PART 4 : I begin to hate myself when you lie to me. It makes me feel I could not gain your trust, as you could not tell me the truth!
"Don't leave me... please Dan. Don't do this. I promise I will not ask you any more questions. I can't live without you." Jessica was pleading Dan not to leave her.
"You have hurt me Jess... you surely have. And I can't forgive you for this. You should be punished for your deeds. I am leaving. Don't you dare try getting in touch with me!" Daniel left the room.
Jessica was left crying... all alone in the room.
"Jessica... Jessica... Hey dear, get up," Mary was calling out to Jessica.
"What... Where's Dan?" Jessica was still crying. "Mary, please don't let Dan go. Please ask him to wait. Please..."
"Jessica... dear get up. You were having a bad dream. It's just a dream. And please stop crying." Mary handed a glass of water to Jessica.
"I was dreaming? It was a nightmare. I saw Dan and I had this huge fight over the restaurant issue and he decided to call off our relation and he just left!" Jessica almost choked.
"Relax. It is all a dream. Nothing of this sort is gonna happen. You both are made for each other. He loves you too much to leave you Jessica. Relax. Take it easy."
"But then why is he doing this Mary? Why is he not telling me the truth?" Jessica started crying again. "He knows that I love him a lot. We have almost shared everything since our college. Our little secrets, our joys, our sorrows, even our crushes. Then why is he is behaving in this manner?"
"Maybe there really is nothing to explain. Maybe he was really busy! Else why would he lie to you?"
"Mary, you know he is lying. He was not in his office nor was he at his apartment. Then what the hell was he busy with?" The sorrow had taken a form of anger in Jessica's heart.
"Okay. Let us not discuss it at this moment. You better hurry up or you will be late to go the boutique!" Mary got up from the bed and started walking towards the door.
"Mary... Does he really love me?" For the first time since her relationship with Daniel started, she felt the need for reassurance.
"Of course he does. More than anyone in this world. Trust me. Give him some time." Mary walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"See ya in the evening. Will be staying late in the office today. Have some deadlines to meet. You go home and take rest. Jack will drop me home," Mary took out the keys from her bag, "Here, take the keys. You forgot them on the dinning table. Take care Jessica."
"Bye. You too take care. See you." Jessica drove to the boutique.
Even with all the pending works and the meetings she was attending, Jessica's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Daniel.
Why is he doing this? Maybe he is in deep trouble. Or maybe he was really busy! "Ma'am, you have a visitor." Jessica's thoughts were interrupted by Clara, the receptionist at the boutique.
"Hello! I am Jessica. How can I help you?" Jessica wasn't able to see the face of the visitor as it was hidden by the newspaper he was reading.
"Hello Jessica, I am Ryan." The visitor got up and started walking towards Jessica.
"Hello Ryan. Have we met before? I have a poor memory." Jessica was trying to recollect who this stranger was.
"You don't know me Jessica. But I know you. Here, take this." Ryan handed her a box and before she could react, he disappeared.
Who will send a letter to me? Jessica was murmuring to herself while unwrapping the box.
The box was made of wood and was wrapped in a piece of newspaper. There was a piece of paper in the box folded in a red cloth.
"This is a piece of the scarf that I gave to Dan!" She surely was shocked to see the piece of the scarf.
Daniel loved the scarf and he had kept it with him as a souvenir of their trip to Paris. Daniel had gifted her the scarf and kept a piece of it with himself, just to remind him of the lovely time they had in the beautiful city.
"How did it come into this box?" Jessica knew something somewhere was wrong.
She gathered courage to take out the piece of paper. It was a letter!
A letter from Daniel!
"You have hurt me Jess... you surely have. And I can't forgive you for this. You should be punished for your deeds. I am leaving. Don't you dare try getting in touch with me!" Daniel left the room.
Jessica was left crying... all alone in the room.
"Jessica... Jessica... Hey dear, get up," Mary was calling out to Jessica.
"What... Where's Dan?" Jessica was still crying. "Mary, please don't let Dan go. Please ask him to wait. Please..."
