December Diaries – Chapter-10

December Diaries – The Diary closes!

It was the night of a New Year. Joanna laid on her bed wide awake staring at the ceiling above while the memories of entire year flashed through her eyes. Some of the memories were good, some were bad, and some were beautiful, where as some were ugly! The month of December had been one of the turning points in her life. It gave her emotions of all kinds, moreover, it gave her a second life – a life where she does not even smile, not anymore!

Her wandering thoughts came to a halt as her cell phone buzzed for a call. It was Nathy.

‘Yes, girlie.’ Joanna said with a shivering voice.

‘Hey, beautiful! Wish you a very very Happy New Year.’ Nathy wished.

‘I wish you the same.’

‘By the way, Jake told us that he had proposed you. Oh god, I could not believe you said a yes! I mean wow. We weren’t expecting it. Thank god, finally you moved on from that piece of crap, Aryan.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I am very happy for both of you.’ Nathy continued, ‘Jake will keep you happy, Joe. My heart says that he won’t make you cry. Anyways, in other news, Emily is completely heartbroken with the news of Jake proposing to you.’

‘Emily? Why?’ Joanna asked, surprised.

‘I got surprised too when she had said that. She loves Jake since her very childhood. Jake wasn’t only her best friend, but love too. But poor Jake, he just never realized! This happens to everyone. If one story is happy for someone, the same is sad for another – that’s the story of this round round world!’

‘Hmm. Hope she’s fine.’

‘Yeah, don’t worry. She’ll be at my place in few minutes and then I will use your funda on her to get over a heartbreak  – few shots down the throat, and we know we’re not meant for the same road!’ Nathy chuckled.

‘Hmm,’ Joanna said as her cell phone beeped for a call waiting. ‘Girlie, I’ll talk to you later, dad’s on the line.’

‘Hello, papa.’ She said receiving the call.

‘How is my little girl?’ her father asked.

‘She’s fine papa,’

‘Happy New Year, beta.’

‘Happy New Year.’ She said, as her voice cracked.

‘Joe, are you fine?’ her dad asked, concerned.

‘Hmm.’ She said, while the control on her emotions broke.

‘Little Joe is lying to her papa? Tell me is everything fine with you, beta?’

‘Nothing is fine, papa. Please help me. Please.’ She broke down and narrated the entire scene.

*****

She closed her eyes and tears rolled down from her eyes which then got soaked into the cushion she slept on. She wiped her tears and sighed heavily and cramped herself inside her strawberry shortcake blanket. Tomorrow was a new day, a new year, and she had to make a new beginning of her life. Her dad had advised her exactly what to do. She needed time and he suggested exactly the same.

The next morning, she woke up before sun rise and left for the nearest park. She reached the park when the first ray of dawn began kissing the earth. She sat on a lonely bench, facing towards the east. She kept looking towards the sky where birds flew like they owned the entire universe and nothing bothered them. She wished she was one of them, flying freely into the open sky.

Moments later, the sun rose above from the horizon. The first rays of sun fell over Joanna and she gleamed with a new hope. It was the first sun rise of the New Year and she wanted to witness every bit of it. The sunrise didn’t only lighten up the earth, that day, it also lightened up her heart with an all new hope of an all new life.

‘Hello, Jake?’ she called him up.

*****

Who flies to the other country on a New Year eve? Opposite to his expectations, the flight was almost occupied. Still, he got the ticket somehow and sat in the flight, without any luggage and much money in his pocket. On his way to airport he had continued trying her number, but he realized that she had changed her number already. After those long hours of journey, he finally reached the London Airport. By the time he had reached, it was already night. The first night of the New Year.

He walked out of the airport and ran towards the cab.

There were hardly few cabs on the way. He tried hiring them in hurry but all of them were reserved. He then ran to the road and stood near the bus stop. He knew the destination. He took the bus, which took him near his love.  People in the bus were happy and wishing each other Happy New Year. The day almost ended. He had spent his New Year eve in flight. How cool was that? He didn’t care much about it. New Year of his life was about to start. His stop arrived and he ran to her apartment.

His hands started shivering. He knew he had made a biggest mistake. The note he left unintentionally was the reason they were not together. He remembered the last bit of candle which burnt that day in the church and legally stamped the rest of their life together.

He pressed the bell. He waited for few minutes and Joanna opened the door. Her smile vanished as soon as she realized who the guest was.

‘Joanna, I am sorry.’ He tried to hold her hand. Tears beamed his eyes. She shrugged his hand off.

‘I didn’t mean the note I left that night. I was about to cheat you and leave you alone. But seeing your love that night, I just felt I was wrong. I waited for you at the airport too. I am sorry. I love you. Please forgive me’ He sobbed. A man’s cry is indeed the most painful moan in the world. When a man cries, he is guilty for what he did.

‘What if I tell you that you are late?’ She stood motionlessly. Her hands didn’t even move an inch to wipe his tears. She had lost her heart and a lot of blood that night. In return of it, his few tears were less painful.

‘What do you mean by that I am late?’ He stopped crying and tried to understand the situation.

