High tides in the Arabian Sea were bulging over the shore, crushing the obscurity of the dark hours. Unaffected by the ambient sound, an elating current was running through a Twenty-two-year old heart.
“Whoa! I am in Mumbai for my first job, and the company has provided this fantastic room, with a breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea. A dream came true so soon.”
Sanaya was oozing with excitement.
“You know, I always dreamt of this day with friends, with parents. Ah! Those days. Today I am so happy, but still, I must say whatever we achieve in life wherever we go, memories of our growing up days are something to preserve in our heart. You must also have such memories. Don’t you reminisce?” She just kept burbling, unaware that with her every cheer, harrowing flashes from the past were oscillating inside her roommate Suchitra.
She cut in screeching on Sanaya: “Memories, yes I have memories. I wanted to throw them away in Ganga while leaving Varanasi.”
“When I was 9, a couple adopted me from a sloppy orphanage to have convenient house help only. Scolding and being bitten for every small mistake was my harassed childhood. To cover themselves, they sent me to the school nearby. Bullied and treated like a leftover in the school, I had to run away from there. The only thing I had with me was the mark sheet of my 10+2. I did all the petty jobs at restaurants, malls, and completed my engineering. I worked from fingers to the bone all my life to reach here. I am here with a broken arm, heavy past baggage, and a huge education loan to pay. No family, no friends. So how exuberant are you now after hearing my story.” Suchitra concluded with a bitter tone.
It was a bolt out of the blue for Sanaya. She couldn’t hold her tears.
“I don’t even have tears left to cry,” saying this Suchitra went to the balcony.
Waves were imploding on the shore.
Sanaya was sitting in shock on the bed. After a few minutes of silence in the room, she got up, followed Suchitra to the balcony. She noticed the deformed left arm of Suchitra standing behind her. She murmured, “how about throwing the baggage in the Arabian Sea? I am sure tides will take it far.”
Suchitra looked back to see a jittery Sanaya squeezing into a corner. She smiled to ease her up. A smile on her face brought the real Sanaya back.
“Now, you not only have a friend but a family too. I always missed a sibling in my life, and look, I have one now. Today is the day of dreams coming true.”
She quickly moved towards Suchitra and hugged her tight. Suchitra felt her eyes were getting misty, and tears were ready to spill over. Ecstatically astounded, she not even blinked to let them fall on her cheeks.
The sea became calm; the sound of burbling waves took over.
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Such a wonderful tale of real friendship and human emotions. Suchitra’s pain was so palpable. Very well written.
With best regards I noticed a few typos, which I think you could have easily caught yourself while editing. I have this weakness myself and I know, that some times our typos pass our vision so conveniently.
//Scolding and being bitten
— did you mean to write ‘beaten’?
//she not even blinked to let them fall on her cheeks.
— she didn’t even blink
Please keep writing.