Timeless - Collection of Indian Short Stories

THE ANTIDOTE

There were no kisses. No hugs. Not even the occasional public holding of hands.

Life suddenly stopped.

They tried to make the most of things by deciding on work from home schedules, cooking their own meals, working on their hobbies and sharing their small accomplishments daily with each other.

But none was as satisfying as going for the mall visits where he would quickly peck her cheeks when no one was watching, or the horror movies where they grabbed each other every time there was a loud sound, or the beach walks where they held hands and stole kisses, making promises for the centuries to come.

Nothing satisfied their longing hearts.

To everyone else they seemed pleasant, while secretly pouring their miseries out to each other.

At another time she wrote,

'Like a clear glass

You see through me

While to the world

A mirror I be

Showing only

What they want to see'

And then the days passed, slowly and achingly, but they did.

The lockdown was just going to be lifted that Monday. Both of them were elated and excited, deciding on how they would spend the rest of their days together. First and foremost the wedding preparations had to be dealt with. Due to the sudden lockdown, they had been unable to confirm the photographer, florist and caterer. Now they all would have to be spoken with again.

Both slept peacefully that night waiting for their adventurous life to restart on the morrow.

But alas!

The news of the next day was filled with reports of the lockdown being extended another three weeks.

Tears welled in her eyes, and poured down like September rain.

He felt upset and distressed too. Picking up the phone he dialed her.

"I'm coming to you," he heard her muffled voice in between the crying, "I cannot live like this anymore."

"But your parents, they will never agree," he reasoned, "And how will you reach here anyway?"

"I don't care! There must be some way. Let me think of some."

After a few moments, she called him back.

"Essential services are running. I can take an Uber till the hospital. That's walkable distance from your home, right."

"Yes...are you sure?" he asked, though he knew his girl well enough to know she wasn't one to back out.

"Meet me at the hospital in thirty minutes," she sounded like a professional jail breaker.

Running to her room, she packed her bags, her parents surprised.

"You aren't doing the right thing," her dad reprimanded.

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

This was followed by some more drama, some more tears, frantic calls between her parents and his. No one ever before in their families had lived together without a social marriage.

She booked her uber, and slammed the door, excited to live with the joy of her life.

Once at the hospital, she saw him, waiting for her, wearing a mask.

"You have become so thin," she made an effort to stop herself from touching him.

"And you look so beautiful!"

She beamed through the yellow mask that covered most of her face.

They walked to his home which was another twenty minutes away. She loved the fresh breeze that hit her on the completely silent road. And she loved that he shared the same breeze too.

They walked and chatted, amazed at their day's accomplishments, happy to start their life together.

Alas, young love in its excitement fails to think logically.

When they reached his building, the security guard wouldn't let them in. They began to reason with him.

He said that in these times he was not allowed to let outsiders inside the building campus.

He called the building secretary. The building secretary checked for her address proof, checked her hands to see if there were home quarantine stamps, made some phone calls to other committee members, and then refused the request to let her into the building.

He tried to reason with the secretary. But the secretary was firm. Decisions had already been made in the previous committee meeting to not let outsiders inside the building complex so long as the lockdown was in place.

He insisted he would write a letter, but the secretary stated that would be debated on only in te next committe meeting, which would be held post the lockdown.

There was some commotion, followed by a lot of begging by him, and some crying by her. But rules were more important than love in this strange world, and so the lovers lost.

Disheartened, they walked back to the hospital the same way they had come. They booked an Uber back home. He decided to accompany her to her parents and resolve the misunderstandings himself, lest they admonish her for leaving in the first place.

He met her parents at her building gate, apologizing for all the confusion. Then went back home the same way he came.

She began to feel defeated. Put back within the four walls from whence she escaped.

Just when tears began to create a lump in her throat, her phone beeped with a new message.

It was him. The text read as below -

'All these years, the virus that has been plaguing me

I have found you now, my antidote...

I had been searching for you everywhere

Clubs, bars, theaters...

But I always returned empty handed

Or bruised and hurt

Unsure if I'd ever feel better

Fate is funny, it keeps you from something for so long that you forget your disease

And one fine day I found you...

My antidote...

I had forgotten I was suffering

Life was mundane

Happy, but with a hollow emptiness

That only your touch can heal

Words, weaved through random arrangement of black letters, are effective now

In treating my ailment

Now that I have found you...

My antidote!'

Elated at receiving a part of his thoughts, she texted him back,

'We have met at such inhuman times that makes my resolve to love you even more.'

Later that night she video called him, "I'm glad we met, at least I held your hands in the Uber today. It felt great. I think I can last another month now."

"Yes, my darling. We will marry as soon as this lockdown is over."

Just as she was about to sleep she read a text.

"Babe, do you want to watch an episode on Netflix together?" he asked.