77
He had tears in his eyes because her confession was nothing short of beautiful. Her feelings for him were so strong, that they even touched his heart. How could she love so deeply? He had once asked the same question about Sanyukta... but he knew now. He knew how one could love another so deeply, and for the sake of love, he wrapped his arms around Vidhushi once more, engulfing her in a tight hug.
"I don't know how to respond to you Vidhushi," he said, stroking her hair. "I just want to tell you that you're an amazing person."
She smiled against his chest and held him tightly, enjoying this moment, because she may not get a chance to do this again.
"Love hits us in the blink of an eye... you never know when you fall, but once you do realize, you're already too deep, that there's no coming out of this," he continued, "It's the most beautiful feeling, and just to experience this feeling many would die. We are in fact lucky to have found love in our lifetime."
How could she tell him that she was going to die for this love? Some people died searching for love, and some people died, finding their love.
"To be completely honest, I loved you before... I love you now too, because love can't disappear," he admitted. "It's impossible to not love someone as pure as you. The only thing is, you know I can't be in love with you... I care for you and love you like my friend."
That was more than enough for her. He loved her, but was not in love with her... what more did she need? He loved her as a friend, and that was where the strongest bonds lay... in friendship.
"I am happy," she said softly, and he broke the hug before cupping her cheeks.
He still had tears in his eyes, and as he looked into her loving ones, he saw the love that Sanyukta was talking about. He could see the amount of love those eyes held for him, and now he had nothing more to say. Silence spoke more than words sometimes, and now was one of the times.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly. Vidhushi closed her eyes. It was the same place that Sanyukta had kissed her yesterday, just above the center of her eyebrows, where the bindi of love shone.
Then he engulfed her in a tight hug once more, and she just held on silently. What more could she want? There was nothing that mattered to her more than this... and it was more than she expected.
She felt like she could die peacefully now.
After they broke the hug this time she smiled at him.
"You know, maybe in another lifetime I can find you and love you first," she said playfully, trying to break the air of seriousness around them.
Randhir smiled at her and stroked her cheek, as he lead her to his car.
"I'm sure you can," he told her. "You are that amazing. It's just that time wasn't on your side this time."
As she got into the passenger side of his car and he got into the drivers seat, she laughed.
"Not just time. Destiny. You were destined to love Sanyukta beyond limits... not me," she told him, smiling. "But don't worry. I feel like my bond with you will break in this lifetime."
"You know because I love Sanyukta so much, I am able to see her in you," he said to her as he started to drive. "Loving one, makes you love all... but why are you saying your bond will break with me?"
Vidhushi knew what he was talking about - the outer world may never understand the sanctity of love, but she understood it very well. When you loved unconditionally, you loved all.
"I just feel like maybe our karma will end here. I mean meeting you, being with you, breaking up with you... all of that is karmically driven," Vidhushi told him. "Loving you as Vidhushi, even that's driven by karma. But now, I think I'll be stepping beyond that and cutting all my karma... if our equation has been balanced, how will we cross paths again some other time?"
Randhir was about to reply to her when his phone rang. Picking it up, he answered, "Hey Sanyukta?"
"Where are you?" she asked.
"I'm about to go to the market with Vidhushi. Why? Is everything okay?" he asked into the phone.
"Hmm, yeah... just take care. Something doesn't feel right. Which market by the way?" she asked.
As soon as he told her the market's location, he hung up the phone. On the other end of the city, in the hospital, Sanyukta sat up on her bed and her heart started to beat erratically. Something didn't feel right.
She heard her inner voice order her to go to the market, which meant that she had to go to the market. She didn't know why, but she knew that she had to listen to this inner voice, no matter what it lead her to. It was the command of destiny that she was required to follow.
Sanyukta changed into jeans and a t-shirt quickly, and then snuck out of the hospital before taking a cab to the market.
This market was where all three of their fates were about to be determined in the form of Leela.
Leela was the grand play of life. It was a beautiful movie, where destiny was the writer, and where the cast were such good actors, that they lost themselves in their roles and forgot who they truly were or where they had initially come from.
78
Randhir and Vidhushi were walking through the market together, going into various stores, trying to find something nice for Sanyukta. They went into clothes stores, jewelry stores, even makeup stores, but neither of them thought anything was good enough.
"She will like anything you give her," Vidhushi said as they were strolling through the streets, "But nothing that we've come across feels like the right thing. What do you think about a nice perfume?"
"Hmm, I guess we can check out some perfumes too then," Randhir said, although it felt hopeless to look for something else. "Or maybe we should go to another market."
"Hey, look there!" Vidhushi said, pointing to a store which had some dresses with nice designs. "I think that style will look really good on Sanyukta."
The two of them entered the store and looked around at dresses. Randhir saw Vidhushi longingly look at a red dress.
"This is beautiful," Vidhushi murmured.
"It is," Randhir agreed. "I think it'll look good on you."
"Me?" Vidhushi asked with surprise.
"I like that yellow one over there for Sanyukta. What do you think?" he asked her, and Vidhushi glanced up to see which one Randhir was indicating.
The yellow dress looked stunning, and it was exactly Sanyukta's style.
"Perfect!" Vidhushi said and ran up to the dress, before getting it packed.
Randhir silently took the red dress that Vidhushi had been longingly staring at and followed her to the counter to buy the dresses. As he placed the red dress on the counter too, Vidhushi looked up at him with surprise.
"Who's that for?" she asked him.
"You," Randhir replied.
Vidhushi smiled, tears in her eyes.
"Can I wear it?" she asked softly.
"Of course! You don't need to ask. I'll pay for it, you go to the change room and change into it," he told her.
She nodded and took the dress into the changeroom. As Vidhushi got changed, she stared at herself in the mirror. With a smile on her face, she noticed how the dress fit her body perfectly. It was like it was meant for her.
"Sometimes you look the most beautiful when you're stepping onto the most beautiful path," she murmured to herself and fixed her hair. "I don't know how long I have. I don't know what's happening today. But I cannot ask for more than this... I feel complete, and come what may, I am ready to surrender to destiny."
Then she pressed her hands together and bowed in front of her reflection in the mirror, tears still glistening her eyes.
"Thank you for carrying me. It is because of this body that I was able to get this far," she murmured and then with another wide smile, she turned around and left the change room.
Randhir was carrying the shopping bag which held Sanyukta's dress when Vidhushi came out.
"Wow," he said when she came out, "It looks like it's a second skin for you."
"It does look like it's meant for me, doesn't it?" she asked him with a smile. "Perhaps, maybe because it was. It's quite symbolic too... you are the one who gifted me my beauty."
Randhir watched her stunned. How could someone think so positively about being in love with someone who couldn't be with them? Then he smiled - perhaps if he was in her situation, and Sanyukta was in his, he would be the same way.
As they left the store together, there was a commotion on the streets.
"Catch him!" a security guard yelled and a man with a big build was running across the streets, with a gun in his hand.
"Stop following me or I'll shoot an innocent civilian!" he bellowed, as he continued to run, holding his gun out.
Randhir watched with wide eyes, yet also with a sense of calmness, as the gun was pointed at him. It was like he understood the movie that destiny was showing.
On the other side of the street, Sanyukta appeared. As she saw the sight in front of her, she ran in full speed until she got to Randhir, and shielded his body with hers.
The sound of the gunshot rang in everyone's ears, as the bullet found its target, hitting the one who had liberation written in their destiny.
Perhaps the luckiest one of all.
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