Nothing Is Meant To Be - A Short Story!

It's Friday afternoon just returned from my meeting with delegates at HHI,Bhubaneswar. Yes, I am at Bhubaneswar the place where I studied, got my first job, got another bigger job ,all that when I was at my twenties, before I shifted to Chennai. Now I am a 35 year old man,CEO of a renowned software enterprise ,rich and successful, I drive a Honda City, I wear expensive suits, watches, perfumes unlike those days when I used to save pocket money or used to ask money from my Parents in order to buy a pair of Levi's Jeans or a pair of Converse All star sneakers , now I can buy almost everything I want. It's been a long time almost everything has changed since then, there are a bunch of multiplexes, large number of show rooms and shopping malls.

It's a weekend I am getting two days break I have my flight on Saturday evening, I thought what to do for the next 30 hours, I can't visit my friends they are burdened with responsibilities, unlike me they are married and have their own families. Hence I just went to my stay at Mayfair Lagoon. I changed my clothes to pair of Levi's and casual shirt just to look younger. I guess girls still find me attractive for a small talk. I took myself to the 10th Drowning Street (Mayfair's pub), as always loud music playing, a group of foreigners sitting in one of the corner table, young couple trying to make up , some drunk people creating scene, waiter asking for tip to an old aristocratic man. With a peg of scotch on rocks , unwillingly my eyes were focused on the couple trying to make up which reminded me the days I spent with Aditi.

Now who is Aditi ?Aditi Sahu, She is just another person who came across me and was left behind (or I can say left me behind,whatever!). Actually She was far more than that , once upon a time she was the love of my life. I never met her after I left my College, It's been a long time we talked . It was some 17 years back we had a chat on net . And some days after she deleted all her accounts in social networking sites. I was very busy those days, actually I am busy all the time I never talked to anyone from my college except some of my very close buddies. With time I lost contact with every one and never tried to keep in touch.

I left that place, I never felt like staying there anymore after the young couple patched things up, they started hugging and kissing each other so much that its hard not to stare. And once the guy saw me staring he would bring out an expression like, "You never had some of these?old ass !". I went outside I walked along the street, everything around those area has something related to Aditi. It was the i-way internet cafe where I used to chat with her. It was the Mantu's Garrage where I once repaired my bike when it got out of order on a date with Aditi, and she almost cried because it was too late to be at home. Now Mantu has put on some weight I see. The Monginis cake shop from where I took cake for her on her 18th Birthday. It was a heart shaped strawberry flavored cake with 18 candles on it. Strawberry is her favorite flavor. The Blue Heaven Restaurant where we used to eat and talk for hours .There were so many other things too. Walking along the street I reached the Botanical Garden. It is the place we had our first kiss, oh ! we were so nervous but that was spontaneous. I went inside paying 10 rupees ticket ( Earlier it was 5 rupees). Then I thought " I will find couples loving and will feel miserable again, let's left this place " . But I found the same bench we used to sit and talk. I went there and sat for some time, lost in random thoughts unless a soft hand tapped me from behind.

"Hey! how are you? It's been very very long time. I actually took time to figure out if it's you sitting right here or somebody else." Yes it was Aditi. She was looking a bit healthier than the last time I saw her live (i.e not in picture,face to face ).She was Fairer than ever. She was wearing a red salwar,also lots of bangles,a mangalsutra,and a wedding ring were there , from which I figured this out that she is married and may be she has kids, but anyways she was looking very beautiful, she was not a teenage sweet heart now whom I had dated, It was the other Aditi. The Aditi I never had and will never have. I was staring at her so she just waved her hand in front of my face.
"Oh,sorry never expected you. what are you doing here?" I said in surprise.
"This is my town , I am here as always, what are you doing here?" she asked smiling.
" Just for a meeting,stayed here as there was no flight to Chennai." I answered.
"There's not much of changes, I thought you would be bald by this time." she said mischievously.
"There's not much changes in you either, so you think about me?"I asked.
"No it was your name on papers I read...,Where is your better half ? I wanna meet her."
"Who told you I am married?" I asked and regretted the next moment that she would thought I couldn't find anyone better than her to marry.
"You... are not married ?"she was astonished and confused.
"well it's my work I got married to" I replied.
The next few moments were spent talking about old friends,teachers,events and days at college.
"So you are married ,you got your life the way you wanted. For me every thing went according to plan except those plans that I made with you." I concluded at the end.
"We were kids at that time." she said.
"When did you meet him?" I started asking about her husband.
"When we were in 5th sem ."She said.
"After our break up you remain in touch with me even though I avoided initially. I always thought we had a second chance ,unless I became busy with my projects .On farewell day you offered me dance,What was that for Christ sake?" I cried out all my feelings that were within me since we separated our ways.
"I danced with you because I wanted to, it was the last time and I wanted to make it memorable"She said.
"You always did whatever you wanted to? it wasn't love ever." I became serious.
"God dam Rishi, I love you even now,not in that way though but we were not meant to be ,why don't you understand ?" She said angrily.
"I am not Rishi ,may be It's your husband's name, and do you know it totally sux! what do you mean by we were not meant to be? I can give 100 reasons how we met,talked,liked,loved it was all by destiny,everybody wanted us together,but we just couldn't see it,though it was a mutual decision, you moved on, you have your own family but I never moved on, on college I made myself busy in geeky stuffs, I met girls ,but I always compared them with you and they simply couldn't match your standard. can you explain WTF is that?" I asked angrily.
"Please don't bring destiny into it, we were destined to love but I was destined to marry Rishi and you too are destined to be some one else's. You couldn't move on because you never wanted to.I have never compared you and Rishi.If I would have done it then it is always you than him and I would just get stuck in between. It is always our approach towards something. It was a day in a coaching class in 5th sem I got stuck in a problem and It was Rishi who helped me figure the things out and now he is my husband."She explained.
"Don't you make false excuses.If he's not better than me what made you sure of that he deserves to be your husband?" I asked calmly.
"The things I was not sure with you, you always wanted to be in past , you keep imagining unnecessary things, you keep taking things as per your perception without making valid practical judgment,whatever you believe to be true must be true. The sooner you are attracted to something ,the sooner you get bored of that. These things I never wanted in my Husband. See Dear you achieved all these things because you attempted things with consistency, you kept yourself focused on your projects with the friends whom you used to call 'geeks' after we stopped seeing each other. It was your approach towards your carrier, your dream to earn in 7 figure, drive a Honda city. But you never took this type of approach towards our relationship." She said.

