The Final Encounter – Part 2 (Concluding Part)
14 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in General
The story below is continued from here
At one moment, life seemed full of bliss and the very next moment, it seemed like a burden and a curse. Sophia was frustrated with the irony in her life. Why did both the guys have to be the same? There are so many men around and why was it that she raced her car with an ex-flame of her dear friend. Why? Why did he have to call Taanyaa after such a long time? Why? There were only questions but no answers.
As Sophia was coming out of the restroom and contemplating whether she should go back to the table or leave, hunger pangs bothered her. Dejection and excitement were two emotions that invariably made her hungry. She decided to go home and then call up Taanyaa to tell her that she had to leave because of some emergency.
While she walked towards the parking lot, she took out her cell phone from her purse and was surprised to see that Taanyaa had already called her seven times. She wasn’t sure if it was the purse or her emotions that muffled the ring tone but she definitely did not realize that her phone had rung so many times in the last few minutes. She erased all those call records and turned around to see if Taanyaa and Raul were searching for her. They were not.
She scanned some other faces outside the club and they all looked happy and seemed to enjoy the night. She was perhaps the only dejected soul there. She slowly walked towards the car and groped around inside her purse looking for the key when she realized that it was with Taanyaa. In desperation, Sophia banged her fist on the car and stumped her legs on the ground and both times she hurt herself.
She was still in pain and not sure what to do about the car key when a car parked right next to her car. Sophia could see the man’s face through the windshield and it definitely seemed familiar. He was in a peach T-shirt and looked more handsome than in his uniform.
Sophia couldn’t believe she was meeting the traffic cop again. She just couldn’t believe her luck! She smiled at him and he responded back with a bigger smile. He was alone and Sophia was trying to forget her pain – both physical and emotional.
He looked at Sophia and said, “I hope your car is in great condition now!”
“Yeah, it is! As you had seen last week, it was just a minor accident. Thanks for asking.”
He then turned around and asked if she was going to the club. “Yes, I am!” Sophia enthusiastically uttered and started walking with him towards the club.
“Are you alone?” he asked Sophia.
Though Sophia wasn’t alone, she lied to him. “Oh well, my friend was supposed to meet me here but she cancelled her plan at the last minute leaving me by myself. What about you?” Sophia asked and hoped desperately that he would say he is alone too.
The traffic cop was about to say something when a girl seemed to come from nowhere and hugged him. “I have been waiting here for so long. Where have you been?”
“I am sorry sweetheart…got delayed a bit.”
Sophia did not know what was going on or maybe she knew it but did not know how to react to all this. Why is the girl hugging the traffic cop? What does it mean? Sophia was also surprised to see that it was the same girl whom she had seen a few minutes ago in the restroom.
The traffic cop immediately introduced each other. “She is my fiancée, Julia” he said. He then looked at Sophia and said, “I am sorry, I get so many cases every day that I don’t remember names….you are……??”
Sophia’s heart broke into million pieces not only because he was already engaged but also because he did not know her name. And all this while, she had already fallen in love with him. Sophia wanted to simply hit both of them. Her patience had already gone thin by now but fortunately she was able to control her emotions and said “Sophia. I am Sophia.” She then looked at the girl and said, “Your fiancé gave me a speeding ticket recently! That’s how I know him.”
They all smiled and soon there was an awkward pause. Sophia looked at her watch and said, “I should be going now. You guys have a great time together!” She furiously walked back to her car only to realize that Taanyaa was standing there along with a guy. As soon as their eyes met, Taanyaa sighed as if Sophia was a lost and found property.
Taanyaa was curious to know where Sophia had been for so long but she knew she could get the details later tomorrow. She was more interested in introducing her ex-flame to Sophia.
“Sophia, meet Raul. He is the one I was talking to you about.” Taanyaa said.
Sophia stood there utterly confused. If he is Raul then who was that guy! What was that handsome guy doing in the club near our table? Why did Taanyaa smile at him? How did Taanyaa know him? Sophia couldn’t hold back her questions and asked Taanyaa about the handsome guy.
“Oh, he was my colleague, Jake!” Taanyaa said. “Just a coincidence!”