"Jessica... dear get up. You were having a bad dream. It's just a dream. And please stop crying." Mary handed a glass of water to Jessica.
"I was dreaming? It was a nightmare. I saw Dan and I had this huge fight over the restaurant issue and he decided to call off our relation and he just left!" Jessica almost choked.
"Relax. It is all a dream. Nothing of this sort is gonna happen. You both are made for each other. He loves you too much to leave you Jessica. Relax. Take it easy."
"But then why is he doing this Mary? Why is he not telling me the truth?" Jessica started crying again. "He knows that I love him a lot. We have almost shared everything since our college. Our little secrets, our joys, our sorrows, even our crushes. Then why is he is behaving in this manner?"
"Maybe there really is nothing to explain. Maybe he was really busy! Else why would he lie to you?"
"Mary, you know he is lying. He was not in his office nor was he at his apartment. Then what the hell was he busy with?" The sorrow had taken a form of anger in Jessica's heart.
"Okay. Let us not discuss it at this moment. You better hurry up or you will be late to go the boutique!" Mary got up from the bed and started walking towards the door.
"Mary... Does he really love me?" For the first time since her relationship with Daniel started, she felt the need for reassurance.
"Of course he does. More than anyone in this world. Trust me. Give him some time." Mary walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"See ya in the evening. Will be staying late in the office today. Have some deadlines to meet. You go home and take rest. Jack will drop me home," Mary took out the keys from her bag, "Here, take the keys. You forgot them on the dinning table. Take care Jessica."
"Bye. You too take care. See you." Jessica drove to the boutique.
Even with all the pending works and the meetings she was attending, Jessica's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Daniel.
Why is he doing this? Maybe he is in deep trouble. Or maybe he was really busy! "Ma'am, you have a visitor." Jessica's thoughts were interrupted by Clara, the receptionist at the boutique.
"Hello! I am Jessica. How can I help you?" Jessica wasn't able to see the face of the visitor as it was hidden by the newspaper he was reading.
"Hello Jessica, I am Ryan." The visitor got up and started walking towards Jessica.
"Hello Ryan. Have we met before? I have a poor memory." Jessica was trying to recollect who this stranger was.
"You don't know me Jessica. But I know you. Here, take this." Ryan handed her a box and before she could react, he disappeared.
Who will send a letter to me? Jessica was murmuring to herself while unwrapping the box.
The box was made of wood and was wrapped in a piece of newspaper. There was a piece of paper in the box folded in a red cloth.
"This is a piece of the scarf that I gave to Dan!" She surely was shocked to see the piece of the scarf.
Daniel loved the scarf and he had kept it with him as a souvenir of their trip to Paris. Daniel had gifted her the scarf and kept a piece of it with himself, just to remind him of the lovely time they had in the beautiful city.
"How did it come into this box?" Jessica knew something somewhere was wrong.
She gathered courage to take out the piece of paper. It was a letter!
A letter from Daniel!
PART 5 : Everything seems to come to a standstill when you are not around.
Jessica was gathering courage to read the letter. She was not able to think about anything but Daniel.
"Do you have more colors in this?" A young lady asked Jessica showing a yellow dress and interrupting her thoughts.
"Ah... Yes.... We do. Just a second, I will call someone to get it for you." Jessica asked one of the salesgirl to help the lady. "She will help you Ma'am in finding colors."
"I am leaving for the day. Give me a call in case of any emergency." Jessica placed the letter and the scarf back in the box and drove off.
Strangely, she didn't drive back home, instead she was headed to the nearby park. The park was centrally located in the neighborhood. Jessica used to only visit the park whenever she was upset or confused. It was usually closed when it snowed. However, as it had not snowed since a couple of days, lucky for her, it was open.
Being a Sunday, the park was full of kids of all ages. They were merrily running around, enjoying their holiday to the fullest. Jessica was finding it difficult to find a quiet place where she could read the letter.
Jessica knew every corner of the park and a huge tree was her favorite place in the entire park. The view in this side of the park was amazing. The lake was just opposite to the tree. Quiet, still water added to the much-needed peace that Jessica wished for. Except for a few grown-up kids, no one generally came to this part of the park.
