Cricketer - 'A Story Of Love'

29

"Abhishek.." she whispered as a drop of tear escaped her eyes. My hands itched to wipe then away.

"Di.." I whispered too.

We kept looking at each other for sometime, and as if reality hit me like a rock, I realized what all had happened and changed in the past few years.

I turned around and was ready to leave when she grabbed my arm and rested her forehead against it and whispered.

"Please don't go. Not again."

I couldn't help but feel a hole in my heart.

"Please." She said again. I sighed and held her hand in mine and took her towards the booth she was previously sitting in.

We both sat down and she kept looking at me as if I was an alien or as if I would disappear the moment she took her eyes off me. She kept on crying and I couldn't see it.

"Please stop crying Didi." I said making a pained expression. Her pain had always been my pain.

She wiped her tears and gave me a small smile.

"Where were you? All this time? Do you have any idea what all of us went through. Do you?" She said. I couldn't help but angry.

"Do you have any idea how it was like to live with guilt of killing your sister? Do you have any idea how it felt like to leave your family and live all alone? Do you?" I whispered harshly.

A look of sympathy crossed her face and sje took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Abhay." She said and looked down.

"Please come back home." I whipped my head towards her as she said those words.

"Home? What home? The home where my mother slapped me or the home where everyone blamed me of killing my sister?" I asked shaking my head in disbelief.

"I know, it was our fault. We shouldn't have blamed you. I'm sorry Abhay please. After you, mom and dad busied themselves with work. Mom still regrets it Abhay. She misses you. Dad was so disappointed when you left cricket. He still is. Please Abhay, we can go back to normal again. Please. Please." She said while holding my hand and broke down on the last words.

Tears were streaming down my face too. I looked away from her crumbling figure. We used to be so happy as a family but that one day everything went down hill. I missed them, obviously I did. Who doesn't miss their own family ?

"Can I talk to Maa?" I asked Didi and to say she was shocked would be an understatement. She looked at me as if she had seen a ghost. I raised my eyebrow at her and she broke out if her trance.

"Yeah, yeah sure." She said as she dialled her number and gave me the phone.

I put the phone against my ear and heard the thumping. I don't know if it was the callertune or my heartbeat.

"Hello." The voice which I hadn't heard in three years said from the other side. It sounded exhausted, not the usual cheerful voice I was used to.

"Komal? Is everything fine? Hello?" She said again, getting worried.

"Maa." I whispered as a drop if tear fell from my eyes. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

"Abhay?" She asked shocked.

"Haan Maa." I said, my lips breaking into a small smile. I heard her whimper as she cried.

"I'm sorry beta. Kahan hai tu?" She said and I told her everything what happened in the past few years. From college to Aditi, everything.

After a while I cut the phone and took a deep breath. I looked at Di who was smiling from ear to ear. I had promised mom that I would come home one day. Very soon.

"Why are you here?" Di asked me.

"I was here with a friend-oh shit!" I realised that I had totally forgotten about Aditi. I looked around for her but couldn't see her.

"Who are you here with?" I asked her.

"I was here to meet a girl, I met at the supermarket a few days ago. She was really sweet. She had come to our house a few days ago. She saw your photo too and it was as if she recognised you. Weird." She said and looked back at her coffee.

"What's her name?" I asked.

"Aditi." She said.

"That's the girl I came here with. Shit, this was all her plan." I realised. God how could I be so stupid. That's why she was acting so weird since the morning.

"Oh." She said.

"So who is she to you?" She asked my winking suggestively at me.

"She's just a friend." I said while blushing.

"Of course that's why you're blushing." She said and I laughed.

Just then the door of the cafe opened and entered the devil herself. She looked tensed as she saw us but a look if relief crissed her face as she saw us smiling.

She quickly made her way towards us and sat down beside me.

"Hash, thank god it went fine other wise, angry young man here would've killed me." She said while laughing and pointing towards me. I glared at her. She shrugged and started talking to Didi.

Seeing both of them mingle I felt warmth in my chest.

Finally, I was happy.