Time Stood Still

Two gates opened to my new world. Filled with anxiety I entered into it. I looked back and I felt the weight of leaving behind all that was a part of my life, all that I had been comfortable with until now...
College!!! A word that had expectations and fear written all over it. I looked around me and all I could think was how hostile everyone looked. It was the day of admissions and the auditorium was jam packed. My eyes swept through the room and it rested on one person. There was no way anyone could describe that feeling and yet there it was as if I had been searching for her all my life. I closed my eyes as the time stood still...

******

I opened my eyes and I looked outside the window. The dawn was just creeping in and the night hadn’t bid goodbye yet. I got out of my bed and went to the balcony. I had drunk too much last night and I was having a splitting headache right now. I lit a cigar and I checked the time. It was only 4am. Two hours till my daughter Kate woke up to go to school. I stood there watching the new day come into life and it began to drizzle. The wind had become stronger but the rain was still too light. I stood there feeling the touch of it, hoping against hope that it would wash away my pains. A gentle breeze brought me a scent I was familiar with and among the wind's howling, I heard her voice and suddenly I felt as if…. the time stood still.....

*****

"Excuse me". I had somehow lost her among the crowd and I was searching for her blocking someone’s way. Irritated I turned only to see her frowning at me. All I could bring out was a sheepish smile enough to make me look like an idiot. It was our first encounter and we parted only to realize later that we had ended up in the same class. I smiled at her and soon we became friends. I simply sat there watching her, her words simply washing over me as she went on rambling about her siblings, her ambitions, her life, her school...

******

It was time for school. Kate had to get up. Just in time I heard the door lock click. Elsa had come. She was our neighbour and a very close friend of my wife's. She had been looking after my daughter after my wife had left us. She greeted me with a huge scorn clearly written on her face and went to wake up Kate and get her ready for school. If it wasn’t for Elsa my life would have been utter chaos. I idled my time with the newspaper and slowly dragged myself to do the daily chores and got ready just in time to drop Kate to school and rush to office.

"Good morning" Kate wished me and it dawned on me that for some time this formal greeting was the only conversation that me and my 9 year old daughter had. I didn’t even know her teacher's name let alone her favourite subject and I was about to start up a conversation with her when suddenly she had a strange request.

"Dad could we drive by the post office, I have a letter to post."
I could tell from her voice that it had taken her sometime to ask this question but rather than taking the long winding route to her school I told her that I would send my peon to post it. She seemed a bit hesitant but gave me the letter. I dropped her at school and went to my office. After settling down for another long day at office, I called for the peon. I was tapping the letter waiting for the peon to come when the address caught my eye.

To
Mr. God,
Up in the sky,
Heaven.

I waved off the peon who had just come and opened the letter..

Dear Mr. God
I have learnt from Aunt Elsa that you are a good man who likes children. Even my Mom used to tell me this. Please take me with you to heaven so that I could be beside her. I don’t want to live in this world without my Mom. I used to have a very happy life when my Mom was around. But for the past 5 years life has been horrible. My dad used to be a very cheerful and a funny person. But now I hardly get to see him. Aunt Elsa tells me that my Dad usually drinks a lot and comes home hours after I have gone to bed. Please God take me with you. I promise that I would be a good girl and will not trouble you. I always do my homework on time and drink my milk daily. U can ask Aunt Elsa about that. Please God send me my mother back or take me with you. I do not want to live in this world all alone....
Your little girl
Kate

Suddenly I wanted some fresh air. Tears rolled down my eyes and I simply wanted to get out of there. I saw my boss, took a leave and drove to an old park which had a huge banyan tree overlooking a lake. This had been our favourite spot where I and my beloved would spend the evenings. I sat below the tree and read the letter all over again crying. It had started raining. Drenched in the rain and my tears I sat there thinking... Thinking about the life I once had....
   

*******

It didn’t take us much time to understand each other and though the whole class knew that we loved each other, we weren’t ready to realize that. We were good friends to the core and we didn’t want to spoil that. But finally one day I had to tell her.

My heart was thumping loudly... Too loudly I guess... She had a hard look on her face which slowly turned into a smile. And my heart leaped in an uproar. College life went by quickly and before we could know it we had ended up in the same company. Fate! Destiny! Kismet! You can call it whatever you want but it was as smooth as anything. It was like living in a fairy tale and we continued to live happily ever after until one black day when my world collapsed around me.

We had been married for some years now and one night we planned to go for the new SRK film 'Rab Ne Banadi Jodi’. Our 3 year old daughter Kate was also with us. I saw my wife coming down the steps and I felt... I felt the same way I had felt the first time I saw her. After all these years nothing had changed between us. We got into the car and she insisted that she wanted to drive. I let her and we started from our home. I almost fell asleep because I was really tired of that day's work when I was sprung into reality by the loud screeching of the tyres. I opened my eyes in time to see two headlights heading towards us and BHAM!!!

I could feel pain all over and I was covered with some cloth probably the air bag. I turned to see her looking at me. I could hear Kate crying but I was helpless. I looked into her eyes and I watched as the lights just slowly went off... The smile was still etched to her face as she told me 'Take care of Kate' and she closed her eyes... forever... I felt my world vanishing before me and the next thing I knew I was in a white bed with a couple of tubes injected into my arm. I heard the doctor saying to my brother that they couldn’t save her and I fell unconscious again... Finally when I regained my strength, the doctor told me that I had a couple of broken bones and I could discharge from the hospital in a week's time and while my daughter had escaped without a scratch on her my wife had died. As I watched the rain outside me I realised that she had left behind a gaping hole in my heart....

******* 
6 months later....

A thunderbolt woke me up. It was pouring cats and dogs outside. I looked at the time. It was just past 5. Half an hour left before I woke up Kate. I quickly refreshed myself and made some black coffee for me and some hot cocoa for her. I checked the clock; it was time to wake her up. I went to her room and I was about to wake her up when I saw a familiar envelope beside her bed. It was again addressed to God and I opened the letter...

Dear Mr. God,
I know that you got my letter and you didn’t send mom back or take me with you. But you did give me something even better - a brand new Dad. He is the best ever. He takes me out for jogging every morning. After coming back from school he helps me with my homework (though in maths he did get half my answers wrong and I had to correct them before the classes start...please don’t tell him cause I do want to spend every time I can with him). After that we play games and if possible catch a movie. I hope you didn’t scold Daddy to change him. He is a. Sweet guy. He reads me bedtime stories too. Please God don’t take my Dad away because he is a good person like you took my Mom. Thank you God for heeding my request....
Your little girl
Kate

Tears rolled down my cheek and I realized that somehow I had reached the balcony. I looked up and felt every drop falling on my face. From somewhere far afar I heard her voice... as the time stood still...