1960 London Love

Chapter 11

"Yes?" the woman repeated, a bit concerned by the paleness in my face.

I snapped out of my thoughts and hesitantly asked, "Is Rahul here?"

The woman suddenly gave me a flashing smile and asked me to wait. She then went inside and brought me a packet of letters. My unanswered letters.

"I guess these letters are yours?" She said, once again flashing her winning smile.

I nodded sheepishly and carefully took them from her.

"I had been meaning to write back to you and tell you that Rahul does not live here anymore, but would always forget until the arrival of your next letter."

I heaved a sigh of relief at those words, feeling guilty for doubting Rahul.

"Do you know where he lives now?" I asked meekly, unable to match my eyes with her after those terrible thoughts I had of her.

She nodded and went back inside. A few minutes later, she arrived with a torn paper in her hand.

"I wrote it here for your convenience." She said as she handed me the paper.

I took it from her, and thanking her, turned towards the elevator.

"Bye", she waved at me as the elevator door opened. I waved back and went inside, cursing myself for the foul thoughts I had of such a wonderful and helpful woman.

This time I hailed a taxi and showing the address to the driver asked him to take me there. As the taxi rode, I enjoyed the view of the bustling city and its busy crowds.

The tall buildings covered most of the blue London sky and the sprinkling of white clouds covered the rest. A wave of yellow and white buildings mostly dominated the roads but sporadic bright buildings gave a splash of color to the otherwise monotonous scene.

While I was admiring the first batch of sparrows that I saw in the city, the taxi screeched to a halt.

"You have arrived", the cab owner announced.

I looked at the antiquated building that stood in front of me. Once again, I took a deep breath and since the building had no elevator, climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. There, I easily located Rahul's apartment's door by the big 'om' painted on it.

I walked towards it and taking a deep breath, rang the bell. I waited for some time but upon getting no response, again rang the bell.

Just as I was about to ring a third time, a voice startled me, " Is there a problem?"

I turn around to see a woman smiling at me.

"Is there a problem?" She asked again.

"Uh, Rahul?" I asked pointing at the door.

"It's a weekday." She replied sweetly. "Nobody is in there right now. They are off to work. Is there a message or parcel that I could forward?"

I shook my head and smiled at her offer, " No thank you. I will come later on. I wanted to meet him, but no worries. Thanks again."

"You are welcome." She beamed.

I gave her a quick nod and walked away. I could feel her eyes on my back until I disappeared from her sight.

Out on the streets, I found a hotel facing the apartment and decided to check-in there for the whole day. Fortunately, there was just one room left unoccupied and I readily took it, although it was a bit expensive.

The room was pretty grand for its price and I smiled gleefully at it. I put my baggage on the corner and took a long warm bath before finally jumping into the bouncy bed and dozing off. I don't remember what woke me up but I was thankful to whatever it was for it was evening and about time for Rahul to return.

I stood by the window that overlooked the streets with my binoculars to spot a sign of my dear husband. Ten to fifteen minutes later, I saw him coming towards his residential building.

Before I could shout his name and attract his attention, I saw a woman running towards him and giving him a hug. When she interlocked her fingers with his—just like I did ages ago— I noticed an engagement ring that sparkling on her ring finger. It's diamond gleaming like the tears that were forming in my eyes."