Ameeya's POV

As I reached home, mum ambushed me with loads of questions.

"How was the meeting? She was excited, with the prospect of me giving my life a second chance.

"Mum, let's talk about it tomorrow morning. She needs time." Nitish signalled her.

My mum tried to scrutinise my expressions as I gathered my EarPods and headed towards the garden (for a silent walk) that was a few kilometers away from my home. I had a garden and a great walking track in the township that I lived but was tired of people looking at me with question mark in their eyes. Why the hell was I still staying at my mum's place after months of my father's passing?

As soon as I reached the park, I sat down on the bench and switched to an old school song that I used to sing a lot. "Yeh fitoor mere laya mujhko hai tere karib" and reminisced about my meeting.

As my mind drifted into flashback, I saw him wearing a navy blue polo tshirt, gazing into my eyes questioningly.

"Let's do this again." He gave me a smile.

"My wife had an affair. She left me." He confessed as he looked into my eyes. Confidence? Check.

"My husband refused to touch me, and accept me as his wife. He tortured me when my father was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily my family supported me and I am free now." I tried to laugh awkwardly.

"It wasn't your fault." He looked at me understandably.

Empathetic? Check.

"I know." I said as I gently emphasised both the words.

Again, there was silence for a minute but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was.... How would I describe it? Soothing. His gaze was understanding.

"What do you want from your wife?" I asked him. I guess it was the standard question but a very important one.

"Shanti (peace). She can do whatever she wants as long as she is happy and it's progressive for her career and her life." He said.

"You seem to be progressive." I asked him.

"Yeah, I believe in self development." He replied back in at instant. His eyes were shining.

"Besides, if she is happy, our marriage would be smooth too." He added with a sheepish smile.

I wondered why the hell would someone leave such an understanding gentleman who had no qualms of providing every inch of freedom that a woman could possibly dream of .

"What would you demand from your husband?" He asked.

"The same. Mental peace. And I would also demand time to date him before getting hitched." I cleared. Indirectly hinting him that I would expect a full fledged dating scenario before I say yes. Until I feel confident. Until I feel ready. Until I feel liberated.

You don't marry to sacrifice your life. You get married to find someone who would push you towards your  dream...from the mountain top called " life" .... With the faith that you would  fly towards your favourite dream star and he would catch you if you end up plummeting towards the trench of failure.

"I agree." He looked amused. "As much as I love being part of wedding celebrations, trust me I don't wish to be the main character every now and then." And then he laughed.

For the first time I saw someone joking about on his divorce to lighten the atmosphere. An automatic smile came into my face.

"When I was in kindergarten, I used to invite all my teachers and classmates to attend my future marriage." I chuckled. "I loved the idea of getting all decked up and then getting married."

"I know. Your quest for the second life partner proves that." He remarked dryly and we burst into laughter.

Suddenly the waiter appeared with cold coffee that we both had previously ordered.

"I apologise for being late today. You see, it's winter and all kinds of festivals are lining up. The peak time for my business." He said.

"What kind of business are you doing?" I asked him.

"We manufacture Ethnic wear for men." He said proudly. "The whole business was my baby. I had toiled for days and nights to make it successful." He boosted.

Modesty? I guess I could put a cross on it.

"Really? During my internship ship as a CA student, I had worked with the clients dealing into garments during audit." I added.

"Aha? Who are the clients that have you worked with? He seemed genuinely surprised.

"I worked with XYZ creations." I referred to one of the most prestigious store owners.

"Aha? How was the experience?" He asked.

"Awesome!" My face automatically lighted up. I described about how much I loved the smell of freshly rolled fabrics that wafted into the air, the delightful squeals of eager brides and their family members, the bargaining by clients with the store owner at the cash counter, having ice cream in lunch with my fellow mates, learning about the business operations of the clients and so on while I enjoyed the auditing the books of accounts .

"I sure can help you with your accounting software." I chuckled as I told him about how I managed to learn how to operate the ERP system of the client that he used to handle his vast operations.

"Maybe one day." He chuckled .

And then I was reminded that I had left my guard down. The wall that I had created so carefully so that no one could penetrate as I feel safe.

He looked at me with puzzled eyes. He wanted to say something but was interrupted.

"Shall we go?"

I saw Nitish, Ragini and her husband coming towards my direction. And that was the end of our meeting. While I didn't want it to end, I was partly relieved because it ended. It was so overwhelming. I needed time to cool down.

We had bid farewell to the trio while Nitish escorted me to the home.

"Beta (daughter), would you like to join us?" And I was brought back to the present by a friendly elder uncle who presented me with a microphone. The elders of the nearby locality would gather in the garden to sing in karaoke.

I politely declined and looked impatiently at my phone. Ragini had informed me that she had given my phone number to Anant. But I couldn't see any message from his side. I wondered if he would ever call me.