As she stood at the edge of the cliff, she could feel the cool breeze brush against her cheeks. She stared ahead of her, eyes fixed on the other side. She couldn't help the tears that flowed down her face.Everything was so calm and peaceful, nothing to what was going on inside her. She stood still, her eyes closed as she listened to the soothing soundShe could hear the sound of the river flowing below . She felt as if she was already drowning ... being sucked down ...deep down ..into the unknown ...
She was finally ready ! Ready for Moksha ..Freedom ...Nirvana....Was it the end or a new beginning ?But how did she reach there ....the edge of the cliff ?
Suddenly her whole life passed before her eyes . Tanya saw herself as a kid playing with her sister . Her best friend saying good bye to her and then Rahul ...His soft touch , his understanding glance and then the tight slap that shattered her world.
Tanya had met Rahul for the first time at a friends party. She was new to the place and hardly knew anyone . she was standing aloof in a corner sipping her drink when hre eyes met the most handsome man in the room.
Before she could take off her eyes from him , he smiled at her. He strode across the room to her and extended his hands . " Hey my name is Rahul. Are you new here? Never seen you here before. "
The rest of the evening passed by in a flash. When it was time to say good bye Rahul offered her a lift back.He was a through gentleman. Tanya loved his sense of humor as well. She had been catching him stealing quick glances at her. And every time she would catch him, he would quickly turn away or look elsewhere. She just didn't realize when her hostel came.
After this, Tanya found that she kept on bumping into him everywhere and soon "very shyly he plucked up the courage to ask her for coffee.
Tanya didn't even realize when Rahul became so special for her . Then one day Rahul asked her to accompany him on a very special journey... to a very special place.
After three hours of drive he asked her to get down.
Finally they walked down alittle path and stood at the top of the cliff over looking the beautiful river.It was there he started talking about love, trust, and spending the rest of his life with Tanya. Was he proposing? Tanya couldn't make out. The last sentence she heard was "will you ? Please say yes." She slowly nodded her head thinking, “Is this IT?!!” He finally hugged her tigtly. "Thank you ! I promise never to leave your side. I promise."
Though she was happy before , now she experienced complete bliss. She wanted to spend each and every moment with her beloved. It started impacting her work, but she hardly bothered.
And then one day she stood in front of the bathroom mirror praying hard that the little red line on the pregnancy testing kit should not appear. Her heart sank as she saw the red line slowly appearing.
She immediatly picked up her mobile to call Rahul.
"Don't worry dear. All we have to do is go and see a doctor" Untill they reached the clinic Tanya was not sure if Rahul was talking about abortion or concerned about her health.
But even the cool Rahul started perspiring when the Doctor told them abortion was out of question. "Its already four months. We really can't take the risk. "
He was utterly perplexed and she was totally disturbed.
"There must be something ..something that we can do to get rid of this problem ! " Rahul exploded.
"Why don't we get married Rahul? " Tanya asked innocently.
He grabbed her by her shoulders and shouted " So this was your plan Tanya ? ! You did this on purpose so that I don't run away from your clutches"
"No Rahul. I will never force you to marry me. You are free to leave me and go. "
For days after that Rahul walked around like a martyr.
They had a registered marriage. Tanya left her job and became a full time housewife. She joined a cooking class, made sure Rahul's house was neat and tidy. Though almost every night Rahul came home drunk , she made sure the dinner was ready on the table.
Rahul never accompanied her to the doctor. Infact the day little Ishita was born Rahul went off on a business trip only to return after a week. Ishita was a very sweet baby. She hardly cried. Probably she realized her mommy was already going through a hell. Though Tanya experienced moments when she felt happy , there were hours when she felt really disturbed.
Rahul's drinking got worse. He hated when anyone asked him about his daughter. He would come back home and take out his anger on Tanya. He has started hitting Tanya now. Tanya no longer shared the bedroom with Rahul. She spent her whole time looking after Ishita or cooking and cleaning .
One day she decided that enough was enough – a decision she put off for long. She went back to her old office and thankfully there was still place for her . She was asked to join in a months time. That would give her enough time to put Ishita in a daycare and look for a place to stay.
That night when Rahul came back, Tanya informed him of her decision to leave. He hit her in a fit of rage. Next morning she could hardly open her eyes. It was completely swollen. Baby Ishita was crying out of hunger and fear. Slowly she got up and prepared milk for Ishita. As she was lying down next to Ishita she heard Rahul slowly coming and sitting next to her. "I am sorry Tanny .....please give me another chance...please ..."
A week after this incident Rahul came up to Tanya and kissed her on the forehead. "Tanny love these are some papers , please sign on them. Theres no time to read them ...just sign on it love. "
That night out of curiosity Tanya opened Rahul's bag to check out what she had signed on. I was an insurance of one crore on Tanya's name. She nearly fainted. So this was what Rahul had planned all along. She decided she had to somehow run away from Rahul taking her precious Ishita with her.
A week later Rahul called Tanya on her mobile. "Love , I got a promotion. Lets celebrate ! Anyway Ishita is in a daycare, why don't you join me now? I will be waiting for you. You know the place right ?
As Tanya reached the cliff she saw Rahul sitting near the cliff making circle in the air with his cigarette and a bottle of alcohol next to him .
She tried to look down, but she could not see him anywhere. The cool breeze blew away all the wrinkles and frown from her face.
She was finally ready to leave this life behind and start on a new journey with her daughter.
She was finally ready ! Ready for Moksha ..Freedom ...Nirvana....
