Part 1.1 Reunion
Later, I finally learnt how to love. Unfortunately, you were long gone and disappeared into the sea of people.
Seeing him again, was seven years later in a crowded supermarket, packed with weekend shoppers.
Monami Mahajan was pushing a shopping cart alone and struggling to navigate in the crowd. She had just returned from abroad, so she was still not quite accustomed to such a crowd. However, such a vibrant and friendly scene made her unconsciously smile, virtually using a grateful mood to listen to the noisy local accent. She did not know whether other people who have just returned from aboard were like her? Excited, nervous.
Seven years! Such a long time!
However, how come she had just returned from abroad but already met him? No, to be precise, it should be them.
Monami silently looked at the pair of shadows standing in front of the vegetable stand, once again feeling a strange twist of fate. Seven years ago, it was them who made her decide to leave.
Now they were here to buy things together so ultimately they were also together! Fortunately, she ran away fast ah, otherwise she would probably hurt deeper.
Karan Shergill and Sakshi Shergill, she was so silly, why did she think having similar names were surely brother and sister ah?
"We are absolutely not brother and sister. Pehle humari family ache neighbours the.. aur hum logo ka surname same tha.. Shergill. Later, Karan's father and mother had an accident so our family adopted Karan." (no hate for Sakshi.. guys)
"20 saal se jante hum ek doosre ko.. 20 saal.. 20 saal se saath hai hum.. You think you can compete and win over the two decades of deep affection between Karan and me?"
"Today, I want to tell you, I love Karan. I do not want to secretly love him. I want to compete openly with you."
That year when she was nineteen years old, the day before Monami's birthday, her good friend Sakshi, who had always been quiet and introverted, suddenly courageously made this declaration to her. Sakshi, jo hamesha gentle thi.. non- competitive thi... would say something like that, she must have been extremely in love with Karan.
But what could she have used to compete with her? On the same day that Sakshi declared war, she had already lost. Then, she fled to the United States for seven years.
Karan - unexpectedly she recalled his ice-cold eyes on that day and heartless words. There was a trace of light throbbing pain in Monami's heart, almost impossible to sense, nevertheless it was there.
They were walking towards her direction. The joints of Monami's fingers that were gripping the cart began to turn white, and she almost wanted to turn around immediately.
However, the supermarket was just too crowded so she, who was pushing a shopping cart, simply could not turn around. In the next moment, she thought 'why should she run away?' She should calmly say to them: "Hi, long time no see" then stroll away in an elegant and natural demeanor, leaving behind a beautiful silhouette.
Moreover, they probably could not recognize her. She had changed a lot, the flowing long hair of yesteryear had already become neat and short, and her previously fair skin had become tanned under the California sunshine. Wearing a loose t-shirt, jeans and sports shoes, she looked very different from the past.
They slowly step by step were getting closer, then ......brushed past her.
Not without heartache.
It seemed like someone spoke.
"Do you want to buy some milk?" Sakshi said in a soft voice.
"......"
She did not hear the reply clearly. She really missed Karan's deep and low voice. All these years in a foreign country, she could still hear it often and everywhere echoed in her ears.
Feeling a sense of loss, yet also with a sigh of relief, Monami lifted her downcast head and strode forward.
A "Bang" sound could be heard as the shopping cart hit a pile of discounted soaps shaped like a hill on the ground.
The culprit Monami innocently looked at hundreds of pieces of soap falling down as the scene was quite spectacular.
Uh, can she pretend she did not do anything.
"Oh My God! This is already the third time today." The person who manages the stock in the supermarket appeared out of the blue and complained in a groan.
Thus, she should not be blamed for this right, as where people put goods in the middle of the path. Monami quietly complained and tried hard to look regretful.
The movement here attracted the attention of the people around them, including Sakshi. She inadvertently looked to that particularly noisy place, then dumbfounded--it is her, it is actually her, Sakshi almost could not believe her eyes. She has come back?
"Sakshi?" Karan was puzzled by her reaction, asked out loud and followed her line of vision.
The tall and lofty body momentarily stiffened.
Monami Mahajan!
