Ahh can't believe it's the final update already! I must admit now that I had cooked up this entire story on a cruise as I watched the snow/rain fall outside! Literally the whole plot had played out in my mind..ok some bits and pieces I just added when I felt like it but most of it has been the way I visualised it😳😳
Epilogue
Sakshi raised her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun as she stood at the corner of the grass field. The cool summer breeze blew around her, causing the black graduation robe that she wore over her pale blue chiffon dress to flutter gently. The sun was shining all over the city of London and the sky was the deepest shade of pastel blue; not a cloud was in sight. The breeze rippled over the velvety green grass over which hundreds of chairs were set up, facing a wooden stage. The glass windows of the university building, just beyond, sparkled in the morning sunshine. All around her she could see her classmates, their faces beaming in the graduation robes and hats. An excited cheer could be heard all around; everyone was patiently waiting for their family members to arrive for the graduation ceremony.
She was just waiting for one man.
She paced up and down the field, her eyes constantly gazing at the path that led up to the field. Her eyes looked out for that one person. She wondered if he would even come.
She bit her nails in impatience and glanced at her phone.
Nothing.
Wasn't he coming then? He hadn't exactly contacted her after that last email she had sent him.
"Sakshi!" Aisha's voice made her turn around.
Her friend stood in a smart white and black dress under her black graduation robe. Her face showed traces of disappointment.
Sakshi hurriedly asked, "What happened? Did you call them?"
"Uh yeah... that's what." Aisha sighed. "They aren't coming."
"What do you mean they aren't coming?"
"I just spoke to Sameer and he said they had an important case to solve. Something that couldn't wait another day." Aisha touched her shoulder gently. "He really wanted to come."
"So he isn't coming?"
"That's what he said. I am sorry." Aisha shrugged.
"The idiot. At least he could have told me himself!"
"Um yeah he really wanted to call but he was kind of busy. In his duties."
Sakshi kicked at the grass and said, "Fine! Who cares about him anyway? Let him do his duties. It's not like I was waiting for him anyway."
Sakshi stormed away towards the university library.
"Sakshi?" Aisha called out.
"What?" She looked back with an irritable glance.
"Graduation?"
"Don't think I am not going to attend the ceremony just because he is too busy. I will be back." She stamped her foot and walked away.
***
She slumped down on a wooden bench, as far away from the stage as possible. A tear lurked at the corner of her eye but she brushed it away in anger, smudging her mascara unknowingly. She wasn't going to cry, she repeated to herself. So what if she had been waiting for over a year to see him, to be near him? He didn't care and neither should she.
"Sakshi?" A girl's voice reached her and she looked up to see Liza standing at a distance from the bench, holding a bunch of yellow daisies.
"What?" She brushed away another stray tear. "I'm coming in a bit."
"Umm. Arjun sent you these." She pushed the bouquet of flowers towards Sakshi.
Sakshi instantly jumped up from her seat and asked excitedly, "Is he here then?"
"Umm...no. He got it delivered from a shop." Liza bit her lips.
Sakshi snatched away the bouquet of flowers and said, "Of course he isn't here. I was an idiot, expecting him to come for my stupid graduation ceremony."
"Um, Saksh I need to run. Shree is waiting. You coming soon, na?"
Sakshi nodded and returned to the bench again. Her eyes briefly fell upon the flowers and she spotted the corner of a note peeking out from it. She pulled it out quickly. It read:
Sakshi,
I know how much you have been waiting for this day. Something urgent came up and so I couldn't come. I am sorry. I know you will understand. Congratulations! We will see each other soon...in Mumbai.
Arjun
She crumpled the note and cursed him under her breath. She couldn't believe he hadn't come. She didn't care how urgent his work must have been. He had promised and he hadn't turned up. She didn't even want to go for the graduation ceremony anymore.
She wanted to throw the stupid note away but refrained from doing so. The note carried his handwriting.
"So you don't really trust me, do you?"
She froze on the bench as soon as she heard the deep voice behind her. She closed her eyes, thinking that she might have been imagining it and then opened them again.
She could hear footsteps behind her. His footsteps. Her heart was beating faster and faster by the minute as his footsteps approached the bench. But not once did she look back.
It was when his hand touched her shoulder that the reality finally struck her. He was here.
With her.
