It’s a beautiful Sunday I am standing under a huge Banyan tree besides the lake. I wonder how this place had become a victim of urbanization, countryside woods to a magnificent children park. I gazed at my watch, it was about time she had arrived, I turned around as I breathed deep she stood on the other side of the lake beautiful as always. She walked towards me and smiled as she sat under the tree. I looked into her dark blue eyes bright as a crystal.
I shut my eyes. I heard the birds sing and dance on banyan tree. The banyan tree was the largest that I had ever witnessed in my life and it was nothing less than a hundred years old. The tree was the only one watching us. 17th, May 1970 it was around ten in the morning. I had come to say good bye to the only women I ever loved in my life
“Geeth, I will be back in three months” I said.
“You know I don’t want to go but I have no choice. The next time I go I will take you along with me as my wife” I kissed her forehead as I said goodbye.
I was going to London on my business trip. Geeth and I were engaged, this very banyan tree had been the witness of it since the day one. We met almost every day under it. Our laugh, our sorrows, and our excitements were heard in every part of the tree. Somehow the tree had become an integral part of us.
Monday morning I was on board all set to sail to London. I spent days and nights thinking, singing and writing about her. Fifteen days had passed and I had felt it like fifteen years. The temperatures were very bad it was winter time; one could barely go out of the rooms. I had my dinner alone as usual and went to bed that night.
I woke up startled I heard voices, people were running around. I pulled my overcoat and rushed out. I could barely breathe smoke everywhere; a massive fire had broken out. The fire had taken most of the ship there was no hope of saving it. I watched as people jumped out of the ship to the ice cold ocean, I watched unknowing whether I should do the same.
“Captain, Captain”, I exclaimed
“When is help arriving”
“My son I am afraid we lost our way last night and we have landed nowhere near mankind” he replied as he dropped himself to the ocean.
“Wait… wait” I yelled “get me back to India… got damit what do you mean you got lost.”
I closed my eyes; Geeth stood in front of me her beautiful eyes. I jumped.
I opened my eyes. She was still sitting under the tree. Old and wrinkled, patches of her hairs had turned gray. She looked sleepless. She was wearing a red sweater and a dark brown skirt. Forty years it had been she came everyday and waited under the tree, she never quits I knew it. She stood up tears rolled in her eyes, she looked up at the tree and walked to it she stroked the branch gently and left, I could read what was in her mind she remembered the day I proposed her we engraved our names there. See you tomorrow I told to myself.
I wondered whether she knows I am dead I thought a tear rolled quickly in my eye, just because …..
