Made in Mumbai

20. Hothon Se Chhu Lo Tum, Mera Geet Amar Kar Do

Gautam ran. He ran like he never had up the parking and into the lobby of his building.

“Gautam Sir? Gautam Sir!” The concierge called out to him. “There’s nobody at your house.”

He stopped, blood draining from his head. Nobody.

“Where is Maya?” He ran to the desk, checking the clock behind him. 9.15 am. “Where’s our baby?”

“Maya madam left with the baby ten minutes ago.”

Gautam stumbled back. He had told her to stay put! Why was she carrying a two-month old around like this? Where was she going? He reached into his pocket but his mobile wasn’t there. He patted both pockets, glancing down, then patting his T-shirt. You fool! His eyes closed. His phone lay somewhere in the garden of his bungalow. He didn’t even know her number by heart.

“Do you know where did she go?” He asked the concierge.

“No, sir. She took an Uber. I helped her load the baby carrier.”

“What about her luggage?”

“Luggage?”

“She didn’t have bags with her?”

“No.”

Gautam’s chest finally expanded. “No bags. Ok, good. Good. Then what did she carry?”

“I don’t know. Lots of files, some cloth rolls under one arm. Baby carrier and baby bag…”

He knew just where she had gone. Gautam didn’t wait to hear any more. He turned on his heel and set off.

————————————————————

He burst through their office gate and the watchman stood to fend him off. Gautam looked down at himself — a wretched sight. The watchman recognised him and stepped back, but Gautam couldn’t help but take stock of his clothes. He was in yesterday’s dirty, white T-shirt that had seen better days. His dark tracks had a spot where MM had spat milk, the back and knees covered in mud as if he had fought a wrestling match. Just what he would be caught wearing during his truck driving days.

Nothing to be done about that now. Once he caught Maya, he would have all the time in the world to look presentable again. He made a beeline for the main entrance, hoping she would still be here. Gautam pushed the office door and there sat Leo, early, doing his usual thing.

“Boss?” He stood to attention. “What happened to you?”

“Maya?” He panted. “Where’s Maya?”

“In her office… but what ha…”

He didn’t wait, just ran, his body not in control of his mind as it threw itself towards his two girls. The co-working space of Made in Mumbai was sparse, only a few employees milling around. He strode to Maya’s office and threw open the door.

“I'm sorry, she started crying…” Hem Sanghvi began to explain, then stopped. His mouth fell open, MM bawling in his arms that he was desperately trying to hold steady. He couldn’t even hold her fully up. Gautam ran to her before he dropped her, snatching his baby, rocking her on his shoulder from side to side.

He glared at the man — “What are you doing here?”

Hem began to retort when recognition dawned. His eyes widened. “Yyou?” He stepped back. Gautam stepped forward, MM slowly going quiet in his arms. “I told you to stay away from these two.”

The man was shocked into silence. That’s when Gautam realised that his tattered clothes and muddy spots made him look like a street fighter. A tapori. He barred his teeth and glared more, taking full advantage.

“I asked you something.”

“I ccc… came to get… Maya’s sign,” he swallowed.

“What sign?” He thundered.

“What’s going on here?” Maya raged from behind him. He turned, his body stilling. There she was, back in her formal avatar, her hair tamed and tied back, her makeup on like in her pre-motherhood days. She looked beautiful even when her eyes spat fire. At him, Gautam realised, not at her reptile of an ex-husband.

“What is he doing here holding MM?”

“Maya, babe, please tell your goon that I…”

“Don’t call her babe,” Gautam threatened, turning burning eyes to the man who was already half-shrunk in the corner.

“Give her to me,” Maya opened her arms.

“First tell me why is he here.”

“None of your business. Now please leave us alone to finish this.”

He didn’t move.

“G, leave!”

He glanced from her to the reptile, then back again. Maya was glaring at him this time. There was no other way out. So he strode towards the door, meeting her halfway.

“This door remains open,” he warned her. “And dare you cross 5 metres into her space,” he warned behind him. Then strode out with MM in his arms. The office was filling fast now, people trying to see what was going on inside.

“Rustom!” He called out.

“Yes, sir?”

“Maya is in there with her ex-husband. Keep a watch.”

He didn’t have to elaborate. Rustom and three others went and stood outside her office, far enough to not overhear but close enough to intervene. Gautam respected her order and left, climbing the stairs slowly with MM happily bobbing in his arms. She was such a happy weight. Just one night away from her and he had forgotten how solid she was.

