A separation just wasn’t enough to separate them

It was last night 1 am when I woke up abruptly to my senses by the vibrations of my phone, astonished to see 20 missed calls from Astha, my friend and as soon as I hit the receive button, it got hung up. I called back in anticipation of some huge terrifying situation arising there. As she picked up, all I could hear was her sobbing and whispering to which my heart started thumping hurriedly. I tried to gauge out the urgency of the situation when she explained to me in her teary voice how she and her husband Ajay had called off their marriage to a ‘separation‘ after series of fights in these days. I turned out in what*3 like those in TV serials do. I couldn’t believe my ears as I kept pondering over how happy their marriage is or was if the situation demanded me to say this.

The fairies from my drowsy eyes had somehow migrated to some distant lands and I just couldn’t sleep with so much going inside my head.

I woke up my husband Shekhar who was asleep surrounded by his prideful snores all around the corners of the room, each snore would create a crest and a trough as his chest rose and reached back in succession. I informed him about the sad news and he declared it to be a silly decision on their part and gave some gyaanvaanis of karma and good deeds and slept back again. Amidst his peaceful sleep, I couldn’t sleep my ears echoing the loud sobbing that I just heard over the phone thinking of the depression my friend was facing.

I could feel her vulnerability right on my nerves and felt shivering on her behalf. Somehow waiting for the night to end soon and the dawn to arrive so that Astha could be at my place and I could really make things out fine for them. Atleast I could try all my might to make them together.

The dawn arrived and I found myself asleep as I was still sitting and thinking last night. I woke up by the warm Sun rays entering my spine and making me realize that last night had brought up a huge change in our lives. I pleaded the risen sun to sun kiss Astha’s drenched soul and uplift up from the cruel well of despair she had fallen into.

A ‘separation‘ !! Gigantic term it seems to me. How mere a word and sheets of paper separate two souls who called themselves soulmates for life. Isn’t it such an injustice ? Once a togetherness turns lifetime’s aloofness. To me it’s a horrifying one. I was fortunate to have Shekhar by my side. He never complained at our differences or gifted me such a vulnerability. Never! We always had it sorted by his peace treaties.

I got off the bed and gave a quick call to Astha consoling her a bit which she wasn’t much into but still she kept quiet for there weren’t words in her mouth but emotions. I straightaway told her to come my home and hung up the phone.

I didn’t really have a good sleep last night and the whole day today was going to be warlike which was a dreadful thought. While I kept struggling with my sleepy spirits on the couch, the doorbell rang. I got up with one eye open and the other still struggling to cordinate with its twin sister on the other side of my face. I saw Astha at the door through the keyhole. She was numb. She was silent. Her eyes spoke and they spoke so much; her distress and her pains. They kept drowning her love for Ajay into huge disappointments of separation which she never had expected. I took her in and made her comfortable and rushed into the kitchen to get her a cup of tea.

All this while, I heard Shekhar’s voice cracking from the room and in no time he came up to me in the kitchen and informed me the sad news of Ajay being terribly broken by their marriage and wanting to send the divorce papers right away today. My feet on the ground yet felt not on the ground. We could think nothing. We kept calm and asked Ajay to wait a few days to which I don’t know how he complied to. I handed over the cup of tea to Astha and she took a sip of it tastelessly. A tear from her extremely activated tear gland jumped into the pool of tea swimming across the ripples made by its bubbles and I’m sure it made it a little more warmer. I trtriedo keep her busy in my talks the whole day. Late evening Shekhar returned from office and narrated about how reluctant Ajay was for the separation. We could feel our hearts out. We could feel our heart crying for them.

The night anyhow passed by without having informed us how devilish the next morning was going to be. An uncalled devil in the form of an enenvelope as received at the door and to add to all the miseries of the world, it was received by Astha. When I enquired, she turned back to show the envelope and it already had turned humid by her tears. Yes abiding all those guesses, it was the divorce papers that Ajay sent and he just did what we feared the most bubut this was most likely to happen.

Astha kept murmuring that she wouldn’t sign it anyway and her murmuring extended up to progressions in a manner that she could be diagnosed with clinical depression for sure prima facie. She simply headed towards her room and that night she didn’t come up for dinner and didn’t gulp a bite of food.

Shekhar and I tried to brainstorm as to what should be done and we concluded with an idea keeping our fingers crossed for some miracle happening tomorrow.

The next day Shekhar informed Ajay that Astha had gone out of the city to her aunt and we were going to have a housewarming party for the flatmates as we had shifted newly in there last month. Knowing that Astha wouldn’t be there Ajay accepted to the proposal heart fully.

As the clock struck 7 in the evening, Shekhar and Ajay approached towards the door happily and talking all buzzing topics like Cricket, politics etc. Astha was asleep inside as she mostly remained so being turned a silent depressed woman whom nothing but the void empty spaces did pacify.

I headed towards the kitchen to arrange for some snacks and soft drinks for them amidst the men having their favorite group discussions. The moment the food arrived their taste glands couldn’t wait a minute and they seemed devouring the plate with high energies when all of a sudden a voice disturbed our talks. The voice came right from the corner Astha had been lying since days. We looked at each other in amazement with our looks perfectly in sync.

We hurriedly approached towards the source of the noise and shook to terror seeing Astha on the floor lying unconscious. Her hair entangled amongst each other and she being a complete mess was a pitiful sight to watch and moreover a painful one. All she whispered was ”Ajay !” The pain in her voice spoke of her vows of love for Ajay and what a mess she had become without him.

Ajay rushed in without complaining of our lies told to him and pushed himself on the floor where Astha kept lying. He picked her up in his arms. Tears dropped from his once adamant seeming eyes and fell onto Astha’s cheeks. His anxiety gelling up with Astha’s vulnerability was all love warming the entire room. It was all lit up with their aura. He hugged her tighter and his embrace told her he’d never leave her to which her embrace perfectly cooperated. They were numb. We were numb. Their silence spoke and their heart beats sang duets in tune, eyes filled with promises and this time to be kept till eternity. They were made for each other. We knew it. They knew it too. Shekhar held me from behind. I know we had won another battle of life together. They became together once again and this time forever.

A separation just wasn’t enough to separate them. Truly ! 🙂

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