She squeezed her eyes shut again. Somehow his touch had induced a tear to roll down her cheek.
She felt his hands rub her shoulder from behind the bench as he spoke again, "Won't you look at me, bookworm?"
"I'm scared. What if you disappear?" She whispered.
She felt his breath on her neck as he whispered back. "No, I won't. I will never let you go now." And gently, he planted kisses on her closed eyelids.
She wrapped her fingers around his hand that was resting on her shoulder and slowly, she opened her eyes. Her vision blurred instantly as tears welled up at the sight of him.
He wore a crisp white shirt with a pair of blue denim jeans and his gaze was even more intense than she remembered. Just above him, she could see patches of the blue sky through the green leaves of a maple tree. His smile was just as she had remembered.
He softly brushed away her tears and said, "Missed me?"
She sniffed, got up from the bench and walked around it to stand before him. The maple leaves rustled around her, creating a soothing melody out of the wind. "Why is it always windy when I meet you?" She smiled. Her tears had finally stopped.
"Maybe because the wind knows how bookish you are. It likes to create that romantic atmosphere."
"Huh. Perhaps you have become more bookish than me." She crossed her arms and grinned up at him.
He laughed and replied, "Maybe that's because I hung around you too much." His voice turned softer and he slid his fingers around her neck. "I missed you, Sakshi."
She closed her eyes and finally, she wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you, stranger."
Her heart calmed down and her smile returned as she felt his arms around her, holding her close to his heart. She put her ear as close to his beating heart as possible because she wanted to listen to its sound. The sound that she had missed the most in the past year.
***
Arjun watched Sakshi run towards the stage, her graduation robe flying in the breeze. Her smile was even warmer that the summer sunshine that brightened up the city. He had of course wanted to surprise her. And it had been so worth it. He watched her wave from her place with her friends in the queue. He looked around and spotted Sam waving to him amongst the seating area. He grinned and made his way towards the empty seat.
"You could have just saved all those tears." Sameer said, without even glancing at him.
Arjun turned towards him and asked, "How did you know..."
"Three reasons. She is a girl. She loves you. And she hasn't seen you in over a year. Oh and also, because you made her believe you wouldn't even be coming."
He grinned. "I wanted to surprise her."
"Yeah whatever. I don't understand you." Sameer looked at him matter-of-factly.
He felt so insanely proud of her listening to the applause and cheers all around him. His fingers hurt from clapping for her as she stood on the stage, collecting her certificate. She met his gaze for a brief moment, her eyes twinkling with happiness. Then she came flying down the steps of the stage, her robe fluttering in the wind like two black wings. Her face bore the familiar smile he had missed for the last year and her cheeks were pink with excitement. He watched her leap into the air on her way to him and he grinned.
When he opened his arms for her, her smile deepened. She didn't waste another minute before running straight into his arms.
***
She sat on the soft green grass dotted with white daisies and brushed her fingers along the little white petals. The graduation photos had been clicked and the robes had been returned. Now only one word existed in her dictionary: Freedom. Freedom to do anything. Freedom to be anywhere. Freedom to be with him. She watched her friends sitting around her; happy and excited chatter was all around her. Although, Shree and Liza were busy fighting as usual. She shook her head and moved towards Arjun who was busy talking to Aisha and Sameer.
She poked him. "You do forget me easy."
He grinned and said, "You were busy with your grass and flowers."
"Let me enjoy them! I am flying back to Mumbai tomorrow!" She sidled closer to him and asked, "Did you book the same flight?"
Aisha laughed and said, "You do realise we are sitting here too."
"So? You know everything. Besides, I have just asked if he booked his flight." Sakshi grinned and placed an elbow on Arjun's shoulder. "So, what are we doing today, stranger?"
Aisha cleared her throat a little too loudly and Sakshi glared at her. "What?"
Aisha laughed in response and said, "I'll leave you two. Come on, Sam. You haven't been around London have you?"
Sameer seemed suddenly confused and asked, "Actually..."
But before he could utter another word, Aisha dragged him away muttering something about him being dumb.
Sakshi looked at Arjun just in time to notice the mischievous glint in his eyes. "What's cooking in your mind, eh?"
He leaned in towards her and asked in a sugary-sweet voice, "Sakshi?"
She replied in the same tone, "Yes, Arjun?"
"Will you spend the rest of the day with me?"
