I was late to work, it was already 11 in the morning and I was sure that getting a bus to the meeting was gonna be a hell of a task. On important days, I used to take a cab usually. The huge popped up on my nose was hurting as well as irritating. Mom advised me not to work until late night. But she didn't know that it was not under my control. I was not able to sleep when I had so much idea to put into my drafts. Playfully I asked if all the time she spent on doing household chores after everyone relaxed would be counted for late night work. She always brushes off the topic with a tongue click.
And I wondered it was the real reason I got this huge bump on my nose. The cab driver dropped me at the entrance of Ramsons where I had a meeting with a publisher. I was lucky that the traffic was not heavy and I reached on time. I could see the person I had meeting with in the corner table.
Dressed in yellow and green striped shirt, tucked in a clumsy way and that beard. He looked more of a writer than I did. I wore a formal solid white top with a gray pants, hair tied up just that much which would prevent it from hindering my vision. Usually Joshua was the one who attended to my affairs. I had seen this new guy a few times, never had a real chat with him though. I was quite skeptical about his shabby outlook. Nevertheless, I extended my hands for an etiquette, which was accepted in a confusion, which made me regret the same right at that moment.
"Sita?" he questioned as if he never knew me before. I nodded with a smile and raised my eyebrows unconsciously but expecting him to introduce himself and he did so, "Ram!". It was as if he was pulling a prank until a few seconds passed by and I let it sink that he was actually named 'Ram'.
"Coming to our business..." I pulled out my drafts out from my tote bag, placed it on the table in front and looked at the words I scribed for three months with a melancholic eyes. I couldn't care less about what the guy in front was thinking about me.
'He was the light and I was the darkness in his absence,
although he filled all of me, I could fill nothing but this void in my heart...'
the verses continued, gulping down the rushing tears with the cold coffee I had ordered, I was waiting for Ram to finish up with his skimming.
He stared at me, eyes filled with questions. So much of them. Maybe I was bad. I doubt that though.
"You do not write fiction, do you?"
"Uhh? Certainly I do and you have the proof in your hands.", I almost scoffed.
"No! I do not see a lie. Not even a single lie. You are so transparent in your words."
It was true, how could I say that to a person I just met? It was so much pain. I missed Prakash. Taking his name even as a though pierced through my mind a deep sharp pain.
It had been 6 months already, and I could find no traces of him on this earth. So I try keeping him alive on the pages I write.