even being restricted to just being best friends. I've even been to his mansion in Sydney and have met with his parents who did seem to warm up to me pretty quickly even though I was worried that they wouldn't, given my status. But given that I just couldn't shut up about the stock markets the first time I met his father and the enthusiastic discussion we both got into, I think his father was pretty impressed with me.

Finch's mother does seem to be a very difficult woman, but when she learned that it was I who gave Finch that necessary push to pursue his career in Law, she seemed to melt faster than the core of a chocolate lava cake. Atleast from the first meeting, both of them are pretty fascinated with me, Finch says, and more often than not they seem to drive him crazy talking about me all the time. And well, he went on another colourful round of words for me. But then he ruffled my hair and said that he couldn't have been happier either.

Err, where was I? Oh yeah, gotcha!

On a more serious front, Finch's passed the first two rounds of his interview with Freehills so far and things do look pretty good for him. The third round is scheduled for next week after which there are still three more rounds, so I think by the time he reaches the final round (which I'm hopeful he will), it'll be by the end of the next month. It also coincides with it being the last working week of the faculty as well since the exams are in the first week of February, following which the students have to submit their thesis papers by the second week of March. That will be under the direct assessment of our college's assistant dean, who's also the head of the Research department.

On a more personal front, Finch and Monica's relationship has never been stronger and if Finch passes the interview and gets the job at Freehills (only two interns are selected every year in that firm), then he's going to fly down to London in March to have a talk with Monica's parents. She will complete her Masters in Clinical Psychology by April so everything's pretty much in order in that aspect. Since Finch's family has already given the couple their go-sign, it all depends upon Monica's family now.

Oddly enough, I was always under the impression that foreigners didn't exactly give a damn about whether their parents approved of their relationships or not, but I was wrong. They do. Or maybe Finch and Monica are just old school. But whatever it might be, I really respect Finch and Monica all the more for the amount of trouble they've been taking to convince their families about this marriage and it just makes my heart grow fonder for them with every passing day. And seeing the way they're succeeding, I cannot help but bring my hopes up as well even though I know I shouldn't.

Not atleast until I talk to Mota Babuji first.

Finch's been very motivating in this aspect, especially since he knows how all the dynamics are between me and the Parekh family. And after I've told him about the equation between myself and Ishaani, he seems to be even more confident than I am that she must be in love with me as well, especially after the lengths she went through to ensure that I could make a future for myself. And since Finch had done the same thing for Monica, he tells me that he knows the signs. Well, I'm still trying not to be too hopeful, but I can't help it... I'm human at the end of the day too. 

I tend to dream as well.

And especially when things are at its peak of going right, I cannot help but wonder more and more with every passing day that perhaps my dream is not too far-fetched. Maybe the moon's always been within reach. I've just been pushing it further and further away because maybe I'm too afraid that its beauty would blind me. Or maybe because it was too good to be true. But somehow, the moon doesn't seem like a distant dream anymore. It feels like we're both inching closer and closer with every passing day, even though the distance is just the same.

Well, they always say that distance makes the heart grown fonder. I guess that's what it is for me and Ishaani as well. We needed the distance to know how much we mean to each other because those initial months of separation were enough for both of us to know. I agree that phone calls turned into letters and letters turned into minimal form of communication, but isn't that normal? I mean, it does happen with loads of people as life pushes you ahead and you have to go with the flow before it drowns you to the bottom.

And if something like this could happen with Maa in the village, and Baba and I in Mumbai, I guess it is normal. Maa and I love each other even more so now because of the distance, even though we might not always miss the others' presence. Well me more than her, ofcourse, but you get my point. And even Ritika seems to agree with it, being practical as she is. And not just with the communication gap in general, but even with Finch's point that Ishaani does have feelings for me.

We were just sitting in the park yesterday night, simply gazing at the stars because I just felt like it. I haven't stargazed in a long, long time and I really just wanted to, you know. But well, watching them alone is never fun, especially when you've looked at those tiny specks of light with Ishaani beside you all your life. And since I didn't know who else to ask out, I called up the first person who crossed my mind - Ritika. I'd have called Finch, but he's away for the weekend with him family in Queensland.