"Just you?"
"Just me."
"No one else?"
"Don't worry, I am a decent guy. You must know that by now." He winked.
She hit him playfully and said, "I wasn't even thinking about that."
"Of course you weren't. So...?"
"So what?"
"Is that a yes?"
"If you promise me not to make me miss my flight tomorrow. I miss Mumbai." She twirled a blade of grass.
"Well that won't happen because I will be dragging you with me. You are trapped with me now." He grinned and snatched away the blade of grass.
She snatched it back and said, "You better be careful. I know how to break free."
He wrapped his arm around her neck and said, "But you won't."
***
"Just a little bit more." He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and stepped through the gap between the two trees.
"You've been saying that for the past one hour." She paused, watching him disappear between two dense bushes. "Please don't say we are lost."
She settled on a nearby rock and glanced at her surroundings. They had been walking through this forest for about an hour now in the search of a lake. Apparently he had found a cottage near the lake where he wanted to spend the rest of the day with her. From the looks of it, it seemed to her as if the lake didn't even exist. Her phone didn't work here either. She brushed her blue jeans and picked out the stray pieces of dried grass that somehow clung to the folds of her jeans. Then she got up, smoothened her white t-shirt and adjusted her backpack.
"We're not lost. Come quick you have to see this." His faint voice reached her from beyond the bush.
She groaned and walked through the gap in the hedges. What she saw beyond caused her exhaustion to disappear instantly. The forest floor, just beyond the hedge, was covered with scores of bluebells for as far as she could see. Not a speck of the forest floor was visible. It was as if someone had spread out a massive blue carpet. A cool summer breeze started blowing from somewhere causing the little bluebells to sway to and fro. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh scent of the forest.
She grinned at him, then faced the sky and shouted, "Thank you, Arjun!"
With her arms spread out on either side of her, she spun around and watched the patches of blue sky above. Birds flew through the branches, their chirpy voices echoing through the forest, as if voicing her freedom in their own language. She shouted again; this time, as if she were telling the world. "I love you, Arjun."
She heard her voice echo around the forest as she paused to look into his grinning face. He extended his hand towards her and she took it. Squeezing her fingers, he took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his voice. "I love you, Sakshi."
They laughed as the birds circled over them, their chirping having gotten louder after all the shouting. Hands entwined, they glanced up together at the birds above, their wings spread out against the pastel blue sky.
***
The lake stood out in the clearing in the woods. Trees surrounded it from all sides, with the tiny bluebells visible here and there; it was as if they grew wherever they wanted to spread some colours. The little wooden cottage stood to their left, just at the shore of the lake. The walls were built of dark pine, with little windows cut out on the front, on either sides of the door. Most of the right wall of the cottage was made of glass which offered a beautiful view of the lake; a glass French window opened out to the wooden patio outside where two white deck chairs stood facing the lake. A short wooden pier jutted out from the edge of the patio and continued for a few metres into the lake.
He watched her eyes swivelling in all directions and asked, "So, do you like it?"
She paused her visual touring, fixed her eyes on his and smiled. "Arjun, why aren't we staying longer?"
"Because you miss Mumbai?" He walked closer to her.
"Oh yeah!" She appeared to be lost in thoughts.
He walked closer to her and played with her hair. "We could still change the tickets you know."
"Hmmm, nice offer ACP Arjun." She shrugged his hand away.
"So?"
"Don't ask me that question."
"Why?" His smile was teasing.
"Because then I will never want to leave this place."
***
The sun had gone down long ago and the sky had an orange glow to it. The breeze had picked up and the trees rustled all around the cottage. From where she sat on the edge of the boat pier, she could see the little white daisies that grew on the grass along the bank of the lake: an array of white, yellow and green that rippled in the breeze. She had changed into a white and blue floral dress that she had brought along with her. The setting sun had painted the lake in a shade of gold and orange, the little waves sparkling here and there as it caught the slanting rays of the sun. The woods were slowly being enveloped in a blanket of darkness. Her feet were partially submerged in the cool transparent water of the lake. She moved her foot and watched the ripples dance on the surface of the lake. She glanced back for the umpteenth time through the glass walls of the cottage for any glimpse of him.
