chapter 32

Once Upon A TimeIshana started crying and sobbing harshly. What she said next was barely coherent, but Ravi understood the gist. A car had run over Pratham outside their college, and he had died on the spot.Ravi was too stunned to speak. Ishana continued sobbing, and he felt guilty for making her recap those horrific moments. She recalled that her phone had dropped in her lap at the noise. She had created a huge ruckus and got out of that plane. She had rushed to the spot. Pratham was already taken to the nearby hospital where he was declared ‘brought dead’.And she cried again and for hours. Ravi just sat there as she sobbed in his shoulders, reliving all the memories of a man who was once called Pratham Khatri.  After crying her eyes out, she stared at the sky. The dawn was cracking now.Now he understood what he had seen in her room. A wall was full of photographs, but they were all very old. No latest photo of Ishana and Pratham adorned that wall…“Do you know what is the worst thing about death?” she asked, still staring at the cloudless horizon. “Death doesn’t give us a chance to say goodbye. You don’t know that the last time you saw the person you love was your last. That kiss was your last. That hug was your last. That smile was your last. Because if you know that it is your last, you would never let it end. You would make it count. But death doesn’t allow it. It just comes and takes everything away.” And she cried again.“You never found love again?” Ravi dared after a while.“My love for him was not an infatuation. I loved him, just him. And I don’t think I can ever feel that for anybody else.”“So, you have been all alone all this time. No other man crossed your path?” He was worried for her now.“I didn’t pay attention to any man that way again. I had promised Pratham that I will never be naked for any other man, and I intend to keep that promise,” she smiled. “Don’t you wonder why I don’t star in movies?” He sat speechlessly. “Movies require intimacy, and I cannot be intimate with anyone, not even in the reel-world.”“It has been years Ishana. Life is too long to live alone,” Ravi explained.“Oh, I am not alone,” and a streak of crazy flashed in her eyes. “Do you want to meet him?”“Meet who?” Ravi asked suspiciously.“My Pratham, obviously.” She jumped excitedly and ran downstairs. Worried for her mental health, Ravi followed.“Now, let me introduce you to Pratham,” she smiled frantically as she stepped into her apartment.It was just the same. He stared at her, horrified. “This was Pratham’s apartment, and it is exactly the way he left it.” She broke the news, and now he understood why her apartment was in the shabby state.She unlocked the second room, and they entered. “Meet Pratham Khatri,” she whispered as she flicked on the lights. For a second Ravi feared that he would find Pratham’s skeleton in it, but thankfully he did not. They were standing in a room that was clearly of a bachelor. “So?” she asked, and he just gave her a questioning look.“Pratham used to live here Ravi. This is the bed where we used to sleep together. It is a bit small, but we didn’t need much space,” she blushed. Caressing the bedsheet, she said, “I still remember when I had complained about the sheets. ‘They are rough,’ I had said. And he had kissed me and said ‘I will buy new ones when you are back.’”“Look at these curtains,” she touched them affectionately, “I had complained that they were too dark, and he had said that he changed them to the black color because he wanted this room to stay dark, well owing to all the naughty activities we were to do in here.” Tears trickled down her cheeks.“See this wardrobe,” she spoke, grabbing its handles, “I had complained that this was too small for both our clothes.” She opened it, and Ravi saw Pratham’s clothes hanging in there. “His words were, ‘You are a model, that’s why I have bought a huge wardrobe for you in another room.’ He had converted the next room into my studio,” she informed, wiping her face as fresh tears moistened her cheeks. “I wanted to keep both our clothes together, like normal couples, and he had teased–” she choked, and continued, “I just need to keep my night clothes with him, but given I don’t need to wear clothes at night, the wardrobe was perfectly arranged.” And she sobbed again. “This was his comb,” she showed it to Ravi. “This was his perfume, some drops are still there,” she sniffed at it. “This room is the evidence that once upon a time, my Pratham had lived.” And she crumbled on to the bed, crying again.Ravi went and brought a glass of water for her. Coming back, his eyes fell on a board that had many photos of Pratham with Ishana. He handed water to her and looked at the board closely. It was clear she once had a perfect life. That they were happy. And they were in love, like no one else!