“Or have you grown overnight?” He nuzzled her hair, pushing open his glasshouse door and switching on the ventilation systems. He sat down on his chair and pushed the switch to open the sunroof. Bright light sieved in from the tree canopy above the glass roof. And MM’s eyes opened wide, her head moving curiously as he lay her horizontal in his arms to absorb all the nature. He pushed back his chair until the sun wasn’t in her eyes, caressing her soft baby hair, inhaling the sweet baby soap scent that surrounded her. She smelled so good, of a unique entity. Maybe of herself. Gautam held her close to his chest, “Never again.”

Her eyes met his at the sound of his voice. And his heart swelled with pride.

“You recognise me, don’t you, MM? I am yours, no? And you are mine,” he cooed, reaching down to kiss her forehead, her tiny ear, her cute nose. His prettiest girl in the whole wide world. How had he not wanted a family? This was it. This was everything. She was everything.

“What’s your problem, huh?” Maya came barreling into his office, MM’s carrier on her arm.

“What’s my problem?” He repeated, sitting back. Her fuming like this was a first. Usually he was the one doing the logical talking. A part of him enjoyed it, even though he knew he was at stake here.

“Don’t act smart with me now,” she snapped. “Give me my daughter back and get on with your life. We will leave your flat by this afternoon.”

“Yes you will,” he agreed. “But you and our daughter will come with me to our new house.”

Her mouth dropped open. She began to counter but he sat forward — “Maya, I am sorry. So sorry for yesterday. I didn’t mean any of that. I was in a bad phase, something bad happened, and I… took it out on you.”

Her expression was stricken. Then she swallowed whatever she must have felt because she was sour again. “I understand, now give me my Megha.” She set the carrier on his desk and pulled the buckles out.

“I am not giving you my MM. If you want, you go alone.”

“You can’t steal my baby!”

“She is not only yours.”

“Oh yeah? Let’s check her birth certificate! It says Maya. M. A. Y. A. Maya!” She pointed to her herself.

“And who has changed most of her nappies? Gautam. G. A. U. T. A. M. Gautam.”

“That’s… that’s not how you own a baby!”

“Yes you do. You didn’t hear it because you were busy yapping in somebody’s ears when this rule was announced.”

“You know what?!”

“What?”

“I’ll kill you!”

“And do all the nappy changes yourself?” He laughed. “No chance. You love your sleep too much.”

She was ready to go through with her threat, her hand even closing around a paper weight. Then she must have realised he wasn’t worth the effort of going to jail. Knowing Maya, her brain would be throwing all kinds of fashion faux pas and dietary restrictions of jail. Gautam smirked as she took a deep breath, then another, then finally relaxed.

“Ok, Gautam. Enough. I need to feed her,” she opened her arms.

“I’ll feed her,” he blinked innocently.

“With what? The juice in your nipples?!”

“Language, Maya, language. I don’t want my daughter to grow up talking like you!”

“My daughter! My daughter!”

“That’s what I said.”

“Uggggh!” She began to round his table, prepping to physically snatch the baby. So he jumped to his feet and ran away, rounding out the other side.

“Gautam, don’t play games with me, I am telling you…”

“Then agree to come home with us.”

“No!” She chased him. He ran around, holding MM tight so that she wasn’t jostled. He glanced down and she was happily enjoying the ride. He grinned. When he looked up, Maya was barreling straight towards him, murder written all over her face. He changed tracks and swooped to the other side just as her hand reached out to claw his back. It cut air behind him.

“Gautam!!!”

“Agree first.”

“Ouch!” She ran into the edge of his table, doubling over. “Aaah!” She rubbed at her hip.

“M! You crazy…” He rushed to secure MM in her carrier and went straight to her. But before he could touch her, she was whizzing past him, her hand reaching for the carrier and walking it out of his office. He grunted, stumbling back to his desk.

————————————————————

Gautam waited in the driver’s seat, adjusting and readjusting the rear view mirror, a borrowed cap hiding his face. The Uber was a manual, the gear stick so tight it put his trucks to shame. The driver hid behind one of the trees, his pocket fat with wads of… what did Maya call them? Crisp, green, Gandhi Bapus.

“Ek minute, Bhaiya,” her tinkling voice sounded as she gently set MM’s carrier in the seat behind him, then stuffed the baby bag and herself in. “Let’s go.”

