1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Residual Love

Discussion in 'Stories (Fiction)' started by Akanksha1982, Nov 28, 2020.

  1. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,633
    Likes Received:
    4,991
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    Part I

    It was a beautiful Sunday evening with the sun slowly setting and painting the sky in an orangish yellow color. On a swing chair in her backyard, Sharmista was reading the news through her armless reading glasses. Light breeze carrying the fragrance of the blooming flowers in the late summer was titling her nostrils. Suddenly, an email notification popped up. She opened the email.

    Dr. Sharmista,

    Five years ago, you helped me with my issues. I am thankful for helping me out and would like to meet you to sync up and update you. I understand you are very busy, but I would be grateful if you can meet me. Please inform a convenient time.

    With Regards,

    Pallavi.

    Sharmista removed her glasses and looked towards the sky trying to remember who this Pallavi was and what help did she provide to her. Her mind-search went blank and she couldn’t recollect anything. She checked her calendar for Monday and responded Pallavi with a time.

    Her mind was still searching for an answer. Sharmista practiced as a Psychologist/Psychiatrist and had many celebrity clients. She had worked with many clients, so she was struggling to map the name to the face or name to the case. She started searching her laptop for the case files. Soon she realized that the case was 5 years old and the case must be in the books and not on computer. She stood up and started to walk towards her study room.

    As she was walking, she remembered those days when she had just started her practice and was using books to take notes of the cases. In the study room, she opened the cabinet she used for storing case books. There was a row of books lined up by year with the number of books per year increasing as her clientele increased. In the shelf below, there were photo albums arranged by year with the number of albums increasing by year as they traveled more. She felt proud at her organization skills and wondered that life was much more organized without the computers or smart phones. Today, to find a photo or a document is so difficult. Fortunately, she had just started her practice so there was only one book for that year. She picked up the book and placed it on the study table. She pulled a chair and sat on it, while opening the book. The first page of the book had index with the name of the patient and the page number. She found the name Pallavi. She opened the page for her case and straightened the notebook. She felt happy of finding Pallavi’s case. She stood up to get a coffee from the kitchen.

    She started the coffee machine and as the coffee was brewing, she looked around the kitchen. Her kitchen was neatly organized, the way she always liked to have. She loved the kitchen, the first time she saw the house with her ex-husband. She took the coffee and started walking towards the study room. She passed by the kitchen hutch. She remembered all the crockeries and artifacts she had collected from all over the world during their travel. The empty dining room chairs reminded her of the family dinners with her two sons and husband. She ambled lonely towards the study room.

    Sharmista sat on the chair in her study room and taking a sip of coffee started reading Pallavi’s case. As she started reading, visuals of that day played in her eyes.

    Five years ago……

    The doorbell rang and Sharmista went to open the door. She saw Pallavi, a distraught lady in her mid-forties. Pallavi was wearing a white kurti and jeans. Her loose clothing indicated that she had drastic loss of weight. Her huge black eyebags meant that she had not had proper sleep. Her swollen eyelids looked like wall of a dam trying to hold the turbulent river of tears. She had covered her hair in a muffler.

    Sharmista welcomed her to the home and led her to the newly purchased sinking couch. “There is a joke, people say most people get better by sitting on the couch at the Psychologist office. I hope you will be that lucky one”, Sharmista said with a smile. Pallavi was quiet and didn’t react and sat on the couch and gazed at the nicely decorated room with elegant furniture. She found Sharmista staring at her. “I…am… Pall…avi”, her throat was choking as she spoke. “Relax Pallavi, let me get you a water bottle”, Sharmista said and went to the kitchen and got the water bottle. Pallavi took the bottle and drank half the bottle while Sharmista settled on the couch opposite Pallavi. She kept a pillow on her lap and opened the notebook.

    “Hi Pallavi, nice meeting you. First, I want you to relax and be calm. This is our first meeting. This meeting is more for me than for you and hence I do not charge for my first meeting. I would like to understand your situation and decide if I can be of help to you. If I think I can’t help you then I will recommend some other friend who may help you. So, without any worry, please share your situation. My ears are all open to hear you.”

    Pallavi felt comfortable hearing Sharmista’ s words. She cleared her thought but soon she found it difficult to voice her emotions. Sharmista understood her dilemma and said, “Please tell me all about yourself from your childhood”. Pallavi’s eye sparkled remembering her childhood days. She slowly started.

    “I was born in a middle-class family. I have two elder brothers. My family is a very religious family. We lived in a small house and celebrated all religious festivals together. My Mom did a pooja daily and made various offerings to the God. We all prayed to the God together. We didn’t travel or went to restaurants as we couldn’t afford it, so most of the time we were in the home, playing games and having fun together. My brothers were very protective of me and didn’t let me go out alone. They either dropped me or let me go with my girlfriends. They didn’t like western clothes and I never had the guts to buy them. This was my bubble and I had no exposure to boys. I just went to college and back home. My life revolved around my family. Just as I completed my graduation in commerce, my parents started looking for a suitable boy for me. They found a boy, Samar. Samar was from a known family and stayed in the same suburb as us. He was an engineer and the family had a good reputation. He was deputed on a project offshore and had come for alliance. There was no reason to object and after a couple of meetings with him with just formal talks, our engagement happened. After the engagement, we went out to watch a movie. There suddenly he kissed me. Then….”