She opened her bag and took out the box. She noticed something strange. The box had JD inscribed on it. It took her no time to decode the alphabets - it meant Jessica Daniel. She didn't understand the presence of the letters on that box. But they were surely making her more curious.
She took out the letter and with all the courage she could gather, opened it to read. The paper used for the letter looked like the one taken from a diary - an official diary. Ignoring it, she started to read the letter.
Dear Jess,
Hope you are doing good. First of all, I am sorry for not being able to make it to the restaurant Friday night. I am extremely sorry. I wanted to come but had some urgency to attend. I wrote this letter to inform you that I am going out of town for few days. Don't ask me how many days! I don't have an answer for that. I won't be reachable on my cell either. So please don't try calling me, else you will be disappointed. I am unable to reveal anything right now - the place, the purpose. Nothing. But trust me Jess, if it wouldn't have been dead important, I wouldn't have left you like this. Trust me honey. I will be back soon. Please wait for me. Do take care of yourself when I'm not around. Please Jess... This is the first and the last time, something like this will happen... I promise.
I LOVE YOU JESS... TRUST ME. I REALLY DO. I WILL BE BACK SOON.
Love,
Dan
It seemed as if the world had frozen. Jessica didn't even realize when the letter fell down on the wet grass. It had started to snow. Everyone was running for shelter.
"Hey lady.... you wanna get sick? Run... fast. Find a shelter for yourself. It is snowing heavily!" A passerby shouted at Jessica.
But his words fell on deaf ears. She hadn't heard any of it. The only words she could hear was "I LOVE YOU JESS... TRUST ME. I REALLY DO. I WILL BE BACK SOON."
She just sat down... emotionless. She wanted to cry, but was too shocked to do so. She wanted to scream. Wanted to run and hold Daniel in her arms and never let him go.
Instead she was there... still... motionless.... The silence was killing her. She took out the phone to call Daniel, but all her efforts were in vain. The pain was unbearable. There was a time when they used to meet everyday. And now, he was gone and she didn't know for how long! She didn't even know if he would come back.
The letter was drenched in snow. She was drenched in snow. Still she didn't feel the cold. Tears were almost frozen... she kept staring at the lake. The silence in the park was constantly reminding her of the silence in her heart.
"Ma'am... Ma'am... We are about to close the park. You need to leave. Ma'am...." Even the security guard's efforts were in vain. None of her senses were working.
"Ma'am...", he shouted loudly and started shaking Jessica. It was then that she realized where she was! "Ma'am, you need to leave. The park is about to be closed!"
"Ah... Yes... Yes... I am leaving... I am leaving," she got up and started walking.
"Ma'am, your bag...," he came running from behind with her bag in his hand.
"Oh... yes... Thank you." She started walking out of the park.
She completely forgot that she had parked her car in the parking lot and she kept walking. Clueless where she was heading to!
"Jessica....Jessica....Wake up. Please dear... wake up," Jessica could feel water splashes on her face.
"Jessica.... It's me, Mary... wake up!"
"Mary... Is that you? Where am I? How come you are here?" Jessica could hardly see anything. Her eyes were full of tears.
"Yes dear, it's me. I found you laying unconscious on the road! My boss and I were returning home, when we saw a group of people shouting. When I got down the car. It was you! We brought you home.... What's wrong with you? What have you done to yourself?"
"Mary.... He's gone... Mary. He's gone." Jessica hugged Mary and started crying uncontrollably.
"Do you have more colors in this?" A young lady asked Jessica showing a yellow dress and interrupting her thoughts.
"Ah... Yes.... We do. Just a second, I will call someone to get it for you." Jessica asked one of the salesgirl to help the lady. "She will help you Ma'am in finding colors."
"I am leaving for the day. Give me a call in case of any emergency." Jessica placed the letter and the scarf back in the box and drove off.
