RAABTA

H e walked into the dark empty apartment loosening his tie and looking stressed. The workday was really hard and the weekend seemed far away. He put the key down and opened his boots. He opened his socks and threw them one to his left and the other to his right. Then he remembered If you don’t keep your socks with your shoes, how will you find them tomorrow? A smile appeared on his stressed face as he picked up his scattered socks and placed them in his shoes. He walked into the dark bedroom and switched on the dim lights. She had always loved the dim-lit rooms. He had learnt to live without lights now. Sitting at his bedside table was her ever-smiling face. He put his watch beside her picture. “Happy Birthday Tinni.” He was smiling at her with a cake in hand. Her face lit up at the surprise. “Thank you, Dev, I thought tumi bhule gecho.” ( I thought you forgot) He hugged her, “No matter how busy I am I will never forget your birthday ever in my life. What gift do you want?” “

She was helpless. Her marriage was fixed into her father's business circle and their reputation was at stake. He was just an employee her father could have never agreed to give his daughter to. She heard a week before the wedding that he had resigned on receiving her wedding invite. He was going to another city to try his luck. A city where her memories won't haunt him every day, where every brick in his apartment and every alley in the city won't bring back memories of pain. He had to move on. She had wanted to meet him one last time and tell him how helpless she was, but to him, she was the one who broke things off, who chose the richer husband over her father's employee. Twenty years had passed since then. She was a lady of forty-four now, widowed, single-handedly managing the business of her husband after his sudden death in an accident. Her nearest relative now was her pet dog, Bruno. All she thought of now was work. A pendant hung from her neck. Heart Shaped and