She wasn't free but when I told her how I'd not done this in a year and was something that I was immensely craving to do, she agreed to free up her slot for me. She's always been like that - there for people when they need her, both in good times and bad. And if she's been there with me during my difficult times over here, then she deserves to be in the good ones as well because she's given me the strength to pull these last seven months away from Ishaani so valiantly. 

And so, I knew that she had to be there tonight.

Unlike the parks in India, the parks here have a 24x7 access, so it was pretty much alright. The weather was as warm as we could hope for it to be, while the night was just... laded with the exuding power that nature always exercised during nights like these. Ritika and I lay beside each other upon the cool, dewy grass as we stared above at the vast, seamless sky, hypnotized by its glimmering beauty. The skies in Sydney were even more filled with stars than the ones in Mumbai. And it was just... magical.

"Wow, I've never stargazed like this since I was five," whispered Ritika dreamily as looked at her. She had tears glistening upon her cheeks. I'd never seen her cry before, not until yesterday.

"Really?" I asked worriedly, as I propped myself upon my elbow. She quickly wiped away her tears and smiled at me sadly.

"Yes... I would stargaze with my mother every single night when we waited for Papa to return back from work. I'd get bored of waiting and waiting and I wouldn't even agree to sleep without seeing him, so my mother found a solution to my problem. Stargazing," she replied distantly, looking at the sky again. 

I fell back in accordance and did the same thing as countless memories from stargazing with Ishaani hit my mind with razor-sharp clarity at the same time. After spending an indefinite amount of time in silence, at the end of which my own thoughts came to a standstill, I finally decided to break my silence.

"Don't you miss your mother?" I asked her, and my voice seemed to zap her out from her thoughts. She looked disoriented for a couple of seconds till she gave me a rueful smile.

"Oh, I do. Terribly. She was a very bright woman, you know. So talented and artistic and learned, from what little I remember about her. Maybe she was too good to be true. Maybe she didn't belong in this world at all. All that she left behind were legacies and those tiny little legacies in the form of her untold stories to the world. Her paintings," she specified and I couldn't help but pat her hand sympathetically. 

I was happy that she didn't push it away.

"How did you cope with it?" I asked after some time and I was secretly glad that her voice was steady when she replied. 

She'd never spoken about her mother in this much detail so far and the fact that she trusted this to me was nothing short of an honour that she trusted me that much.

"You definitely don't remember much when you're six. She was there one day, and then she wasn't the next. Papa obviously didn't tell me what had happened or where she'd gone. He just told me that she'd gone somewhere because they needed her to. To make their world brighter just like she'd made ours. A couple of years went by and then... well, things just click. I think I was nine when I realized that she'd passed away and that she'd never return back," she ended simply, and I could sense the swirling emotions in her voice in spite of its emptiness.

"How'd you live for those three years then?" I asked, and it was an extremely stupid question, I know. Ritika let out a halfhearted chuckle before speaking.

"In hope, ofcourse. In the hope that she'd definitely return someday, just like Papa said she would. He told me to look at the stars and to wave out at them every night because she was there. A star. And she was watching over me every minute, every second of the day and so I had to be a good girl," she added, shutting her eyes as a soft gust of wind blew across with the comfort of a mother's embrace.

"Someday..." I whispered in spite of myself and this time, Ritika was quick to answer.

"It's a code word for never, I've learnt," she replied, and I turned my head towards her once again, unable to keep my curiosity at bay any longer. 

She was an extraordinary girl, I always knew. Someone who stood out from the crowd. And the more I got to know her, the more she amazed with especially with her sheer strength to face life with the broadest smile upon her face.

"It's a kind of trauma that most people never recover from. You're truly a strong girl, Ritika," I commended and this time, she turned her head towards me and caressed my cheek lovingly. 

There was a strange solace in the way her fingertips grazed my cheek that just... threw all my worries out of the window and made me crave a sleep that'd go on and on until I chose to put an end to it. But it also made me crave for an essence that I knew only once person could give me - Ishaani.

I managed to open my eyes again as soon as she took her hand away, staring at the stars and talking to them more than me.

"My mother always said the same thing too. And then again, I know that she's watching upon me. Look, right over there, the brightest one in the sky. That how she was when she was alive too... She would just fill the air with all the happiness that she could muster. She was quite young when she died. A rare heart disease. But she never let her illness reflect upon her face. She was as strong as a wall till her last breath," she added and I could hear the pride in her voice in spite of the longing too.