That innocent looking small woman who had her head drooping like a guilty child is exactly Monami! Her face looked one hundred percent apologetic, but her eyes without doubt sparked with a mischievous smiling expression. Being far away, in fact, he could not truly see her face, but Karan knew it was her. He has always known she has always been like this, with a habit to disrupt a pond of water then leave without taking any responsibility, willful, selfish and hateful.
Exactly seven years ......she still knew the way home.
Karan dropped his eyes. "Sakshi, let's go!"
Sakshi was surprised to see a calm Karan. "Don't you want to say hello? Maybe ......"
"Woh meri life ka hissa bahut waqt se nahi hai.." His tone was empty, as if it was really nothing.
Sakshi looked at his expression carefully but could not find any clues. Finally, she had no alternative but to give a sigh. "Come on!"
When she had her last glance at Monami, she found that she also just happened to move her head and saw her, their line of vision collided in the air. Monami seemed stunned for a moment, then a faint smile emerged on her face and she greeted her by nodding her head.
Sakshi hurriedly turned around and called: "Karan ......"
"Yes?"
"Woh ......" Sakshi was shocked until coming to a halt. When she once again looked back at the moving crowd, she could no longer see her figure.
"kya?"
"Nahi.. kuch nahi.." Sakshi lowered her head. But she clearly saw them, yet why did she so easily go away like that? Whereas Karan also clearly saw her ......
******
Monami did not expect to return here one day.
During the interview, the editor-in-chief asked her: "Miss Mahajan, why did you choose to work in this City?"
Suddenly, Monami did not know how to answer. Why haan? Because she studied for more than a year in a university here? Because she met him here? Because she suffered some hardships here?
At the beginning, she also did not know. Before coming back, the first place she thought of was here. Until she met him that day, she only came to understand that she wanted to see him. Although he no longer belonged to her, she just wanted to see him.
It was only to see him.
"Probably because I cannot go home." Monami said. The editor-in-chief looked at her strangely for a long time and hired her as a photojournalist for a certain woman's magazine.
However, the editor-in-chief's excessive attention to her work experience in a magazine publisher abroad made her uneasy.
"It is just a little magazine publisher." Monami said to the editor-in-chief.
"Hey! Monami." The female editor-in-chief who was in her forties affectionately called her name. "Are you praising my knowledge? That I even know so well about an unremarkable small magazine publisher in the US."
Monami started to laugh, and her anxiety disappeared.
The editor-in-chief said sternly:
"Monami, mujhe pta hai.. difficulties jo hume Foreign land me face karni padti hai.. though not much but as a young alone lady there are difficulties.. and in this field.. more than others.."
Like this, she settled down. She still went to that supermarket to shop but has never encountered them again. Until one time, the security guard in the supermarket stopped her.
"Madam, kya aap mujhe security room me follow krengi.."
Monami looked distracted and intuitively felt this could not be good. There were too many incidents regarding security guards in supermarkets forcefully conducting body searches and even beat up people being reported in the newspapers.
Monami stared at him cautiously so the security guard helplessly said: "Madam, hum aapko koi Hani nahi pahunchana chahate. Hume bas yeh jaan na tha ki kya kuch mahino pehle aapne kuch khoyi toh nahi thi ... Yahan pr.."
She had just returned to the country a month ago so could it be that she lost something but did not know? Out of curiosity, she went with him to the security room. The security guard handed her a black wallet.
Monami did not need to look inside to know it was not hers so she smilingly shook her head and said:. " mujhe lgta hai.. aapse galti hui h.. yeh mera nahi h.."
The security guard was unexpectedly stubborn. "Aap ek baar isse khol kar dekhiye.."
She took it and opened it. Then, she saw her own photograph.
The security guard said with satisfaction: "Madam.. dekhiye, yeh aapki hi photo h na.. haan abhi se thodi alag h par yeh aap hi toh h.."
The difference was really big because that photo was taken when she had just entered university. Her hair was still long and tied into a ponytail, and her smile looked silly.
How could it appear in an unfamiliar wallet?
Monami gave the wallet back to the security guard. "Par yeh sach mera nahi hain.."