He put the car in gear and turned the wheel onto the street.

“You are from Mumbai only?” She asked, her running mouth not finding rest even in distress. He nodded.

“Me too. Born and brought up. Look what they have done to Mumbai. When we were kids, the footpaths actually looked like footpaths, naa?”

He nodded.

“Now toh kids can’t even take their cycles outside their buildings. I used to take my cycle and go to tuitions all the time. Me and all my friends. We used to race up and down on Altamount Road. Now after the Ambanis have built their Antilla, the security won’t even let you sniff the flowers in that area. Is your Uber from town or suburbs?”

He missed the turn to his flat and Maya sat up — “Hey, you missed that turn…” Her head craned between the two front seats until she was peering into his profile. “Get out of here, Gautam! What the fu… are you doing?”

“Taking you home.”

“I am not coming to your home.”

“Then where do you plan to go?”

“A service apartment. I’ve already booked it.”

“No.”

“Gauta…”

“Sit back, and be quiet.”

“You pray for this car to never stop. Because if it will, I will be dancing over your dead body.”

Thankfully, the bungalow was just down the lane, on the Carter Road promenade. He drove the car inside the gate and before she could make him a dead body, he got out and closed the gate, locking it tight.

“Gautam!” She was out, and he took the opportunity to reach from the other side and grab MM’s carrier. “Hi!” He played peek-a-boo with her, eliciting her tiny smile.

“You can dance in the garden, I am not becoming a dead body for at least the next 50 years.”

Gautam didn’t wait for her, marching inside the new house. In his haste, he had left it all open. But no foul done. It was easy to bring them home like that. If he had taken his own sweet time unlocking the gates and doors, Maya would have run again.

“You thief! I’ll complain to the police.”

“The Police Station is to the left. They won’t give you time immediately though, so if you are hungry in-between, come home.” He kept striding through the empty hall. It was almost done, the panelling, wallpapering, everything complete. The added alterations of baby-proofing the corners was underway. He had also had them install all safety precautions including baby gates at the two ends of the staircase.

“Gau…” she stopped, glancing around the house. Bingo. This house was his best argument in his defence. Maya’s gaze roved around the hall. He kept striding, having her quietly follow him as she took in all the baby-proof work that had been abandoned, tools and all pushed to one side. He walked around the massive open kitchen and out into the courtyard, just leisurely strolling around the verandah so she got a good tour of the open garden in the centre. The old Portuguese pillars, terracotta floors, arches, stone walls… It was a beautiful place, a haven in the middle of Mumbai’s bustle. Gautam showed it all to her without a single word and went on, swinging MM happily in her carrier as he climbed the outer staircase to the first floor.

They spilled into a family room with one whole wall opened up for an arched bay window. He continued into the master bedroom, depositing MM on the bed that was already made. This bedroom and the adjoining smaller room had been made ready a long time ago, fitted with all the furnishings, beddings, and all the changing tables and cot and playthings MM might need.

“What is all this? You did this in one night?” She gasped, stopping at the threshold of the bedroom. Their future bedroom.

“Come on in,” he extended his hand. She hesitated. The afternoon light dappled from two windows into their room, making the space just perfect for her. Gautam walked up to her and took her hand gently into his, walking back, helping her in. The spring breeze swayed the curtains and gently flowed into their bedroom from an old-school balcony, bringing with it the salty scent of the sea. The crashing of waves and the zipping of cars punctuated the silence.

“You give me too much credit if you think I could do all this in one day.”

She glanced around, stopping at the wall opposite the balcony. On the photo from 15 years ago. The one that she had taken at the end of their eventful night. He had framed it. Two strangers, two teenagers, two kindred spirits. There was another frame he had had hung beside it. A frame of her pregnancy test mounted up. It had remained with him that day in Coorg, and even without knowing what their future would hold, he had let it remain in his house, in his room, in his drawer. He didn’t know why then, but now, as Maya was brought to tears at the sight of it, he knew why.

“I had the interior designer leave space for a third frame, one of all three of us.”

“G, please don’t do this to me again…” Maya choked, wet eyes on the photos.

He closed the distance between them and took her face in his hands — “I am sorry. So so sorry. I was not in the right frame of mind last night. I should not have done that and I am sorry, so sorry. You were my everything. And then she came along,” he nudged his chin to their happy baby enjoying all the sunshine in her new home. “And she is everything.”

