JUST STAY !!!! (PART 1)
Date: 3rd March 2020
Day: Tuesday
Time: 11:15 PM
He waited at the coffee table impatiently, his eyes constantly dancing to and fro the cafe door. It was quarter past eleven and she was fifteen minutes late. He wondered whether she would really show up.
Moments like these, he would usually just gulp two to three pegs down his throat, to ease the discomfort, to quiet his screaming, chaotic mind. But not today! Not again. This was too important to mess up. It was his last chance. And he didn’t want to commit any mistakes.
The one thing which he had learnt in the last few years was that the mistakes though forgiven, can never be undone, can never be taken back. The wounds caused by the intentional or unintentional mistakes leave indelible marks on the people who bear the brunt of those. And he has made his fare share of mistakes so far, causing hurt and pain to those who were once by his side and who are now only but a distant memory.
So for the last three years, that’s how he had spent his days and nights, trying to rectify the mistakes which he kept making under the guise of stress, underemployment, hectic life, responsibilities and so on.
However, when those innumerable ‘relaxing pegs’ started insidiously snatching everything from him, one thing at a time, he finally let go of the bottle to save him…rather whatever was left to be saved.
Having lost all the ones who cared deeply for him, his life seemed hollow and empty. He craved for their love, for their forgiveness, for the innumerable instances where he chose bottle over them. But most of all, he craved for her. To see her, to hold her, to hug her, to tell her how much she meant to him, to show her how much he always loved her, to let her know how much he needs her.
So, last night with all the summoned courage, he dared to call her and asked to see her. Reluctant and hesitant she was. But with his persistent convincing, to the point of begging and urging for one more chance, she finally agreed. So here he was, waiting to meet her in person. He was going to see her after eight years.
His nervousness knew no bounds. At the age of forty four, he felt like an eighteen year old, butterflies curling all over his body, making it impossible for him to sit still. Holding his phone in his right hand, he aimlessly kept scrolling down her Instagram page. He had seen those pictures for almost hundredth time now, still every time he saw them, he couldn’t help but fall in with her all over again, especially those two almond shaped, pearl like eyes, which sparkled like a bright stars in the beautiful dark sky.
The cafe door was swung open. She was finally here. Walking over to his table, she stood there, staring at the sight of the man lost in the phone screen. She gently said, “Hi dad !!”
to be continued...
