Kaleidoscope: Bring back the touch

“Ridhima, can I get a cup of tea?” Rishi asked Ridhima while reading newspaper.

With sips of tea Rishi used to read the newspaper or was busy on the phone while Ridhima kept on trying to talk to him about their life, their kids, their past,their present, their future but Rishi always seemed engrossed in the details of what’s happening in the outer world and all of a sudden he used to ask her,”what were you saying?” Ridhima used to get irritated and say “Nothing!”

Today, nothing was different, but for her, it was their 20th anniversary.

After Rishi left for his office, Ridhima kept on thinking for a long time and then got up from her rocking chair to pick up a book from the book shelf. As she turned the pages of the book, she found a card that Rishi had given to her when they met for the first time after they got engaged.

“ I love you, now and forever.” holding her hand he had handed over that greeting card to her. Love was visible in his eyes. That touch was still fresh in her memory. She was lost in thoughts, smiling when all of a sudden she came back in the moment.

She checked her phone. There were eight missed calls.

“ Rishi!” She called him up.

“ Where were you? I got worried? I sent you a message too!”

“I kept my phone on silent.”

“Let’s have lunch together.”

She had tears in her eyes.

She checked the message. It said, “In the busyness of life, we forget to live. We forget all those moments that made us smile. No, we actually don’t forget those moments, it’s just that we forget to remember them. Life passes by. And then one day, when we clean our closets, we find many memories sealed in the treasured chests. Can we relive those memories, today? Happy anniversary!”

There, while holding her hand in the restaurant, he said.

“ I love you, now and forever.”

Today, he was talking and she was listening.

~~payal~~