Speedometer is touching 110-Now it is almost 6 p.m.
Sunlight is dimming down; the sky is blushing in orange hue like a beautiful shy bride!!
……..
It is better to pass this barren hilly area and reach the locality before dark. We are returning from a ‘Client visit’ in a far-off city. We mean, my office colleague ‘Shreemati’ and me. She is a complete ‘chatter-box’, never runs out of words.
I, usually being a lone man, was enjoying her spontaneous liveliness like a babbling brook-thoroughly!!
………
After a very long time, a feminine presence in the front seat of my Red Polo, just next to me, was making me absent minded again and again…. that same dewy perfume, very dear to me…!
……..
Do I still love Priya!!… “My Priya!!”
In fact, this Polo car was her choice. She liked this bright red colour with so elegant look. She always used to feel top of the world and overact like a queen while sitting in that front seat. Such a bubbly, ever-smiling Priya!!
Still wonder what went so terribly wrong between us!!
…….
‘Do you have Arijit Singh’ CD Priyank?’ -a sweet voice woke me up.
Shreemati is done with checking all the radio channels and now quickly skimming through my CD collection-That’s the best collection I have, Priya’s favorite singer.
I added one after another CD on her every birthday to see that gorgeous smile on her face and beaming love on her bright talking eyes.
……..
‘Why don’t you talk to Priya once again and try to patch up Priyank…’-Shreemati is looking straight at me as if she can read me clearly from within!!
…….
‘Oh Priyank, be careful…why you have to drive through two trucks, let the right one go first. You are so impatient…’Shreemati continued her kinder care pretending to be angry.
…….
Girls are so intuitive! still why Priya could not understand me …. or it was me….!!!
…….
“Trust me Shreemati, we never shouted on each other, but I could never match up to her emotional expectation…, probably our point of views towards life was completely different…”- I slowly opened up!
‘But did not you try to get her back…?’
“We discussed and discussed…, tried to analyse innumerable times…, really tried hard to adjust and mend the differences…but they seem to be in every aspect….!! We still talk to each other. In fact, we jointly decided to keep our path apart!!”- I sighed.
It was very painful initially, but we did it for our better future…I went back on those days without spell it out loud.
‘What will you do Priyank in coming days? Will you be like this forever?’ -I could hear Shreemati’s voice against the background song –
‘Baatein ye kabhi na tu bhulnaa, koi tere khatir hain jee raha..’
“Is it really necessary to have a happy ending of every story? I have such fond memories of our togetherness. How can Priya be separated from Priyank…!” I laughed and murmured faintly –
“Let me enjoy the journey of life with those memories and sail towards the unknown future curiously…”
…………….
We were entering to a well-lit city. Will stop for coffee and start the journey again…!!
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Pristine Path 