Strawberries with Cream Part II

The first lungful of sweaty air triggers a plethora of memories in Anjor's brain as he steps off the
commercial airliner. He remembers the last time he breathed that air in the most populated
city in India, Bombay. He remembers what he was thinking about at that exact time, before he walked into the air conditioned airport. He remmebers who he was thinking about. The memory of her face in his mind is like a breeze of clean air through the hazy Bombay atmosphere.

For having been through 24 hours of travel, Anjor feels surprisingly lucid. He looks back through the rear window of the bus to see the steamrolled river of gravel and tar gushing away from beneath the tyres of the 24 seater. The feeling of intense deceleration combined with a loud bursting sound startles him. The bus has a flat. Gathering himself, Anjor disembarks along with the other passengers to inspect the damage.

Doh teen ghante to lag jayenge (It will take at least two-three hours)
says the irate but lazy driver. There's a spare, but its going to take 3 mechanics to replace
the tyre who are on their way from the nearest town.
Hum karenge na (We can do it!) ventures Anjor. He can't have petty logistics interfere with his
plan.

After convincing the driver that they could do it between them, Anjor and the driver get to work
At 4am in the middle of nowhere by the side of the highway, it takes them almost an hour to change the mangled mass of rubber for an intact one.

He walks through the front yard that he knows so well. In spite of being glad to be home again,
Anjor muses at the thought of his home not actually being where his heart is. But his heart isnt too far away. In fact, its only ten blocks away. Anjor feels a twinge of guilt when he finds himself rushing through the motions of greeting his parents as he touches their feet.

"You should at least have a bite to eat before you leave!" Anjor's mother insists with pleading
eyes - she hasn't seen her son in a long time. He hasn't changed a bit, she thinks. Even after
spending an inordinate amount of time away from home, there are some things that haven't changed for Anjor. He hurries out the door despite his parents' objections. It isn't an ordinary day, he picked his arrival date for a reason.

By the time he reaches the lane leading to her house, he has his doubts. What if she has changed? It would be unbearable. What if everything has changed? What if I'm on a fool's errand? He closes his eyes trying to calm himself and his rapid heartbeat as he rings the doorbell. His eyes open with the click of the door, and he's not sure whether he's still just imagining her as he remembered her or whether it was the real thing. He blinks again and she's still standing there with her dark hair swaying ever so slightly in the breeze from the door. Her expression changes in slow motion from curious to confused to surprised to that unmistakable dimpled smile.

Anjor's mouth moves and his throat vibrates but he can't hear the words coming out. She breaks
the silence.

A...Anjor? W.what are you doing here?
Anjor has played this out too many times in his mind to go wrong now. He is prepared this time.
Hi.
Hi! What a surprise! I thought you were...on the other side of the world.
Yeah well I was.
So what are you doing here?
I wish only the best for you every day of the year. But I guess if there is one day when it is
just a little more fitting to tell you that, its today. And I didn't want to miss that opportunity. So here I am.
You flew across the world just to wish me a happy birthday?
That, and to enjoy my mom's delicious cooking. I should go, my parents are probably waiting for me to start lunch.
When will I see you again?
Not soon enough