They call it True Love...I call it...

"Hi Sweet-heart,when are you coming? I've been here long waiting for you ."

-"I'm just 'bout to reach there honey.Got a li'l late buyin some stuff for you."

“Ok.Come soon.I’m dying to see you.”

-“Me too baby.God… it’s been a week.I’ll be there in 30 mins dear.Till then miss me….”

“Sure...I WILL MISS YOU….”

I hung up,and breathed a sigh of relief.Keeping the phone aside on the table,I clasped my fingers and put my head on the table.

I was in a posh city restaurant waiting for my girlfriend who would be half an hour late as usual.

I have to kill the relationship today.

I tried to calm myself by counting the prime numbers in my mind.

I was on 43 when I heard a knock on the table.

-“Sir,you Ok?”

I saw the familiar waiter standing by my side placing the menu-card on my table.

“One Large Teachers,” I said without bothering to look at the menu.

-“Soda Sir? " he asked.

“No.Neat.Just get some ice.”

I’ve been meeting Ninya in this restaurant for 3 years now and we were always served by this waiter. I never knew his name.

She’ll be here any moment now, I must think over all the points again in my mind. I want it to go as smoothly as possible.

The waiter came back with my drink and the ice bucket.

“Thanks,” I said and he went away without reply.

One.Two.Three…I dropped the ice-cubes in my glass.Then, holding the glass in front of my eyes I watched.The restaurant cum bar was dimly lit as it was 1:30 in the afternoon.The light from the room entered the glass and danced and swam across my drink,creating a sparkle.I closed one eye like a kid to watch the brilliant dazzling effect as small bubbles clothed the surface of the cubes.

Then I had a flashback.

2007 was a year that changed my life forever, sitting outside on one summer's day a flash of beauty just passed me.Her name was Ninya Mathur.

This was love at first sight, gasping for breath I’d tried to get control of my self.

-“Hi… I’m Ninya Mathur.”From the moment I looked into her eyes, I knew she is the one, the one I would spend the rest of my life with, until my time was done.

Just a week back I’d got my medical report which said I had the dreaded ‘C’ disease.My life had shattered instantly and all my emotions were sucked up into some super-massive blackhole. I loved Ninya like crazy.Her smile was the most beautiful thing in this world.God’s most special gift to me.I could do anything to keep her happy.

I had to do this.

I couldn't tell her I had cancer.She would die instantly.

I was entwined in my thoughts,juxtaposed between the devil and the deep blue sea...trying to find out the best way to leave her.

Soft music played in the background……….

"Please forgive me....I know not what I do....Please forgive me....I need you like I do.."

“Who will die first?” She said she wants to die first because she would feel unbearably lonely and sad without me, especially if the children were grown and living elsewhere. She was adamant about this. She sincerely wanted to precede me. She discussed the subject with such argumentative force that it was obvious she thought we had little choice in the matter.

I saw her face in my drink."Ohh Ninya...my sweetheart….Baby…,how much i'll miss you from up there.”

I was halfway through my drink when…I saw Ninya coming through the door.

Self-confident, energetic, bubbly as ever, Ninya. How much I loved her.

Smiling she came to my table.

-“What’s with the rotten cap?” she asked, sitting on the sofa.

I took off the cap taking the fruit and nut chocolate out of it. It was her favourite.

“It’s for you,” I said giving her the chocolate, feeling uncomfortable in her presence.

-“Oh thank you!” she said.

“Would you like to order something?” I asked giving her the menu-card.

-“Hmmmmm… lemme see…A Chicken Sandwich with a Pepsi,” she said putting it down.

I called the attention of the waiter with two upheld fingers.Quickly he came to our table.

-“Yes sir.”

“ A Chicken Sandwich, and a Pepsi for the lady,” I smiled.

“Pepsi cold sir?”

“Yes,” I said and he went away.

-"Why are you drinking now? You know I hate it.How many times do I……" She looked at me with scornful eyes.

