The Healing Job

“Helloooo”, said Hridya in a chirpy voice. Vinay always made her happy and complete. He was a good friend and everything else one can be. Has seven years really passed so fast?

She still remember their first meeting. They were in their late teens when they met each other, in a family wedding. He was too talkative and too fair; far from her type. But when they started talking, they knew that they are so similar in spite of the dissimilarities. Over years, they found themselves growing up together and facing the challenges life poses.

“Guess what”, the voice said, “UK calling!”

Hridya felt as if someone stabbed her. UK was his dream. He wanted to go there and she knew that he had really worked hard for that.  She also knew that one day or the other, his call would carry that news.

She tried to congratulate him and sound happy. But she felt choked, as if someone was strangling her.

“Hridya, you there”, asked a worried voice.

But she could not assimilate herself and think about a life without him. The time zones would be different and nothing would be same. She desperately wanted him to stay. A year is not short; anything can happen. Many thought unleashed in her mind and blurred her.

“Finally….! You should be happy na”, Hridya managed. Her voice was far from cheerful. She felt sick. Her head was pounding.

Vinay sensed that something was wrong. He also understood what she was thinking. But, he didn’t know how to console her.

She knew that she should be happy. But she was feeling angry. Thankfully, Vinay’s manager called him and he had to cut the call. Hridya felt glad. She walked to the washroom and washed her face. She wished that the cold water would reach her soul and cleanse it. She forced herself to be happy. She tried to tell herself life moves on. She wondered how his parents would be feeling. She asked herself how her parents would have felt when she moved to Mumbai from Chennai to meet her professional aspirations. But all the thoughts made her weaker.

She sighed and let the time do its job – the healing job!