Would you remember?

Knock.Knock.
Groaning, I turned off the alarm that let out a loud shrill just then.
Knock.Knock
."Oh come on in, now", I said and slipped deeper into the warmth of my blanket." Goodmorning Didi", said a rather meek voice.I rubbed my eyes. A 5'4" slender figure, cladded in a faded yellow salwar suit greeted my eyes.Messy black curls adorned her diamond-shaped face, hair that probably would have looked better if taken care of."Umm..You are?", I asked, taking the cup of tea from her shaking hands." Geeta, I am Asha's daughter", she replied, a smile playing on her lips.oh, I never knew my landlady has a daughter.Great, I thought." Never seen you here in the past few months" I said, taking a sip of the morning tea." I have been away with my father.He travels a lot.I go with him"." Oh", I replied." Thanks for bringing in the tea though.You needn't have done that ". " Maa talks a lot about you.I wanted to see you. So..." she trailed off.Another " ohh" from me.Geez, I really need to work on how to talk properly with people, I thought." Breakfast will be ready by nine, it's parathas today." she said with a broad grin and ran off towards the kitchen. 
             • •    • •    • •    • •   • •
I have been running away from people, people who try to know me, who threaten to break down the walls I have so carefully put over the years.I have gone from one place to another; running away,so many times I have forgotten where I first began.But living here, this city, it's roads,it's people who are far too busy to notice me, this, it feels like home.Maybe, finally.The little apartment, filled with the sound of Geeta laughing at her own jokes, or the clanking of the utensils as Asha made Geeta's favorite parathas, maybe that's what home feels like.Seems like.
           • •    • •    • •    • •   • •
Grey clouds thundered above.Into the far horizon, orange and yellow mingled with a shade of grey.Grey, I liked.Since I was 10 when I started hiding in the closet only to block out all the noises from my parents fighting in the hall.That was when I started looking for grey in the midst of black and white, or among the rainbows.It was where I lived, in between two worlds.I watched as Geeta played with her doll.The ragged one.Though I knew she had new ones lying in her room." Why do you keep playing with this one?" I asked her." It was my gift on my 5th birthday.It reminds me of the time when Papa used to live with us", she replied, combing the hair of the doll busily." She looks good, doesn't she? I call her Priya", she said, smiling and hugging the doll close." Yeah, she is pretty.Very pretty." I replied.I kept on watching her as she put Priya to sleep, singing a lullaby I heard Asha sing too.They too were a  broken family just like mine.But at least Geeta had her mother.Mine, she must have forgotten she even had a daughter.I sighed." Hey, if you want I could comb your hair and braid it too", I said, each word coming out in a husky tone." Would you?", her big eyes shone with delight.I started combing her hair, raven black and thick just like her mother's." Do you miss your Maa?", she asked." Huh? Uh..hmm" I replied, not knowing what to say.I never missed her because she never did too.The fighting that had gone on for months on ends, neither of them caring where I had hid myself all those times.And suddenly one fine morning, I saw my dad's room empty, empty of all his things.He left.Just like that.Not even a goodbye to me.I had been 10 then.And mom, she drowned herself in booze and alcohol.She didn't even notice when I left." I miss my dad sometimes" the words came out of my mouth before I knew it." me too".Geeta said.Turning around, she placed a peck on my cheek and ran indoors to show her newly braided her to her mother .
             • •    • •    • •    • •   • •
Months passed, seasons changed,from the small balcony of the apartment which now felt like home, we watched as the December nights changed into the January days; as fireworks lit up the black cloudless expanse, making a rainbow into the night sky, we watched; as Geeta held onto my little finger.The way her brown eyes looked up at me with delight, the thin line of happiness that crossed her face everytime I brought her an ice cream; I felt my walls coming down.No, I thought, this can't be happening.I have stayed far longer in this city.i need to get out of here.But could I?
One fine morning while I was helping her comb her hair, Geeta said" Please don't leave me, Didi".Tears brimmed in my eyes, did she realise I was leaving her?
A fortnight later, I left.In the middle of the night, keeping a year's advance payment on Asha's bedside table.I left, without a goodbye, not even looking back at the people who felt like home.I left just like Dad left me.
            • •    • •    • •    • •   • •
Three and a half years later.
I have been now working for the past 6 months, living in a one bedroom apartment; alone.Just a few hundred kilometres away from Geeta and Asha.I never contacted them in the past years.Never heard from them.
It is one of those July days, hot and humid.little beads of sweat appear on my forehead as I cross the street to where Geeta lives.Nothing much has changed.The front gate still looks the same.Sturdy.The windchime Geeta and I brought for Asha on one occasion still hung in the balcony.I climbed the stairs, thinking how much Geeta must have grown.Would they remember me or more importantly,forgive me for going away?
I was about to ring the bell when I noticed the lock on the door.Must be out.Its Sunday and Geeta has no school.I thought of waiting for them.Minutes passed and this humidity was really getting into me.I went into the shop opposite and bought a cola." Do you know where Asha has gone? the one living in the opposite house?" I asked the shopkeeper pointing towards the house." Asha? She doesn't live here anymore" ." What?", I was shocked." Uh..you have an address where they have gone?Her daughter and.." " Don't you know? Her daughter has been killed in a road accident a year back.Thats when Asha moved out.Nobody knows where ".My head started reeling. Geeta,..accident?.No, no.this can't be true.Not dear Geeta.i ran out of the shop, into the streets and didn't stop.I have been running away all my life.And when my legs finally gave out, I sat down on the pavement and cried.Regretting for running away that night.For not saying goodbye. For losing the people who felt like home.
As the humid day turned into dusk, I looked up.A faded yellow light adorned the horizon, the grey of the night eating it away slowly.Yellow.She had worn a yellow salwar suit that day, didn't she? And her yellow ribbons which she loved so much, I never knew if yellow was her favourite color.Was, I am talking about her in the past tense now, huh, I sighed.
The evening traffic blazed passed me, a horde of lights twinkling in the distance.I used to like this city for it has always been too busy to notice me, now I think, would it ever remember Geeta?