The Last Ranges

“You still snore”, he said. “Even after all these years”.

“And I still don’t believe you”, she replied, irritated.

He was walking ahead of her and she was finding it hard to keep pace with him.

“I thought we were to walk “together”” she said, panting as she struggled to walk steadily on the uphill track.

“Yeah right, I didn’t come here to crawl with you, you know”, he smirked. He knew his comments on her snoring had gotten to her.

“We came here to…”, .her voice trailed off and she didn’t complete what she wanted to say. He looked at her, turning his back, and then continued walking forward.

Finally they reached the resort where they were staying. “Want to have the tea outside, instead of sitting in the room”, he asked. She nodded a yes as she sat down on the log chairs.

The resort had a beautiful view of the mountains. In winters they’d be absolutely milky white draped in snow. But summer time was glorious too with lush greenery adorning the gorgeous hills. She sat on her chair and looked aimlessly at the hills as memories played hide and seek in her mind.

He ordered tea and cookies and came and sat next to her. He was looking at her face, lost in the mountains. He remembered the time they had first come here. For their honeymoon. She was still as pretty as she was then. 12 years ago. At least to him.

“Stop staring at me like a gawky teenager”, she admonished him lightly, as he was lost staring at her. They both laughed together.

“You know we’ve had good times together”, she sighed, as she continued to look at the mountain range while she spoke. “Yes we sure have had. But then we also…”, he stopped short of what he wanted to say. He didn’t want to spoil the moment. She looked at him once and quickly turned her eyes back to the ranges.

The boy brought tea and cookies shortly. As she poured tea into his cup from the pot she looked at him properly for the first time that day. His face had wrinkled and his salt and pepper hair was thinning too. But most of all his eyes which used to sparkle once upon a time now had bags of sadness around them. They looked tired. “Let’s make this a happy one”, she said, as she handed his cup to him. She was surprised that she still had certain feelings. He didn’t say a word as he sipped on his Earl Grey, looking at the mountains.

“It’s always about you isn’t it”, she snarled at him. “Your work,your stress, your life. Everything is just about you. It’s never “us” anymore. Do you realise that?”

“Yes it’s about me. I’ve come back from a hard day’s work and I don’t want to be caught in your complaints and allegations and accusations, from the moment I walk in. I am sick and tired.”

There was hell that night. Neither of them would give up and the fight continued. Old skeletons were dug up as they hurled accusations and abuses at each other. Neither willing to back out. It was like this most of the nights.

It had always been like this since their college days. From being friends they had turned into close friends and then lovers but the aggressive streak in both of them hadn’t died. Like everything else in life they were passionate about their fights too. And both were experts in sticking to their points. Not giving an inch to the other.

“Ohh we’ve had such terrible fights”, he said, as he came back from thoughts of the past. “It’s funny how we fight with the person we love the most and eventually turn that love to poison”. She looked at him directly in the face as he spoke. She could feel the tears swelling up in her eyes.

They finished their tea and neither said a word after that. They sat together as the evening sun said goodbye and then slowly got up to head towards the room.

“I don’t want to have dinner”, she said, sounding tired. “I just want to have an early night”. He looked at her as she sat on the single bed towards the French window and then curled up turning her back to him.

He dialled room service for a sandwich.

He sat on his single bed scrolling through his phone searching for his favourite playlist. He didn’t realise when his eyes shut. The sandwiches lay uneaten by his bedside.

When he got up next morning, he saw that she was ready. Dressed in a denim top and blue jeans, she looked just like she did in her college days. And he always loved the way she would tie her hair up in a simple ponytail. Made her look really sweet he thought. He kept looking at her as she packed his bag, arranging all his clothes. Her bag was packed the night before. Wear this tee”, she said, as she kept a dark blue t shirt out for him. “And give me your night clothes once you go for a shower. We will go down for breakfast and head straight for the airport from there”. Like always, she had everything planned meticulously. He smiled to himself as he observed her going about the room, tidying up, packing and generally checking if they’d taken everything they had to.

“You didn’t snore last night”, he said.

She looked at him from packing his bag, and smiled. “I never do darling. Now hurry up”.

They finished a quick breakfast and then headed towards the airport. Throughout the journey which was close to an hour, neither of them said a word. She kept looking out the window of their SUV taking in the natural beauty that was all around. She kept staring at the ranges one last time before they disappeared from her sight. He had his headphones on as Dylan played on. His eyes stared vacantly out in front.

Their silence continued in the flight too. He had his eyes shut through the flight, whilst she browsed through a paperback she was carrying.

As the flight was landing he felt her hold his hand tightly. “Still scared of landings”, he smiled at her as her eyes were shut gripping his hands tighter and tighter.

As they walked towards the airport gate carrying their respective duffle bags he kept looking at her. Her oversized sunglasses covered more than half her face.

Walking out to the parking area, he unlocked his car. Hers was parked next to his and she unlocked her car too. Finally she looked at him and dropped her bag. He dropped his too.

They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. Eventually they hugged. “I will always love you”, he whispered in her ear, loving the smell of her perfume as always. “We will be in touch”, she replied not looking at him anymore as they broke their embrace.

“The divorce papers should reach you by this weekend”, she said as she was getting in her car. “I have already signed on them and have ticked the places where you need to sign”. She was glad she chose these sunglasses as she felt a tiny tear trickle down her face as she turned the ignition on. He kept standing outside her car looking at her as she reversed. She rolled the window down and waved him goodbye as she drove off.

He kept looking at the car till it disappeared from his sight. He picked his bag up and got into the car. He kept sitting inside without starting the car.

They always did feel the same

They just saw it from a different point of view

Tangled up in Blue

Dylan was singing to him, as he finally started his car to head towards an empty home.

Copyright (c) Pratik Majumdar