↟Vivaan↡
When the plane finally touched down in India, I took a taxi directly to Kafe Kabir.
Nothing had changed in the café. It was the same lively place that was packed full house. The coffee smell was tantalizing. I wanted my beloved black coffee, but there was something I wanted even more.
'Hi Nisha, is Meera here?' I asked, as Nisha looked at me as if she'd seen a ghost. She stood there in utter shock. I hugged her and asked again, 'Is she here?'
'No, you just missed her. She went with Kabir to the publisher. We are all hoping that they like her book.' Her voice took on a chastising tone. 'You would have known this if you had tried to contact her instead of just vanishing.'
I groaned. I knew she was right, but did she have to point out what I had done?
'She cried every single day after you left, Vivaan. You broke her into so many little pieces. Vivaan... really ... how could you do that to her? To us?'
Nisha passed me a cup of black coffee. I sipped it gratefully, although the thought crossed my mind that she might have spit in it. 'I honestly think she would have handled it a bit better if you'd at least said goodbye to her. It was the fact you didn't tell her that you were leaving. You told no one you were leaving, Vivaan. No one knew you quit your job at Citibank until Meera and Kabir went to see you.'
'They went to see me?' I asked, confused.
'Yes, of course they went to see you and that was how they found out. Meera cared about you. We all cared about you, Vivaan. You didn't even tell us you were closing all your emails, and you turned off your phone. She waited for a message from you every day. Every single day. She never received one. She hung on to those broken dreams which seemed to be spinning her around.'
'I don't understand. I thought Meera and I were just friends,' I whispered.
'Friends say goodbye to one another. Friends talk. Friends explain things. If your idea of friendship is just walking out one day, you need to go back to school and learn what it really means to have friends.
'Vivaan, you just left without a word. What you did was escape because you didn't want to deal with something. That is what you are very good at, isn't that what you said in the beginning? You didn't even say goodbye to Kabir or me. I thought you two shared something special. You might have only been financially contributing, but to Kabir, you were true partners. I guess you proved with your mysterious persona that you have more to you than just who you had everyone believing you were.'
I hung my head. I knew I had a lot to do to make up for all the hurt I had caused, but to hear Nisha lay it out in front of me like that made me feel so ashamed.
She walked around the counter and wrapped her arms around me. For a second, I froze. Here this woman was, yelling at me for leaving, and then she was hugging me?
'Most of all, Vivaan,' she continued. 'Friends forgive.'
We hugged for several moments as I felt her anger subside. I cared about Nisha, so her forgiveness was the most beautiful gift she could offer.
Suddenly, I realized who Nisha was referring to. I knew who the publisher was. 'Nisha,' I began in a rush, 'you are right. I made a huge mistake, and I want to make it right. I'm sorry to run off again, but I need to find Kabir and Meera.'
'Good luck,' I heard her call after me.
This publisher was a friend of Kabir's that he had often gone on and on about to Meera. He always promised that he would one day schedule a meeting between them.
I walked into the receptionist's small office. No one was there at the desk, so I walked on towards the office where the publisher and editor sat. They made the decision on whether to publish a book or not. I could hear voices through the partially-closed door.
'I have to admit, Meera, even though this is your first book, I do like it. It's fascinating and well-written. You have no experience in this field, yet it seems that something very special has inspired you, and it touched your heart in the deepest way. You got the readers to feel through the words that are on the pages. You can feel the love that is forming between your two main characters, Vivaan and Meera. You showed us that sometimes the smallest changes in life are where the largest impacts come from. You created this mysterious man who falls in love with a girl who loves to write. I am stunned by the plot line and love it beyond words,' the publisher said from the other side of the door.
I gloated in the hallway as I listened.
'There is one problem,' the publisher finally said after a long pause.
'What would that be?' Meera asked.
'The book isn't finished. You ended it where Vivaan leaves. You never showed what happens to Vivaan. All you have shown is the fact that they fall in love, and he gets up one day and never contacts her. That was the ending of the book. What happens to Vivaan? Does he embark on that world journey? Does he ever return? If he doesn't return, does Meera begin to love someone else?'
'I ... I don't know what happened to Vivaan,' Meera whispered.
'This would just be a waste of time if you don't finish it. We cannot publish a book that is unfinished. I understand that sometimes, in life, the smallest things make the largest impact, but you must finish the book properly if you want me to publish it.'
I quickly barged in. 'Vivaan is here. Turn around and look at me. I am back, and now I want you to finish the book.'
Meera stared at me, her beautiful black hair accenting a face that had gone shockingly pale. I stared, waiting for her to move. Finally, she shot out of her chair. 'Vivaan!' Meera shouted.
'Meera, I am back,' I said with a smile.
Meera burst into tears and started leaving. I reached out and pulled her to me before she could walk through the door. I would not let her escape as I had.
I held her hands and said. 'Maybe we should go to Kafe Kabir and have a cup of coffee so we can all know about my explorations.'
Kabir didn't say anything, he just hugged me, and then we all made our way to Kafe Kabir.
~
'I wanted to tell you that I am incredibly sorry for just vanishing like that,' I began when I was settled at a table with my beloved friends. 'I wasn't thinking about the fact that it would hurt you; those were never my intentions. The choices I made while leaving were very wrong. I never said goodbye to you or Kabir and Nisha.' I nodded to each as I spoke their names.
'That was a choice I have regretted every single day that I have been gone. I should have told you that my travels seemed to be calling, beckoning ... and that it was my time to embark on my dream.' I sighed, running my thumb over Meera's beautiful, long fingers. 'It was a great adventure. I saw a beautiful sunset while in Paris and I missed you so badly. I wanted you there to share it with me.'
I searched her face, her eyes, for a hint of how she was feeling.
She was still silent.
'Tomorrow I want to see you. I have something important to tell you,' I ducked my head and whispered in her ear. Then, louder, I said with a smile, 'But tonight you can pick my brain about all my adventures,' and began narrating the memoirs of my travels.
One more day and Meera would know the truth. It was something that had been weighing on my mind lately, and I was nervous about it. But, after the encounter I'd had with the older gentleman in Paris, I knew it was time to tell Meera everything about me and my feelings.