....LOVE.......

Prologue

Life sometimes is a bad dream; a bad dream from which one tries to come out off. The world had fallen apart for her that day. Jaya had frozen stiff when she picked up the phone. She had not wept a single tear. Her lovely blue eyes lost its lively nature; there was no sparkle; her beautiful face became unworldly pale as if all life had been drained from it. Her thoughts wandered like the eagle, drifting, gliding freely and aimlessly.

5 years ago:

The local trains of Mumbai are notorious; a train stops for a couple of seconds at each station. They are grossly inadequate for the millions that use them every day. AT every station, the rush to get onto the train overwhelms everyone. People are pushed in and pushed out regardless of whether they wanted to or not. There was no automatic system of stopping the train in case someone trips. Generally people do not consider the risk. And neither did Jaya. She was late for work. It was her first job, and it had only been a month since she started working. She had run to clamber onto the first class compartment; the first-class pass came as a perk with the job.

She was 6 feet away from the train when it had started moving. She ran and just when the handle was inches from her hand, she tripped; saris weren’t much help while running. She suddenly noticed the gap between the train and the platform; she had never noticed it before. She was hurtling towards the gap; she was going to be just another of the daily causalities of Mumbai’s locals. She felt someone grab her hand pull her in. There are times when the world stands still; that moment was one of those times. Their eyes locked; they gazed into each other’s eyes. They say that when one looks into another’s eyes deeply enough they can see the other’s soul. Both of them felt a tremendous power when they gazed into each other’s eyes; it was as if two halves of a medallion had been joined.

For some reason, Jaya felt secure in his arms. Sri felt some strange connection with this young girl; he was never the type that ran behind girls. He was very studious and athletic in school and college. He had been captain of the football team in school and college. Though girls had fallen for him, he had never fallen for anyone. He had even though that in a country with around 50 crore women there wouldn’t be a single woman whom he could love. But that was before he looked into her eyes.

Jaya broke the gaze first and thanked him. They introduced themselves exchanged numbers and addresses. And of course things became serious. He liked the sheer youthful life in her eyes and face. She liked his nature; he had always helped people without a care; people like that are hard to come by in India. He was the only one she had met with both the fire of ambition and the cool breeze of an altruistic kindness. Both their careers blossomed along with their romance. There was nothing that one of them didn’t know about the other. They supported, understood and more importantly loved each other. It was a love of a pure and untainted kind.

Jaya’s thoughts shifted to a night, 2 years ago......

She had come home alone that night; a note was left by Sri. It had said, “Come to Leopold’s Restaurant at Murud Beach at 8. Something has happened. I have to tell you...” She had rushed to Murud beach and entered the Restaurant. There were only a few people in the restaurant. There were only a few people in the restaurant. Suddenly out came a small band, singing “Happy Birthday to you” and, then came Sri with a red rose in his hand. She had forgotten that it was her birthday. It was a scene straight from the sets of Hollywood. After the merry-making, they decided on a late night walk on the deserted beach. She was surprised when Sri knelt on one foot and from seemingly nowhere produced a ring........

“Jaya, you know that I’m the one for you. Marry me....” he whispered.....

They made soft love that night; it was a night to remember. They got married three months later in a small private affair; their families weren’t big. It was nothing likes the traditional “Big Fat Indian Wedding”, on the contrary the solemness resembled a funeral; they had always wanted a very quiet and peaceful wedding.

Present Time...

Sri had gone to work as usual. She didn’t go to work as she wasn’t feeling well that day. Sri had told her that he would be late that night; he had work to finish in the office. He wanted to move to a better apartment, and had been working harder for it. At 8 pm Jaya’s doctor had called to tell her that she was pregnant. The doctor was a personal friend so she didn’t want to delay the good news. The 26th of November would have been one of the happiest days of Jaya’s life. She tried Sri's phone but the recorded message saying “Phone out of network coverage” came everytime she tried. She relented, thinking Sri would be home in an hour or two. The hours form 8 pm till 10 pm were one of the happiest moments of Jaya’s life. AN exepectant mother is happy in a heavenly way. Her face radiated the happiness; till she switched on the news. “Gunfire at CST” ran the headlines. She felt a shudder up her spine; Sri takes the train from CST.

She frantically dialled his number. The good news was it was ringing. The bad news was that there was no answer. She tried every 10 minutes till 12 pm. Then suddenly, just after her last try, someone called back. The display on her mobile phone read- “SRI”. She picked up the phone and started talking, “Sri, tum kahan ho, tum kab aaoogay?? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” There was no answer from the other side, and then a choked voice.....

“Jaya...I am sorry Jaya...There were terrorists..... A child was shot.........I tried to save him.....they shot me too......Forgive me....I am bleeding......I wanted to hear your voice before I leave........”

“Sri....sri....nothing will happen to you....Sriiiiiiiiiiiiii....”