The Flight

He re-checked his boarding pass; it was indeed D7 window seat indeed. But someone else was sitting there. He stood and watched. The man was immersed in reading a book. Aman cleared his throat and the man looked up.

“I think the window seat is mine.” said Aman. The man stood up and came out so as to let Aman sit on his seat.

The man sat on the aisle seat, kept his book away and extending his hand said, “I am extremely sorry I sat in your seat. I had to use all my contacts and twist a few arms in the bargain in London to get a seat on this flight. I was desperate to travel only by this flight, you see."

"By the way, I am Dr. Kumar. Please call me Kumar I just mentioned my profession out of habit.” he said smilingly.

Aman clasped Kumar’s hand and said. “There is no need to apologize doc. By the way, I am Aman. I prefer window seat otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you to get up”

“Is this trip to India, a business trip or personal?” Aman asked. 

“It is a very special trip. And, you?” Kumar smiled.

Aman looked out of window and said “I am going back to India after a long gap, may be 12 - 13 years. I have a conference to attend and then meet some relatives whom I have not seen for ages.”

Both men just chatted away about delay in flight for a while. Aman observed that Kumar kept the book in the magazine rack of the front seat. He couldn’t make out the title as there were other magazines kept and it obscured his view. After a while, Kumar took out the book and leafed through the small book and found out the page which he was reading.

Aman could now see the title and his heart skipped a beat or two! It was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and it looked very much like the one he had once.

He looked at Kumar and asked hesitatingly “Can I have a look at your book if you don’t mind?”

Kumar looked at Aman and said “I am sorry. This may sound almost preposterous. I normally don’t give this book to anyone. Please don’t get me wrong. There are lots of hand written notes inside the book and I am afraid I might lose them. They are too precious to me.”

His heart pounding, Aman asked in a shaking voice. “By any chance, do these hand written notes belong to a woman?”

Kumar smiled  “Yes. Indeed!”

Aman was both relieved and intrigued. He was about to say something when Kumar folded the book and handed it over to him and said. “You can have a look at it. Please, just be careful with those notes. You see, I can easily preserve them by putting them away in some safe place. But they are too precious and important for me. I carry them wherever I go and this book is the only place, I believe where they must be held.”

Aman took the book, his hands trembling, leafed through the book and slowly turned to page no.17 hoping he wouldn’t see what he was expecting.

He was shocked!

The small yellow handwritten note, indeed was in Neha's handwriting!

This can’t be true!  His mind fought the battle within.

Aman quickly wiped his tears and casually went to page no. 26. He was not disappointed. The second hand written note too was very much intact, the same handwriting!

This couldn’t be happening, thought Aman. After a gap of nearly 3 years! Why? Is this for real? Have I found her finally? He didn’t go through two more sections of the book. He knew the notes will be there.

Aman gave the book back to Kumar. 

“You seem to have been lost in thought. The book or the notes? Did they trigger your memory to something?” Kumar asked.

Aman took a deep breath and spoke in a measured tone “ You seem to be head over heels in love with her?”

Kumar replied after a pause “Well, the way I met the girl was through an accident, literally and figuratively. This happened almost 3 years ago. I was driving my car to the hospital. Normally I don’t use my mobile either for talking or texting when I drive. But on that day, unfortunately, a patient kept on texting me as I normally don’t receive calls unless it is from the hospital. I looked briefly at the message and took my eyes off the road; the next thing I knew was a girl falling in front of my car as I had hit her inadvertently.  Of course, I braked hard and because of the impact, she fell down and was unconscious for a brief period. Not much damage had taken place to her, physically. But nevertheless, I took her in my car and took her to the hospital, though she kept protesting. It was love at first sight for me.” his eyes twinkling.

Aman pretending to be calm, while a eruption of emotions within asked, "Then?"

"In the hospital, the girl appeared to be very anxious and wanted to go. I suspected a concussion and as a matter of abundant precaution, wanted her to undergo MRI scanning. There was already a patient in the scanning room so, she had to wait. I asked her a couple of times as to why she was in a hurry to go; all she said was she was about to meet a person.” Kumar continued.

Aman closed his eyes and everything flashed vividly. A couple of tears rolled down.

“Where were you, Mr. Aman? You seem to have been lost completely.” Kumar said smilingly.

“Do you know what you were doing? You were actually smiling when you had closed your eyes and dreaming. I am sure you were thinking of someone special.” Kumar chided.

“Yes. Indeed, it was a girl. I was on my way to meet her but……” Aman swallowed the words.

"Anyway, So what happened next at the hospital?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. The girl got the scanning done and the report would have taken a long time to come so, she expressed her desire to go back. She then asked me about her hand bag. Honestly, in my urgency to get her to the hospital, I never bothered to find out whether she was carrying anything with her. So, I took her in my car and we went to the same place where I hit her with my car. We searched for her hand-bag everywhere. But couldn’t find it. She was visibly upset and that's when my phone rang."

"Her Test reports were out and she had Tumor in her brain!", Kumar stopped, his eyes welled up.

Aman could not believe his ears. He was visibly upset and held Kumar's hand tightly. He looked at Kumar and weighed his words carefully before speaking “Doctor, you still haven’t told me the name of the girl.”

"Neha." came the reply. Aman was heartbroken. Though he was expecting the same, but this reassurance shattered him. 

“I had no other option but, to tell her the truth about her health. She was heartbroken and cried her heart out. She had to spend a few days in the hospital to undergo a few tests. One evening, she held my hand asked me to do her a favor. She wanted me to take her to Mumbai. She wanted to spend the last days of life in Mumbai, her birthplace." Kumar continued.

“We left immediately. I wanted to ensure that Neha enjoyed every minute of her remaining life.” he continued.

Aman stood up and without looking at Kumar said, “I will use the rest room and come back.” He closed himself and wept like a child. He now knew why he could not trace her. He now knew why did Neha not call her back. He now perhaps had all the answers to his questions, questions that had blurred his mind for the past 3 years.

He wiped his tears and came back to his seat.

“Have you been to Mumbai, Aman? That’s where my Neha is resting." Kumar said with a smile on his face.

“Where in Mumbai?" asked Aman.

“Everywhere. She said, every time you visit the city, you will feel me in the air. My soul will be waiting for you in Mumbai, forever." came the reply.

Aman closed his eyes and exhaled.

The flight finally landed at the New Delhi Airport.

“I am catching another flight to Mumbai. I am really sorry. I spoke so much about myself that I never bothered to ask anything about you. By the way, are you going to be in Delhi or travelling somewhere else?” asked Kumar.

“Err...I am traveling to Mumbai too. I have to meet someone there.” replied Aman.

“Really? Oh, in that case, maybe we might bump into one another again? Where will you be meeting this person in Mumbai, may I know?” asked Kumar with a straight face.

"Everywhere!" replied Aman.