The Knot

The dark clouds had spread all over the sky and in no time thundering made its way. Soon raindrops seeped down the roof of her balcony where she sat alone sipping the coffee. Again one of those mundane days in the last one year when she sat in the balcony all alone, sipping the coffee and gazing at those papers kept on the table. Her mind still battled between the same questions. “Should I sign them? Or should I give a chance to myself? Maybe I can once again.....No I can’t. I can’t do that once again.”
 

She questioned and answered and questioned and answered with herself until she took a last sip of the coffee. The rain hadn’t stopped. One could hear the sound of the falling raindrops amidst the silence of the dawn. She looked at her watch. He might be on his way back home. She picked up the cup and the papers and headed towards her room. Once again her heart sank while she picked up those papers and locked them in her cupboard. Her questions had yet not been answered. Maybe another day with another cup of coffee in that balcony!

It was six and there he was. She had already prepared tea for him. She placed the cup of tea on the table and sat beside him. He looked at her with those same eyes full of love since the last two years of their marriage. He wished he could find at least a little love for himself in those sad eyes of hers.
“What did you do today?” He asked her breaking the silence. As usual he was the one to start the conversation.
“Nothing much. Just completed a novel.” She answered without looking at him.
"Which one?”

"A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

“How was it?”
“It was good.”
 

And it went on. He kept on asking her and she kept on answering. He knew she was again battling in her world of questions. He wanted to help her. He wanted to fill happiness in those sad eyes. But he knew it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy for her.
 

“Maybe she needs some more time or maybe she wants to free herself from this knot into which the society had tied them and remain with those memories of...” He thought to himself.
She was still somewhere with those papers in her mind. She took a secret glance at him while he was sipping the tea. She finally stood up to complete the household chores.
 

“Arpita”, he called her.
She turned back in his response. He stood up from the couch, walked towards her and stood in front of her. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead. This was the first physical contact between them in those two years.
 

“Things will get alright.”
He smiled and silently walked away without waiting for any response. She stood breathless. She stopped those tears from falling and went back to complete her work.

Again the same evening! She sat down on the chair with the cup of coffee and unfolded those papers once again. Tears rolled down her eyes and she wept, holding those papers in her hand. She smiled while the tears kept rolling down her cheeks.

Yes, he had signed them for her without even asking her. He had freed her from that knot that had tied her. He left her with the memories- the memories of the one who she couldn’t forget, who she couldn’t stop loving! And he had set his love free forever!