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 “You’re late again.” She said.

“I left home at 8. But the traffic you know.” He scratched his head.

“You always have an excuse.” She replied.

“Tell me a single time when you have come sooner than me and actually waited for me.” She was innocently furious.

“Umm..that time when you went for shopping with Tara and I had to wait for 15 minutes.” He knew he shouldn’t have said that before completing the sentence.

He looked at her, her face turning into red, he knew he had lost the battle already before it started.

He knew saying sorry would be too normal and it would only escalate the argument.

“I know anger is not a good thing, but when it enters you, your cheeks turn red, and your left eye starts twitching a little just making that forehead into a certain shape that tempts me towards you.” He said.

She was just ignoring his words, as she knew his daily tantrums.

“You are making fun of my forehead now.” She just wanted to initiate the fight.

She just wanted to see how he would react. 

“My lips are sad and would enjoy some fun.” He tried to conquer her and kiss her forehead.

“Not that easy” She laughed it off. 

“Enough excuses, why were you actually late?” She shot the question all of a sudden at me. 

“I actually overslept, you know I am not a morning person.” He tried to avoid the eye contact.

It’s not because she would be mad, because he knew she loved him unconditionally; it’s just that he was embarrassed to face her. 

She was just in her normal self, with her white oversized top and a baggy jeans and his eyes all stuck on her.

She didn’t need any makeup or anything, everything was complete without any filters. 

“Do you remember Anita?” She asked.

“Who?” He couldn’t recall.

“My colleague from my previous job. You don’t concentrate on anything I say, how would you even remember.” She shot an arrow again.

“I do concentrate, of course I do, but how would I recall a person from a job 5 years ago.” He defended himself.

“3 years ago.” She stared at him.

“Oh yes, 3 years. I knew that.” He added. 

“Of course you did.” She smiled.

“So what about Anita?” He tried to change the topic. 

“She is getting married. Her boyfriend proposed her last week.” She said.

“And?” He had to ask.

“She’s invited me on her wedding, and I don’t even know her that well.” She replied.

“So don’t go then. Easy.” He replied.

“It’s not that easy, what if she thinks that I’m being too arrogant as she invited me even though we hadn’t had a proper conversation for this long.” She was worried.

“But she doesn’t know you that well.” He replied.

“Or you can just make an appearance just for the sake of it.” He added.

“Maybe I should just go and be a part of it.” She said.

“Were you guys close back then?” He asked.

“Yes we used to hang out. But then you know me, I am introvert and just go along with my life and don’t worry about anyone else.” She said.

“Friendship are always held by a comma, you can start from wherever you left, it’s just that she took the initiative to approach, it’s upto you now.” He said.

She couldn’t believe how wise he was talking, she just smiled at him.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Nothing.” She just looked away.

He tried to ask again, but he knew he wasn’t getting the answer for nothing from her. 

It was tougher than finding the value of “x” in mathematics.

“Look at the shape of my eyes, it looks like a fish.” She said.

“I like my eyes very much.” She added.

“I like your every shape.” He smiled.

“….in a completely non vulgar way.” He added quickly.

“I know what you meant.” She tried to push him off. 

“I don’t even know how you gathered up that courage and asked me out.” She said all of a sudden.

“After all these years, you always have to ask this question, on every date.” He replied.

“It’s become a ritual, I guess. So just tell me.” She said.

“You were with someone else but not happy and I could sense that.” He said.

“Don’t improvise your stories everytime. We were good friends and I would tell you everything.” She laughed it off.

“Lets just stick with I sensed it for this time.” He replied.

“Alright. Alright. Continue.” She said.

“We used to go out before that as well though, I never had to gather up courage.” He said.

“But we used to go out as a group, not like this, alone.” She argued.

“And you had to be drunk to pour out your feelings.” She was just playing her cards one by one.

“And what did it do? You avoided me for a couple of months.” He replied.

“You know I was in a complicated situation. But after I solved it, I took the initiative to say “Hi” on Facebook.” She defended herself.

“After all I am an introvert and don’t worry about anyone and I still came to talk to you.” She added.

“After all these years, if I don’t understand how much I mean to you, then, we don’t know each other at all.” He said.

“But everything ended well, you got me, lucky you.” He laughed.

“Lucky, you wish.” She shrugged him away.

“Come on now, don’t say that.” He tried to convince her.

She knew how grateful she was as these past few years with him were in some other level after her failed past relationship.

She was emotionally wounded and he healed her from every way possible.

They were laughing reminiscing their seeds of love.

They were just grateful that they had each other.

Suddenly, a strange ring interrupted their freedom.

“Trring, Trring…Trring, Trring….Trring Trring.”

The phone was ringing displaying “Wifey” on the screen.

He was just lost and couldn’t care about the phone for a while.

Everything was still.

The howling winds were trying to signal something.

His lost eyes wandered for a while and stayed still at his hand. 

The eyes were stuck on those fresh flowers, white daffodil, and red roses.

The soulless bunch of flowers with limited oxygen in their lifespan, he was just trying to preserve the essence with his grip.

He stood in front of the cemetery which read:

               “Becky Seeker”

         “17.03.1993 - 08.02.2017”

The flowers had to serve its purpose.

He gracefully placed the flowers on that cemented sheet which was preserving his connection.

He was just about to walk away and call his wife when he could feel her presence again.

“You know it’s February 8 right? Proposal Day of the Valentine week. And yet I have to ask you for this. Could you atleast do this before you go?” The tresspassing soul interrupted again.

He stayed still for a while. He had his phone on his right hand and turned back towards her.

“I have loved you since forever, I don’t even recall how, when and why but just glad that it happened. And I just want everything to remain still when i am with you, but times, destiny had other plans, we couldn’t escape the almighty fate. I just want to take the initiative right now, we never needed to express our love towards each other, we always knew how much we meant to each other, and no words will be needed in the future as well, but sometimes, words are really powerful and it would make each other’s day when expressed as well. But I have lost that sense of feeling now. Just want to ask you if the word Valentine for you would start for me and me alone, no one else, and ends with me only, so that the love between us can stay still within us only for a day, with everything else remaining constant, and we both can concentrate on everything else for the next 364 days, and I am just asking for that one day from you to devote to me, as I am going to do the same from my side. Becky has always been a popular name in my heart since 6 years ago, and if it gets lost somewhere too, this day will remind my heart that this name was not just scribbled but engraved in my heart, and can’t be removed even though life created different destinations for each other. Just want to ask you if you would do the same for me?” He asked.

He knew he didn’t need a reply from her. He knew her response. 

The silent cemetery had no sounds but unfulfilled noisy emotions roaming around.

“Forever yours, Harry.” He just could sense it in the air.