I watched in silence,and managed to put up a sorry smile and winked at her.She immediately picked up the ketchup bottle and emptied it all into my glass.

-"Drink now,as much as want.”She winked back.

I looked at her,and gave a surrendered smile and then reality hit me.

I started to get up to go to the bathroom to wash my hands.

-“Toilet jayega bachcha?” she tried to be naughty.

“Yes,” I said uneasily and left the table.

When I was coming back after five minutes I saw…the waiter standing by our table talking to Ninya. He glanced at me and quickly withdrew.

“What was he saying?” I asked sitting down.

-“Nothing, he was just putting the dishes.”

“Oh it looked like he was talking to you.”

She didn’t reply.

-“Sameer,” she said, “I want to tell you something.”

“What?”

-“Nothing, forget it. You say, how are you? It’s been a week we’ve met.You look so weak,Is everything Ok jaan”

“Everything, I said.”

We sat quietly for 10 minutes. All this time I was thinking hard how to tell her that…

“Ninya,” I began. “Ninya, I met Megha yesterday.”

-“O, how is she?”

“I love her Ninya,” I blurted out.She looked at me as if I’d fallen right from space.

-“Haha, you love everyone.”

“Ninya listen, I love Megha. I don’t love you anymore.”

-“Haha are you serious?”

“Yes Ninya, I’m serious.”

-“So you wanna end this relationship?”

“Yes,” I said wiping my nose with my hanky.

-“Our 3 year old relationship for a girl you met last month?”

“Ninya time doesn’t matter. Megha is a nice girl and she is much more compatible.”

-“Oh.”

She was coldly sipping her pepsi as if nothing had happened.

“Ninya, why are you so silent. I want to end this relationship with you. I love Megha.”

She was staring at her sandwich, brooding upon it, silently she said:-“Why aren’t you looking at me. You are lying. Tell it to my eyes.”

I fell silent.

-“Thanks for making it easy for me Sameer.” she said with a catch in her throat.

“What do you mean?”

The meaning I learnt hours later.

She looked at me with burning eyes, staring straight into my eyes she said coldly:“I've brought this for you",she said as she handed over a card to me.

“I must leave now", She wept - " I will always love you...take care Sameer...wish I knew where I failed." she picked up her bag and left the room,sobbing.

"I sat there as the world shattered beneath my feet. I was just about to open the envelope, when a siren blared. I guess it must have been the fire alarm. I overheard someone somewhat casually saying, "I don't know, somebody said it was a fire. I think we better get out of here." Again, I say casually, because there was no alarm in the voice.I thought to myself,”What’s going on?”I was not alarmed by any means, and I thought of ordering another drink. I wanted to lose all consciousness. Then I thought to myself, ”No,I’ll just walk out the door for a second.If nothing’s wrong,I’ll be back in just a moment.” So I reached and picked up my car keys, and cell phone. Then I just turned and walked right out of the door. It was literally seconds later when all hell broke loose. There were maybe 30 people ahead of me going down an outside wooden stairway that led down to the floors below from this doorway.

People rushed out hurriedly and ran about screaming for help. No one bothered to look at each other. All they knew was that somehow they had to escape. Black smoke just poured into my lungs, and I think I was only about one or two steps down from the platform. More Smoke billowed over my shoulders. That led to somewhat of a rush of people trying to get down the stairs. And I saw that before I was even all the way down the stairs, this huge burst of flame that was so forceful, and smoke and so forth, just shot out of that doorway. People began to scramble to get out, but it became such a mess there, all were getting entangled with one another. From what I saw, there was a metal section in the middle of that doorway, and one individual had his legs trapped around that. So, it became very chaotic right there at that exit. They were becoming overcome with smoke and hung up with each other. Some people were pulled from the exit, but I remember just watching a lot of them die right there in that doorway.

It was the famous 150 year old heritage building named Stephan Court, in the heart of ParkStreet, a prominent commercial centre in the Kolkata. Stephan Court is also home to two of the city's best known restaurants - the iconic Flury's & Peter Cat. I was in the latter just minutes ago.

