Long lost

There are things about him I love that I can't really explain. The way he leaves his cigarettes for me after he says he won't. The way he looks while he is sleeping. The way he takes off my glasses when I am asleep. Oh, the way he tolerates my phobia of lizards, even though he finds it so damn irritating. The way he is cautious and weary of any guy around me. For all this and more, I love him too.

As he read this on her blog, he felt a sense of discomfort surrounding him. He didn't know who she was referring to. It most definitely couldn't be him. They hadn't spoken in over 4 years now. Was it seriously over? He wondered. All those moments they had spent together flashed in front of his eyes. Had she forgotten all of that? Could she have? Was it so easy? Moving on was never easy for him. She had forced him to move on when life seemed the bleakest. But she forgot to teach him how to move on from her. Life had moved on, yes. He had almost everything that he wanted, except the magic portion that could get rid of memories.

"Snap to the present," he said to himself. He splashed cold water on his face and lay on the bed. But memories haunted him.

At that precise moment, he got a call. A call from his band mate. He picked up phone, heard what he had to say and jumped up. Their band was going to be the opening act for one of the popular Indian bands. Was this really happening? Finally, a break.

The following 6 months were full of intense rehearsals. Work, rehearsal and craziness. And finally the day of performance arrived. Time to prove it to the world..

On stage, it was magical. Exhilarating high that only music can provide. He felt so alive that if he died tomorrow, he would have no regrets.

Part of the promotion was a band interview to be done after the show. He was almost in 2 minds to scoot away from here. But this was what he wanted, finally, after years of hard work. He sat in the interview room with his eyes closed. The interviewer entered, asked the routine questions and while he was there, he really wasn't. He felt like something was going to happen. What, he didn't know. But he kept waiting. Ah, maybe it was the fatigue, he thought.

Soon, the interview was over. All he wanted to do was crash, when suddenly, his band managed called out to them. His frustration rose. Unable to keep his eyes open or stand correctly on his 2 feet, he sat down once again.

"Boys," the manager said, " I need to discuss something with you."

"I promise it will be over  soon," he added quickly seeing the reluctance.

"I know we have been discussing about getting a PR person for a while now and this is the perfect opportunity."

"Can't this wait till tomorrow?" He asked.

"Well one of the leading PR consultants is here and she herself came to me said that she wanted to take charged of your publicity. Boys, quite frankly, it would be impossible for us to get her even if we tried. I think we should go for it. She is waiting outside. She wants to meet you."

He sighed. He was so not ready for this. He just wasn't prepared.

He assumed the lady came in. He was too tired to even open his eyes to look at her. He could voices of his band mates like they were coming from far away.

Suddenly he heard a voice, " Let him be."

He jolted up. Sleep drifting away like after a frightening nightmare. Only, this was real. The voice was hers. It was her. His eyes popping out like the ones in cartoon. She smiled at him. That serene smile. And slowly came toward him and said, "Hi  V."

That was it. He felt his world coming crashing down.

...Might be continued!