Time Travels but Love Stays (Part 2)

He walked in politely.

“Please have a seat,” Said Mum. He sat on the couch in the centre of the living room.

I walked ahead and sat near the window thinking that they will continue with their conversation, but once again the wild silence crept in. As the cold evening breeze blew from the ocean, the only sound came from tapping of papers that I had kept on the table.

I felt a nerve wracking depth in the atmosphere. The deafening silence was intolerable. My heart started to hammer. I was clearly worried.

I tried my best to concentrate on the story but the other side of the room pulled my attention. I took a quick glance at the gentleman. I could see only his back, but he was looking at mum. Mum’s eyes were penetrated into the floor as if she was reading a captivating story written underneath. She sat uncomfortably in her own house.

I had never seen mum so mesmerized. The only time I had seen her so engrossed in thoughts was when she had a misunderstanding with one of her close friend.

I got up from my chair and walked towards them. I decided to break the silence which eventually broke the secret of a lifetime.

I gave the gentleman a short smile and sat near mum quietly.

“Hey! Are you ok, mum?” I Whispered.

She did not utter a word.

She just took my hand, holding it tightly within her two hands she took a deep breath as if she was afraid of losing me. Her hands were warm and her face looked pale. Silence still persisted and I felt like a huge vacuum around me.

I looked at the gentleman and he was still looking at mum and then he looked down. He nodded his head in disbelief and then he looked at me and slowly gave a beautiful smile. His face looked serene and the smile lit up his face.

“What is your ...,” He asked in a low voice.

I could not hear the latter part of his question. I could feel the nostalgia in his voice.

“I am sorry, I could not hear you completely,” I said.

He cleared his throat and this time he spoke softly but clearly. “What is your name?” He asked.

“Netra,” I replied.

Just as I told my name, tears filled in his eyes. He looked down and one drop fell on his hand that he tightly held with each other.

Oblivious of the fact that who the man was, why mum was so quiet and why I felt so naive, I was completely enthralled in the situation. One thing I was sure of was that mum knew the man very well.

With all questions piling up, there was roller coaster of thoughts in my mind. My head was cluttered with too many ideas. The only way to break the silence was to make mum speak something.

As the clouds gathered, the beautiful evening sky vanished into the advancing grey skyline. There were constant thunder and lightning. It was getting darker and any further delay would be troublesome for the gentleman to reach his house.
Still holding on to mum’s hand I looked at the gentleman. He looked at me too. He was as fresh as he was when he came home.

“Sir, May I know where do you stay?” I asked him.

“In a Hotel in Bandra,” He said.

It would take him nothing less than an hour to reach Bandra from Juhu, I thought.

“Would you like to have dinner?” I asked.

“No, thank you dear. It’s time for me to leave,” He said.

He got up and started moving towards the door. I followed him and opened the door.

“If you don’t mind, may I know who you are?” I asked.

“It’s too late for me to explain now; I will come back tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock.” He said. Is it ok?

I was so curious to know what was happening. I said “Yes, sure,” without even hesitating.

The wait for lift seemed long. As the lift door closed I took a sneak peek at him for the last time, he did looked absolutely unruffled.

I closed the door and looked behind. Mum was not there. She was in the kitchen heating the pasta. She was unusually calm and quiet.

I went to fresh up, splashed some cold water on my face. I felt a bit relaxed. I thought that mum would tell me about the gentleman over the dinner.

But nothing looked as I had thought. She already went to her room and put the lights off. I knew she was disturbed. She did not have her dinner. Mom and I usually catch up at the dinner table discussing about the day. It had been a long time since I had my dinner alone. I had some pasta and slowly cleared the table. I switched off the lights and went to my room. We were just two of us at home. But due to my late night project work I preferred to have a separate room so that I did not disturb mum from her sleep.

It was definitely the longest night. Not that I have never spent long nights. But this was emotionally daunting since mum did not speak about the evening. I looked at the clock. It was just ticking towards 10 o’clock. I wished that I could turn the needle of the clock to 10:00 am.