When he finally appeared, her lips curved instantly into a smile. He looked so vibrant in a red and white striped t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair ruffled in the breeze as he stepped onto the patio and walked over the boat pier towards her. She got a whiff of his cologne as he settled down beside her and dipped his toes into the cool waters of the lake.
"What took you so long?" She complained.
"I only took ten minutes." Confusion clouded over his face.
She slipped an arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Even a minute is too long."
"Sakshi, we have spent over a year away from each other." He laughed.
"It was more like an eternity."
"I know."
"You're not moving from my side anymore."
"Not even when I am in the shower?" A teasing grin appeared on his face.
She hit him playfully and moved her toes towards his under the water. "Have you been reading too many romantic novels?"
"No. I told you I wanted you to read them to me."
"Forget about it." She giggled as she felt his toes tickle the palm of her foot under the water. "Stop!"
"Stop what?" He asked in an innocent voice.
In response she attempted to splash water towards him with her foot, which resulted in drenching the carefully rolled up legs of his jeans.
"You idiot!" He shouted and set up series of waves in the water in an attempt to get her wet.
She laughed and set off more waves in response to his, whilst clutching to his arm for support.
The sounds of their laughter and the waves slowly bobbed across the surface of the lake, filling up their surroundings with a kind of happiness the woods hadn't experience in a long time. When the sky darkened into a shade of midnight blue, all that could be seen were the two figures outlined against the dark waters of the lake, sitting on the pier with their arms around each other. Making up for the time they had lost in separation.
***
Turn off the lights, she had said.
And so he had. The cottage was enveloped in complete darkness as he walked out into the moonlit surroundings. A solitary light glowed dimly near the entrance to the cottage and it threw a warm yellow glow on its surroundings. The woods were dark and he could no longer make out their shapes. But he could feel them around him. The soft rustling sound of the leaves blended in with the gentle lapping of the waters of the lake against the shore and altogether it created an enchanting atmosphere.
Under the moonlight, he could just about make out her silhouette against the lake which was painted in a silvery shade of blue. The wind was stronger and it blew strands of her hair across her face which she kept tucking behind her ears. He stood there for a while, bewitched by the beauty of the slender figure dressed in the blue and white dress by the lake. She looked like a painting, the colours and strokes of which were too perfect to be remembered even in memory.
He walked towards her, spellbound, as if he were being pulled by some invisible magnet. The moon shone above him, its reflection rippling in the water. He put his arms around her slender waist as he reached her and rested his chin on her shoulder. Then, brushing her hair away from her neck, he trailed kisses along her exposed shoulder and neck. She closed her eyes, pulled into the spell of the night and his love. Her fingers closed over his arms around her waist and she wound them tighter around her, as if to never let him go. They held on to each other as the spell cast its magic, winding its magical thread around them in circles, binding them together as one.
The spell broke when an owl hooted in the distance and they jumped. She turned around to face him then, her eyes full of the night sky.
He pushed away the stray hair from her face and said, "You look beautiful."
She lowered her gaze with a smile and said, "The night changes everything doesn't it."
"It's not just the night." He whispered.
The crickets started chirping around them as he continued, "If it were any time of the day, any season of the year, you would still be just as beautiful to me."
She felt her cheeks getting warmer as she glanced into his moonlit eyes and said, "I really missed you stranger. I didn't really enjoy that chapter we had to go through. But then, I sometimes felt as if you were there with me."
He cupped her face and smiled, "That's because I was there with you all the time. Just like you were with me."
She smiled back. "In my heart?"
"In your heart. That chapter had to be a part of our story, right? Otherwise it would have been too boring."
She thought for a while, put on a straight face and said, "True. Now we can tell our kids how you sent me cheesy emails."
"I wasn't the only one!" He shouted.
"It's normal for me! Not for ACP Arjun Rawte." She grinned.
He pulled her closer to him and said, "Oh really?"
"Really."
"I hate you." He leaned towards her and rested his forehead against hers.
"I know. I hate you too, stranger."
"Sakshi?"
"What?" She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his arms surround her like sunshine in the middle of the night.
"Are you ready to write the next chapter of our life?"
"Does it involve you?"
"I did say our life."
She laughed and said, "Of course. What will it be called?"
He thought for a while and said, "Mumbai."
***********THE END*********************
Leave your comments one last time on this one😉😉
And thank you sooo much for loving this story - it wouldn't have reached this far if it hadn't been for your encouragement😳
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
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