The sky was a beautiful shade of orangish blue that evening. The setting sun was spreading its colour all over the blue canvas it seemed. She whistled an old tune as she drove along the empty long and winding road. One hand on the wheel and the other on the side of her door she drove on, alternating her view between the road in front and the greenery all around her.
She kept driving aimlessly for a while. This stretch of road was endlessly long and hardly saw any traffic ever since the new highway was built. The greenery around her changed to more prolonged brown patches from time to time. This road had almost been forgotten by everyone, including nature.
Her mind was floating back in time as she drove. Many a happy moment she had spent earlier in her life kept coming back to her. She stopped her car abruptly and sat still inside for a while. It was a while till she sat there before opening the door to step out.
Her face hadn’t changed with the passing years. Her wavy brown hair, still as thick as it used to be, had a few silver streaks on them. Her almond eyes sparkled like before and her skin was still the same. Delicate flawless glowing. She got out of the car and then leaned back on it as she looked out. Nowhere in particular. Her thoughts too like her vision seemed to be going nowhere. She found herself lost in a maze of memories and reflections.
Here…we can meet here almost every time no matter where we are.
That’s an absurd thing to say you know. How can we meet here everyday when we won’t even be staying in the same city.
I’ll just be a call away. You know that.
Please say no. Don’t do this to us. This marriage won’t make anyone happy. You me or her.
She turned around as she felt a gush of wind caress her shoulders. He was standing behind her. His eyes lit up. Just the way it did every time he smiled. And smiling he was. The happiness on seeing her was all over his face. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back even tighter.
Ohh you’re hurting me now you know she said as they broke their kiss. His response was to kiss her again. This time she didn’t feel the need to talk and responded by kissing him back. The evening sun looked away as the their kissing silhouettes were visible now.
The car lay mangled up at the side of the road. Her lifeless body inside it her eyes still open and unfocussed. Or maybe it was focussing on her kissing him.
Her damaged mobile phone lay beside her on the seat. The message of his passing away in a far away town by cardiac arrest flashing.
The two of them kept kissing as the sun said it’s final goodbye
Copyright (c) Pratik Majumdar, 2022. Any article, story, write-up cannot be reproduced in its entirety or in part, without permission. URL links can be used instead
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