#45 Farewell

His wife stood near the bed and smiled at me tearfully as I walked inside the hospital room. "Come, he's been waiting for you, " she beckoned as she stepped out, while I stood looking at him. The man, I once loved, worshipped and adored. The man who left me without ever telling me why! 

All the bitterness I'd accumulated over the last four decades, melted as I looked at him; a haggard and ghastly shadow, remnant of the young, handsome boy I had loved deeply. "Sudha, I've to apologize for the way I left you," tears rolled down from his eyes and, mine too. "I was a coward, giving into my parents demand. But I didn't have the courage to tell you that I couldn't go against the wishes of my family! "

The untimely and candid confession took me by shock and I could barely whisper, "It's ok, Sunil. I guess we weren't destined to be together. "

I could control myself no more, as he tearfully reached out for my hand, "Sudha, I wanted to meet you. And this conversation is important to me, because after this, I know I'm free to die, " he smiled through the tears.

The anger, resentment and bitterness I had nurtured very grudgingly, just vanished. I reached my car and the phone rang. It was his wife. "Sunil passed away, Sudha. He was waiting for you. Thank you for releasing him! " she spoke through her tears.

• Pallavi Karnik