Neela and I grew up together amidst the lush greenery and palm-fringed beaches of Mangalore. Most cherished dream of Neela’s parents was, to get Neela married off to a prince in a princely fashion. When I entered my Master Degree my family moved to Bangalore. Neela did her masters at Mangalore. Soon she joined Infosys, Mangalore and I joined IBM, Bangalore.
Neela called me on Sunday July 16th 2006, “Vinnnnnnnnnnn!!! I found my Prince. We are getting engaged on 25th July.” I was delighted “Wow!! Congrats!!! Neelauuuuu!!”
“Engagment is at Hotel Oberoi, In Bangalore. I am all so excited. We will start from Mangalore on 24th July, early morning. Vin, you better be there before the event starts”.
“Sure Dear!! I will be there before you even wake up.”
On the day of her engagement, my car broke down; I made it late to her engagement. I knew I would get blasted. I headed straight to the stage to wish her. Held her hand and hugged her, wished her for a happy marriage. She felt cold, as though she had just walked out of a freezer. Her eyes seemed to be staring out into space.
“Neela, are you feeling good. You are all cold.”
“No Vin, I am fine.” “Vin, I am so very glad you came in. I wanted to meet you before we left.”
“Wow!! Neela your prince is handsome and you are looking gorgeous.”
She blushed and whispered, "He is mine forever."
I sat in the hall, watching the engagement. There was serenity on the face of Neela, her fiancée and their families, they all seemed to be staring into the space; there was no joy or laughter in the air. Very few guests were there and no relatives had come. Strange!! Something was not right; I couldn’t put my finger on it.
As I drove back home, my thoughts oscillated between Neela’s perfect engagement and the strange atmosphere there. I switched on the TV and casually picked the day’s newspaper. “All dead as the bus plunges on Amai Bridge” was the headline of a news article. As I read through the report, my hairs stood up, Neela and her entire family, her fiancée and his entire family had died on July 24th.
I get an eerie feeling when I think of it. They couldn’t depart form the earth without fulfilling, at least a part, of their desire, “Their daughter’s Engagement”.
4 comments:
scary....that is why person's last wish is asked before death...any unfulfilled wishes are fulfilled in this way.
good story Vin...are some more of such types coming?
Ooh.. nice one. Hope you are still alive and your last wish was not this blog ;)
I hope ur able to sleep properly after that experience ,,,, do u still feel the cold touch of Anu... Twist ur stories .. Ex
Before Anu(Dont kill her she is ur friend) realises that her Parents are dead, u find it and now u narrate ur feelings.. How u convey it to ANu... wud have added more thrill....Take all in good Spirit
Eerie. Looks like they all felt that something wrong was going to happen.
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