The Ruined Rainbow

CHAPTER 91

I remembered moments when the mere subject of his parents would cast a shadow over Sahil's face. It was as if a curtain fell, shutting me out from a part of his world he wasn't ready to share. The longing in his eyes was absolutely visible; why couldn't he see it?

I reflected on the plan—it seemed like a straightforward path from the realm of thoughts.

Yet, as I stood in the bustling airport, the reality of action brought forth a barrage of doubts.

What if Sahil's parents couldn't see past the choices he made? The fear of judgment clawed at me. What if, in their eyes, I was nothing more than an intruder disrupting the fragile equilibrium of their lives?

The possibility that his parents might vehemently deny the idea of returning to Mumbai with me loomed large. The knot in my stomach tightened at the thought of facing their rejection.

And then, a more haunting thought emerged—what if, against all odds, I managed to persuade them to come to Mumbai, only to find that Sahil wasn't ready to revisit this chapter of his life? The prospect of being the architect of a reunion that he might not be prepared for sent a chill down my spine.

What if I became the catalyst for irreparable damage in my pursuit of reuniting a family? The fear that Sahil might never forgive me for the upheaval I was about to unleash clawed at my conscience.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

As the crowd around me continued its frenzied haze, my mind raced to find an explanation for the sudden halt. The footsteps and distant announcements seemed to fade as I grappled with the weight of the doubts that had momentarily paralysed me.

And then, in the quiet recesses of my mind, my heart found its voice.

I had seen the pain etched in Sahil's eyes whenever he spoke of his parents. It was a longing, an ache for a reunion that he carried with him like an unspoken burden. He wanted this, and he wanted it desperately. He needed this. 

After all, he was their son, and they were his parents.

It was going to be okay, like always.

Or at least like most of the time.

*****

I was overjoyed because roughly three years ago, on the night before my graduation, I joined Sahil on a visit to a spooky, old house. It was the only way for me to find out where his parents lived. On our way to that eerie, abandoned place, which surprisingly held many a zillion memories close to my soul, Sahil had shared something personal. He had shown me his house. This knowledge guided me back to his parents' doorstep.

Given Sahil's reserved behaviour on the subject of his parents, he would have never told me where his parents lived and would have gotten incredibly suspicious had I asked him.

Life has this incredible way of completing circles, doesn't it?

The last time I was here, three years ago, I was insanely, wildly and deeply in love with Sahil, oblivious that he felt the same way. Little did I know that the very next day, he would propose to me to be his girlfriend in the same spot where we first met—India Gate, amidst a downpour of heavy rain.

And now, with a sparkling diamond ring gracing my finger three years later, I am officially his fiancée.

The journey to this moment has been anything but smooth.

The first year felt like a magical fairy tale, a dream I never wanted to end. But in the next two years, life took an unexpected turn. I ran away, seeking solace from the overwhelming challenges life threw me. And after a hundred mistakes, a thousand misinterpretations, and a million tears later, here we were.