Spring of Dreams - The Silent Farewell

It had been a year since Ayushman and Tanuja last spoke. College had ended, and life was moving forward, but the unresolved distance between them hung like an invisible weight. Both had spent the past months acquiring new skills while waiting for their call letters. Along with Kavita, they had enrolled in a Java course, hoping to make good use of their time. Kavita had coordinated their admission into the institute with a secret hope that the proximity would push them to talk, maybe even reconcile. But that hope had dissolved as each class passed in silence, as neither Ayushman nor Tanuja made any effort to bridge the gap.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care. They were both aching for each other. Nights were filled with thoughts of what once was and what could have been.

But their egos built walls too high for either of them to scale.

Even Kavita, in her quiet pushes to bring them back together, had been shut down by both of them.

Ayushman, however, received his call letter to join ZodTech in Bengaluru, while Tanuja and Kavita were still waiting for theirs. He was excited and nervous, spending his days brushing up on his skills. His brother Abhijeet took on the role of mentor, helping him with soft skills and prepping him for the professional world. As the departure day drew closer, Ayushman packed his bags, ready to step into the next chapter of his life. But the anticipation of his new journey couldn’t mask the heartache of the unresolved breakup. He missed Tanuja fiercely, cherishing memories of their time together, yet the silence between them remained.

Tanuja, too, had been haunted by memories of Ayushman. The moments they had shared felt like a constant ache in her chest. But neither of them reached out. They were both stubborn, unwilling to make the first move. Tanuja noticed Ayushman’s absence from class for a few days and wondered about it, but, in her own stubbornness, she refused to ask Kavita about him. She pretended not to care. One morning, Kavita called Tanuja to say she wouldn’t be coming to class. “Why?” Tanuja asked. “I’m going to see off Ayushman,” Kavita replied. “He’s leaving for Bengaluru today.”

The words struck Tanuja like lightning, her heart thudding in her chest. She felt like the ground beneath her feet was giving way. Ayushman was slipping away.. permanently, this time. In a rush of panic, she asked, “When is the train?”

“In an hour. He’s probably already reached the station.”

“Kavita... pick me up,” Tanuja requested, desperation leaking into her voice.

Kavita hesitated. “Tanuja, he might not like it... You haven’t spoken in so long.”

“I don’t care. Please, Kavita.”

Reluctantly, Kavita agreed, and they rushed to the station. The clock was ticking, and every minute felt like a lifetime. They searched the crowded platforms until they finally spotted Ayushman with his father Basudev and Abhijeet. Basudev looked on, trying to mask the tears welling in his eyes, while Abhijeet fussed over the small details of the journey, giving Ayushman advice on what to eat and how to stay safe.

As soon as Abhijeet spotted Kavita and Tanuja approaching, he waved with a smile. “Well, well, look who’s here. Finally, the gang's back together,” he asked. But Tanuja’s eyes were fixed on Ayushman, and he seemed determined to avoid hers. The distance between them felt like a chasm. Kavita gave Ayushman a tight hug, squeezing his hand as she fought back tears. “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” she said, her voice catching. “From school till now... you’ve always been there. Promise me you’ll call every day. I don’t care how busy you get.” Ayushman smiled at her, grateful for the moment of normalcy, but his eyes kept flickering toward Tanuja. Kavita stepped back, sensing the tension, and with a playful roll of her eyes said, “Alright, I’m going to see what Abhijeet Bhai is doing. No third wheel here.”

Now, it was just Ayushman and Tanuja, standing in the crowded sleeper with so many unspoken words hanging between them. Tanuja was the first to break the silence.

“So... are you all packed?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Yeah, all packed,” Ayushman responded, his voice low.

The silence stretched on again, heavy and suffocating. Tanuja’s heart was pounding. She wanted to say something .. anything .. to stop him from leaving without closure, but the words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t bear the thought of him slipping away without a goodbye. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Tears spilled over, and before she could stop herself, Tanuja burst into tears. She sat down on the side aisle seat, unable to stop the sobs that wracked her body. Ayushman, seeing her break, couldn’t hold back any longer either. His heart shattered at the sight of her tears, the tears he had been hiding now spilling out uncontrollably. He knelt down beside her, his hand gently holding hers.

“Hey... it’s just a matter of days,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “You’ll get your call letter soon, and you’ll be in Pune, right? You will be too busy in your work to miss me.” But Tanuja couldn’t stop crying. “So, this is it?” she asked through her tears, forcing a fake smile through her pain. Ayushman, too, was fighting a losing battle with his emotions. His tears flowed freely now, uncontainable. “This isn’t it,” he choked out. They didn’t say anything more. They didn’t need to. The unspoken feelings between them; the love, the regret, the heartache said everything. They just held each other’s hands, letting the tears fall.

Their silence spoke volumes, cutting through the noise of the station and the thuds of the dreams and promises that were crumbling around them.

Abhijeet came running in, a sense of urgency in his voice. “It’s time. The train’s about to leave.” Tanuja stood up, wiping away her tears. She stepped out from the coach, her heart was heavy. Ayushman leaned out of the window to catch one last glimpse of her. The train began to move, slowly pulling away from the station.

Their eyes met one last time as the distance between them grew. Ayushman watched Tanuja, her figure growing smaller, until she disappeared into the crowd. And with her, a part of him went, too.

For Tanuja, as the train vanished from sight, the weight of their separation crashed down on her. This time, it felt final. They were drifting apart, and she didn’t know if they would ever find their way back.