"Then you've inherited your strength from her," I said as our fingers interlocked, while I strengthened my grip upon her hand as a show of support. She looked at me and sighs softly.

"Everyone tells me that, along with the fact that I look quite alike to my mother. It's a good feeling, when people tell me this," she said, and I couldn't help but feel my heart ache for her. 

She didn't deserve to have a life without a mother. But then again as he'd himself tell Ishaani several times, the good ones lost the most in life. It's what ultimately made them who they became.

"Can I ask you something?" I spoke aloud after an infinitesimal amount of time. She nodded her head silently, without once taking her eyes off from upon my face. I took that as my cue and continued. 

"How are you so... whole?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking slightly puzzled. 

I couldn't help but feel flabbergasted at how poorly I'd phrased my question, but now that I'd gone ahead with it, I couldn't retreat either. So I decided to stick with it.

"People sing about their scars in spite of putting up a strong facade of being whole. You sing about being whole in spite of your whole facade being filled with scars. How do you do it?" I asked, and her face relaxed back into a comfortable smile as though she had been asked a very interesting question whose answer she was looking forward to give. Well, it was a very interesting discussion, what we had from this point forth anyway.

"I don't want to be scarred, Ranveer. Everybody in this world today are scarred and angsty and broken. Aloof and lonely too. It's a rarity to find someone who's whole and embracing life with the same zest and happiness as their innocent selves once would. Who don't cry and center their lives around a particular tragedy and let that define what their life has become from that point forth. Tragedies define who we become, not the course of one's life. And heavens knows that I don't want to be broken or scarred or bruised. I love being whole, and I enjoy being happy because that's what life's about. To find the rainbow after the rain," she ended and all that I could do was stare at her agog. I'd certainly never perceived things this way ever before.

"Everyone has their moments of weakness, though..." I trailed off uncertainly, and she smiled at me as though expecting this precise statement. Well, she did know me well enough by now to be able to predict things like that.

"And when I have those moments, I show it. Being strong is good, but there is no strength if you can't accept your vulnerabilities. There can be no strength without weakness. They have to co-exist together. People think that falling weak means that you're not fit to survive in this world. I believe that falling weak at times is exactly what you need if you are to bounce back stronger and survive in this world," she stated, and I saw her point. 

And well, needless to say that the boldness and power with which she made her point just... blew my mind. She always had the knack of doing that somehow.

"Wow, you are so-" I began, but she beat me to it.

"Weird? Yes, I know," she finished for me, laughing finally. 

I felt relieved to hear her laugh like that, to be honest. The crying side of her was something that shook my own sense of confidence momentarily.

"No, you're... beautiful. Your soul, I mean," I corrected her, and she did look rather touched as I saw her cheeks turn slightly pink in the moonlight that fell upon her so opulently, making the baby pink of her dress reflect upon her face even more.

"Thank you... I hope my mother's happy if she's watching upon me right now," she whispered, more as a prayer to herself than a confession to me. I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand in assurance.

"I'm sure she is. Look at how brightly she's twinkling with happiness tonight," I added, and just like I expected, it made her smile goofily. 

And I swear, the world is a much better place when she's smiling because... well, the world needs someone like her to infuse hope within people. After a third lapse of silence during which I just kept making patterns of the stars from the memory of all the patterns that Ishaani and I would make from years ago, this time Ritika chose to break the silence as she began speaking in a monotone.

"You know, it's so easy to talk about what the scars of life have done to you and how it forced you to become so strong in life. Heartbreaks, deaths, responsibilities, injustice... everybody feels that the scars from the battle of life make one even more ruggedly lovable because every scar comes at a price. Maybe that's why people don't like being whole anymore. They want the scars to shine out in front of their demons and let them vanquish it. And maybe that's why every person thinks that they're scarred, beyond repair and are damaged goods. Because they've made themselves that in their pursuit for strength," she ended finally. It took me quite some time to digest what she said this time.

It wasn't difficult to understand what she'd just said, but it was more with the clarity with which she said it that took me off-guard. I think there was a part guilty in me of what she'd just said.

