43

Arjun was arrested and his punishment was for the courts to decide. But his confession meant that he would be convicted, which eventually he was and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

This also meant that the detective partnership between me and Susan was going to end soon. It was time for her to leave and we were at the airport. All this was happening just too fast for my comfort.

“You broke your promise of a second vacation,” I said.

Susan said “It’s better for both of us, trust me. And it’s all about destiny Rahul. If you had not asked me to go to Coorg, we would not have thought about filing our report, and to call Arjun for a final discussion to let him know what we are planning and I wouldn’t have seen the brief momentary natural smile in his eyes, which probably he himself did not see, and then him becoming melodramatic again after that smile expression. I discovered this smile not at that moment but it remained in my subconscious.

That morning when we were together in the bed after a beautiful night, I was most peaceful. In fact I have never felt more peaceful than that in my life earlier. My mind was free of everything, and in a bolt of lightning I was reminded of the eyes of Arjun. It helped that we were off the case for a couple of days and you really made me feel so light and free in Coorg. I still remember your expression when I said lets go back, poor you, I can imagine what you felt but I had to come back because I knew I had solved the case but we had to prove that Arjun was the culprit. It was destiny that you took me there so that I could get this clue and thanks Rahul for that, I may have got the vital clue but you were the reason for that and we solved the case together.

Destiny made us meet, destiny made Arjun fall in love with Karishma and then kill her, destiny took us to Coorg and destiny made us realize Arjun was the killer.”

“I never knew you believed in destiny, Susan.”

“After meeting you, I do. After meeting you I want to believe in love, I want to believe in destiny and guess what I want to believe in Bollywood movies. Maybe one day I will climb the mountain and throw my sweater in the air in slow motion and sing the song, what was it, yes, Pehla Nasha.”

“Susan, I want to tell you something, I …..” before I could complete Susan put her lips on mine and said, “Ssshhh, let it be unsaid, some things are better not to be said.”

“How do you know what I was going to say?”

“Rahul, I can now read your eyes and know what your heart says.”

“And what’s my heart saying now?” I asked as I held her hands.

“I told you melodrama looks good only in Bollywood movies, but when played out in life, it’s not always real.” We both chuckled.

Susan always used to say that she found Indians to be being so melodramatic, and I agreed with her, it was ingrained in us to be that. I gave her a typical example from a Bollywood movie where a hero would get shot in the chest and could walk for miles to either reach a temple or the feet of his mother to tell God or her mother how much he loved her and then in the most dramatic way would die; and the mother would exclaim loudly “Nahi, aisa nahin ho sakta, tu mujhe chod kar nahin jaa sakta, ab tere bina me kaise jiyoongi (No, this cannot happen, you cannot leave me, how will I live without you). And nothing much had changed in the movies since decades, this was a favourite scene in movies and audiences still loved it despite seeing many avatars of the same scene.

She continued. “Rahul, I have to leave but I have a confession to make. You are an amazing man and someone who is fit to be a life partner. If only life wasn’t so complicated, I would have loved to have spent my life with you. I am leaving today but you will never leave my heart, you are my memory for a lifetime and will remain with me till I remain in this world. I know you are not happy that I don’t want to keep in touch with you, but you have to understand that is the best way for us, since there is no other way for us. If we are away, we may be able to bear the pain of not being together, but if we keep in touch the thought that we can’t be with each other will kill us. But you must know that you will always be in my thoughts and I will love you forever.”

“This is not fair, you didn’t let me say it and you are saying you love me.”

“Well you never stopped me by kissing me.” We laughed again.

“Damn, I said, I missed an opportunity to kiss you.”

“Who said you missed it, you still have the opportunity.”

I didn’t need a second invitation as I immersed my lips into her beautiful ones and we kissed as if we were destined to kiss forever. I didn’t realize this was going to be the last time I kissed her.

“How will I find my Susan again?” I asked her.

“Don’t search for Susan outside; search for her in side you.” She replied.

“What if there is a need of a detective here for another case, would you care to join?”

“Well, will the Indian detective flirt with me?” She asked sheepishly.

“You will find the Indian detective waiting, he won’t need an invitation.”

“And be naughty with me?” I could read in Susan’s voice that she was going to miss our partnership.

“Hmmm…hell yes. Come back soon.”

“Wow…seems a good offer then. I really hope we can work together again,” said Susan.

“Me too!” I replied.

“We will heat up the place with our work and our chemistry.”

“And our biology?”

“Miye bel miye,” Susan said, in Arabic.

“What’s that?”

“100%, teaching you some Arabic!”

“Every word you teach me, will be rewarded with a kiss.”

“That’s an amazing offer which I cannot refuse.”

“Then you keep teaching me and I will keep kissing you.”

“Deal boss.”

“Kiss kiss. I will miss you so much babe,” I said while kissing her cheeks.

“Me more Rahul, I swear.”

We hugged real tight, “mmmm…our tight hug, our magic hug to you for now and forever.”

The hug was broken by the flight announcement.

“My flight has been announced Rahul, I have to go,” said Susan.

“Do you really have to go?” I didn’t want her to go.

“Yes Rahul, I have to, I need to.”

“I know. Sometimes I feel maybe I should not have invited you for the case, so that I would have never known you to miss you so much, or the case never got solved and I could keep you near me forever. I will miss you lots.”

“Rahul, it is life, people come, and people go. At least we have our memories to live with and that will be our strength!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be in touch?”

“How many times will you ask me, Rahul? I think it is the best thing for us. We will both not be able to live in peace if we keep in touch. We may forget each other with time and that would be the best.”

“Well, you may forget me, but I will never be able to forget you.”

“Frankly, even I won’t, till my last breath. Rahul, that’s the final call for my flight, I have to go.”

“Bye, Susan, have a great life. But remember someone somewhere thinks and cares for you.”

“Bye Rahul.”

Susan left immediately for her flight, not looking back once. It seemed like something right out of a Bollywood movie. Maybe she was hiding her tears. I wanted to tell her I loved her, and I would probably never get the chance to tell her again. I would curse myself for the rest of my life for not having done so. I just closed my eyes, visualized her in front of me and said, “Susan, I love you, and always will. I hope you come back to me one day, I will wait for you.”

In the flight, as it took off, a tear rolled down Susan’s cheek at the same time as I said those words, symbolizing the love that Susan had in her heart for me.

The sixth sense had worked again.

This was the end of another love story, left incomplete.