Now And Forever

Chapter Five

Ck

I found out that Sayali was 33 years old and her mother was just 7 years older to me. Fuck! That thought alone was enough to give me nightmares. For the first time in more than a decade I hadn't eaten anything. I had lost my appetite. Things were happening so fast I was left gasping for breath.

I was lying in my bed, trying hard to fathom what that drop of tear actually meant. Was it really for me? Was she really in love with me? I was a little surprised because she was so good looking and a well natured simple girl, she could just get any guy .Then why an older man like me? Maybe because we both were alone in our personal lives we were being drawn to each other.

I wanted to forget everything for a while and get some sleep. But it's so hard to sleep when the emotions are running high.

It was 12.30 in the night when Sayali called. She was sounding absolutely terrified.

"Ck please come here at once. Aai is having a lot of pain in her chest. She cannot move. Please help me". She was crying.

"Don't worry Sayali, I'll be there in a minute".

I ran to her house. Her driver and the security had already brought her mother down. I sat in their car and we took her to the Adventist Hospital which was a stone's throw away from her place. The doctor on duty checked her pulse. Her heart rate and blood pressure were off the charts. Her stomach was also aching. The doctor said it was acute gastritis. He gave her an injection and asked us not to worry. A little while later her pain eased and she went to sleep.

"I thought I was going to lose her," Sayali started crying again.

We were sitting on a bench just outside the hospital room. It was very cold.

"Sayali, you just heard what the doctor said. There is nothing to worry. So relax".

"Thanks Ck," she said as she came closer and rested her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and it felt like heaven.

"You have been in my thoughts all the time Ck ever since I first saw you. I thought I'd never fall in love again. But I did. I am not any teenager riding high on infatuation, I know what love feels like. There is something about you I have never felt for anyone else before. The thought of losing you makes me shudder. I feel terrified. You've had that kind effect on me Ck in such a short span of time. You have taken total control over my life and you probably don't even know it. I really love you Ck, from the bottom of my heart. Do you also feel the same for me"?

I was at loss of words. I could have been knocked down with just a feather. I didn't know how to react. She was not looking at me and her head was still resting on my shoulder. But I could say without a doubt that our hearts were beating as one.

"Did you fall from the sky, Sayali"? I asked.

She was startled.

"That line has been used atleast a thousand times before". She said looking at me.

I saw a playful sparkle in her big teary eyes.

"Really? I don't know. I am using it for the first time. Unfamiliar territory for me".

"Don't worry though, you are doing good".

We laughed and she fell in my arms. We kissed and it felt out of this world. Definitely not the ideal place for your first kiss but we couldn't care less. With our eyes closed, it went on and on. We really were in a different world.