"What about you?" I asked her inquisitively, and she gave me a shrewd smile as she understood what I was trying to ask her.

"I want to be different. I want to embrace the angels," she replied gently and I think both of us laughed for a good five minutes. She's such a specimen at times, I swear!

"You're extraordinary," I told her again, unable to keep my awe to myself. 

Well, it wasn't me to keep yapping on and on about anyone except Ishaani, but then again I'd never come across a person like Ritika either. Or even Finch for that matter. My life is filled with intriguing personalities, I tell you.

"I just see life a little differently, that's all," she defended and I shook my head at her, amused.

"What you just told me are what life goals are truly supposed to be, I guess. Being whole and enjoying life to its fullest, irrespective of good times or trying ones," I spoke aloud into the crisp night air all aloud, and from a little distance away I think I heard the fireflies buzz their approval at me. Ritika finally sat up once she'd gazed at the sky to her heart's content and I did the same.

"How do you become whole?" I asked her suddenly, and the question took both of us by surprise. 

I didn't really mean to be so upfront about the question, but this has been a question that's been intriguing me for the last thirteen years of my life. Ishaani obviously gave me the answer to this question, but I was certain that Ritika might have something more to add to it. Apparently not.

"By letting it go," she replied simply, as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

I rolled my eyes at her partly in exasperation and partly in annoyance before I managed to shoot the next question about in a patience barely willing to stay intact.

"Letting what of go?" I think were the exact words I used and she smiled at me as she patted my hand.

"What's holding you back. Let the binds go, and you'll find yourself becoming whole eventually," she replied easily, and I gasped. 

For a moment there I was thrown into an infusion of all my dreams related to Love till I suddenly managed to snap out of it. Ritika looked at me in concern, before I shook my head and put forth my next question hastily.

"Is that what you did too?" Ritika didn't look satisfied with the speed with which I turned the tables around. But whatever it was, she readily let me change the topic which was a relief.

"I held on too tight until I crushed my own reality with my own hands," she replied after some time, contemplating her answer with great care. I gave her a curious look and nodded my head as she continued. "-and it hurt. That's why I've learnt since then that it's better to let go than to hold on to it so painfully. It was difficult, being alone with a just a maid all those years when Papa worked day and night to become the man he is today. Eventually, I learnt to embrace it and let go and focus on having my father in my life since he was the only one I had who I could call family. And that's why he's my world today. My last strand of sanity. My Papa..." she concluded, slightly breathless.

I could see the sudden flare of emotions in her eyes, and needless to say, it ignited a new flame of passion in my heart as well for Ishaani. It was infectious, the emotions she felt and yet there was something too human about its appeal.

"Do you think I'm holding on too tight when it comes to loving Ishaani?" I asked after a while once I let the words that she'd just spoken sink down slowly, thinking about it from her point of view. She shrugged her shoulders casually.

"She's your hope in life. You're meant to hold on to her this tightly," she replied, as though it was the most obvious answer in the world and I was too smart to ask this question in the first place as well.

Somehow, I just couldn't satisfy myself with the optimism that everyone's answers showed with respect to this. Maybe it was because I'd faced so much pessimism all my life when it came to my social status that the sudden optimism was all little overwhelming. Or maybe I'd lived with a fear so certain all my life that the fact it might be totally unreasonable was a little unnerving as well.

"You said that there can be no strength without vulnerabilities, and-" I began, hoping that she's get my point. And she did, but the answer she gave me in return was something rather unexpected.

"Loving someone who cannot love you the same way in return is not a weakness. It's the most courageous thing you'll ever do because you're putting your armour upon their feet," was I think what she told me. 

Both of us smiled at each other as another wave of breeze flew around us, this time enveloping us in the sweet concurrent of the summer night.

"So you're still positive that she loves me, and I'm not being delusional?" I asked her for the umpteenth time. And for the umpteenth time, her answer remained the same and so did her patience.

"I'm positive that your love is enough to sustain the two of you for a whole lifetime. Your love is enough to stir some within her for you because your love isn't normal. Its capable of making anyone whole," she replied and I nodded at no one in particular as I let her words repeat in my mind like a mantra.