My heart beat fast.

"Ninyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." I screamed looking for her. How hard it had hit her, when I broke up. I pulled out my cell to call her.

Tring Tring…..Tring Tring….."Pick up sweety, pick up". No answer.

We were in the 6th floor of the seven storey building. She couldn’t have been out so fast.

I ran to check the elevator. Huge Flames shot out from every direction. I then heard fire-brigade sirens all over. I peeped outside from the window and was left aghast. The firemen were having a tough time negotiating the cramped streets and hordes of on-lookers. The ladders took so long to come up that those who were trapped in the 3^rd and 4^th floors just jumped onto the parapet of the 1^st floor without even safety nets.

Oxygen was the only thing I needed in there, and it was the only thing missing. However, once I began to think of my Ninya, that's when panic developed, because I could see that people were not able to get out of this passage.

" Nnniiiinnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......... " I cried tearfully. The rooms along the passage were ablaze, and were crumbling bit by bit. People were lying all across the corridor. The smoke had choked them to death. Others were crying for help. I could not see the pain. A moment came when I just completely lost it, and I tried to go into the fire. One woman grabbed me and punched me so hard that she literally knocked me to the ground. The conflagration was so universal, and the people so astonished, that from the beginning, I know not by what despondency or fate, but crying out and lamentation, running about like distracted creatures without at all attempting to save even their goods; such a strange consternation there was among them, so as it burned both in length and in breadth.

I looked all around when I found a body lying near the elevator. I frantically moved the air to clear out the smoke.The hands, the feet everything was charred. The golden wrist watch assured me it was my love Ninya.

"Ninyaaaa...baby get up"...I screamed at her. I jerked her and patted her cheek violently.

"Ninyaa...Sweetheart...I'm here baby...c'mon lets go…" saying this I lifted her in my arms and ran across the hallway. I was panting for breath as I jumped over dead bodies of women and children. It was like a necropolis of fire, growling ferociously to gulp everything down. I could feel my flesh melt in the heat. Finally, after pulling up all the energy I had, I reached the 4^thfloor. The eastern wind still more impetuously drove the flames forward. Nothing but the Almighty power of God was able to stop them, for vain was the help of man.

I reached the window and kicked it hard as the glass shattered and fell all around the area and cut my burning flesh. Portions of the building collapsed as the firemen brought up huge ladders that surged in close proximity of the upper floors. I stepped on to the escape ladder inches away, holding tightly on to my love. A fireman who was saving a woman and her little daughter from a fourth-floor fire escape balcony, reached for the fire truck ladder to guide it near the balcony. Suddenly the fire escape collapsed. The woman and child fell four stories, but the fireman grabbed the ladder with one hand. The woman died, but the child survived.

When our ladder descended, I looked up and saw all the sky was of a fiery aspect, like the top of a burning oven.

God grant mine eyes may never behold the like, who now saw above all the floors in one flame; the noise and cracking and thunder of people, was like an hideous storm, and the air all about so hot and inflamed that at last one was not able to approach it, so that they were forced to stand still and let the flames burn on, which did for near two hours in length and in one breadth.

I held Ninya’s face close to my heart, tightening my arms around her. Brushing her unruly hair from her face, I felt no pulse.

She was dead.

I felt her soft cheek and kissed her forehead.

“No baby,don’t go…..I will miss you…….I’m Sorry”.I cried.I cried.I cried.

Four eyes.

Two teardrops.

You were still in my arms

Till yesterday

And here you are today,

Nothing but a face

Stamped across my heart,

A tear in my eye

and a card…..

I took out the card she’d given me hours ago. I’d carefully kept it inside my jacket, but never got the time to see it.

It was a beautiful card showing a couple, holding hands, walking along the beach into the sunset.

I opened the card, where which she’d written a line in a fancy sparkling pink ink.

“Without you.....I cannot live.....”