Did she really loved me....? Part-7

     Alma wanted to meet me desperately, she seemed disturbed. She said, ‘My brain is chocked. Can we meet?’.  Well it’s difficult to move out of the house even for a haircut, I went ruthless with my hair and had a zero-cut from the saloon just a day back to save hair-cut time during study and exam period. I don’t even shave for that period and she is asking me to meet. I don’t know how to say ‘No’. But I have to say a blunt ‘No’, and I said, ‘Alma it would be difficult for me to meet you at this point of time, I have to study, I have to complete my portion, I have missed many lectures. Hope you don’t mind.’ She said remained silent for some time and said a heavy okay.  I did not like her okay tone and I melted like an ice-cube kept outside a refrigerator. ‘Okay, we will meet today, but only for an hour. Would that be fine?’ I said.  Saying ‘NO’ to a beautiful girl is far difficult job than saying ‘NO’ to sweets by a TYPE-2 DM diabetic person.  We decided to meet near the famous St.Thomas Church, Horniman Circle at 4:00 PM. The church is superbly located within the arms of greatest gothic architecture flanked by Asiatic Society of Bombay and Horniman Gardens.

    I reached on time. Waited for the cutest girl in my life. It was 4:30 PM, but she was still not there. To kill time, my day-dreaming mind started trying various color combinations and various dress patterns on her, it brought a teasy smile on my face, which I kept for myself. Since there was nothing to do I went inside the St. Thomas Cathedral, I felt as if a fabulous piece of art was welcoming me inside. The atmosphere took me into a different reign. I thought of praying. I kneeled down, but even in such a peaceful environment a violent turbulence was running in my brain, as why she has not turned-up yet. I left the place at 7:00 PM, Alma was no-where in sight. I felt if the marvelously chiseled sepia-tinged faces at the Harnimon circle precinct are looking at me with concern and were depicting my strewn emotions. For the first time I felt as if I missed the warm replay of those glory days,

   I went home and waited for her call. She didn’t call. I did not sleep the whole night. I waited for her call for next five days. I took my study-table near the phone, just not to miss her call and also I never wanted my family to know about Alma atleast now.

   My dad asked me about my recent relocation of my study table from a quiet to a riotous venue.  I gave a non-digestible memoir of my own to dad, he assumed as if he accepted my answer. It was difficult to study in that chaotic environment. My neighboring Mehta aunty gave every detail of her latest recipe, Avrish and Veena’s plan to marry secretly,  Nandoskar uncle’s fractured hand. Miss Foreign’s (Dimple Rastogi, of our society, who visited UK for a week for her company work) elaborative expression’s on how polluted Mumbai is compared to UK, the travelling inconvenience in Mumbai etc, etc… I was forced to hear all such conversations, sitting next to the phone. But I didn’t hear the voice I wanted to hear, my Alma’s voice for that month.

    My exams were complete, I was sure even Alma’s exams should have been completed by this time. Has she forgotten me, or she has lost my number? Numerous aghast questions buzzed me.

    14 May 1997, 10 AM, phone rang, Mom picked-up the call, and she shouted, ‘Varun, there is a call for you from your college’. ‘College?’, my heart was in my mouth, the moment I heard that.  I ran towards the phone, with shivering voice. I said ‘Hello…’ , to my amusement it was Alma at the other end, she lied to my mom a minute ago, as if she was speaking from my college. I can’t provide any evidence of euphoric environment created around me after hearing her voice. But I was also very angry on her, I asked her, why she did not turn-up at Harnimon circle, why she did not call for so many days. She just replied with a ‘Sorry’. I asked her any issue? The reply was ‘Nothing’. I asked again ‘Any issue?’, she said ‘Can you come at, 98A, Sky-Heights, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri(W) today? If possible?’. I said ‘Sure, I will’. She didn’t speak anything further and kept the phone.  I reached the location. The building was very lavish. Garden on first floor and parking till second floor. The lobby was huge and beautiful. The security looked at me with suspicion, made me realize of my mediocre living standard and escorted me till the flat. Alma opened the door, I was very happy to see her. I went inside, she closed the door. She asked to come towards the bedroom as the maid had to do some cleaning work in the living room. We sat on the bed. She sat just next to me.  I asked ‘How are you Alma? Where were you for so many days?’. She looked up in my eyes and burst into tears. It was difficult for me to understand what was happening, is she crying because she was seeing me after many days or some other reason. I went near her; she hugged me and continued crying for another 1 minute. I asked her ‘What happened?’ She said, her father expired just few days back. He faced a major heart-attack on the same day, when we decided to meet at Harnimon Circle. This was very shocking for me. ‘Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?’ I said. Ohh God, why are so cruel with this girl, she don’t deserve so many issues in her life. I was thinking of solving her problems, but they were just piling-up.

   ‘Your exams?. You gave your exams?’ I asked her with concern. ‘Yes, Mamma took leave from office; she used to come with me till college during exam period. I never wanted to appear for exams, but Mamma forced.” She said.

   Sorry to hear about your Dad, Alma .I tried to console her. ‘Office. Your mom is working women?’  I asked. ‘Yes, she is a Managing Director of TechAdvantage Solutions Ltd. And my father was a only Catholic diamond dealer, during that time, they had an arranged-marriage.’ she said. As if she read all the questions my wrinkled face dipped in a pool of unknown questions could describe, and she continued. My Mom was just a graduate. Catholic people are not much into diamond industry, that industry is mostly dominated by Gujarati’s. She liked his talent, risk taking ability and doing something which no one among their community has ever done. My father had huge dreams for my Mom also; he asked her to study further after marriage, as she was very bright in her academics. She completed her MBA and grabbed a job at campus recruitment in the same company where she is working now.

     I don’t know whether I should ask this question, if everything was so super-good, then why did they divorce?

Continued in next release, click below links for all releases till now:

Did she really loved me....? Part-1

Did she really loved me....? Part-2

Did she really loved me....? Part-3

Did she really loved me....? Part-4

Did she really loved me....? Part-5

Did she really loved me....? Part-6

Did she really loved me....? Part-7

Did she really loved me....? Part-8

Did she really loved me....? Part-9

Did she really loved me....? Part-10

Did she really loved me....? Part-11

Did she really loved me....? Part-12

Did she really loved me....? Part-13

Did she really loved me....? Part-14

Did she really loved me....? Part-15[The End]

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