Strangely, she didn't drive back home, instead she was headed to the nearby park. The park was centrally located in the neighborhood. Jessica used to only visit the park whenever she was upset or confused. It was usually closed when it snowed. However, as it had not snowed since a couple of days, lucky for her, it was open.
Being a Sunday, the park was full of kids of all ages. They were merrily running around, enjoying their holiday to the fullest. Jessica was finding it difficult to find a quiet place where she could read the letter.
Jessica knew every corner of the park and a huge tree was her favorite place in the entire park. The view in this side of the park was amazing. The lake was just opposite to the tree. Quiet, still water added to the much-needed peace that Jessica wished for. Except for a few grown-up kids, no one generally came to this part of the park.
She opened her bag and took out the box. She noticed something strange. The box had JD inscribed on it. It took her no time to decode the alphabets - it meant Jessica Daniel. She didn't understand the presence of the letters on that box. But they were surely making her more curious.
She took out the letter and with all the courage she could gather, opened it to read. The paper used for the letter looked like the one taken from a diary - an official diary. Ignoring it, she started to read the letter.
Dear Jess,
Hope you are doing good. First of all, I am sorry for not being able to make it to the restaurant Friday night. I am extremely sorry. I wanted to come but had some urgency to attend. I wrote this letter to inform you that I am going out of town for few days. Don't ask me how many days! I don't have an answer for that. I won't be reachable on my cell either. So please don't try calling me, else you will be disappointed. I am unable to reveal anything right now - the place, the purpose. Nothing. But trust me Jess, if it wouldn't have been dead important, I wouldn't have left you like this. Trust me honey. I will be back soon. Please wait for me. Do take care of yourself when I'm not around. Please Jess... This is the first and the last time, something like this will happen... I promise.
I LOVE YOU JESS... TRUST ME. I REALLY DO. I WILL BE BACK SOON.
Love,
Dan
It seemed as if the world had frozen. Jessica didn't even realize when the letter fell down on the wet grass. It had started to snow. Everyone was running for shelter.
"Hey lady.... you wanna get sick? Run... fast. Find a shelter for yourself. It is snowing heavily!" A passerby shouted at Jessica.
But his words fell on deaf ears. She hadn't heard any of it. The only words she could hear was "I LOVE YOU JESS... TRUST ME. I REALLY DO. I WILL BE BACK SOON."
She just sat down... emotionless. She wanted to cry, but was too shocked to do so. She wanted to scream. Wanted to run and hold Daniel in her arms and never let him go.
Instead she was there... still... motionless.... The silence was killing her. She took out the phone to call Daniel, but all her efforts were in vain. The pain was unbearable. There was a time when they used to meet everyday. And now, he was gone and she didn't know for how long! She didn't even know if he would come back.
The letter was drenched in snow. She was drenched in snow. Still she didn't feel the cold. Tears were almost frozen... she kept staring at the lake. The silence in the park was constantly reminding her of the silence in her heart.
"Ma'am... Ma'am... We are about to close the park. You need to leave. Ma'am...." Even the security guard's efforts were in vain. None of her senses were working.
"Ma'am...", he shouted loudly and started shaking Jessica. It was then that she realized where she was! "Ma'am, you need to leave. The park is about to be closed!"
"Ah... Yes... Yes... I am leaving... I am leaving," she got up and started walking.
"Ma'am, your bag...," he came running from behind with her bag in his hand.
"Oh... yes... Thank you." She started walking out of the park.
She completely forgot that she had parked her car in the parking lot and she kept walking. Clueless where she was heading to!
"Jessica....Jessica....Wake up. Please dear... wake up," Jessica could feel water splashes on her face.
"Jessica.... It's me, Mary... wake up!"
"Mary... Is that you? Where am I? How come you are here?" Jessica could hardly see anything. Her eyes were full of tears.
"Yes dear, it's me. I found you laying unconscious on the road! My boss and I were returning home, when we saw a group of people shouting. When I got down the car. It was you! We brought you home.... What's wrong with you? What have you done to yourself?"
"Mary.... He's gone... Mary. He's gone." Jessica hugged Mary and started crying uncontrollably.