Sophia had it enough for tonight and was ready to faint!
The Final Encounter!
11 Apr 2011 5 Comments
Writer’s Note: The context of this story can be best understood if you have already read this and this story.
It was Saturday and as promised, Sophia visited her friend. Last weekend, after seeing the handsome guy near the traffic signal and meeting the traffic cop, Sophia immediately called up her friend and told her about the second encounter with them. During the week, they had spoken Monday through Thursday and everyday Sophia enthusiastically repeated the entire episode to her friend. And every time, her friend Taanyaa, responded to her narrative as if she was hearing it for the first time. She never reminded Sophia that she was listening to same story probably 770th time.
Sophia and Taanyaa had an unwritten pact that they would never interrupt each other on three occasions – when gossiping, when complaining about neighbors or colleagues and when talking about something exciting– even if the same conversation was being repeated umpteen times. They both understood the pleasure of engaging in those activities and never deprived the other of that pleasure by interrupting them.
Taanyaa also had something very exciting to share but did not say anything about it to Sophia. She waited for her to come home. But when Sophia finally reached Taanyaa’s home, she quickly settled on the couch and enthusiastically repeated her tale.
“Who will I meet again, Taanyaa? And who do you think will be the love of my life – the cop or the handsome guy?” Sophia said
Taanyaa just smiled and asked her to relax and be patient.
“And why don’t you come out of ‘The Alchemist’ story? It will make your life easier,” Taanyaa said.
After a few minutes of their discussion they headed to a night club as per their earlier plan. It was in the car that Taanyaa told her about the phone call she had received two days ago from an old flame. Sophia was excited to hear this and asked her more about the guy. Taanyaa filled in the details and then told her that he was coming to the club to meet her. Sophia was startled to hear this. “May be I shouldn’t be going to the club with you. You might want to have some privacy” Sophia immediately uttered. She then chuckled and winked at Taanyaa.
Taanyaa was blushing but she insisted Sophia to come along. She was going to meet him after a couple of years and was a little nervous. She however told Sophia that after spending a few minutes with them she could make some excuse and leave. She also told Sophia to give her a call during the meeting just to ensure everything was going fine. If it turns out that Taanyaa did not like Raul’s company, she would also make an excuse and leave immediately.
They finally reached the club and headed to a corner table. The club was crowded with youngsters who seemed to have spent their entire week working hard and now partying harder. Sophia got up to go to the restroom when she bumped into the same handsome guy just behind her chair. She almost lost her control and was about to fall in his grips. But before it could happen, she quickly balanced her steps and now was regretting it.
Sophia couldn’t believe she was standing so close to him but what startled her more was to see him behind her chair. Before she could understand anything, Taanyaaa called out – “Hi! Good to see you.”
He turned his gaze towards Taanyaa, smiled at her and immediately turned back to Sophia.
Sophia couldn’t believe her fate. She was heart-broken when she saw that the guy was Taanyaa’s old flame who had come there to meet her. Sophia quickly excused herself from there and headed to the restroom. Tears filled her eyes and she cursed that evening when she got stuck in the traffic. Had it not been for the traffic jam, she would have never seen Raul.
While she was still trying to control her emotions, she thought about Raul’s character. “How could he flirt with me when he already has a girlfriend?” Sophia uttered to herself. “Looks like he is a casanova! Thank God! I am not dating him.” That thought brought a smile on her face but soon she got worried about Taanyaa. “What if she comes to know that he is the same guy I have been talking about all these days? It’s possible that they are made for each other. If I tell Taanyaa about this, she might not trust him anymore. Moreover, how can I be so sure that he was flirting with me? Perhaps he was just enjoying the race and wouldn’t mind racing his car with someone else too.”
After careful consideration Sophia decided that she would never tell Taanyaa about this coincidence. While she was still standing there in front of the mirror and talking to her reflection, a young woman entered the restroom. They both smiled at each other and Sophia was embarrassed because of her moist eyes. Sophia again wiped her eyes and realized that she has been in the restroom for the last twenty minutes and that she should go back to Taanyaa.
But she definitely did not want to go back there because of Raul……..
To be Contd….
Your Comments and Appreciation