A long silence prevailed and her words were buzzing in my head unless a small 10 year old kid ran towards his 'Mamma'. Yes he was Aditi's kid. His eyes and lips were exactly like his mother's, he has fair complexion that too like Aditi's. Can't say anything about his other features must be inherited from Rishi.
"What's your name baba ?"I took him into my lap and asked.
"Akshay" He replied.
Hearing those words a current ran through my body. Do you know why? Because Akshay is my name too. I remembered that day when jokingly I said Aditi, like the western culture I want to name my son Akshay Mishra Jr. but I am equally glad that although 'Mishra Jr' is absent but Aditi's kid shares same name with me.
It was evening 6 o' clock the sun was about to set we moved out of the garden when Aditi started assuming that her husband might have returned from office ( further increasing my jealousy ). Outside the garden Aditi had her car (i10,her husband is not richer than me,what a relief !) parked. She offered me lift and I accepted (God knows how I came all the way walking). On our way to my hotel she pointed towards balcony of their house on the 3rd floor of Bishnupriya apartments. I never mentioned anything to her about what I felt on my way to botanical garden looking at those shops. We stopped at Monginis the cake shop I bought lots of pastry, chocolate and ice cream for Akshay, the kid. On asking Aditi she hesitated yet I bought her cornetto strawberry ice cream cone and i also took the butter scotch . They left after Aditi finished her Ice cream her last words were "I hope next time I see you with your other half" to which I simply nodded . I looked at her i10 till it got completely disappear from my eye sight. I turned towards Mayfair Lagoon but my cell phone vibrated ( i keep it on silent mode so that i don't need to charge the battery very often under my busy schedule).It was my Boss, he congratulated me as the meeting of mine was a success and deal was done. He requested me (see how much respect he has for me) to attend another meeting on Saturday morning as I was staying up to the evening.That day evening in my room I thought of every thing that Aditi told me. I don't know when I felt asleep.

It was saturday morning I felt fresh like never since a long time. I took shower had my breakfast and get myself ready for the meeting to be held in Fortune Towers. As always I went there before time. A very pretty girl maybe in late twenties or just stepped in thirties was present there. She was wearing formal, no bindi or mangalsutra. From her appearance I could guess that she was not married. I sat on the seat next to her just before the meeting started, I also came to know that she was present there in the same purpose as mine. We looked each other and we smiled.
then she started the conversation " Are you here for the deal?"she asked
"Yes,you too?" I asked in reply.
She nodded .
"So you are a competition?...well i hope you don't get the deal." I said smiling.
"I hope same too". She said smiling." I have seen you somewhere" she said.
"Well I used to study here I don't stay here longer...must be in newspaper or journal" I suggested.
"No I got it. You were there in Botanical Garden yesterday" She remembered.
"Yes I was there,but I did not see you?" I questioned.
"Well...you must not be looking" she said.
The call was made for my meeting and I just stood up and started approaching towards the conference. But suddenly my conscience told me " If Aditi's word had 1% of effect on you,you must understand that nothing is meant to be, it is just the coincidence that leads to consequences,and we should make right approach in right time". And I turned back.
" Can we have coffee together after all these things over?" I just asked her out. "see CCD's nearby too" I asked.
"Umm..sorry ! I think it will be difficult for me, I have something else to do" she said.
I gave her a disappointment gaze for a moment then turned my back and started approaching again towards the conference hall but she called me.
"Hey! sure I mean why not?" She said smiling.
"Ok then...after this thing over..." I was confused as She was a competition.
"We will...figure this out" both said together.
"Hiii I am Akshay"I passed my hand.
"oh! I am ADITI" she replied shaking hands with me.

Yes, She was Aditi , Aditi Dash(now Aditi Mishra) my wife,my soul mate,mother of my daughter Aria.

It's Saturday evening I am leaving Bhubaneswar . The place I finalized two multi-million deal recently (will must find a place in company's board of directors). Every thing has changed here but still you can feel cool breeze blowing every evening to relief you from stress ,The God and Goddess gets worship in hundred of temples present here. Still people keep the value of friendship. Love grows by coincident. Ambitious people achieve their dream. And lonely souls like me find their soul mates.