Silent tears flowed down Maya’s face but she didn’t give him her eyes. He tipped her face up, holding her gaze, his thumbs brushing tears that kept flowing.

“We have been in a relationship… no, we have been a couple ever since you shifted into my house, M. And she? She has been mine ever since she has kicked me through your stomach. I know I have no claim over her or you. Legally. But please don’t take you both away from me. Please. Give me this one chance, M. I am a slow learner. But I have always excelled at second chances in life. Give me this one and I promise you will not regret it. Please.”

She was quiet, her tears nowhere close to stopping.

“M?”

Maya’s eyes blinked at him, as if his words were finally registering. A small sad smile began to bloom on her lips. His answering smile was big enough to blind her. Gautam pressed a kiss to her brow, pulling her into his arms and keeping her tight. His body felt loose again, like it was filled with nothing but air and light. He inhaled, tipping his chin down to meet her eyes.

“Marry me, M.”

“What?” She pushed back. He didn’t let her leave the circle of his arms.

“Hear me out, it’s not something I am proposing in desperation.”

“Oh yeah? Do go on, please. Because where, between last night when we ‘weren’t in a relationship’ and today, did you decide to marry me?”

He grinned, holding her neck between his palms and giving her a playful shake — “Is that inching closer to a yes if I give you a good reason?”

“No.”

“I think it is,” his grin widened.

“Grovel properly, Gautam. You are not in my good graces yet.”

“What? Should I get on my knees and fold my hands together?”

“Good idea,” she stepped back, giving him a wide berth. He wasn’t above doing that, so he began to lower himself before her when she held him up, laughing. “No! You are really doing it?”

“I could do anything for you two.”

Her face sobered up. Gautam still went down on his knees, resisting her efforts to keep him up. He took both her hands into his — “Remember you told me that happiness is not in getting but in doing? I haven’t gotten as much happiness in earning my accomplishments as I have in taking care of you and MM… changing MM’s diapers, kissing you, getting ice cream for you, hugging you… I derive my happiness from doing things for you two. From living life with you two. I am a father, M. I already am MM’s father. That was my happiness all along.”

“G, get up,” she was crying again, pulling his arms up. He held steady.

“I only wanted to see Mumbai once. That day before I met you, my greatest ambition was limited to seeing this city. Then I met you. And I wanted to live here, earn here, make my mark here. I thought Mumbai was my life-changing moment. And I gave it years and years of my life but didn’t feel even half fulfilled. Because it was you, M. You were my life-changing moment. And then this mini M became my second life-changing moment. I am not prepared to live without you two. So now you have to marry me.”

“Or what?” She sniffled.

“Or…” he began to think of a solid threat. But before an idea could strike she was onto him, her mouth finding his, tumbling him backwards on the floor. Gautam laughed, snatching his mouth away from hers — “Say yes or no kisses for you.”

“If no kisses then no yes.”

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes, letting her kiss him. It was two seconds of cold shoulder before he laughed and kissed her back, rolling over until he was caging her on the floor. His hips rested in the cradle of hers, moving slowly, steadily, making her mouth fall open.

“G…” her eyes rolled back.

“Say yes,” he nipped her jaw, kissing his way up her cheek, nipping the soft skin there.

“Yes!” She screamed, punching her hips up. And that set off their baby girl behind them.

“Shit… Megha!” Maya began to throw him off but he was faster, laughing as he collected her from her carrier and rocking her briskly. “Make her bottle. It’s there in her bag?”

Maya was already on it. This was her formula time. She had breast milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and formula in between. Gautam sat on the bed with MM on his chest and Maya settled beside him, handing him the bottle that he popped into his girl’s bawling mouth. And like an alarm hit snooze, she went silent, all the frowns gone.

“Mini drama,” he nuzzled her head.

“She’s a bigger drama than me,” Maya elbowed him. He didn’t agree, but in the spirit of their new engagement, he didn’t voice it immediately. Then the questions came flooding to his head.

“Why was that Hem in your office?”

“To get my sign on his property papers.”

“What property papers?”

“His father had bought a bungalow in our joint name in Amby Valley. It hadn’t been mentioned in our divorce papers, and he wanted to get me to gift it to him.”

“Why did you leave her alone with him?”

“I didn’t! I had left Simran to guard her while I ran to Trisha and gave my two-week’s notice. He came and ordered her to get him coffee.”

