Dr Reema’s story is about Jacob celebrating his 78th birthday, encountering unexpected visions of his long-lost love, exclusively for Different Truths.
He blew out the sole candle on the cake, the designer candle of number seventy-eight. As he looked up, smiling at the clapping and joyous singing of friends and family, a face seemed to stand out. It was Leena! “Oh, but surely I must be hallucinating,” he thought to himself. Yet it had been a vivid sight.
Anyhow, the celebrations continued, with a tad of doubt and anticipation about the sight of the face lingering in his mind. Jacob was indeed enjoying his birthday party. There was Karen (his wife), Suzy and Sejal (his twin girls), their families, his four adorable grandchildren, Mark (his best friend), and many others from extended family and friends. “Turning seventy-eight is fun!” he thought to himself.
Then again, the same lovely face! It was smiling mysteriously (and captivatingly) this time. Jacob started walking towards her, almost mesmerised—both by her facial aura (as had always been) and the suspense.
Rewind 60 years; Leena had struck him as sort of a Buddha the first time they spoke. Calm, collected, and serene. It was at an interdisciplinary workshop organised by the college administration for selected students of various streams. Jacob was studying humanities, while Leena was pursuing Physics. They held differing opinions on most of the topics covered in the workshop and generally in life, too, but maintained mutual respect and secretly harboured mutual admiration, too. Their acquaintance had turned into friendship and blossomed into genuine love with time.
However, as luck would have it, Leena got diagnosed with cancer in the third year of college, and the doctors were unable to give her any hope beyond six months. Strong as she was, she forbade Jacob from meeting her and took a promise from him that he would move on, get married, make career progress, and have kids, much to his dismay. Then, she moved back to her hometown.
So, catching her glimpses after so many years was quite unsettling, yet relieving in a way. As he was lost in the memories of the past, a hand on his shoulder broke his reverie, and he turned to find that it was his college sweetheart!
As they got talking, she shared that she had been cured of her cancer eventually and had spent her life as a revered Physicist, but never got married and lived in her hometown with her younger sister. His heart kept fluttering throughout the conversation, while all his emotions went for haphazard rides.
Gaining back his composure, he asked about her present visit and introduced her to his family. She told him that she just wanted to reconnect with all her college buddies, and he had topped that list. “I decided to surprise you on your birthday,” she smiled. It was a pleasant evening, spent in the company of her one old and the rest of her new friends, after which she took their leave.
A week later, when he dialled Leena’s number, the voice on the other end was not hers. On inquiring, he found out that it was her younger sister. He asked about Leena, curiosity and eagerness to get the better of him.
“Her car had a head-on collision with a truck five days ago. She’s no more.”
He felt his head swirling. After all these years, and then this!
He suddenly felt heavy, tired, and as if his own life was slipping away. Yet he gathered himself and had to continue.
It’s just the way life is…
Picture design by Anumita Roy
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