    “Stop there”, Sharmista said while taking notes. “How did you feel at that point?”, Sharmista continued.

    “I was shocked. I had not expected it and it was the first time that I had gone with a stranger to watch a movie.” Pallavi said.

    “I thought so.” Sharmista looked far in the room, playing with pen and then continued, “Can you tell me what you knew about Samar at that time?”.

    Pallavi thought for a while and then said, “After his high school, he went to the hostel for engineering and then for his masters. After completing his masters, he got a job and was deputed offshore for a project.”

    “Got it, what kind of information he shared with you about himself?”

    Pallavi was quiet, trying to think and suddenly she remembered, “yes, he said he had an affair with a girl, but the girl’s parents didn’t allow their alliance and got her engaged with someone else. He wanted me to know that before marriage and I felt that he is so forthcoming and caring. Mostly, he talked about his parents and his family and the life abroad.”

    Pallavi stopped to drink water. Sharmista was happy that Pallavi was feeling relaxed and had begun to share her story.

    “A few months later, Samar came back, and we got married.”, Pallavi continued.

    “How was your communication between engagement and marriage?” Sharmista asked.

    “It was good. He called me regularly and talked nicely. He was very romantic, and I always felt awkward as I was not good at romancing or flirting. Also, he was much educated than me, so I always felt inferiority complex and blessed my stars for giving me a husband that I thought I didn’t deserve.” Pallavi’s eyes welled up and drops of tears dripped down her cheeks. Sharmista gave her a tissue paper while saying, “There is another joke in psychologist’s world that psychologist invest heavy in stocks of companies that make tissue papers as they can increase its consumption.” Pallavi smiled as she wiped her tears.

    Sharmista complemented herself in the mind that she was successful in finally getting a smile out of Pallavi.

    “Soon after marriage, I went abroad with Samar and had a wonderful time with him. However, I found out that he was still in contact with his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend was doing her masters and they texted each other and also called each other. Most of the talks was mainly on him helping her out with courses and resume preparation. I didn’t like it and objected, and he thought I was overreacting. This communication lasted for a while until the ex-girlfriend’s husband found out and told Samar to stop. By that time, I had a child in my lap, and I got busy being a mother. Our life continued raising our child and with the daily grind. He was working and I was a home maker. We didn’t have much fights and our life went smoothly. He was very caring and gave me surprises on different occasions. After a few years, we had our second child and we were busy parenting the children though school and colleges. He kept climbing in position in his work and had to travel more often for work. Our life was peaceful as our children completed their graduation. We were a perfect couple in the eyes of our friends, and I too believed so.” Pallavi narrated quickly but her eyes became moist at her last words. “He pampered me so much that I felt…. I was the ….luckiest… girl in the world.’ Pallavi continued gasping in between.

    “Then one day…… he forgot his phone at home. I…cracked his code and……”
     
    Loading...

  2. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,489
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Trophy Points:
    435
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Akanksha,
    Nice start and you know my favorite subject is psychology. I noticed that you had written stories in the past and I will read them one by one. Title of the story (Residual love) itself making the story more interesting. Waiting to read next parts of the story.
     
  3. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Start with Jai Hind: Jai Hind
     
    Mistt likes this.
  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,370
    Likes Received:
    24,115
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    @Akanksha1982,

    The name Sharmista was new to me and I looked up the meaning and Google said it means, "Beautiful and intelligent". You know when to stop the story to keep the suspense. Very interesting start to the story and look forward to reading more. I know most Psychologists/Psychiatrists try to crack jokes to put the patients at ease so that they would open up easily but the comment that they invest in tissue companies as they could use them more is a little bit rude, even though it was introduced as a joke.
     
  5. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,633
    Likes Received:
    4,991
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    Thank you for your kind words. I am a novice writer, who immaturely attempts to write a story. There are am many talented and amazing story writers on this forum.
    Yes, Psychology has always been intriguing to me, so this is attempt to explore that world.
    I will try to post sooner but can't promise.
     
  6. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,633
    Likes Received:
    4,991
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    Wow! you still remember the story!!
     
  7. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,633
    Likes Received:
    4,991
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    Yep, I like that name as well. When I was a child, there was an aunty in the building with that name and she was very friendly with children. So that name has been in memory.
    You got it right, human brain is mysterious and the thinking of the same situation varies from person to person. There is no right or wrong, just different view points. This is exactly what I am attempting to explore with this story. The joke was shared to me by a Psychologist uncle, who complained that Psychologist have no medicine or toothpaste to market, all they have is tissue paper for supplementary income. I get your point and will be careful
     
    Viswamitra likes this.
  8. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,370
    Likes Received:
    24,115
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    @Akanksha1982,

    I am anxiously waiting to read more as well and I look forward to the development of this story.

    Viswa
     
  9. Needtobestrong

    Needtobestrong Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,317
    Likes Received:
    1,535
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Female
    Interesting...I’m guessing he was cheating on her...probably with the ex Gf..
     
  10. Akanksha1982

    Akanksha1982 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,633
    Likes Received:
    4,991
    Trophy Points:
    308
    Gender:
    Female
    I will update over the weekend. Just busy. sorry for keeping you all waiting.
     

Share This Page