Silence

This was probably the last time they would ever speak. The last time the switch in his local office would route a call to that ever so familiar number. The last the time the switching office would multiplex the data stream for an uplink to that communication satellite. The last time her the MTSO would switch that call to the base station she was in, the last time her LCD would flash the ever so familiar number.

Thats what she was thinking while the phone was ringing. The last call she would probably get from him... she could let the phone ring and not answer it, he would probably call a few more times, a few unanswered calls and he would give up, or not. Or she could end the call there, and he would get the message, which he would anyway have got with the unanswered calls. The only problem being she didn't have any message for him to *get*! Oh well... and there were thousands of dollars worth equipment, switching that call from Chicago to Pune... and considering, that the convoluted statistics including newer ones devised every few seconds by studs out of business school would go down a few decimal places, she might as well answer it. Okay, that was't the only reason but the point here is that she answered the call!

He was pretty much thinking on those lines as well. Sometimes its not a good idea to know what goes on in those air conditioned offices of your phone carrier.

And sometimes its a better idea to let your heart hurt and to feel the pain.

"Congratulations"
"Yeah"

And then a long pause. And a longer pause, and pin drop silence. Silence doesn't really utilise all that bandwidth very efficietly, but then there are those times when you can drop the big words and listen to the silence, for it speaks much more than words ever can.

The silence, spoke, loud and clear of memories burried so far away that they were no longer in focus, till now.
Of the long walk down the road talking about the mundane things of life
Of the ice cream that melted in his hands while he was animatedly explaining concepts from 12th grade physics
Of the 12th grade results, which should never have seen the light of the day!
Of the sitting at the restaurant talking for hours eating saunf
Of the waiters not kicking them out of there
Of the pizza with toppings of last nights left over sabji and chole
Of the never ending instant message chats

The silence, spoke, of things so fresh that even yesterday would be far away
Of their first kiss
Of the fact the the first kiss finally happened after a zillion clumsy attemps
Of playing tennis with a 2" wide freshly healed wound, only for it to re-open
Of the only time she actually let go of all inhibitions and cried in his arms
Of the many seemingly unproductive hours doing nothing, except staying in his arms
Well... they loved each other, and thats what couples in love do, right?
Of the way she could change expression every few seconds
Of their only fight
Of the minutes of silence glaring at each other, when what she needed was not the fight, but a hell lot of love, which he wished for her every living minute.

The silence spoke of things said, spoke of things that were left unsaid.
Of her insecurities
Of her fears
Of her being so stubborn
Of the way he always thought she was his, forever to love and to take care of
Of the perfunctory conversations in the last four years
Of the pain, and the gamut of emotions after those perfunctory conversations

And it didn't just speak of "him" and "her", but it spoke of "them"
Of their dreams, their aspirations, they goals.
Of their time together
Of their time which they couldn't get together

It spoke of the months she longed for him, for his touch, for his being there.
It spoke of his need for her, for her just being around him.
Of the confort zone they had once stepped into, brutally torn apart by that one decision four years ago.

And the silence spoke of the reality, today, after an entire four years, which was his marriage. A committed relationship to someone else, for a lifetime. And while it was at it, it also spoke of a new beginning, a new life. A new journey, new friends, new lovers(!) and a hell lot of fun.

"I'll miss you, like I always do"
His words cut across the silence, like a hot knife cutting through butter. And for what would have been the first time, she said... "I'll miss you too"

And finally the circuit was free to switch another call.