“I’ll deal with him. He violated his restraining orders…”

“No. He called me this morning asking to come to my house to get the sign. I didn’t want him alone with me in your house so I asked him to come to the office. He took it in writing from me on WhatsApp. I think his lawyer is really scared for him.”

“As he should be. I don’t ever want him around you. Or her. I know she may have questions about her biological contributor one day, or she may not. I will try every single day that she doesn’t. But he does not get to touch her. Forget touch, he doesn’t get to see her.”

“Relax, relax,” she rubbed his arm. “I am with you on all of this. And trust me, he did not even look at her twice. Didn’t even ask if she was a girl or a boy. All he cared about was his property papers. And to check with me if his name had been kept out of the birth certificate.”

“That too. I want my name on her birth certificate.”

Maya’s face softened. Her head bent into the crook of his neck, taking a moment. Then she nodded. When she glanced back up, her lashes were wet. “Oye,” he knocked her forehead with his, hands occupied with MM. “Don’t cry now. Today’s been a good day.”

She shook her head — “Ever since you came back into my life, every day has been a good day. I never told you, but I fell for you a long time ago.”

“When?”

“In Coorg. That night in the cave…”

“What did I do?”

“You came after me.”

Her eyes were wet, her mouth wobbling, and again, she was even more beautiful than she was yesterday. Gautam glanced down at MM’s almost finished bottle and gently popped it out. He passed her to Maya and let her burp her, while he got on his knees in front of them and wiped her eyes.

“I will always come after you.”

She smiled through those tears, her joy infectious.

“Now, let me shower. I smell. Then we will put this one to her nap.”

“What are we doing then?” She asked. “Are you going to the office?”

“Neither of us is going to the office again until we have broken this bed in completely and thoroughly.”

Her mouth dropped open. He grinned, kissed her and jumped out of the bed to get himself scrubbed of 24 hours of grime and 34 years of baggage.

When he returned, she was just coming back from her round of the house, MM asleep in her cot that she had pulled from the adjacent room. Gautam tucked the knot of his towel and grabbed her hand, pulling her hard. She collided into his chest, her face a mix of shock and excitement.

“Still snooping around like that first day?”

“You begged me to marry you, which means you begged me to be the queen of this whole house,” Maya stuck her tongue out at him. Her very purple tongue.

“Did you eat Jamun?”

Her lips pursed into a naughty smile. “There’s a tree just behind that…” He cut her off with his mouth and tasted the tart sweetness — her mixed with the Jamun, and not in that order. She fell into him, their bodies stumbling back into the bed. The afternoon sunshine and sea breeze played around them as her legs straddled his, her hands exploring his naked chest, her mouth nipping the skin of his neck like he was nipping hers.

Their sheets were tangled, their clothes were strewn around, their pants and moans and quiet laughs were woven. And in a burst of passion that had been simmering for months, their bodies exploded. Again and again, between lunch and high tea breaks, between feeding and nappy change breaks, between office calls and dinner-making breaks.

As if snapped out from its self-induced shackles, his body hurtled towards wherever hers was, finding her and having her. And by that night, he discovered her body hurtled just as intensely towards his.

“You are so insatiable,” he complained to her, throwing his legs out of their bed and searching for his pants. A kick from her on his back and a pillow to his head. Gautam laughed.

“Fine, I’ll go again just for you,” he turned and prowled back, eliciting tired giggles from her.

“Enough” she slapped a hand over his puckered mouth. “I cannot feel anything down there.”

“I know how to make you feel it,” he gabbled into her palm. This time Maya rolled off and out of the bed, throwing his T-shirt over her beautiful naked curves. His mouth watered, ready to reach out and pull her back. But she looked so peaceful, so serene as she padded out into their balcony.

She leaned on the railing, her creamy bare legs crossing at the ankles. Her hair was wild and flowing, her body curving, inviting his to spoon her. And Gautam had learned to accept those invitations.

He stepped down from the bed and checked MM in her cot. Sound asleep.

Pushing the fluttering curtains to the side, he walked out on the balcony, wrapping his arms around her. Her arms came around his, squeezing, her head falling back into his chest. Gautam closed his eyes, capturing the wild, crashing sea in them. Her hair fluttered into his face, bringing the scent of salty sea mixed with her sweet vanilla shampoo to him. Her body was warm, creating a symphony with the cool spring winds. Her sigh was soft, putting the waves to shame when it came to calming him.

