The Salamander Factor - Part 2

“Hello sir. What shall I get for you? “

The waiter asked in a loud voice. And this time Randeep heard it and kept his thoughts aside for a moment. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he could not listen to the waiter at all.

“Nothing for now. I am waiting for someone. I will order when I am ready. “

“Okay, sure Sir. “ The waiter left. Randeep went back to his own world of thoughts. The plethora of thoughts was invading his mind. It was inevitable fact that he still loves Smruti. There is not even an iota of change in his feelings for her. But there are lots of things which have changed during the last two years. He had made several attempts to reach up to Smruti in Denver. But she never responded back to him. All his mails, messages, answering machine notes were left unanswered. The lack of acknowledgement from her made his life miserable. He could not focus on his own medical practice in Mumbai.

Randeep was always the brightest lad amongst the three. Smruti, Samrat and Randeep studied together in the same batch during their undergraduate medicine days. Randeep used to excel in his academics and was pretty good in extracurricular activities as well. Randeep had a great financial support from his family as his father and mother both were established doctors. Hence, it was easier for Randeep to start his own medical practice immediately after his M.B.B.S. graduate degree. In spite of being a bright student, he was never inclined to study further.

It was not a rocket science to understand that why guys fell in love of Smruti. She was undoubtedly one of the good looking and intelligent girls in the entire college. Beauty with brains, Samrat used to call her. She had beautiful grey eyes and a fair skin. Her smile was as infectious as her eyes. Randeep was fair too. He was like those tall and handsome guys a lady would aspire for. Together Randeep and Smruti looked a cute pair. Randeep was attracted to her since the day he met her in the college lab. He remembered how beautiful she was looking even after getting tired by a day long work of assignments and lectures. He had asked her for a book of general physiotherapy which she had bought. She had readily agreed to lend him to read it. Since that day, they remained in touch and went on to become good friends.

Samrat came into their life only after few months. He used to keep it to himself and not socialize much. He had hardly made any friends in the initial few days. He met Smruti and Randeep once when they were solving an assignment in the library and Samrat was searching for a book which he was unable to find for a long time. Randeep saw that Samrat was struggling to find a book in the psychiatry section. So he thought of helping him out. He found him becoming restless.

“Excuse me, may I know which book you are searching for? “ Randeep had asked him.

“The modern day psychiatry. Do you have any idea where would it be? I cannot find a single copy. “

“Oh. Yes. I have issued one copy. And there was only one remaining. You can take my copy for now. “

 

“Well, that is so kind of you. I shall take it once you are done with it. There is no urgency. “ Samrat instantly liked Randeep.

“I am anyway not reading it for some time now. Feel free to ask it from me anytime. By the way, I am Randeep Singh. “

“Thank you so much. This is Samrat Shah. “ Both shook hands with a smile on their faces.

Smruti was hearing this conversation. Randeep looked at her and introduced Samrat to Smruti.

“Hi, Samrat Shah here. Nice to meet you. “

“Smruti Joshi here. Nice to meet you too. “ They had a handshake and bit longer glance at each other. Samrat kept looking at Smruti’s beautiful face and deep grey eyes. Somehow, he could feel an instant connect. Smruti could not take her eyes off him too. She was enamored by the way Samrat spoke and introduced himself.

“Why don’t we go for some coffee? It is anyway getting very boring here. “ Randeep broke the ice and they went to the nearest coffee shop. That heralded the beginning of a new intricate relationship.

Smruti walked in front of Randeep and once again, he was taken back to reality. This time, however, he was happy to come back as he saw Smruti in front of him. The restaurant was not crowded and there was a chill in the air. It was a Diwali night and the fireworks were still making noise outside. Smruti looked at Randeep and gave him a brief smile. Randeep came ahead and gave her a hug. Smruti, however, hugged him a bit reluctantly.

“Happy Diwali “ Randeep greeted her.

“Happy Diwali to you too. “

“Please have seat. “

“Thank you. I am sorry. There was a lot of traffic on the roads today. “ She spoke as she seated in front of him.

“It’s okay. “ He kept looking at her. He could not believe that Smruti is sitting in front of him. He was literally awestruck. “I should thank you for making out time to meet me. “

She smiled back.

“What will you like to eat?“ Randeep.