"But isn't that kind of love capable to destroy myself as well?" I asked, suddenly wondering all the times when Ishaani and I would talk about things like these. She'd always tell me that the kind of love that I had was capable of destroying me completely if I ever got my heart broken by the wrong person.

"Love can never destroy anyone. Only a person can," was Ritika's response to my question, and it did nothing to assuage the tinge of unease that I brought upon myself with my own question. 

Yeah, I do really tend to get stupid at times when it comes to Ishaani, but can you blame me, really? Especially after this one year where everything's been such a rollercoaster ride between the two of us?

"So you're confident that my love will make her fall in love with me, if she isn't already?" I asked. This time, she did roll her eyes at me, looking like she'd finally reached saturation point with my question.

"Yes, I am," she replied kindly enough though I could see that she was controlling the urge to smack me behind my head. And then, I decided to push her even more to the brink of her patience.

"How can you be so sure? Have you ever loved someone before?" I asked her just out of the blue. 

And for the first time that evening, I saw her lose the colour from her face, something that hadn't even happened when she spoke about her mother. She gave me an unfathomable look even as I watched the turmoil take place through her eyes, but her lips remained as taut as ever.

"Yes, I have. And that's why I know," she replied at long last as she stood up, giving me a small smile. 

I could see that whatever the momentary struggle had been about had come to an end now. She helped me get upon my feet as well.

"Does he love you back?" I asked eagerly as I brushed away the stray blades of the grass.

"Good heavens, no!" she replied almost instantly with a laugh, as though the thought was too good to be true for herself. 

Honestly, I don't see what was there to laugh at such serious a moment now that I think about it. It was almost as though she was trying to stave her nervousness about the topic. But then again, we'd never discussed her love life before. Remind me to ask her about this when I get back from Melbourne.

"Who'd be unlucky enough to not love you back in return?" I asked casually as the two of us began making our way towards where we'd parked our two modes of transport - her bike and my cycle. 

I didn't realize that the question had brought her to a standstill as I walked ahead, the only barrier stopping me was when she caught hold of my hand. I turned behind and she gave me a soft smile, her brown eyes sparkling softly not unlike the stars above.

"He who truly loves the lucky woman of his dreams through all the never ending infinities of the Universe," she replied mystically. I had to admit that it was kind of spell-binding, the way she said it.

"So you mean to say that he's lucky?" I asked, trying to infer what she meant from it. She nodded her head sheepishly.

"We both are, for experiencing something most people never do in a lifetime," she replied and it was obvious that she was talking about herself and her anonymous love interest. 

Somehow, I wasn't curious to know who that person was. Maybe it was because I trusted Ritika to tell me the name when she felt comfortable enough. That's how it's always been between us.

"And so am I, right?" I asked, thinking about how even I fit the situation. Well, sort of. Not atleast I got a confirmed answer from Ishaani's end. Two months to go till that day comes, though.

"And so are you. I think I should get rolling. It's pretty late already and I need to finish the little touches upon my assignment," she finally declared as we reached our two-wheelers, and I smiled at her.

"Sure! It was great, stargazing with you," I confessed as I hugged. I seriously did mean that. 

It was nothing like what Ishaani and I would experience when we would stargaze, and yet this experience was exhilarating for a reason that I couldn't place, really.

"Thank you for such a delightful time, Ranveer. This night will always remain special to me, especially since this is the closest I've been to reliving my childhood again. Thank you," she confessed in return as we separated from the hug and she put on her helmet. I did the same, both of us now taking charge of our respective conveyances.

"It will remain special to me as well, because you gave me the hope tonight to believe in the moon that I've been stargazing with and about since the past thirteen years. You made me relive my childhood as well," was the last statement I made before we both bid each other goodnight. We shared one last word of thanks before heading our ways from the park - she to her house and myself to my dorm.

And since last night, her words have been ringing in my years with such clarity that it's just been giving me a new wave of euphoria and hope altogether. I wanted to talk to you about this the previous night itself but since I was proof-reading the entire thesis paper again, I kinda lost track of time. And by the time I realized, it was already dawn. So I decided to talk to you right now before I get busy with packing.

Ah, how I can smell the end of the trying times inching closer!

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Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D

Next chapter:
Epistle 94

LadyMeringue2016-12-07 00:48:53