A Few Months Later…
Standing in front of the replica of the Eiffel Tower, I can’t imagine how it would feel if I visited the real one back in Paris.
Paris.
“I wonder what Alex might be doing right now.” I whispered almost to myself.
“Perhaps you can see it yourself!”
I turned around, and there he was, hands in pockets, standing in all his glory, accusing me with his eyes.
“Alex.”
“In a flesh.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Been in the city, going back home tonight, thought to say goodbye to a “friend”. Since someone had no guts to do that.”
“That’s bitter.”
“Ohh, now I’m bitter, then what makes you, huh? Ditching me outside that damn hotel, leaving the country without even saying the fucking goodbye. If that was nice, then I’m fine being bitter!”
“I’m sorry!”
“You’re sorry?”
“I know what I did was horrible, but I was scared.”
“Scared? Scared of me? I thought we were good?”
“I don’t know, okay! I was feeling things that I had never felt before. Those four days were the happiest in my life. But then, I thought about our non-existent future. You are from France, and I’m from India. We can never be together. That thought didn’t let me sleep the whole night. So, I did what a coward like me would do. I ran away and didn’t even inform my cousin, and he’s still not talking to me. I am a mess!”
“A beautiful mess.”
“Seriously!! Do you think it’s a joke? And how the hell did you find me here?”
“Yeah..apparently, my life is a joke to you! And someone just informed me that you might be here. Looking at the fake ass Eiffel Tower? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I didn’t get to see the real one, so why not? Besides, it’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, whatever floats your boat.”
“Alex.”
“Hmmm.”
“Why are you here?”
“Are you that gullible? You want to fucking know it, fine! I am here because of you. The day we were supposed to visit Eiffel Tower, I waited for you at the cafe for two hours!! I had no contact information about you. I thought something might happen to you that’s why you were not there, you mentioned your hotel details, I went there. I ran like a maniac that day, forgetting that I had a car with me. And there they informed me that you fucking left!
I was so pissed at you Priyanka. You didn’t value me or our “friendship”. Maybe we’d met in a strange place, but didn’t you feel the imperceptible bond that we share; didn’t you feel the sparkle when I touch you or hold you. I LOVE YOU! Didn’t you feel anything at all?”
I was shocked.
“I-I-I.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I get that. Do you want to come to the airport to see me off? I have a flight to catch at 11 PM?”
“Hmmm…sure. Would you like to eat something? I know a restaurant that serves amazing momos. You’ll love it.”
“Momos?”
“Something that looks like dumplings?”
“I know what momos are. I want real food in my system. I am famished. But if spending time with you means eating that, I will do that with honour.”
Till 10:30 PM, we talked about everything and nothing. It never occurred to me that I met Alex a few months ago. It felt like I had known him my entire life.
“Stop doing that.”
“What?”
“That thinking shit, last time you did, the next day you ran away.”
“But this time, it’s you who is running away.”
“I’m not running away, for your kind information. I’m here to say a proper goodbye that you never did.”
And then, there was an awkward silence between us. We wanted to say a lot of things but couldn’t. While reaching the airport, my heart was beating frantically. I could hear my heartbeats. Perhaps Alex did too. So, that’s it? Would I never get to meet him again, or it’s the end of us? I had no idea I was crying until he wiped my tears.
“Are you crying, or is it something in your eye?”
“What?”
“I don’t know. That’s what people usually say when they cry.”
“I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“For leaving Paris without saying goodbye.”
“Come here.”
His hug felt like a lifeline. It’s like I was at home. At peace.
I didn’t want to leave this place. I was not ready to leave him. I wasn’t ready to let him go and repeat the same mistake again.
“I love you, Alex.”
“What did you say?”
“I love you. I don’t want to end things between us. The feelings I have for you, I never felt like this before. But, at the same time, I don’t know what our future beholds. We live in a different world, have different cultures, with different backgrounds. I don’t want to lose you. And I am scared.”
“There is nothing to be scared of. Let’s make things easier, hmm. What do you want me to do?”
“Stay. Maybe.”
“Then, I am staying.”
“But you have a flight to catch in 15 minutes.”
“Seriously, woman! You requested me to stay, and now you are worried about my flight? Well, let’s just forget about my flight and focus on us. It’s the easiest way to figure out what life has planned for us. Is that good?”
“Mhmm…thank you.”
“You’re most welcome, mon amour.“
That night, I realised how destiny played its trick on humans. It first made us fall in love with the wrong person, broke our hearts in the worst way possible, only to make us meet someone so special, that we couldn’t believe it.
How can broken people deserve happiness when all they see is darkness around them? Conceivably that’s the vicious game fate loves to play with us.
As Ed Sheeran says, “Maybe we found love right where we are.”
This story originally published on Storygiri