He opened his eyes.

“My real name is Gautam Saraswat.”

Her head turned.

“I come from a small village in Himachal Pradesh called Sarahan. My mother didn’t know my father’s name. Or if she did, she never revealed. I don’t remember how my mother raised me, because as far back as I can remember, she was always under some or the other intoxication. Powders, herbs, alcohol. We lived in an abandoned hut that nobody had claimed in the village, and the neighbouring Mausi fed me, healed me if I was sick, sent me to school if my mother was unable to. That was 3-4 times a week. When I was 9, my mother got an offer by the Thakur Saab of our village. To take me as a playmate for his son. In exchange I would be fed, schooled and given a roof. My mother would get money. She sold me. But I was happy, the mansion was a better place, even though I had a slave’s life. I enjoyed studying, I got to experience the world with Thakur Saab’s son on his TV, music systems, computers, games. That’s how my English was as good as it was. He was a friend, but not a friend, because he would order me and I would serve. He would eat, and then I would eat. If something special was made or ordered for him, I would get whatever was left, and eat the rest from what was made for the servants. We studied together with his home tutors, and I would do his homework. That life was good until drugs were found in his room, and he threw the blame on me. It was so easy for him. And it was easier for Thakur Saab to believe because my mother was an addict. I was beaten up and thrown out of the mansion. I went back to my hut, but my mother refused to take me. She said go and earn money. Only then come back. There is no leftover to fill your stomach in my house. I was 17. I couldn’t even complete my 12th Boards, didn’t have any of my 10th Board certificates. Nothing was there for me. I was on the highway, walking down the road, doing nothing, not even thinking what to do next when Kumar bhai’s truck almost ran me down. He offered me a cleaner’s job. I agreed. And two years later, his truck broke down in Mumbai.”

Silence. The whistle of the sea wind. Peace. Finally, peace.

Her hand cupped his cheek — “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you deserve to know before we get married.”

Maya smiled, reaching up to kiss his jaw. “It would not matter to me, either way. It’s you. For me, it’s only you, Gautam.”

He nodded.

Her hand squeezed his jaw — “I always knew you were strong. Now I know you are a full-on hero.”

He scoffed, cupping her hand that held his cheek. His eyes met hers — “My mother died a few weeks ago. She left me a letter with Kumar bhai.”

Her brows drew together. “That was what was in your hand yesterday…? I am so sorry, G, I didn’t know…”

He shook his head, “How would you? I never told you. I never told anyone.”

“What was there in that letter?”

“That even if I came, there was no food for me in her house.”

She went silent.

“That letter disturbed me. Everything came flooding back, reminding me why I had never wanted a family. Reminding me why I wasn’t good enough, by nature or nurture… for the two of you. I panicked. And I am so sorry I put you through this for one whole night because this was my problem, I should have solved it in my head before I involved you both…”

“Oye,” she pulled him closer. “If my problems are yours, yours are mine too. Do you understand?”

He swallowed.

“I said, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Just next time… do it with a little less drama,” she squinted. “I am a serious, responsible adult. I cannot deal with your dramas all our life.”

He snorted. And they again turned to the sea, quiet, locked in each other’s arms.

“G?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you meet her again? After you left at 17?”

“Once, after I made it big in Mumbai. It wasn’t a happy reunion.”

“And now? She is gone,” her voice turned solemn. “How do you feel?”

“Nothing now. I am done.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I think I felt all that I had to feel.”

“Hmm?” She tested playfully, meeting his eyes.

“Hmm.”

She shook her head. “You are just starting to feel. And trust me, you will feel everything with MM and me.”

Gautam smirked.

“Why are you smiling?”

“You called her MM.”

“Megha!” She clarified. “Megha! Megha,” she gnarled to herself, making him laugh. Gautam kissed her neck, holding her securely, letting all of his life float away into her. And she turned and opened her mouth for his kiss, accepting all of his life before her, the good and the bad, and trapping him into her. Forever.

If he was the sea, she was where he ended now. And now he discovered, that his journey’s destination wasn’t Mumbai. It was Maya.

On second thoughts — were the two any different?

She pulled back, laying her head on his shoulder, looking out at that exact same spot where they had sat as naive 19 year-olds.

“Oye, M?”

“Hmm?” She glanced up.

“Nothing,” he grinned.

She grinned back, reaching up to nuzzle his nose — “Nothing.”