Estranged

--A Sequel to Sunny Boy--

A gentle romance had bloomed between our hero and heroine. The relationship had progressed so far as to calling each other by their own private pet names. Soumya was 'Jenny' to Vinay, after his on-screen sweetheart. Vinay was lovingly called 'Vinu' by his girlfriend.

Vinay was in a good mood. The next day was his birthday. His girl had promised him a surprise gift. He had tried to find out from her what it may be. Try as he might, she was pretty adamant about not giving him the least hint. "It's gonna be something that nobody else has given you before" was all she would say. He spent the whole day day dreaming what she might have in store for him.

"Happy Birthday Vinu!", of course it was her voice that wished him at the stroke of midnight. "Thanks baby", he was happy that her wish came first. What continued was another of those talks-that-last-through-the-night! It had become a habit to Vinay to discuss everything under the sun with his Jenny.

The next day dawned bright and clear. She met him with a parcel. "Here's your gift".
Vinay eagerly tore the wrapping. Inside was a talking clock!
"A clock??", he was surprised.
"To remind you of me with each tick", she smiled. "Also, I want you to wake up with my wish in your ears".
"What do you mean?", enquired Vinay.
"Check out what it plays for the alarm tone", said Soumya.
He pressed the button to play the alarm. "Good morning Vinu. Have a happy day!" trilled Soumya's digitized voice.
"You're right. No one else has given such a thing to me", said Vinay trying not to show his disappointment at such a tiring wake up call!

As the days went by, Vinay began to get the feeling that he was having too much of his girlfriend. Not only was she constantly in his mind, she was physically present by his side at every available opportunity. Though their workplaces were different, they met for lunch, coffee and evening walk. If they did not meet, they conversed over phone. Or it was text messaging. Vinay felt that they each need a bit of personal space. The danger of them becoming much too dependent on each other was imminent. Such a thinking led him to accept a project at Delhi.

Though it almost physically hurt him to think about leaving his Jenny, he convinced himself saying that a separation might actually do them good. When Soumya heard this, she was devastated. "You're gonna be gone for a month?"
"It's an official assignment Jenny. I can't say no", he tried to persuade her to let him go.
"I can't be away from you that long", she wailed.
Heightened of his earlier impression about their increasing dependency, he told her with a hard and firm voice, "It just has to be done".

Is this the parting of ways? Or will distance teach Vinay the preciousness of their time together?
Or will the same distance help Soumya understand that she can be happy in her own space?
Only Old Father Time has the answers.