Abhay dropped Nandini home, and kissed her good bye. He would meet her after the infinite looking 2 years.
They promised that they would write mails to each other everyday, even if it was just, "All is well here. Take care." Nandini waved him back, looking at him till he was gone.
He left for New York the next day. MBA wasn't an easy business, he spent his days attending classes, evenings in the library and nights studying for the back to back quizzes. He was a bright student, still, he had to study hard to compete with peers from all the world.
He missed Nandini. He thought about her deep eyes in a boring lecture, her serene smile in the midst of strangers, her warmth in the chilly winter nights and her presence whenever he was alone.
And, Nandini, eagerly waited for his mails. He used to write about his day, the places he visited, any interesting happening in his life, and how lonely he was amongst so many people. Nandini kept him updated about all the events he missed, when he was away.
An year had passed since Abhay left. He had secured an internship with a reputed Private Equity firm. His dreams were not far away, he always thought of marrying Nandini and settling down with her once he completed his Masters. Nandini was extremely happy when she got to know about Abhay's internship details. Abhay was climbing the ladder of success, and most importantly, with a humble and honest attitude. She was proud of him.
On 9 September 2001, Abhay had mentioned that he was going to Washington for a new project, he was supposed to meet some people from the company which his employer was considering to invest in. He reached Washington on 10 September at about 9 pm. He would attend the meetings in the World Trade Centre the next day. He had prepared for the meeting well, had gone through all the talking points thoroughly.
The success of this meeting could land him with an offer from the company he was interning. He mailed Nandini at about 11 pm, Nandini replied immediately. It was one of the very few occasions when Nandini and Abhay had such a conversation they had simultaneously. They talked for an hour when Abhay decided to go to sleep. Nandini wished him luck, "All the best for your big day love. I will wait for the good news. Good night. Love you.."
She prayed for Abhay's well being and success.
The next day passed without any activity for Nandini, she was restless, waiting for Abhay's mail. The entire day passed without any contact with Abhay. She had a bad sleep. Nandini woke up early in the morning, made tea to calm down herself. She sat down with her tea to grab some early morning news-"...terrorists attack on world trade centre...died..attack..thousands..injured.."
Tea cup fell down from her hand, she was in shock and didn't move for 5 minutes, pondering over all the possibilities of the last day that passed. She m gained some strength, and went to call Abhay, no one picked up. She was losing patience, she started looking for Abhay's office contact number. After a long struggle she was able to find out Abhay's office and enquired about Abhay. The receptionist answered, "I am sorry to inform you that Mr Abhay Rathod is one of the victims who passed away in the WTC attack.. We have already informed his family about the incident.. I don't have other information. Yes, ma'm we are looking into details, we 'll get back when we have further knowledge. Please call us back later..."
Nandini became unconscience, she had gone into the deep sleep dreaming about it their last day, when they had kissed for the last time. The last kiss.
