Till we meet again

John was fiddling through his work, waiting for the day to end. He had a lot on his mind and the constant pinging of the pending files on his computer was not helping. He looked out of the window hoping a miracle could beam through the glass and provide him with renewed power and visions. He stood transfixed till his receptionist knocked and beckoned him back to reality.

Enroute to his home, he kept on thinking multitude of reasons to back out of a social commitment later in the day but the minute he stepped home, looking at his beautiful wife, Amelia eager to socialize, he gave in. Reluctantly, he dressed, plastered a smile on his face and moved out to meet his old friends and relatives. At the social dinner, John seemed preoccupied and restless, he kept counting the minutes till the final pleasant farewell greeting. His closest friends felt there was something was amiss in his behaviour but John dismissed the concerns as weariness and exhaustion.

The next morning, Amelia was in the kitchen hurrying up to pack their lunches. Normally John was around to help her in the kitchen but today it seemed the late night had really worn him off. She completed the chores and called out loudly to wake him up but John seemed deep in slumber. She went close by and began nudging him but received no response, she felt an odd pang as his skin felt cold to her touch. A deep sense of fear engulfed her and she called the doctor. Within few minutes John was declared dead. 

Hours turned to days and Amelia found it difficult to accept reality that John had left for the heavenly abode. She began clearing his belongings and came across a medical report dated 6 weeks back. John had been diagnosed with a tumour in the last stages and had never shared the details with anyone. Amelia looked back at the past 10 years of her marriage and felt cheated. Was their bond so shallow that it had invited no trust?

A year down the line, Amelia had an unexpected visitor. A beautiful lady introduced herself as John's counsellor and she had been requested by John to meet his wife. Empathetically she held Amelia's hand and expressed her that John had struggled to share the truth with her, his treatment was highly expensive and the success rate was only 40%. He knew Amelia would put up everything for sale for the treatment happily, not worrying about the future and he could not live with that. He wanted her to be happy and comfortable. He also mentioned to her not to meet Amelia earlier as the pain would be deeper. 

Amelia looked at the sky after the counsellor’s departure and hugged herself tightly. She had been loved profoundly and fondly and remembered John with immense longing. Silently she said to herself, "Till we meet again".

Love truly acts in mysterious ways, people love you but the expression may not be always what you hoped for.