The security guard was stubborn.
"par iss photo me aap hi h na?"
"haan main hi hoon.. par uncle yeh wallet mera nahi hain.."
"Toh yeh pakka se uska hoga jo aapko janta ho.. kya pata ho sakta h Madam jiska yeh purse hai.. usse aap pasand ho.."
And here comes our Indian people's vivid imagination?
"Par ......"
"Yeh aap rakhiye.. waise bhi abhi kisi ne isko wapas lene koi nahi aaya..hum bhi nahi jante ab iska kya kare.. agr upr ho humare sir h unhe Mila toh woh kabz kar lenge... Aur waise bhi jiska bhi h woh aapko toh janta h.. kya pata bhagwan ne hume aapka kya kehte h English me haan.. ku.kupidh.. bnaya h"
With such imagination, this uncle can became a romantic writer.
A month ago was also about the same time she ran into Karan and Sakshi. Could it be that he lost it? With this laughable speculation, Monami took the wallet home.
****
At night after bathing, she carefully studied the wallet in bed. With a simple design, luxury brand and little cash, it was not possible to determine the identity of the owner.
Monami carefully took out the photo.
There were traces of steel mark on it so it must have been torn from a document. When she inadvertently turned it over, she was suddenly startled by the words behind the photo! She could never forget that elegant and sharp handwriting.
It was Karan's handwriting, written in black fountain pen --
my sunshine..
*****
The complex urban life could also be lived in a very simple way. Only work, eat, drink and sleep, nothing else. After a hectic period of adaptation, the following days became just numbing repetition.
"Monami ah, humne aapko sab jagah dhundha."
Monami had just entered the magazine publisher office and heard someone shouting from a distance.
"Premji, kya hua hai.. aap mujhe kyon dhoond rahe the"
Prem ji was actually the magazine publisher's other photojournalist. He was though young but older than them. So everyone called him with added 'ji'. He was also really good at coaxing celebrities so he was responsible for the magazine's cover shots.
"My wife is about to give birth. Can you help me take care of the photography session with supermodel Sana tomorrow?"
Sana? Monami found it a little difficult. "I don't have any problem, but I heard Chitra's temperament is weird. If you are not an acquaintance, she would probably not co-operate."
Prem ji also thought of this and said:
"Well, you go and try first. If you really cannot, then call me."
*****
The next day when Monami met the cool, elegant, glamorous and impressive Sana, she was completely stunned. She was not familiar with the celebrities in the country and had never seen the photos of Sana before so she did not know she was actually...... Actually, she looked so much like a good friend in her university days.
However, her friend was such a simple and clumsy country girl, but the person in front of her had her long legs crossed and her smoking gesture was so skillful and seductive......
Monami did not dare to acknowledge her. Maybe they just looked alike.
However, supermodel Sana squinted at Monami, then walked elegantly over and stopped in front of her.
"Hey, you do not recognise me?"
"...... Sanjana?"
"Ah!" She chuckled sarcastically. "If it is not me then who could it be?"
"Monami, you and Sana know each other? Yeh toh bahut achhi ." The colleague who came together with her chimed in excitedly.
"When I was a first year university student, she slept in the upper bed, I was in the lower bed."
"In university, bunk bed-mates are the closest friends." Sanjana's agent also joined in the conversation.
"Am I supposed to be photographed? Quickly shoot la!" Sanjana impatiently said.
She had really changed a lot! While taking photos, Monami also thought the person under the lens was no longer the cute and clumsy Sanjana. Then who could she be?
Perhaps nobody.
A good photographer can capture the souls of the people under the lens. However, Monami could not capture Sanjana's soul. Maybe her skill was lacking or the person under the lens did not have one.
Samjana felt very empty! A kind of emptiness which made people powerless and desperate. Perhaps it was this kind of emptiness that propelled her to rise rapidly in popularity.
After shooting a session, Sanjana waved her hand. "We will stop here for today."
"But Sana, there is more ......" Her agent eagerly said.
"Stop here."
*****
Till the next part
Bye-bye
Your writer
Kriya
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