“Meera!” The receptionist said that made Krishna stand up from his chair. Krishna clicked open the surveillance camera in the reception and dashed out of the door. Mithu ran behind him, not knowing what exactly happened. Before he could reach it, the elevator closed with Krishna. Mithu ran down the three flights of stairs and halted in his place as the scene unraveled in front of him.
Krishna reached Meera in two steps and hugged her in front of his office employees. Everyone looked at him with their jaws on the floor. Krishna and Mithu are handsome guys, but no, no ladies! They are strict as hell and kept the ladies in a line away from them.
“Meera!” Mithu’s lips moved without sound.
“God, Meera! How are you? Where were you? Are you alright? Oh, thank god!” Krishna released her from his hug and asked her a string of questions.
“Krish!” She brought her shivering hands to his cheeks and palmed his face. Her eyes were pouring non-stop. She looked very pale and unhealthy.
“Come in, Krishna. Bring her in.” Mithu told him while shooing away the workers to their places. Krishna walked her to the elevator and to his room. Mithu locked the room. A woman whom they thought dead was right in front of their eyes. Krishna’s intuition and Mithu’s talk about ghosts just before that made Mithu look at her legs to make sure she is human.
Krishna, on the other hand, was at ease. He felt relieved to see her alive. Something that was unsettled in his heart came to a halt at this point. It was he who clicked the switch to burn the bodies of Meera and her parents years ago after police formalities. Since no one came to claim their bodies, he did the last rights for them. Now, seeing her in flesh and bones made him happy and confused at the same time.
Even though Mithu is happy that Meera is fine and alive, he doesn't like her arrival! Especially not at this time. His friend was finally realizing that he was in love with his wife, and Meera coming at this time was not good. He kept quiet and listened to what she had to say.
“Meera!” Krishna called her while sitting her carefully on the sofa in the sitting area in his room. He handled her like she was a porcelain doll, so fragile as if he feared his touch would break her. His hands were shivering more than hers. His eyes were teared up!
“Krish!” She looked at him, and her words hitched in her throat. He gave her a glass of water, and she grabbed it from him and drank it up. Krishna finished the rest of the bottle as he needed it the most. Her eyes never left him, and it was like she was filling him with her eyes and heart. Krishna sat near her, holding her hands. He saw her without blinking his eyes, as if, if he blinked, she might vanish in a poof.
“Where were you so long? We all thought you were dead.” Mithu asked her, cutting between them. Meera looked at him and tried to smile.
“I was held hostage for so long, Krish! I don't know who did it, but the day before yesterday, someone unlocked the door. When I came out, I saw a set of clean clothes and some money. I tried to see if this was a trick, but there was no one. I escaped that place and came straight to you.” Meera said.
***
Everyone went back to the day when Meera and her family were last seen. It was the day after the grand launch of Mithu and Krishna’s business! Krishna and Mithu were 24 years old, and Mithu’s dad helped them arrange everything for their start-up business. Krishna put in an equal amount of money as an investment as Mithu.
“Krish, I am so proud of you! I wish you all success!” Meera wished him with a large flat gift box.
“What is this, Meera? Your wish is more than enough!”
“This is my special gift to you!” Meera told him, handing over the box to him.
“Aunty, how are you?” Meera ran to Kowsalya as soon as she gave it to him. A shyness has always kicked inside Meera whenever Krishna is near her. But her eyes never left him. Wherever she went, her eyes followed her manly hero. Kowsalya noted this very soon and often teased her.
“Meera! I think I have to lock my son in a room to get your attention!”
“Aunty!” She would whine whilst trying to hide her face in her shoulders.
Meera’s mom and dad were very happy about Krishna and Meera’s relationship. Meera’s dad is a central government employee but on the third level, and they are not very rich. Krishna’s properties and money were the first things that convinced Meera’s parents. They thought their daughter would live a luxurious life. But his money was not even in consideration for Meera. Meera loved him for who he was.
“Krish!” Meera called Krish on her phone after the function was over and everyone dispersed to their homes.
“Yes, Meera.” Krish attended the call as soon as he came out of the restroom after a fresh bath.
“Did you open the box yet?”
“Not yet, Meera. Seriously! You didn't have to give me any gifts.”
“I love you, Krish! I wish you all success. All my prayers have always been about you ever since you came into my heart, Krish. I want you to have everything you wish for in your life. And that gift is a small piece of my heart.”
“Thank you so much, Meera. You are certainly a special girl in my life. Shall I open it now?” Krishna asked her. He was so excited to see what her piece of heart was trying to tell him.
He had told Meera that he would marry her when his business stabilized. Ever since their college was over, he got very busy setting up his business and had no time for Meera. Though Meera missed him a lot, she never bothered him. She would call him every morning and night, and if he didn't attend her call, she would just text him how much she missed him. Krishna knew how much she loved him, but he never made time for her in his busy schedule. That is who Krishna is!
When it is time for his work, everything would become secondary to him. But that doesn't mean he doesn’t love her. He loves her so much, but he stopped himself from mixing emotions in that love. All his focus was on emerging his business into a successful one at the time. He was not ready to distract himself. Meera was not complaining about it. She knew Krishna in and out, and she was extremely supportive and exquisitely happy when he reciprocated her love and asked for her hand in marriage. That was all she ever wanted in her life. To be with him! Krishna respected her because she was not a clingy girlfriend.
