The broken bangles

Ben had woken up before sunrise. A new dawn, a new hope. He could sense excitement seeping into his pores. Did he hope to meet her again? Why did she seem so familiar? Ben could not think of anything else but her since he had met her two days ago. He had searched for her on the streets each time he ventured out, but it had been in vain.

Ben took his camera bag and stepped out of the hotel room. He loved exploring a new city. But today as he walked on the empty streets he was lost in thoughts of the past.

Till few years ago he had been preoccupied with work all the time he barely noticed any difference in the places he traveled to. His life had become monotonous.

It had been during a visit to his ancestral home that he spotted his dad’s old camera. Ben had picked it up like he would a newborn babe. The memories attached to it were many. His dad had bought it for him from one of his travels. Ben had loved it. His dad’s job had required them to shift homes many times. Those days shooting different things and places had helped him adjust better to a new city.

His love for photography had rekindled that day when he took his dad’s camera in hand. The first thing he did after going back was to equip himself with a decent camera and lenses. He had realised with time that looking at the world through a camera helped him see it in a different manner. He could never have seen or experienced the things he had if not for his camera.

From there on he had made sure to explore each city he visited through his camera. It had become more or less a ritual to wake up early and scout the silent streets. Each lane seemed to hold a story. He was eager to learn every single one of those stories.

As Ben took out his camera from the bag now, his mind rested on another memory. His heart skipped a beat as he thought of her. He also thought  of the land which had helped his imagination and art flourish; his hometown. A small smile played on his lips as he recalled all the stories he had woven just to see those honey brown eyes light up in glee. Her laughter still tinkled in his ears whenever he thought of the stream that flowed behind their homes. He used to make paper boats for her to float in this stream. She would jump up in a merry little dance when the boats crossed a fallen oak tree that lay over it like a small bridge.

Many times he had tried to capture the magic of those smiling eyes, but the pictures never did justice to the merriment in those eyes. There  always was something of that shine missing in each frame. Try as he might to capture that toothy little grin, he failed every time. Each frame would be blurred for that pesky little girl could never sit still. She would get up all flustered and shaking with laughter and say “Oh Archie! Stop playing with your camera and tell me some of your wonderful stories please.”

Even though everyone else called him Ben, she preferred calling him Archie. When they were younger, being called Archie used to irk him a lot. In retrospect, it was this irritation that she had caught on perhaps, for she refused to call him by any other name. With time though, it had brought him joy to know that for her, he would always be her ‘Archie’.

The first time he had met her, she had been a mousey little girl. Chubby cheeks,hair twisted in a long braid and a face that was always bent down in a frown. He used to do everything in his power to make her look up and notice him. He was usually a shy person, but with her he always felt this need to go overboard. He tried everything possible to make her squeal in  indignation. These squeals sounded delightful to his ears.

They had grown up together, exploring their village, weaving up stories. Each nook and corner of that beautiful place now held a memory. Years passed by with her by his side. Play time slowly gave way to idyllic walks by the stream. Stories turned into talks of the future.  On one such lazy morning, as they walked through the meadows, he had stopped to look at her. She had looked deeply into his eyes, as if telling him some secrets that he could not decipher. She looked the same but seemed different. When had that cherub blossomed into this timid maiden with eyes that lit up at the sight of him?

He had just begun to sense a shift in his feelings towards her when his family told him about their plans to move away once again. Moving to a different country was not new to their family. Often his dad would get placed in a new country. They used to spend some  months with him and then return back to their beautiful village.

This time though, it was going to be different. Ben was about to begin higher studies. His parents had decided that he would get better education and better opportunities if he enrolled in some college at the new place itself. His heart had felt heavy at this news. This was strange for he had always dreamed of being able to study abroad.

She had closed her eyes  when Ben had told his news. He had tensed, unsure of what she would say. When she opened her eyes though, she simply smiled and congratulated him. The smile had felt so different. There was something missing in her smile now. He felt as though a beautiful dream had fallen apart. The time they spent together after that day was filled with awkward silences.

They had all gathered at her home for a farewell dinner. Her mother, whom Ben called khala,  was making delicious smelling biryani and kebabs for them. She had taken him to her room and placed this box in his hand as a parting gift. It was a small wooden box filled with small tokens of their years together.

He could see that she had painstakingly decorated it with broken bangles, which she had collected over the years. She had stuck it on every inch of the box. It seemed to sparkle whenever a ray of sunshine fell on it. Those bangles seemed to be singing some long forgotten song. It reminded him of  those times she had screamed at him “ Archie, you broke my bangles again…”.

He burst out in laughter at the memory. That was until he had looked at her face. Her face was pale and eyes red, as if she had cried all night. That plastic smile was still on her face, but instead of irritating him, it twisted something deep within his heart. She stood in front of him, gazing silently, but the silence was full of all those unspoken words. Ben felt a lump form in his throat.. He would have confessed his feelings to her right then, but at the precise moment, khala had called them down for dinner.

She had been startled, as if waking from deep sleep. She looked at the door and looked back at him. Before she could move away, He stood up and held her hand. He gently placed his thanks on her forehead as a soft kiss. Ben could feel her shiver under his grasp. He took a deep breath and felt the beauty of her nearness to him one last time. As the moment passed, he took her hand and went to where everyone was gathered. This was to be their last evening together. Come tomorrow his family would fly away leaving her and this beautiful village far behind.

That year and on many other occasions, he had visited his village in the hopes of meeting her, but it never was to be. She had moved to her grandmother’s village and was continuing her studies there. She rarely visited their village and these visits never coincided with Ben’s visits. All Ben had now was a picture of sixteen year old Nargis from the last evening they had spent together.

Breaking out of reverie, Ben looked around his surroundings. Without even realising it, he had walked to the same bridge where he had parted from the stranger that day. It had been a couple of days since that brief meeting with her, but this woman had occupied every waking hour of his. What was it about her that had brought back so many buried memories?

His mind had wandered long and fast and he was sure that it had something to do with this woman. That day she had been completely wrapped up in warm woollen jackets and caps, thus he could barely see her face. Her presence had felt familiar though.. Something about her reminded him of home. As he pondered over these confusing thoughts, Ben searched for a cigarette in his bag. He was sure it was somewhere in the side pockets. His fingers touched something unfamiliar in one of the pockets. He felt it a bit, trying to determine what it was. Ben removed the object and stared at it. A single blue bangle sparkled in his hand. His heart leapt up in joy just as it sank in sorrow.

It had been her; His Nargis. He had found his Nargis for a brief moment and had been unable to recognise her. Why had she not told him who she was? Had she too been unable to recognise him? No, That couldn't be! She would not have left the bangle for him to find if she had not recognised him.

He swore under his breath. If only he had been a little more observant! So many questions loomed in his mind. Ben took the last drag from his cigarette. He felt helpless, for there was no way of finding her. All that he had was hope. If chance be, their fates would make them cross paths once again. He was willing to wait till then.