Short story:

Closer they came

By Ankita Singhal

Sara clutched her seat tightly as soon as the plane took off, she could feel her heart shattering as the gravity of the situation sinked in, closing her eyes she swallowed the tears that were threatening to break the walls of tightly closed doors of her emotions. She felt Sahil's hand on her own and her death grip eased a bit and calmness seeped in. She is flying back to London, her home, to her parents. Her father is an Indian and her mother in British, they fell in love long back and the best part was that no one objected to their marriage.

Seeing her parents blooming together day after day she believed that love always conquers all, be it countries or religion, little did she know, that kind of love wasn't her fate. All her life juggling with two religions never tired her, from attending Sunday mass as much as possible and starting her day with the name of her beloved Kanha(Lord), choosing one was simply impossible to her. Sounds crazy huh? But when you have parents who follow different religions still are one, its fades away any difficulty.

Doctorate

When she set her foot in India 30 months ago to do her Doctorate, she did anticipate to fall in love here because deep down she always felt connected to India and all her life she waited to find that one love, there was nothing in this world which could have made her happier. And Jason was everything she could ever dream of.

"Ma'am, here's your coffee." Flight attendant handed her the coffee mug with a smile so captivating that she couldn't help but smile back in return. Sahil smiled too, he must have ringed for it.

"Don't they serve the world-class coffee?" Sahil said sipping the British Airways coffee.

She sipped her coffee too thinking Jason did love her but didn't love enough to accept her with her religious beliefs. She is half Christian but she couldn't leave her beloved Kanha (Lord) for Jason, hence they had to end it and she booked a ticket back to London the very next day.

Sahil insisted to come saying it's been a while since he last visited her family, of course she expected him to as she can't remember a single moment since her childhood when he abandoned her. He has always been there as her safe anchor. He is the neighbour of his grandparents and she had known him for almost her life.

Bad habits

Somewhere at the back, Ridhi was chewing her nails, that's one of her bad habit's she can't see herself getting rid of any time in the near future and she cursed loudly as she realised what she was doing. She has her wedding in less than a week and her nails are already too small.

"Nervous?" Her fiancé sitting next to her asked.

She shook her head instantly then gave a nod; confused she can't really decide after all she is going to see her father after 12 years.

Her parents were divorced when she was 12, she always was Daddy's little princess but the day she heard her parents' arguing, all hell broke loose changing everything.

"But I love her so much, Neha tried so hard not to harbour the feeling I have for Sonia but I do and she loves me too. I want to give a chance to the love." Her father was saying, trying to reason with her mother. "You know we are so different, what's the point in staying together then. Let's give a chance to both of us to have another fresh start."

"What about Ridhi?" Her mother asked

"She will have to stay with you; she loves you the most besides Sonia isn't ready to raise a teenager yet," he said.

That provoked her mother. "Our marriage has been over a long back but I was trying to make it work because I am not a quitter. But you are a coward I always doubted you were. You don't even know your own daughter."

Ridhi don't remember the rest but knew that her father didn't know her at all, she loved her father best but that day she decided never to see his face ever again. Ever since her wedding date was set, her mother kept insisting she has to invite her father personally, it's true that her father never failed to send her presents on occasions even he came several times to visit her from London but she never met him and eventually he stopped coming but never stopped calling or sending gifts. But this doesn't change the fact that he had put Sonia before her.

Absolution

Last week when her fiancé asked her to visit her father and find absolution also take his blessings, so after much thought here she is flying to see her father, whom she used to love the best with all her heart.

Where in London, Sahil was trying his best to bring the old giggling Sara back, the girl who used to crack up at almost anything, the girl he fell in love with the moment they both fell from the tree and he broke his wrist when they were five years old. All her life, Sara took Sahil for granted but now she is confused with her growing attraction towards him, this feeling of restlessness, this constant urge to get closer to him.

Was this the result of her recent heart break or was this something else altogether, being able to see out of her fantasyland clearly. Sahil knew that he had came this far to make Sara his and he will never turn back but move further to ensure the happiness of one he loves the most.

Here in India, Ridhi did find absolution, at her wedding when she saw her father with her step mother Sonia, she could see the love they had for each other in their eyes. Strangely enough her heart was free of the grudge she was holding against Sonia because that's the kind of love Ridhi sees in his fiancé's eyes.

Sonia took the first step to apologise for breaking her family and she did forgive her though her fragile heart will take some time to forgive her father but she will, she knows that because love is a powerful emotion and perhaps the bitterness she feels towards her father is less than the love she still have for him.

Rishi's mother was finally happy to see her daughter with her father again, she forgave him too because here in India she found real love in helping out the women in distress.