“Aiyo, no! Open it after I hang up.” She hurriedly denied, and this made Krishna curious. With its size and shape and weight, Krishna already guessed it must be some painting, or photo frame or canvas, or something like that. He kept talking to her and opened the gift.
“Why, Meera? What is in it?”
“You will know when you open it. You should keep it in your room. It will keep me in your thoughts until I come back.”
“Haha, I don't need anything to remind you. You have been behaving very differently to me, Meera. I just miss that competitive, shrewd girl!”
“I don't want to be your competition anymore, Krish! I want to be your better half. I want to share everything with you in my life.” She said when Krishna opened the box! It was a painting. A painting of him and her, him kissing her on her lips while she was clutching his torso. It was so realistic, and he saw her sign with a date on it that said ‘with love’!
“Did you sketch this?” He asked her in astonishment. He knew that she was spending her days in art classes, but he never knew she could make a portrait so realistic.
“God, you opened it?”
“It's beautiful, Meera! I can feel your drawing.” He said with a mischievous glint.
“Thanks, Krish!” She said with shyness. “I just painted what I visualized in my heart! I love you, Krish.” She added, and no matter how much she tried, she could not stop her voice crack.
“Are you crying?” He asked her as soon as he detected the difference in her voice.
“I miss you, Krish. I will come back to you as soon as I can. Wait for me.”
“You are going to your native place for vacation. Don't be so dramatic.”
“You can not understand what I feel now. I love you, Krish. Promise me that you will wait for me.”
“Me too, and I promise you that I will wait for you! Thank you for the wonderful gift, Meera. You have drawn ourselves when we were in our twelfth standard. So this was what distracted you from your studies, huh?” He asked her teasingly to change her grumpy mood. He could literally see her cheeks turn red through the phone.
“Cha, makku(dumb), Krish! This is the time to become romantic! Not inquire.”
“You call me dumb? Pch, I thought of making your dream come true! Anyways, you are unlucky!” Krishna said with a loud sigh.
“Krish!” He heard Meera’s husky voice. A mild smile crept on his lips at how easy it was to make her feel better.
“Hahaha, you are so cute, Meera. Don't worry, your dream will come true just after we are married. And I hope that is not too long.”
“Wasteland!” She murmured, but he heard her fine. He swallowed that smile that threatened to turn into a chuckle. “Ok, Krish, Mom, Dad, and I are going to go to Hyderabad tomorrow on Kongu Express. We will be back in two days. I will miss you terribly, Krish. Promise me that you will keep thinking of me, and you will not let anyone touch your heart!”
“Haha, you are so weird. Why so many promises?”
“Please, Krish. Just for my satisfaction.”
“Ok! I promise I will hide my heart with an iron armor! Only you can see beneath it! Have a safe trip, Meera. Good night!”
“Krish!”
“Mmm?”
“I love you!”
“I know, Meera!” He purposely pulled her legs by avoiding telling her ‘love you’ back.
“Pch, I know that you know.” She frowned.
“Hahaha, I…”
“Huh, Mommy is calling me to pack! I will call you later, Krish. Bye!” She hung up before he could say anything.
That was the last time he spoke to her. The next day, the train was blasted into pieces by some terrorist group, and everyone in the compartment she was in died. Krish was devastated. He could not digest the fact that she was no more. The bodies were so charred that they could not identify anyone. The most tragic thing was that the bomb was in the same compartment as Meera and her family were in. They had no chance of survival.
***
“Where were you so long? You didn't go on that train?” Mithu asked her as he could not handle the weight of the situation.
“I didn't board the train, Mithu. I got a call from a hospital when we were at the railway station. The lady on the phone said that Krish got in an accident and he wanted me to accompany him to the hospital. I was so worried but the lady said Krish was fine except for some small bruises here and there. I told my mom and dad to get on with the plan and ran out to get a taxi to reach you. But that was what I remember last. When I woke up, I was in a dark room. They kept me captive in that room. They gave me food and water and there was a restroom in the room. The room had no windows whatsoever except for some ventilation near the roof, and nobody talked to me. I kept screaming and shouting for help for several days but soon understood that no one would help me. I kept prying on the door every day and the day before yesterday, just like every day, I tried to open the door, and the door opened. There was no one in the house.”
“Who did this to you? What is their motive? Why did they let you go now?” Krishna asked a string of questions. He could not understand why someone would do this to a girl!
“I don't know, Krish. I saw no one all these years! I heard no one! It was torture. I waited for you to come and rescue me!” She cried, and Krishna hugged her tight.
“I am so sorry, Meera. I have no idea. The train you told me that you are going to, got into a terrible accident, and we all thought you were dead.” Krishna felt guilty more than ever. He could clearly visualize Meera, hoping for him to come to rescue her.
“So my parents are no more?” She asked him, she looked like a lost child. Krishna could not tolerate this pressure. He could not take it to see her like that. But soon realized there was no movement from her.
“Meera! Meera, Meera? Look at me! Meera!” He started patting her cheeks to wake her up, but Mithu got the situation in his hands. He immediately called for the doctor.