It is nearly an hour after . The large French window is bringing in cool breeze with the strong smell of the sea; the silence of the night is broken every now and then by splashing waves. Everything is calm at this hour, but Vijay Merchant isn’t. He is fidgeting in his luxurious bed room with a large volume in his hand and his desk lamp still glowing like the night watchman too tired of his routine.
Vijay Merchant is a successful fashion designer and owns two boutiques in the town. His family is small and contains himself and his only son Rahul, who is ten years old. Rahul’s mother left this world instantly after Rahul’s arrival, to leave him lonely and hungry for his mother’s love. Vijay tried his best to keep Rahul happy by nourishing him with his paternal and maternal love, but still mother is mother and Vijay was a father.
Vijay had been thinking about Julia Mathews, an immigrant from states. He liked to swim in the ocean of memories, so he dived into the still waters of the past from the dash-board of thoughts, and the great ripples caused due to it brought back the incidents before his eyes. He remembered his first meeting with Julia. He had been on an inspection of one of his boutiques with Rahul, one of the sales man was not present on his counter when Julia approached that counter, Vijay undertook the salesman’s job to show her a beautiful cherry red dress with black daffodils embroidered with golden outlines. She immediately took the liking for it and insisted to have its trial; so he showed her to the dressing room and waited for her return. Meanwhile the salesman returned and took his respective place with due explanation.
Vijay’s heart took a 100m dash at Carl Lewis speed when he saw Julia in that dress. It fitted her like a bullet to the gun which shoots to kill. It was a sleeveless dress with frills on the upper side and it revealed the curves of Julia’s prosperous fronts. Vijay being a fashion designer had seen many girls and had seen most of them nude, but he was never all that excited before. He offered that dress designed by him as a gift to her, she initially refused. But Rahul made it easier by imploring her as he had also taken a liking for her and so she accepted it. Vijay took her autograph and her name in his record book. That was a short meeting in which Rahul also took a liking for Julia aunty; and it ended with the discovery that she lived near his residence. It was this discovery which made Vijay mad with joy and he thought that even Columbus America
Vijay surfaced the ocean of memories with the agility of an expert diver to breathe again in the world of reality. He stopped fidgeting and sat on his bed and thought what was in her that attracted him so much, he even knew he was handsome and even his models were dying after him. But he never felt anyone worthy for him, for him all models were just arrogant and worthless bimbos; Julia, on the contrary was intelligent, beautiful and above all affectionate. Rahul also begun loving her and stayed with her whenever he felt lonely, and for him she was something more than Julia aunty.
She was a frank girl, and this frankness led to friendship between them. They used to talk together for hours, each had something to tell, none of them talked about their past lives, and they accepted each other in their present form. Before long their friendship was converted into love of unmatched quality. Even Rahul loved her very much, because he had found his mother in her, she cared and cried with him and shared her joys with him, hugged him, patted him for his achievements and scolded for his mischief. Rahul could not even think of going away from her and slept with her at her house with her when Vijay was away for his tours. Before that Rahul had always travelled with Vijay, and Vijay also had never left Rahul alone. So there came into existence an invisible bond between them, the bond so strong and yet so delicate, made them one as a whole.
At this juncture Vijay again dived into the deep waters of memory. He remembered that cursed night which broke everything between them. He had kissed and caressed her many times, and she had never refused; but that night. Julia looked superfluous in a saree, he kissed her and started taking off her saree, which she didn’t resist, so he took off all her clothes. She requested him not to do so. But he was not in his own control; he took off his all clothes and tried to have sex with her. She pushed with a force that sent him crashing with the corner table. Julia said “Vijay, you know that I love you, but there are certain things you must know about me, so just don’t think that I am offending you”. “O! Come on Julia” said Vijay, “I don’t wish to know anything about you, you are simply best as you are”. “Thanks Vijay. But I must not keep you in dark and yet I fear to lose you”. “Make it short baby, what is this dark and light. And be sure that we won’t lose each other” said Vijay. “Well the fact is”, then she added slowly “that I am HIV positive and though I love you, we can’t be together in bed. I don’t wish to spoil your life” declared Julia. “O! Don’t be silly, and don’t you ever joke so seriously, that I may take it to be true”. “Vijay, why don’t you understand, I am damn serious about it”, said Julia in an agonising voice.
Vijay’s mouth dropped like a ripe pear falling from the branch. He left the room in such a manner that. Julia felt like she was nothing more than trash, thus abdicated and rejected, she cried for hours. Then he avoided her for weeks and even didn’t allow Rahul to meet her, well, everyone knows that AIDS can’t be spread by talking or such things, then also everybody avoids them, this is psychology, it worked here also. And the unbreakable bond between them was on the verge of breaking.
Vijay surfaced the memorable waters of past with a broken heart and failing vigour. He, then was about to sleep when he heard a soft knock on his bedroom door, he opened the door to be surprised to see Rahul with a teddy in his hand at this hour. He saw his child crying and his eyes red and cheeks darkened by tear marks. He could not see this condition of his only son, so he hugged him, only to make him cry more. With the child’s innocence in his voice Rahul told his daddy, “Daddy, I want my mom back, please dad, I don’t like without her in a whimpering tone, which moved Vijay so much that he also cried. “Sonny I also don’t like without your mom, come on let’s go to her and make her really your mom from aunty. Rahul’s drenched face gave a million dollar smile and a crisp kiss to Vijay.
Vijay knew that the war within him had ended, and the unbreakable bond was saved and was renewed with fresh strength. He himself was sorry for treating Julia like that and forgetting everything, even his promises to her. So in a flash, he carried Rahul upto Julia’s door, for he knew, if it was not for Rahul, he would have broken up everything. Rahul knocked rapidly the auntie’s door. Julia opened instantly; of course she also was not able to sleep, and her condition was also like Rahul. On seeing Rahul, she hugged him and kissed him all over, forgetting Vijay, who was standing behind; He simply watched mother and son’s union and the scene resembled the union of a cow and her long lost calf. She also hugged and kissed Vijay for the first time in front of Rahul. And what did Rahul do, simple, he clapped.
Vijay and Julia were happily married to each other, Julia started living with Vijay and started a foundation which could help thousands like her, who are deprived of their joys and feelings and usually get hatred and social humiliation instead of love. She even donated her house for that purpose, so that the rejected could live there and thrive under each other’s love. She even commenced the confidence of her neighbours and made them understand the hidden aspects of life; then they too joined the foundation as volunteers and thus added a note of joy in this gloomy atmosphere.
Vijay, Rahul and Julia visited each and every patient daily and comforted them. As for Julia nobody knows what happened to her, but she remained paradigm for rest of her joyous life with Rahul and Vijay.
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