A series of 25 posts exploring this topic in depth.
Not long ago… My life has always been topsy-turvy with no concrete space for constants. One of the habits I take pride as well as curse myself is the time I take to judge and realize what everything means to me. All my life has been built around this reckless attitude. I was born to … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 01
Not long ago… Before arriving at Texas, I had picked up few contact details of the local Indian community at my university and thankfully they sent a senior to pick me up. His name was Kumar and he was from Nagpur. He drove me down to the college dorm after nearly 2 hours of driving … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 02
Present Day… ‘I am I talking to Mr. Arjun Raam?’ ‘Yeah, speaking…’ ‘My name is Alex Mulder. I am the local sheriff here in Orange County. I am calling you to report an accident that took place in the neighborhood…’ The voice was feeble and barely audible…‘Sorry…What…? Couldn’t hear you…Could you repeat that? ‘ ‘I … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 03
Not long ago… We went to the manager. I saw the Blondie still sitting in the lobby. ‘Hey Marc… I guess there is some confusion… You gave the wrong room number to…Ah… Zoya…?’ ‘Nope…! I just gave the right room number but forgot telling her that she had to share the room with a guy … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 04
Present Day… First I couldn’t understand what the officer said. Then I couldn’t believe a word when I understood what he said the second time. I was frozen. The world around me came down crashing. Everything stood still in front of me. I still couldn’t figure out what to do… Rajesh walked over to me … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 05
Not long ago… The following day, I went all out to impress her during breakfast. I knocked the bedroom door and asked her if she would be joining me for breakfast. She agreed to join me in 15 minutes. I made scrambled eggs, bread toasts and some coffee. She joined me for breakfast and was wearing … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 06
Present Day…I was on the flight to Orange County. Her images kept flashing before my eyes. I was cursing myself for the fights that I had with her for no reason. I was fighting my tears but they kept rolling uncontrollably. The pain was unbearable. Rajesh kept patting me on my back… I kept asking … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 07
Not long ago… 3 Weeks later… For the first two weeks we were involved in a competition of shutting our bedroom doors on each other. The most violent wins…The next week involved in just eye contact…’ A week later, my batch mates – Sumanth, Mike and others were planning on a camping trip to Tennessee. … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 08
Present Day… The flight took off. There were clouds all around. I prayed God, why did he do this to me? Is it because I fought with her or is it because I loved her more than I loved myself? I was battling my own questions. Deep down, I knew that I had no answers… … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 09
Not long ago… ‘There is an old Arabic saying: When a man falls in love, he would pass through 7 shades of love which leaves a lasting memory. The shades determine the level of anxiety that runs in a person to fully determine his life cycle from start till death. These emotions and feelings are … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 10
Not long ago… ‘Wow… One step closer…’ To make it sound easy and not desperate, I asked her if she had traveled anywhere in the United States. ‘Nope and that’s what I regret. I have a couple of friends in Chicago but never got a chance to meet them. Perhaps, will plan sometime during the semester … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 11
Present Day… All my life we had spent our wedding anniversaries together. I remembered my anniversary this year… I didn’t want to go but she promised me that everything would be fine and I had to go… ‘This is your big day… You go get the bread for the family… I am here to take … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 12
Not long ago… What is that? ‘My luggage for the trip…’ ‘Are you kidding me? We aren’t going on a marriage or social trip. It’s a trekking and camping trip for god sake!’ ‘Yeah…! I know… But I am still not clear on what to wear!!!’ There is this strange stuff about women and their … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 13
Not long ago… ‘Ok… Now that you have explained the camping rules, I will carry only 9 outfits for the 4 day trip…’ ‘How gracious…? Seriously 9 dresses…’ ‘But, I have reduced it from 15 after you explained the rules…’ I didn’t have an option and so I had to say, ‘Yes!’ The trip started, … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 14
Not long ago… Sumanth started the camp fire; we started off with dumb-charades followed by Antakshari. This went on for an hour before we decided to play truth or dare… Many rejected the idea saying ‘some other time’. Then we decided to play the simple confession story – To tell everyone how they met and … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 15
Present Day… I reminisced the days we spent pondering over the question of what would happen if our parents got to know about us and our relationship. Would they agree? She loved her father, so did I, my mother. It was a difficult decision to convince and we knew that from our first day together! … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 16
Present Day… I remembered the day I got placed in a huge IT firm. Handsome salary…Great life…The promise I made to my dad that I will make him proud! My plans to propose her after graduation, settling in America… In a way, a full circle of my life in America was in flashes before me… … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 17
Not long ago… ‘As you know it was Aruna’s birthday couple of months ago…Everyone were invited…The cake cutting happened…I don’t know what the problem was between Arjun and Zoya but they pretty much stayed separate during the entire celebration. Then we went to the nearby dance bar where there was dance, booze…In short, it was … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 18
Not so long ago… The story before the breakup…My GPA was pretty good. Zoya’s GPA was also fine. So there was never a question of studies or education. ‘Is it related to the story?’ ‘No…’ ‘Then please skip it…’ ‘Ok… It was semester break. All of us were planning to prepare for a trip to … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 19
Not so long ago… The story before the breakup… continued I understood an important moral from that situation. To fight and conquer in all my battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists in breaking her resistance without fighting. I loved her…I worshiped our relationship…I let her go… So the day came…She left for Chicago…I … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 20
Not so long ago… The story before the breakup… Continued ‘It sounds great and perfect… So where did it go wrong?’ asked Rajesh ‘It was all going great and there was no turning back. We had wonderful time together and those moments were simply amazing… And literally, we went crazy when we started as people … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 21
Present Day… The flight touched Ontario airport and I held Rajesh’s hands even tighter. I rushed through the gates. I was nervous. I couldn’t figure out how I could stand this tragedy… Not so long ago… My dad and mom arrived for the graduation day. I picked them from the airport, arranged a nice hotel … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 22
Not long ago… 4 Years later… Zoya was working in Orange County and I was shuttling between Boston, NJ and Connecticut as my work demanded travel. My weekdays were hectic and my weekends were busy with Zoya. During our college graduation day, everyone from our batch made a pact that no matter what happens to … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 23
Present Day… En route to the airport, I wanted to pick up my daughter from the crèche… I was inconsolable. Rajesh did the bulk of talking and I stood their speechless. The school mistress promised me that she will keep my daughter safe until we were done with the formalities. I saw my … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 24
Present Day I entered the hospital. Life was normal around, but to me everything seemed to be in complete silence. There was sense of shock. I approached the hospital emergency desk, told them that I was looking for my wife and her name is Zoya. She checked her register and expressed her condolences. They pointed … Continue reading My Noiseless Memories – Chapter 25