"What a beautiful day it is!", Noopur whispered to
herself. Noopur - she loved her name. People said she her voice was just the
perfect synonym of her name - Noopur: anklet.
The mesmerizing sound of her song was interrupted by the
tone of message on her phone. She stopped to read the message - 'Please meet me
at the cafe'. This was the fifth time she received this message and she deleted
it again.
Noopur dressed up and left for the day all smiling. Her
smile faded away as she passed that cafe. She even applied the brakes to stop
by, but shot the accelerator instead. She knew he would be waiting. She just
did not want to face him. As her car went farther, her smile returned. Two days
from now, it would be eleven years when that dreadful day passed by. Still
sitting in the car in parking lot, she travelled into her past.
She had the best friends a girl could ever have in college.
Her day started with cheerful hellos and greetings and ended by itself till she
felt asleep laughing her wits out over the text messages on the phone. She left
for the college at her usual time and yelled out while leaving, "Mom, we
have a birthday party today. I would be swiping you card for the gift". She
was gone before her mother could answer. Not that she had any qualms about it;
she just wanted to say ok. She did not return home by seven in the evening
which was too late for her. And when she did return, she was not the same
Noopur who left the house in morning. Her smile had vanished. She did not say
anything and went straight into her room. After a lot of sobbing and
consolation, she finally managed to tell the ordeal to her parents. That insane
childhood friend of her did not have a choice but to let her fell unconscious
and be used by bookies he had got himself trapped into. She made sure that all
of them were booked and punished well. It had taken a long time before she
could trust anyone again.
Today, suddenly, her friend turned enemy suddenly wanted her
forgiveness - at any cost. She decided to end it forever this evening. As her
car reached the cafe in evening, she finally stepped out and marched inside.
Gosh! He was still there. All he had been doing for a month was waiting for her
in the cafe. He tried to smile, but could not. He tried to look into her eyes,
but his eyelids felt too heavy. Noopur was looking straight into his face and
waited for him to speak up.
"How are you?”
Noopur did not answer and waited for him to continue.
"Noopur, I know I
donot deserve your forgiveness. But still, I am here to beg you for that. My
parents have abandoned me after i came out of jail. I knew I had committed a
mistake, but still, I was sure life would be fair to me. I was so wrong. That
sin of mine followed me everywhere. Every time I fail, my heart and mind remind
me of that mistake. Every time I get a little forward, I get nightmares that
this won't last longer. Please Noopur, forgive me. Please say once that you
have moved on. I am human Noopur. Human is to err.".
He burst into tears as he said this. Noopur patted his
shoulder and waited till he was calm again. She held his hands and finally
spoke.
"Listen dear, I
certainly have moved on. I am sorry that you cannot see your own shadow because
of me. Please make sure that you do not get in touch with me again.
Remember, Human is to err, but to Sin, to sin is
devil. I cannot say I forgive you.”
She left him crouching in himself, feeling, more burdened
than ever. As Noopur went back home, she was glowing again.
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