Sujitha's eyes eagerly took a few glimpses outside the window, as her train slowed down and crawled into a crowded platform. She felt awed to be in Mumbai for the first time in her life, a city she had always desired to visit once at least. She had been sponsored by a large pharmaceutical company to participate as a delegate in a seminar titled 'Geriatrics for General Physicians', a subject very close to her heart.
She was relieved to see a man in pure white uniform standing on the platform holding a placard that called out her name. She quickly approached and introduced herself to the man who greeted her and offered to carry her luggage with utmost courtesy. They soon squeezed through the jam-packed crowd that had thronged the entire stretch of the long platform and all the way she could see quite a few placards to catch the attention of several other delegates. She was led to a luxury bus standing a bit far away from the Terminus. The bus eventually began creeping after picking up a few more delegates through the heavy traffic of the dynamic commercial city. After a good thirty minutes or so, the bus finally reached a posh hotel on Bandra reclamation, right on the seashore.
Sujitha was obviously thrilled as she walked through the well-decorated lounge and the cozy corridors leading to her room. She called the room service and ordered a hot cup of coffee and started watching the television as she waited. Her mind rolled back munching some of her past memories.
The knock on the door pressed the pause button as she stopped rewinding her life and sat up to see the waiter bringing in the tray with some steaming coffee. She enjoyed the rich coffee as also the nice hot shower. She was fresh and much relaxed after almost two days of travel through several parts of the country. She slept but not before thinking about what her aunt and her kids might be doing back home. She soon slumped into a sound sleep.
The next day was unusually hectic for her. She had to rush things to get ready to reach the venue in time. Fortunately, there wasn't any long queue at the registration counter at the venue and she was quickly led through the formalities and a huge kit containing the training materials and some souvenirs was handed over to her. She was helped to locate her seat by an enterprising volunteer and after sitting comfortably, Sujitha looked around the conference hall with thorough excitement.
The opening session wasn't as engrossing as Sujitha had expected. She smiled as she watched a section of the audience showing signs of restlessness as the speaker kept beating around the bush unabashedly. She was getting distracted from the happenings on the podium and was scanning the hall to look for someone who might be familiar to her. Suddenly, her eyes froze at one point. She had spotted a face that looked so familiar that she couldn't take her eyes off him. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was Dr. Sreedhar, who was sitting a couple of rows behind on her left.
Sujitha felt a lump traveling through her throat to her heart. She couldn't believe that she was seeing Sreedhar after almost five long years. He was talking to someone next to him, with his head lowered a bit. He seemed to have lost quite a bit of hair especially above his forehead. He was wearing a sleek framed spectacle giving him the look of a dignified gentleman. He still had a few signs of charm left in his sparking eyes. The charm that was synonymous with him and the one that lured Sujitha into his love trap.
Sujitha couldn't look at him any longer. She turned away and sipped some water from the glass. Her heart began thumping hard and fast. She realized that her eyes were getting moist suddenly. She sipped some more water and started looking down the table. Her mind began rolling back towards her college days. She had never expected Sreedhar to emerge from the distant horizons yet again and rekindle those painful memories.
Sreedhar used to be a day scholar those days. Hailing from a middle class family, he never made any attempts to conceal his misery. He was handsome and surely among the top of the heartthrobs in the college. He was brilliant and undoubtedly the pet of most professors. But, it took a while for Sujitha to discover his only weakness, his deep love for her.
"We aren't here to propose to each other," Sujitha had told him once categorically. She presumed that the poor man would stop longing for her and concentrate on his studies. But, he didn't. After a few months, Sujitha realized that he was still serious about what he thought.
"Sreedhar let me make things very clear," Sujitha spoke to him. "It is a dream come true for me to be a student of medicine. You know I am pursuing my studies purely because of my scholarships and some generous sponsors. My aim is to become the first doctor in our whole family. I can't dilute my dreams for the sake of some youthful infatuations."
Sreedhar stood silent for a moment before he replied. He sounded firm and convinced.
"Sujitha, you aren't any better than me," He said with a wry smile. "My father has pledged everything possible to let me become a doctor. I know what it means to become a Doctor as much as you do. But, I still love you. I will wait till we are through from the college. I am not a freak. Let me assure you."
He sounded quite convincing as he revealed his love for her. The entire college knew his credentials as a 'good boy' and there weren't any reasons to cast any aspersions about his true feelings. Finally, Sujitha yielded to his relentless love. However, they had always kept a decent distance between themselves. They were willing to wait as they knew that time was at their sides.
But,
It never happened. They broke soon after they became Doctors. Sreedhar married Manju, another classmate who was the only daughter to her millionaire father. They soon migrated to the US and since then Sujitha hardly heard anything about either of them. After a good five years, Sujitha had finally spotted him in a place she never expected.
Back in the conference hall, the speaker finally concluded his speech and most of the audience gave him a thunderous applause due to extreme relief more than anything else. A question-answer session was to follow next and Sujitha thought she needed a face wash after the few tears she had shed after seeing Sreedhar. As she got up and walked towards the exit, Sreedhar looked up and froze.
Sujitha wasn't interested to look at her deserter as she swiftly walked through the carpet leading to the exit. She somehow believed that he would be coming following her but she wasn't looking back. She almost ran into the bathroom and before anything wept her heart out. She remained there for a few more minutes to give some time to her mind to cool down. She also knew that Sreedhar might well be waiting outside to have a talk to her. She decided to stay for a few more minutes so that he might get restless and return.
She was wrong and she realized it immediately after she exited the bathroom. He was still waiting and looked quite tentative. He looked pale and panicky.
"Sujitha, what a surprise!" He began speaking formally. Sujitha stood without replying to him
"How are you?" He persisted.
"I am Ok," Sujitha murmured without looking at his face. She wasn't interested to inquire about him.
"Where are you now?" Sreedhar came closer and asked softly.
"Idukki district, Kerala," Sujitha was answering in one-liners. She felt odd to be talking to a man who had broken her heart and his promise to her.
"That is wonderful. I have my own hospital in Pune. It is a hundred bedded tertiary care hospital. I am the CEO," Sreedhar kept talking as though he believed that Sujitha was listening to whatever he was telling her.
