Stories without an end
Once upon a time there lived a king with his queen and a lovely princess. They were living happily. One day the young princess met a sage. Among other things he told her that if she wanted to be happy in life she should take her own decisions. She became convinced her that since it was her own life she should decide for herself what is good for her. She knew that she could ask others about their views, but ultimately it has to be her decision.
One day she met a handsome young man of the neighbouring kingdom. His kingdom was not as big as hers but he had the fire in him to expand the borders of his kingdom. But he was in no hurry. They met a lot of times and found out that they vibe very well. The prince proposed marraige to her. She was too timid to give an answer right away. She spoke to her parents and they did not approve of this. She thought about it for a long time and ultimately decided against marrying him. The young prince was devastated. He had never expected such an answer.
But he accepted fate and began to look forward to a new life .........without her. He knew it was difficult but was matured enough to accept it. Meanwhile, the princess was also thinking about the turns her life was taking. She remembered the sage’s advice. But she was too scared to reach a decision. She gave a lot of thought to this. Then she realised the reason for her misery. She realised that she was in love with the prince.
The sage had already told her about this. But she was too stubborn to accept it and held him responsible for her situation. She ordered the sage to be banished. She was not angry on him but did not like the idea of a stranger reading her mind.
What happenned next?
Here is the next story. It starts about 15 years back. The names of places or characters are immaterial.
The similarities were - Both of us were Computer engineers and had just started our careers in different IT companies. We met at some seminar and the friendship grew. It was pure friendship without the love angle. Since we had some common friends, we used to meet occassionaly or bump into each other at IT bash's or parties. Some where down the line I realised that both of us enjoy being together. I knew from her expressions that she also felt the same way. Whenever we met, we never hurried to go home. But somehow neither of us took the next step and a formal proposal was never made by either of us. Maybe we were waiting for the other person to pop up the question. Or maybe we were not sure or lacked courage. Whatever.
Later she was transferred to the US. We used to exchange emails but somehow we never expressed our love.
And then about four years after it had begun it all stopped. Our email exchange that was frequent became occasional and then stopped altogether. I assumed that she had got married and would not like to continue the "relationship".
Present - I am in a very senior position in my company and am heading a large team now in California, the US for the past three years. My wife and two daughters are back in India for the summer vacation.
Last week on Friday, I attended a seminar followed by a party ….. Suddenly I saw her. Yes it was she. She looked the same as she was. I actually waited for a while to ascertain who was with her. It was obvious she was alone and looking bored. I decided to go and meet her. She recognised the instant I stood in front of her. Her face lit up. I could read the emotions on her face very clearly from surprise to happiness to affection and warmth. The feeling was mutual.
For an awkward moment no one said anything, then I suggested that we move to a corner seat.
I asked her,"Hi! Its been a very time." What I actually wanted to say was," Hi! Where have you been? I missed you all these years."
"I am good" she replied.
The converstation started. She was also staying in the same hotel and was there for the same seminar. I came to know that she got a very challenging assignment in the US and had got immersed in work for about three years. And all the good work paid rich dividends as she got noticed and was given senior role in her organisation. She later met a person whom she vibed well and later they decided to get married. She had one kid. I told her about my family. We then shared some of the older instances.
It was obvious that both of us were making an attempt to keep the conversation going ... after all there was this gap of eleven years. But the conversation took off well. After all there was so much to share. During our conversation I kept on getting a feeling that my affection for her had again started to grow.
It was a long time when we realised that it was pretty late and we were among the few last persons over there. Actually we diddn't want to leave. It was an awkward moment when both of us wanted to go on with the conversation but diddn't know how to. I wondered if it was going to be a repeat of the 15 year old episode. It took a huge effort for me to ask if she could meet me in my room for a cup of coffee. She appeared surprised but consented immidiately.
In the room she asked if she could make coffee. I observed her movements as she was making coffee. She was looking the same as she was so many years ago. Had put on a little weight. but the movements and style of dressing had not changed. She still did not have a very exciting style with clothes. Nothing had changed over the years. By the time the coffee was ready I came back to the present.
I diddn't have to remind her that I preffered strong coffee. I was about to mention my surprise on the coffee to her when I noticed that she was looking at me obviously waiting for my reaction at the same thought. I smiled. She smiled. It said all. I stood up and went and sat beside her. We spoke for a long time. It was then that I felt the urge to share my love for her. I kept her cup aside and took her hand in my hand. Without a word she came in my arms. She felt so nice, so warm....
I was the one who got up early in the morning. She was still sleeping. She looked so contented so happy, the radiance showed on her face. I was looking at her when she awoke. Both of us got ready for the day and had breakfast.
