Everyone in that middle class neighborhood wondered about their relationship. Gossip mongers had a field day almost every evening as they sat together over a cup of garam chai. The affinity between them became an enigma for the conservative neighbors.
His eyes caught sight of her for the first time at the crowded beach one summer evening. He had gone there for a quiet stroll to refresh his troubled mind. But the noisy crowd made him more irritated, more tired. Peace somehow always evaded him. He sat on the sand and observed the humdrum with a frown. Suddenly his eyes lit up. He saw her walking towards a chaat vendor. Her wet clothes clung to her slim body like second skin. He observed her with keen interest…something about her resembled his wife, Usha, who had been dead for five years now. Her soft giggle, her lively eyes seemed hauntingly similar. Three more girls of her age came running to join her at the food stall. They too were dripping wet…how happy they all appeared. He was the only one who sat morose, lifeless. He felt wretched as he watched them relishing the roadside delicacy…oh how his Usha had loved munching paani puri near the beach. For a fraction of a second, he saw Usha in that girl. But how could it be? She was already dead. He wondered why he wasn’t able to get over her death…that terrible accident which had snatched Usha from him forever. Nothing seemed to work out for him. He hated the world but didn’t know why. Every evening he strolled on the beach trying to seek an answer for his wretched state of mind. He watched the crowd frolicking around him and felt more miserable. What was wrong with him? As he came out from his reverie, she was nowhere in sight. He cursed himself. Why did those unending questions bother him at that moment? He had lost her…just like Usha.
Walking back home, he went up straight to the terrace of his apartment building. People hardly came up but he was a regular there. He loved the soft breeze…another lonely night…the stars would give him company…maybe Usha was among them too looking down at him from her celestial abode. He woke up with a start; the sun was up and already scorching. It was 7 in the morning. He rushed down to his apartment on the 7th floor. To his astonishment, he heard that same giggle, of the previous evening, just behind him. He turned slowly and saw her…Usha? She carried a suitcase and climbed up the stairs with a middle aged man. A couple of young boys followed with more baggage. He watched in surprise as the man unlocked the door of the apartment adjacent to his. The apartment has been rented out, he guessed. He felt dizzy for a moment…she would be living next to him.
After the regular stroll at the beach, he walked home. But he wasn’t as miserable. Something was changing…he felt much lighter. Climbing up to the terrace, he wondered what she might be doing in her new home. Would she be a regular visitor to the beach like him? He sat on the concrete slab and looked up. The dark blue sky was sprawled with stars…his Usha among them. But wasn’t she already there next door? The chill breeze of October made him shiver. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the terrace. Someone was invading his privacy…he had to leave. As he stood up and walked towards the stairs, she emerged. He didn’t know what to do. She smiled shyly at him and came forward. As if already acquainted with the place, she sat comfortably on the stone slab. She looked up at the brightly lit sky and whispered something softly. He stood there as if under a spell.
Together they watched the stars every evening. She knew so much about them. He wondered was she really one of them…his Usha…who had descended just to make him peaceful? Indeed, peace had come at last. He ignored the sarcasm of his inquisitive neighbors. “Star gazing?” they would ask. He simply smiled. What would they know of the tranquility he had found lately? His ‘star’, his Usha was back…
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