So yes, this is the last episode. I cant thank all of you enough for following journeys until the very end, it means a lot to me.
Just one request, please read this episode top to bottom, do not scroll to the last line right away :) i hope you can do this for me.
"....Tara will you marry me" I look deep into his eyes and I didnt need more reassurance he meant every word of it. He slides a ring around my finger and I feel electrified, unable to do anything. "Tara, are you okay?" "I'm okay KP, lets leave for the airport". My mind is running a hundred threads at once, unable to settle down. As we drive, we reach barricaded roads and are pulled out of our vehicles by the local police. "Sir, we have some security issues, you may have to stay behind and help us". "Sir can she go? She has a flight in four hours" and I show them my tickets and ID. KP nods at me and mouths an I'll-be-okay-you-leave and I walk back into the cab and reach the airport.
Sometimes, or rather many times, I've always felt that life doesn't offer even the smallest of my wishes. I mean we didnt even have the opportunity to complete the conversation, and dont I deserve to be given a decent goodbye? Why does life always have to throw such horrible odds at me? I walk into the airport, check in my luggage and reach the gate. I keep checking my phone, but no luck, no news from KP. I wait until the last boarding call and walk into the flight and take my seat.
I look at the ring, it twinkles at me, just like his eyes do. The last year, both of us had come closer and reached a point to take any kind of answers. I've always dreaded this question but all my thoughts have leaned only towards this. To me, atleast today, marriage is not just between KP and me. There are so many dynamics around, and thankfully today we form a delicate equilibrium. I dont want to disturb this, maybe I'm a coward, but we are in the best place we could be.
I settle down in my seat, fasten my seat belt and my phone rings. "I know the answer Tara, I always did. But my heart had to ask you" i have a hundred questions to ask, if he was okay and back home, but this one had to be completed. "I dont want this for us KP. Now is not a good time" "Hmmm, will we be okay?" "Yes we will. Hey KP, can i keep the ring though? It is so you" "well atleast thats half an answer" "so how did it go with the police?" "Long story, you get home, I'll tell you" The sound of his breath deafens my ears in the moments of silence between us and there is no sign of further conversation. And suddenly he opens his mouth "Tara, will you go with me to the valley of flowers?" My face breaks into a smile and a stream of tears start flowing down, my heart feels light and my throat chokes me, not letting me open my mouth, I nod my head hard "I take it as a yes Tara, your earrings tell me so".
The pilot calls for take off and i put my phone inside. The tears dont stop and the last year of my life comes in front of me, frame by frame. I've cried so many times in the last year, but these tears are tears of relief. That all of us have reached a point of mutual peace and coexistence. I cry into my hands and the man next to me hands me some tissues. I take it, wipe my face and utter a weak thank you. "Are you okay kid" he asks, sounding just like my dad would. I nod my head, well not just my head, but deep down I strongly believe everything is okay. I look at him and he has this peaceful face, strong shoulders and a very fit build for his age. He must be sixty? I have no idea.
"So kid, where does this flight take you" I smile inside, thinking of Adi, Kathir and all the struggles, how every one around us supported us to bring us where we are today. Thankful. "I'm going home sir" and I nod my head. Yes. I'm going home. Where I belong, where all of us belong together as us. "And you sir? Where does this flight take you?" He gives me a wide smile. "I wish I could give a definitive answer. Its the beginning of a long journey, in search of my Kannamma".
THE END
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