“Just coffee.“ Smruti. Randeep ordered two Hot Cappuaccino coffee. She loved Cappuccino. She observed that Randeep still remember her likes.

“How are you? How have you been? “ Randeep asked her.

“Extremely well. How about you? “

“Not really good. So many things have happened since a couple of years. But, professionally, things are pretty good. “

“Glad to hear that. “ Smruti kept a calm face. She was not willing to express a lot in front of him. He looked still the same, she thought. But she found a slight discomfort in the air between them. “Tell me. What is it? Why did you want to meet me? “ She got to the point.

“Smruti, firstly, you never gave me an opportunity to explain anything. You just left me and Samrat here. Did it never concern you to understand our part of the story as well? “

Suddenly, the past flickered in front of her eyes. The night seemed very dark then. Smruti refused to go back and think about those moments. But she could not avoid the thoughts.

“Randeep“, she paused and spoke, “There is nothing left to be said now. My existence in your lives had no value. I was in dark and unaware of a whole new world which was never presented in front of me. “ She decided to speak more. “I know I never gave you or Samrat the opportunity to explain yourselves. But I was broken that day, if you remember. The world fell apart and a part of me died. I had never imagined that you both could hide such a big thing from me. “

Randeep kept looking at her, flabbergasted by her words. But he was expecting her to open up her mind and speak. He was expecting her to slap him and abuse and hurt him with words. But she was still calm and composed. Much like Samrat, he thought.

“Look. Bygones are bygones. Things have changed now. I understand things better now and I have accepted everything. But the fact remains that the friendship between the three of us doesn’t exist anymore. And I really do not think that we should make an attempt to recreate those equations. “ Smruti was spoke sternly.

“No. The fact is, “ Randeep gathered all his wits to say. “that I still love you. I loved you then too. Believe me. “

Smruti stared him blank. She knew there was no meaning to this conversation. But somehow, she felt that Randeep was speaking from whole of his heart.

“It is a complex thing. You are a psychiatrist now. You know things better. But just trust me, I have always loved you. I had never envisaged my life with anyone other than you. “

The words made her feel good. I should not find solace in these words, she thought. But she felt better. She missed Samrat even more.  She never loved Randeep to the extent Randeep loved her. She enjoyed the attention and the care but never found her soul mate in Randeep.

He touched her hands. It is insane, she thought. How is it possible now? Smruti was trying to find out what were the real thoughts going on in Randeep’s mind. But all she could observe was his love for her.

She was transferred in her thoughts back to their graduation day. Samrat had some urgent work and could not join her and Randeep after the graduation ceremony. They had planned a celebration at Randeep’s place. But Smruti was upset that Samrat couldn’t attend it. Randeep, however, felt really happy for the fact that he was now getting some private time to spend with her. After the dinner, they were seated on the sofa and kept talking to each other. Most of their talks revolved around Samrat. She was clearly missing him. Randeep tried his best to keep her engaged in the moment. She was looking absolutely gorgeous and beautiful. Randeep kept looking at her for most of the time. She noticed it and blushed. Randeep went ahead and kissed her. This was the first time that he had kissed her. She was reluctant. She knew that Randeep used to like her. But she never reciprocated the same to him.

She became calm and suddenly got up to leave the house. Randeep didn’t say anything. He felt bad that she didn’t kiss him back. He felt that she never loved him. And he felt alone all of a sudden.

There was an absolute silence in the room. She reached up to her mobile phone and found five missed calls from Samrat. She was unable to comprehend the moment. Randeep was in complete awe of her, she could realize it. But the more she thought about it, the more she missed Samrat.

“Smruti, are you listening? What happened? “ Randeep asked her. She came back to reality from her thoughts. “Nothing. “ She took a pause and spoke calmly. “What was that unusual thing you were talking about? “ 

“Oh, yes. Read this. “ He handed her his mobile phone to show a message. “I called on the number but no one is picking up. I have called almost a thousand times on this number today. No one is answering the call. The number belongs to Mumbai. “ Randeep had an anxious look on his face. He was shocked and at the same time, surprised too, to read the message when he read it for the first time.

The night sky made the noise again. The festival of Diwali spread the cheer in the air. Smruti was blank as she read the message. She couldn’t believe what she read.

Both kept looking at each other.

The message was, “Hey, I am back. Salamander. “