Hi, can we talk? Stuti smiled, glancing at the phone. Working late hours she became tired and thought of running away from the office. The cool evening breeze made her mind peaceful. Plugging her ear phone, listening to the same track for a month, she got into the metro. She blankly looked at the crowd remembering what Sumit texted her. “The elixir of your love.,”
Last Christmas when Stuti was returning from London to her hometown Kolkata, her sling bag got misplaced with someone. Although that ‘someone’ has taken the initiative to deliver it to the right address. As a sign of courtesy Stuti thanked Sumit for returning her bag in the number that she saw. She wrote, “Thank you Mr.Sumit Nayyar, I had important things in it, I fell short of words to thank you.” from the other side came, “It’s just fine, I understand, take care..” This is how it all started ,as the proverb goes, “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” …
Stuti came back on holidays to Kolkata, her hometown. It was her grandmother’s dream to send her to London University after her grandfather. Stuti’s grandmother Mrs Shalini Devi is a remarkable person. Although she has not been to any university, still she has a good taste for art and literature. She is a visionary. Mrs Shalini Devi once told Stuti “ knowledge is the light that not only elevates you but people around you. And women need to understand that seeking deeper knowledge will elevate their position.” Stuti keeps on repeating these golden words in her mind. She finds these lines extremely relevant to the time she belongs. Scrolling casually through her whatsapp she got stuck at the display picture which is similar to the words which her grandmother said. To her surprise she realized that it was the person named Sumit who once helped her. To know his well-being she sent him a message to ask how he was? Two days later she got a message that he was well and other talks kept them busy.
Sometime later Stuti’s college friend Tarun’s wedding was arriving. Stuti just came from London to attend the wedding. She has already planned how she will enjoy the wedding. She heard about other friends coming and planned accordingly. Reshmi called Stuti, “where are you? We are all waiting for you.” Stuti replied, “I am on my way to Saltlake.” After visiting the banquet hall she became nostalgic, that one day she will also get married in the same way. In the meantime Rashmi comes to receive Stuti, Saying,”you told me you will be in time? What about that?” She in a fun way said that there are a lot of boys, it will be great fun.” Although Stuti is an ambivert she can very well mingle with anyone easily. In the crowd she noticed a face, which she thought She had seen earlier. Stuti greeted Tarun, hugging him affectionately by saying” How did we grow up so early, Tarun? And look, it’s your wedding! With a couple of talks she got down from the stage where the bride and groom will get betrothed. In the meanwhile a voice called her ‘Stuti?’ She turned her back to see a young man. With doubts she asked him, “Sorry, I can’t recognize you?”. The man replied, “Sumit”, now? Stuti still could not connect who he is, as in the whatsapp dp his image doesn’t appear. The man said have you received all your documents safely? It was then that Stuti realized and replied immediately, “Are you Sumit?” He smiled and said “yes!”. Gradually they started to know each other. Often they called each other, texted and chatted for hours. Sumit always used to talk about his dreams and share them with Stuti. Stuti on the other hand used to share her entire day routine and sometimes ask him how she is going to deal with real life problems. Although it was not love, there was something special between them. Both Stuti and Sumit are engaged to their partners. Soon they will be getting hitched with their college sweethearts. Neither Sumit nor Stuti could talk about it but deep down there was unrest.
Again they met in Tarun’s house after two months to celebrate the birthday of his wife. Tarun is a common friend of both Stuti and Sumit. They shared a good amount of time talking and getting to know each other deeply. Tarun noticed the intimacy between Sumit and Stuti and commented “what is the scene going on between you two?” and the entire group of friends laughed at it which made both of them uncomfortable. Till now none realized that they have come so far. Stuti checked herself to communicate less with Sumit. Most of the time she neglected his calls telling him that she was busy with a lot of work pressure. Somewhere Sumit realized her moves. Now no more phone calls come to Sumit about how Arit neglected Stuti. Neither Sumit tells his personal problems to her. Both Stuti and Sumit realized there is something between them which is more than friendship. It is pure and free.
Just before the wedding day, Stuti texted Sumit, “ Tomorrow is my wedding and this is the last time I want to talk to you. Why I don’t have an answer for that, but I guess it’s just the vibe you give me, the smile you put on my face, the laughs I get from talking to you can make me think of you even if we aren’t talking at that moment. I honestly cannot say there’s an answer to that , but I will say that you are the reason I am happy each and every day.” From that day they never spoke to each other. They became busy in their life. So much Stuti had to see after her marriage. The burden of responsibility has made her more serious than ever. At times she suffocates in the relationship but had to continue it.
One rainy evening when Stuti was looking at the dark clouds which were about to shower, a message just popped up into the mobile. It was Sumit. She could not believe that Sumit would text her. He wrote,” The truth is I like you. A lot. More than I’ve liked anyone for a long time. And to be honest, it kinda scares me. I don’t want to screw up what we have, whatever it is, and I’ve fallen pretty damn hard for you. I just hope that whatever happens we don’t ruin what we had before all this happened. The truth? Is I Love you.” Stuti smiled and looked at the sky through the window, and noticed a silver line behind the dark clouds.
