She waited and waited……………..from dawn till dusk…………from dusk till dawn…………..for her lover to come back!

They had met three years ago, amongst the beautiful landscape of mountains and streams, of meadows and falls. It had not been love at first sight. They had grown to like each other. Chance meetings had brought them into close proximity with each other. As interaction grew they became aware of one another.

She came to the mountains frequently to visit her daughter studying in a boarding. He sang and played the guitar at one of the restaurants in the same hills. He had a flair for entertaining and chatting up the guests at his restaurant. His job brought him into contact with a lot of new people.

As usual he was singing and entertaining the crowd when she came in to dine with her daughter. The song was a tribute to the place where he was working……..a very popular number from old times. The atmosphere was nostalgic and somewhat romantic. People joined in as he strummed his guitar. There was a loud applause as he ended his number.

Taking a short break in order to rest his voice, he started to do the rounds of mixing up with the guests and he finally arrived at her table. He introduced himself and requested to join in. she invited him to join the table and introduced her daughter to him. There was some polite exchange and the conversation involved mostly queries about their visit to the town, where they came from and her daughter’s schooling in the hills. To her surprise, he got along famously with her daughter. They cracked jokes and laughed out loud and he asked her favorite songs that she would like him to play. He had a great sense of humor and came across rather witty. The meeting was very pleasant and held a promise of a budding friendship.

She returned to her town being back to a mundane life………resuming her routine with him out of sight and out of mind. The daily grind at the office left no room for indulging in thoughts about an acquaintance. She didn’t have any friends, or at least no one she could call her own. This provided a welcome space for someone new that she wasn’t yet aware of.

Days passed and it was time to visit her daughter again. As chance would have it they bumped into him while strolling around the market place. He invited them to the restaurant for dinner that night. Although they had planed to eat in the hotel room itself and have an early night, they decided to accept his invitation. Her daughter was quite fascinated with him and was eager to hear him play her favorite songs.

This went on for some time and they became regular visitors at the restaurant. As meetings became more frequent the acquaintance grew into a fond friendship. On one of the occasions he invited them to his home and introduced them to his parents. They were warm and welcoming people who were genuinely pleased to meet them and were very hospitable. After a lovely evening talking over some really nice tea made by his mother it was time to leave and say goodbye. There was a warm hug from the couple extracting from her a promise that next time she came to visit her daughter they would stay with them. Hesitating and making excuses she finally succumbed to their gentle persuasion.

It was the month of July that brought her to the hills again. It was monsoons and the weather was unpredictable yet lovely with dark clouds looming large over green landscape. As planned they arrived at his place to be greeted by his parents. He was not to be seen as it was working hours for him at that time of the day. She tried to wave away the apprehensive anticipation of seeing him again after such a long time.

The morning passed with a lot of chatter and a scrumptious lunch served by his mom. He arrived from work soon after and was really thrilled to see them at his place. They exchanged notes and talked about all that had passed in their lives since they last met. Her daughter took off to play with kids of a neighbor and the parents retired for an afternoon nap. The two of them were left alone to catch up with each other and share one another’s company. They were oblivious to the strength of attraction that was unassumingly finding way between the two of them. No premonition of the eventual!

The weekend passed merrily rejoicing their new found friendship and merrily celebrating the farewell to their lonesome world.

Come Monday morning and it was time for her daughter to join back school. She was scheduled to leave that evening taking the tourist bus. But his parents cajoled her to extend her stay a couple of days longer. Although she didn’t have anything pressing at the office the following week she was not sure if it was such a good idea. Nevertheless the temptation to have more time with him broke her resolve and she gave in willingly.

That evening they went out to the restaurant even though it was his day off from work. They had nothing better to do and it was nice to sneak out for an evening together even if it was to his work place as there wasn’t much of a night life in this small hill town. It was like a first date although without the usual connotations.

He played the guitar and sang a bit. The crowd was thin as it was the beginning of the week and his regular clients rarely turned up on his day off. They talked more openly and it soon gave way to a bit of light flirtation which she enjoyed thoroughly as it seemed a lifetime since someone had showered her with such attention. The admiration was mutual and it left them feeling somewhat heady. They shared some of his favorite dishes for dinner and the evening turned out to be very enjoyable.

On the drive back it drizzled lightly and added to the charisma of the moment spent with him. They got back not so drenched but she went to change nevertheless. The parents seemed to have retired to bed already. When she came out he was fixing a drink for himself and asked if she would like one for herself. She said no but changed her mind and accepted a glass of vodka and orange juice. He called her to join him on the small steps in front of the house. They sat there side by side nursing their drinks slowly savoring every sip.

The night had a magical charm. The rain had settle down and the sky shone dimly with tiny little stars. They talked about everything under the stars and the moon, sharing their little secrets without the hint of feeling so exposed to the other.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he drew her closer on an impulse. They sat like that for a while and then he whispered softly to her, “let’s go inside and cuddle up a bit”

She was intoxicated not so much with the alcohol but the intensity of what she felt with his proximate presence next to her. They got up and went in, still holding each other. What followed was utterly blissful or a terrible mistake, she was never to know. She surrendered to him and to her own desires completely and willingly. Their urgent needs were met with such ferocity that she was completely taken aback with her latent passions that flowed so uninhibitedly. They woke up in each other’s arms to realize what the night had brought them to.

It was difficult to say goodbye with strong emotions not finding their way in words and the pain of separating making matters worse. With very little said between them …….just a  promise to stay in touch…….she left this magical town with a heavy heart.

Days passed, and then weeks with not a single phone call from him. She waited but her apprehensive thoughts drove her crazy until she could take it no longer. She called up the restaurant finally, only to be told he was not there. She called up another day and he was busy singing and couldn’t be called on line. It was the same every time she called……he not there or he busy singing. She grew desperate and the calls became frequent putting her in a very vulnerable position. But there was no word from him. As if it had been just a passing fancy for him……a conquest, to boast about to his friends and allies. She felt so humiliated and betrayed. Used and discarded as though it was an every day occurrence in his life.

Then she got the news that he left the town and got married……to someone he had known since childhood. Her world came crashing around her. At least there could have been a reason, an explanation for this most unexpected outcome of events.....a justification, for his total absence from her life, following that fateful night in July. But there was none coming forward to pacify her wrenched soul.

She could never come to terms with or accept the reality the way it was. In her mind her lover would come to her one day because they were meant to be……….to belong to one another…… to unite in love that consumed her very being. She only existed to realize this hopeless dream that she truly believed would come true one day.

And so she waits, till this day………three years since her ordeal started. And the waiting never ends. It goes on till life goes on. Her days begin with this long ritual and it ends with the same………only to be resumed the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that……………….