Dear Pat

Letter 22

Dear Pat,

Letters have become very important for me. They have become a way to express my thoughts in a way that I couldn't even think to express out loud. I am grateful for you to introduce me to this beautiful experience. I thought this was going to be the last letter of this trip. But I was wrong.

As I went back to Meghana's home and was busy writing to you, the doorbell rang. I set everything aside and walked over to open the door. And there stood Tanmay, still in his clothes from the play. I blinked back at him and wondered if there was something wrong in the picture.

Before I could ask him anything, he asked incredulously, "Why did you leave???"

I opened my mouth to say something then closed it again. I then shook my head and said, "What? What are you doing here?"

He shook his head and asked, "Can you come out? For a walk?"

I paused for a moment and looked behind. Meghana smiled and nodded. I shrugged and nodded back at him. As we made our way downstairs, he asked, "You still didn't answer my question."

I felt tired from the past few days. I didn't want to be mad at him. But I was because he had no idea what I was feeling. I then realized it was because he didn't know. And I remembered you. Your voice was playing in my head.

"Baby...there is no point in keeping things to yourself. If it's bothering you that much, tell them. Sort it out. The other person will never know otherwise."

So I took a deep breath and said, "Tanmay...I know...about Namrata."

We were on the street now. It was quieter because of the lateness of the hour. He stopped when he heard her name. He asked, "How do you know about her?"

I looked back at him and said, "I overheard you and Dada speaking the other day. I saw her at the play. She was there, right?"

Tanmay froze. I could read from his expressions that he was feeling stressed out. He then walked over to me and gestured if we could continue walking. I nodded.

For a while, he said nothing. He then said, "She...she was once the love of my life. In all honesty, I thought we'd end up together. But then life has a way of shaking things up. I went through...a rough patch in my life and realized that I needed to change things. After a while, I knew...I knew I needed a change of scenery, a change of city. A new beginning. That's when I moved here. But moving was never part of her plan and I understood that. She wanted to be where she was. She was doing so well. It took me a long time to get over her. I contemplated if I should call her. Talk to her. Just...be with her. But I never regretted my move here. It reintroduced me to my love for theatre. And slowly...things did change. I changed. I became a new person."

I listened carefully as he spoke, Pat. I took in everything he said. I still kept quiet.

With that, he took a deep breath and pulled out a letter from his pocket. He opened it and looked up at me. He cracked a small smile and said, "I need to tell you something...I usually write better than I speak. So I wrote it out first."

I replied, "I...don't understand."

He chuckled and said, "I got the idea from you actually. From your letters to your grandmother..."