The embers of the fireplace were slowly dying down fading from a bright yellow to a dull orange, the night was young & the whisky had its surrreal effect. The group huddled closer to garner the last ounces of heat in the cold night. I took a mighty drag from the Dunhill I'd just lit & passed it on to Bhargav. It was his turn to narrate.
'' The first time I'd met her was at my apartment. She'd knocked on the door & politely asked if I'd got a candle. There was no power for a while & it was pretty dark. I already had a candle lit & under its light I saw her face. She was ethereally beautiful. Those big brown eyes reflecting the wick of the candle, the smile like an angel. At that instant I knew I was in love with her. In the coming days I learnt she had just moved into the next door apartment. Every time I'd want to express my feelings, something held me back. Possessive that I was I kept tabs on her. After college she'd leave on her vehicle at 5 pm everyday & return by 7. She'd be on the terrace with the phone all night, talking to someone. Initially she used to be very happy. However after a few days I'd noticed she had stopped going to the mysterious destination and she'd cry at night. I thought she'd ended an affair & one day gathered enough courage to face her & express my feelings. Maybe she needed a new beginning. However as I was stepping out, I saw the television & my heart skipped a beat. She was on the news, she had disappeared. And from that day on I never saw her again. ''
The Dunhill was passed on to Sajjad who took the drag & narrated his part of the story.
'' I'd met her for the first time in the college library. I was browsing the shelves for a book & when I finally found it, i stretched my hand across to take it out & it came out of its own but in the other direction. And then I saw a pair of eyes looking at me. It was the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. From that moment on I was infatuated. I got to know she was my junior in college. She was introduced to me by a friend of mine. We were good mates & she spoke a lot but I always felt she had hidden secrets. My infatuation slowly drifted to love when I got to know her more. However her secret made me curious & one day I opened her bag . Inside one of the books lay the key to her mystery. 'A Letter'. She had a secret affair I didnt know of, The letter was pouring with love & wanting. Not one sentence gave out anything about him or mentioned his name. I decided that I'd crack this mystery & one evening I followed her on my vehicle. The mist had covered the mountains & the road was hardly visible. She took a detour off road & hit a rocky path. I had to keep up pace as the distance between us lengthened & after a bend she'd vanished in the mist. I followed the path for as long as it went & the path ended in a cliff. Dejected I headed back. As i entered college the next day people flocked around me & then I got to know she'd disappeared. ''
The cigarette went on to Pinto & as he drew the puff, he narrated his part of the story
'' I used to work part time in the pub doing what I do best, playing the guitar. Of all the people who came there, most came to enjoy the drink & a few who enjoyed the music along with the drink & just one who came in purely for the music. That was when I noticed her. She was reserved, minded her business & didn't touch a drop of drink & yet she was there, day in day out listening to the guitar. Her mere presence made me forget the world around me & took me to a hypnotic euphoria & my music sounded even better. That was when I fell in love with her. I always felt she possessed a secret & that was what brought her here. The last time I saw her was when I was taking the evening jog along the cliff in the mist. She was heading down a rough path which leads to the edge. It used to be my school hangout. A viewpoint & a precipe. I wondered if I should let my feelings known to her that day. But it was just not the occasion, I was knackered by the run & thus I headed back home. She never came to the pub henceforth & that was the last time I saw her. ''
The cold was creeping in with the wind. The stars felt like a million paparazzi taking our photographs. The mist was piling in & we couldn't even see each other's faces. The embers of the flame was dying down & so was the cigarette. It was burnt right till the filter & my part of the story died with the cigarette. However the story lies deep within me & it is as fresh as it used to be years ago. It was something I couldn't tell anyone.
I'd met her at the Archies outlet. I'd gone in to get a gift for my mom's birthday & there she was. The most beautiful girl I'd set my eyes on. At that time I was living off my pocket money from my parents & I had a fraction of it left. With all I had I purchased a greeting card with a beating heart & a rythmic song & by reflex gave it to her. She was impressed & i invited her to my mom's birthday. I didn't even know her name & she didn't know mine. However she came that night, she looked so beautiful that night.. ''Like a Goddess'' I thought. And that night I took her number & we began to talk on the phone. She sounded more beautiful then she looked. The more I got to know her the more I liked her. We'd meet at the cliff edge every evening, watch the sun disappear & that evening I poured my heart out. For one blissful moment I thought everything was lost but the next moment she hugged me. For some reason we kept our relationship a secret. She liked it that way. However she was unhappy about my lady friends & she became possessive. She wanted every second of my time. My freedom was lost & our relationship took a U turn. I stopped talking to her & answering her calls. She then got desperate & slipped a letter under my gate one night. I got hold of the letter before my parents got to know & got a rude shock. She'd threatened me with taking her own life by falling off the cliff the next evening if I didn't meet her.
And that evening was filled with mist & fog hiding the sun behind it. I'd come in earlier, nerves on end about her behaviour. And finally she came. When I saw her I pitied her. Her eyes were dark & she had cried a lot. But my pity turned to anger when she shouted at me, pouring out her suspicions about me & my friends, my life. I couldn't take it any more & I decided to walk away. But she grabbed me by the collar. I pushed her off me & she lost her balance. Before I could grab her she was down the cliff. I heard the scream & the thud. And this was my part of the story.
