10 minutes of lifetime

Nov 17th, 2020, 10:15 pm

“Why are you still here?” Isn’t this enough, what you have done to me? She started yelling at me. Eesha was a torch of wounded pride and rage.

“I’m sorry, Eesha, it’s not what you’re thinking,” I pleaded, trying to douse the fire that threatened to engulf us. “Please sit down and talk.” I’m trying to calm her down. My voice cracked under her tearful glare.

She was bitter, sharp. “I don’t need your apologies,” Aiden. She looked at me with teary eyes.

I don’t…

“What??” I asked in a low voice.

I don’t want you anymore in my life; we are not perfect.

Our room was filled with chaos and anger, and no one was able to think straight. The day is still haunting me.

After years, I was involved in some work. To get relaxed, I lit my smoke and opened my DM.

I saw a message. “I know it’s out of the blue. Can we meet?” It was from Eesha. Finally, she unblocked me and wanted to talk. I have a lot on my mind. Maybe she was inviting me to her wedding? Or something else?

I have smoked half a pack already, my only addiction after Eesha.

Finally, the day has come; I’m meeting her at the Café’ Green. (ha ha) She had chosen Café Green, a no-smoking haven that ironically held memories of shared laughter and loss.

I dressed up as she likes and went to meet her. She was already waiting there in the corner. I could see her brown eyes in the reflection of light on her face.

Hi Eesha, I was not confident to face her after what happened between us.

She looked up, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. “Hey Aiden, how are you? Still smoking? She asked in a funny tone.

Yeah! Sometimes, you know my work. I replied to her.

I sat across from her, the small table a world unto itself, full of possibilities and what-ifs.

“I like your hair,” she said, her voice light and teasing. “Still doing it that way, huh?”

I touched the messy strands self-consciously. “Some things never change,” I replied, the tension easing just a little.

“So, why the surprise invitation?” I asked, “Did you finally realize how much you missed me?”

“Well, I heard you were hanging around, waiting for me to call,” she said, eyes twinkling with happiness.

Huhm, can we order something? She asked, looking at the menu.

Yeah! We can try the regular one. I started being comfortable with her.

While we finished ordering, I dared and asked, Getting married, Eesha?

Esha replied, “Already married, have two kids now.”

“Oh. Well,” I stammered (I was in shock and unable to say a word again.)

Relax, I’m still not married yet, Esha said.

I asked, Why? Still not getting perfect, man?

She replied, Maybe yes.

I keep asking myself if we had talked for 10 minutes without arguing, could we still be together? Eesha asked, looking into my eyes.

I was silent. I don’t know what to say.

Eesha?? I called her. She looked at me.

Tell me. She asked again,

Maybe we are still not perfect. I moved a bit closer. “Does it have to be?” I asked, my voice a mix of disbelief and hope. “Does it have to be perfect, Eesha?”

I looked at her, really looked at her, seeing the girl from the past and the woman now. “I do wonder,” I admitted. “But maybe we are still not perfect.”

“Yeah!” Eesha exclaimed, like she’d been waiting for those words. “I knew it — still, we were happy; at least we are together. Isn’t that enough?”

“It still feels like a new day with the same old feelings. Maybe we lost our souls to each other and have been wandering around all these years.” I replied.

Haa haa, she chuckled. “Haven’t you tried any other girls?” She asked,

I have, but as I said, I lost my soul, so it didn’t work out. What about you, Eesha?

Hum, Maybe But the same as you, I was wandering around. She has her tears rolling down her cheeks.

I was afraid that I would need to sleep with some other man if I got committed or got married. I don’t want to do that.

I grabbed her hand. You don’t have to, Eesha.

I don’t want us to be perfect; we just have to be for each other. That’s all we want.

She rose from the couch and kissed me on my lips. We both were crying; it may have been happiness and sadness at being apart for 5 whole years.

5 years of anger and silence settled in just 10 minutes. 10 minutes of talk could save lives or fix anything.

She looked at me and said, “ Now you really should stop smoking.”

I wrapped my arms around her, sealing the promise of what was to come. “I do, my love,” I replied (with the resolve of a heart finding its way home.)

Outside, the world waited. But we were no longer small within it. We were everything we needed to be.

_Malik Aiden