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The Unspoken Conversation


She walked in with swollen eyes. She had cried and it was just out of proportion. The reason was as mysterious as she was. With a smile on her face, she never revealed anything to anyone. A private person as she was, she dwelt in her own trance. A customary smile on her face as she greeted him. Clearly unwilling to tell and trying her best to hide the fact that she had cried. But how can eyes so red not speak for themselves? As reluctant as he was to ask her the reason of her grief, he still had to give it a try; as if it was some adventure sport, which it actually was. Should adventure sport look less adventurous and terrifying to anyone, one must try this to realise its actual intensity.

“What happened?”

“What?”

“Your eyes…”

“What about them?” she asked with an air of unwillingness. Her tone was clearly indicating her irritation on being asked the question. She never liked to be asked now, did she?

“Nothing…”

He decided it best to cut the crap.

Just then, her phone rang. Her face upon seeing the name of the caller overturned the curve of smile on her face. She was almost about to burst out. She was choked up to the root of her throat as if someone had brutally punished her but hanging her upside down, forcing her to keep her mouth open while flames traversed into her throat to choke it up.

She picked up the phone but couldn’t speak. She just listened to the person on the other side. Tears welled up in her eyes in such rapid succession that it felt as if there was a huge dam which poured out to destroy that came in its way.

Unexpectedly, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Oblivious of the reason as he was, he knew that it was something intimate that bothered her. He could faintly hear the words being spoken on the phone.

“…you know, darling, you need to move on…”

She went on crying as if nobody could stop her. He couldn’t watch it anymore. She was a firm believer and so was he which made him say…

“Tears are God's gift to us. Our holy water. They heal us as they flow.”

“He gave away my dearest little kitten to his friend…”

Tears and sobs finally gave way to words. He felt a bit idiotic listening to the reason but he knew, it was an intimate matter for her. He didn’t say anything because all of it would lead to the same conclusion, just those two words: move on. She didn’t need these words, she needed someone who wouldn’t judge her at that moment and he was mature enough to understand it.

Some time passed by. Nobody except silence spoke. It was a moment of understanding and comforting.

A comfort which found its way into her heart through just some silence and a comforting hand.

-          Ashish Tattu (13.01.2019)

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