Then it was time to say good bye. It was hard to fight back emotions. But we had our different lives and our commitments.
And we let it be that way. There wasn’t any need to give a name to our relationship. Life just had to go on.
What would happen next?
One day she met a handsome young man of the neighbouring kingdom. His kingdom was not as big as hers but he had the fire in him to expand the borders of his kingdom. But he was in no hurry. They met a lot of times and found out that they vibe very well. The prince proposed marraige to her. She was too timid to give an answer right away. She spoke to her parents and they did not approve of this. She thought about it for a long time and ultimately decided against marrying him. The young prince was devastated. He had never expected such an answer.
But he accepted fate and began to look forward to a new life .........without her. He knew it was difficult but was matured enough to accept it. Meanwhile, the princess was also thinking about the turns her life was taking. She remembered the sage’s advice. But she was too scared to reach a decision. She gave a lot of thought to this. Then she realised the reason for her misery. She realised that she was in love with the prince.
The sage had already told her about this. But she was too stubborn to accept it and held him responsible for her situation. She ordered the sage to be banished. She was not angry on him but did not like the idea of a stranger reading her mind.
What happenned next?
Here is the next story. It starts about 15 years back. The names of places or characters are immaterial.
The similarities were - Both of us were Computer engineers and had just started our careers in different IT companies. We met at some seminar and the friendship grew. It was pure friendship without the love angle. Since we had some common friends, we used to meet occassionaly or bump into each other at IT bash's or parties. Some where down the line I realised that both of us enjoy being together. I knew from her expressions that she also felt the same way. Whenever we met, we never hurried to go home. But somehow neither of us took the next step and a formal proposal was never made by either of us. Maybe we were waiting for the other person to pop up the question. Or maybe we were not sure or lacked courage. Whatever.
Later she was transferred to the US. We used to exchange emails but somehow we never expressed our love.
And then about four years after it had begun it all stopped. Our email exchange that was frequent became occasional and then stopped altogether. I assumed that she had got married and would not like to continue the "relationship".
Present - I am in a very senior position in my company and am heading a large team now in California, the US for the past three years. My wife and two daughters are back in India for the summer vacation.
Last week on Friday, I attended a seminar followed by a party ….. Suddenly I saw her. Yes it was she. She looked the same as she was. I actually waited for a while to ascertain who was with her. It was obvious she was alone and looking bored. I decided to go and meet her. She recognised the instant I stood in front of her. Her face lit up. I could read the emotions on her face very clearly from surprise to happiness to affection and warmth. The feeling was mutual.
For an awkward moment no one said anything, then I suggested that we move to a corner seat.
I asked her,"Hi! Its been a very time." What I actually wanted to say was," Hi! Where have you been? I missed you all these years."
"I am good" she replied.
The converstation started. She was also staying in the same hotel and was there for the same seminar. I came to know that she got a very challenging assignment in the US and had got immersed in work for about three years. And all the good work paid rich dividends as she got noticed and was given senior role in her organisation. She later met a person whom she vibed well and later they decided to get married. She had one kid. I told her about my family. We then shared some of the older instances.
It was obvious that both of us were making an attempt to keep the conversation going ... after all there was this gap of eleven years. But the conversation took off well. After all there was so much to share. During our conversation I kept on getting a feeling that my affection for her had again started to grow.
It was a long time when we realised that it was pretty late and we were among the few last persons over there. Actually we diddn't want to leave. It was an awkward moment when both of us wanted to go on with the conversation but diddn't know how to. I wondered if it was going to be a repeat of the 15 year old episode. It took a huge effort for me to ask if she could meet me in my room for a cup of coffee. She appeared surprised but consented immidiately.
In the room she asked if she could make coffee. I observed her movements as she was making coffee. She was looking the same as she was so many years ago. Had put on a little weight. but the movements and style of dressing had not changed. She still did not have a very exciting style with clothes. Nothing had changed over the years. By the time the coffee was ready I came back to the present.
I diddn't have to remind her that I preffered strong coffee. I was about to mention my surprise on the coffee to her when I noticed that she was looking at me obviously waiting for my reaction at the same thought. I smiled. She smiled. It said all. I stood up and went and sat beside her. We spoke for a long time. It was then that I felt the urge to share my love for her. I kept her cup aside and took her hand in my hand. Without a word she came in my arms. She felt so nice, so warm....
I was the one who got up early in the morning. She was still sleeping. She looked so contented so happy, the radiance showed on her face. I was looking at her when she awoke. Both of us got ready for the day and had breakfast.
Then it was time to say good bye. It was hard to fight back emotions. But we had our different lives and our commitments.
And we let it be that way. There wasn’t any need to give a name to our relationship. Life just had to go on.
What would happen next?
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