"Have you heard of the bird that sings once in its lifetime, and that song tends to be the most beautiful rhythm anyone ever heard. Just before a thornbird dies it sings, living amidst those thorns must be tough but that's exactly why he takes birth. To search for those thorns which lets him sing. Maybe it just means that to attain something beautiful, pain is something which you cannot neglect even if you pass all other things"
He said while the moment freezed for them. Their moist eyes made them pause for the time being. Barkha stared upon those stars hiding her tears which were leaving an unbearable pain inside her. The clouds moved clearing the sky. She wished if the same clouds could get apart from their lives too. It was yet another brumous evening when winters were near. She pulled her shawl a bit tighter around herself while Naushad helped her to feel warm. He pulled the shawl around himself and wrapped it up to protect both of them. She took a look at him and sighed.
"Till when is the fight going to continue? Isn't love enough of a reason why we should be together?" she asked in an intonation.
He took a brief moment to answer her query, "Maybe we are just like that thorn tree and the thornbird. Desperate about each other. But our story is something which pierces our hearts to pain"
She looked back at him this time. She had tears glistening in her eyes while she wrapped him up in her embrace. It was the same old story where they don't have a future together. They loved with a kind of love that's definitely not enough to sustain a future together.
Barkha and Naushad know each other for at least four years now. And as expected the Hindu-Muslim factor left their life deranged. She thought her parents were supportive and free enough to reconsider their usual expression to their story, but Naushad knew since day one that this story is something that will lead them to hell. The ire in their eyes spoke the same story once again. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done. Barkha's parents were quite consternate on learning about their daughter's relationship. On the other hand, Naushad was given a month's warning to end up the mess they created.
"I Love You Barkha" he said while he cupped her face in his.
A tear slipped off her eye while she held on to his hands and started crying profusely. Her tears were breaking him, she knew but both understood that how helpless they are at the moment. They remained in complete silence while they sat over the hill which was famous as the "Suicide Point". He saw her gaping at the cliff while he spoke up to lighten the ambiance,
"Are you thinking of..."
"Yeah" she answered quickly.
She took a look at his face and said again,
"If we cannot live together, let's run away"
He sighed breathing hard while he smiled. He held her hand in his and kissed it until he said again,
"It's your wedding tomorrow Barkha"
She withdrew her hand while she stood up. She moved closer to the cliff and answered,
"I don't want a wedding where I am tied forcefully to a bond which leaves my family happy but dwindles me down in a pain I will treasure forever. Weddings are to be cherished, they are to be loved with all your heart. They require a commitment which is a promise for a forever time, and this won't be any of those things Naushad. It will just be a bond which speaks to the world that love and marriage is only possible between same kind of things" she said agitated with her decision which was probably her scripted destiny.
He budged forward and held her closer by her arms. He made her face him while he smiled at her pretty face. Even in that dark evening she was left aglow, just like the moon. He wondered if his life will ever shine this way after she will be named after someone else from tomorrow.
"I understand everything Barkha, but love always doesn't mean that you need to acheive it. Sometimes all it means is to..."
She pressed her finger over his lips.
"I can't"
He removed her finger slowly while he moved closer. He kissed her lips while she reciprocated it back with equal passion. He lifted her a bit while he took her inside the camp which was fitted under that old tree. They got close but he knew his limits. Nothing specific happened inside the sheets while they slept together.
While the sun swept in, she was no longer able to find him anywhere. She tried calling his number several times but in vain. Did he leave her? She thought harder when she found his locket near the cliff. She rushed towards the cliff with a strong pain hitting her hard. It didn't take her time to react to what just happened.
"You left? Naushad.....you left me? You...coward, you jumped down just for me to live with someone I don't even love? Why? Why?"
She broke down in tears this time. Sinking down she stared at the cliff and stood up. She was about to jump down when she heard her parents calling for her,
"Barkha what are you doing here? We searched you all over, its after we got a call that we came here rushing to you. Please Barkha, we are ready to listen to what you say. Please don't commit this please Barkha" her mother pleaded while she looked at them.
They were genuinely worried about her. She smiled through her tears while she looked back. The cliff was deep, maybe Naushad left her because he couldn't suffer the pain of seperation any longer. But she needs to live on, for those two hearts which survives because of her existence. She spoke up this time while still looking at the deep end below
"I am ready to marry whoever you chose for me, don't worry I won't run away, either from marriage, or life..."
.....He saw her leave while he smiled to himself. His eyes were drenched with tears but that was all he could do. It was necessary for Barkha to realise that he was no longer alive, only then he could have kept the promise which he made to her parents. The promise to send her away from himself, to let her fall in love with the one they decided for her. The promise to leave not only her life, but her heart too.