She was meeting him after ten long years. He looked pale and distraught. It looked that the years had not been too kind on him. His gait was abnormal, a sure sign of osteoporosis. The look was haggard and he had aged beyond his years. It was not a happy sight to see. How much had changed. This was the man that she had fought her parents for. Theirs had been a whirlwind romance. She had been besotted by his looks, his deep, throaty voice and most of all, by his brownish eyes. She had got into them and had thought that her world ended there.

It hadn’t taken long to figure out that how different they were. She was articulate and convent educated. He came from a small township in Punjab. She would always try to teach him some English words through scrabble. The game however, had been their common love till she had tried to find faults in him. She had wanted to change him, but that was not possible. He wanted to control her and that did become possible.

The years moved on at their own pace and after many years of contemplation, they had decided to part ways. Never to meet again. But what about the heart. The heart beats and it still sings the same song. The meeting was awkward and without much eye contact from his side. She had grown svelte and the look of admiration did shine in his eyes. But he did not say anything.

Life had grown many timelines in these years. The greying was visible and the years had played their role. After some formal chit-chatting, they said their goodbyes. With a promise to meet again. Oh! How she had wanted to tell him that she still loved him. But she didn’t. The words lay in their ornate and ornamental boxes and she did not show the air to them. Maybe! Life will give her another chance. Another opportunity to let him know that behind everything, there is a part that is still his.

He walked dejectedly to his car, sad at how his life had turned out to be. He would soon be sixty. He had looked at her and had wanted to hug her. For she looked beautiful. The little grey strands which flicked around her face made her look lovely. He remembered the time when he would not get tired of clicking her. What a beautiful subject she would be now. How he wished that the time would stay on. She was his first love and would always be. How he wished he could have told her.

The clouds set in again.