‘Jake proposed me last night and I said a Yes.’ Joanna stood still. He started crying again. Each memory he shared with her flashed in his mind and heart. The school, the burning candles, the birthday, the cake, the love, the kiss and last but not the least, the promise. ‘I am not gonna leave you Joanna. I promised your Jesus the same. I can’t betray him.’ He walked two steps and wrapped her as much as he could. She didn’t hug her back. She just stood numb.

Hugging her, he felt what he had in his arms. What he had lost. ‘I am sorry Joanna please don’t leave me. I will die without you. I have been dying for the last six years. If you will do this again; I will die and I am scared of it.’ The agony of loss was clearly visible in his eyes. She failed to look into his eyes. She couldn’t. Nobody could.

‘I am sorry Aryan, we have to get apart.’ She pulled herself out of his hold. Destiny had few more cards, but the result was same. They were again apart.  He felt the pain. It seemed like this time he had given her that note and closed all the doors of togetherness. Yes, he did. He turned and moved outside the apartment. A single thought, killed their relationship again. Last time the thought was of ‘Insecurities’ and this time it was ‘Revenge’. He felt suffocated and was about to collapse there. Until he heard the three words, much more pure than ‘I Love you’.

The words were, ‘I trust Jesus,’ coming out of Joe’s mouth.

He turned towards her and she could see the tinge of regret in his eyes. She came closer to him and looked straight into his eyes.

‘Do you wish, if only you could alter our past , you would make things fine?’

‘Yes,’ he replied.

‘But you know what, if we just keep wishing for an altered past, we would do nothing but destroy our present and future. If only I hadn’t left you years back, we would have been together. If only you hadn’t taken your revenge, we would have been together. Life had given us chances, always. But it’s us who fail to understand them and later regret with the – if only! But this time, life is giving you a final chance. If you miss this, you’re not gonna have any of it back.’ Joanna completed.

‘Final chance? I had lost it too. I lost. I wish I could make things fine, I wish I could make you mine.’ He said, with his head hung low.

‘You haven’t lost, not yet! You can still make me yours.’ She said and he looked at her while his eyes suddenly got a twinkle of hope.

‘How? What about Jake?’

‘Jake was never between us. I had called him today in the morning saying I can’t marry him because I am unable to forget the piece of shit – Aryan. I said that I can have a new life without him, but not with someone else.’

‘What?’ Aryan screamed.

‘Yes.’ Joanna nodded.

‘I love you so so so much. Will you marry me Joanna D’Souza?’ he almost screamed sitting on his knees.

‘In one condition.’ She stated.

‘And what’s that?’

‘If you promise me a forever?’

‘Umm, I can’t promise a forever because it had always cheated me. Let me promise you some six more decades of my life, a perfect life, a perfect house, a perfect husband and two naughty kids. Will that be ok?’ he said.

‘Okay,’ she giggled and he picked her up in his arms. He moved to kiss her, and this time their kiss was pure, serene, and it lasted forever – in their memories and over the pale pages of mine.

‘Joanna?’ her dad called out, standing at the door.

 ‘Dad?’ Joanna asked, surprised. Her dad was at the door – that was the surprise.
How could have her dad resisted meeting his daughter when she needed him the most? Joanna ran to hug him, and then it seemed her life was falling into place, slowly.

‘Who is this man you are clinging to, like a monkey?’ her dad asked.

‘Dad, this monkey is Aryan!’

‘What? You son of a bitch, you made my daughter cry, I will chew you alive.’ Her dad shouted.

‘Dad dad dad, peace! I’ll explain it all.’ she said and pacified things between the two most important man of her life.

A month later, Aryan and Joanna got married, in front of their Jesus, in front of those burning candles. Joanna’s dad still called Aryan son of a bitch and not son in law. On their wedding day, as Joanna and Aryan were declared lawfully married, and as they went on to kiss each other, Joanna’s dad had said, “This son of a bitch is now my son in law. That’s gross!” and guess what, to whom he had said that? To Mrs. Suri – the mother of that son of a bitch! The cold war between Mr. D’Souza and Aryan still goes on but Joanna enjoys every bit of it.

By the way, you must be wondering who I am! Let me have the privilege of introducing myself – I am the Diary, Joanna’s Diary, her best friend. The December Diaries of mine is so special to Joanna and Aryan, that whenever they want to narrate their story to someone, they forward me to them. Gosh! I am so tired and sick of it. I have privacy too, they just don’t understand. I can’t afford to be open and available all the time, if you know what I mean

Anyways, Joanna and Aryan had a happily ever after, after long long years of pain, separation, cries, heart aches, love and much more. All of us will have it too. Some or the other day. All we need is to wait. Keep believing, keep living, and keep moving, because life happens to them who make effort to live it and not survive!

Happy December Friends

This was my story,
Story of a diary.
She had a prince charming,
and he had a fairy.

.

This was the last chapter of me,
Now, I will rest in peace.
I had a story to tell,
Out of the hearts and these London Streets.

.

Now, I look at my owner.
She is happy with her love.
She doesn’t need me know.
She needs rest; the journey was tough.

.

This was  my story,
story of a December diary.
Pale pages, blue ink, with tears and joys,
She got his prince & he got his fairy.

*THE END*

AUTHOR:

Himanshu Chhabra

&

Drishti Dasgupta
(Blogger at Maple Leaf)

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