The Story of Four

This is the story of four people whose lives cross for a moment in time that occupies a blink and miss period in the bigger scheme of things. However, for them it became an infinite moment scaring them for the rest of their lives. When I say scaring them, I necessarily do not mean it in a negative sense. I do not want to use the softer ‘touching them’, as the impressions, good or bad, went much deeper.

It all started with an innocuous meeting, was followed by intermittent telephone conversations, then more regular ones that almost became like a bad habit topped with considerable dollop of expectations. It was a friendship that developed from similar thoughts and traits, a friendship that precariously hung on that razors edge that thinly demarcates the concepts of closeness. The relationship not only lasted but flourished, given that both friends maintained an unwritten code of conduct that refused to let a whiff pass by. The fire smouldered, hidden, its glow warming two lives. Maybe this was too pleasant a situation to last.

The other two people, in this story of four, slowly got acquainted. All four of them now met regularly, they laughed, they had late night discussions, and they thought life would go on. Fate, however, decided to step in. In life, we often feel emotions that go beyond the accepted norms of society. How far and how much we let those emotions overtake our logical senses, is decided by our individual sense of appropriateness. One of this people, in this story of four, stepped beyond that norm of sensitivity. Why did he do that is a question that will go unanswered for the rest of the time that they live; But what happened, because he did, is what I will be telling you.

Suddenly lot of things revealed itself in its true perspective. The person who overstepped was surrounded in a ring of fire that engulfed not only him but burnt all the other three. A man of his repute was faced with the ultimate dishonour of life. The woman, who tried to be his friend, fell from the exalted position that she had created for herself and maintained throughout her life. Would she ever be able to regain her confidence when it came to dealing with the world? But what happened to the original two friends, in this story of four? Could the man accept that his wife felt differently towards another man? He had once said he could. But faced with the reality of situations all his original and liberated views fell flat. It was an unbearable situation for him. His pride was hurt. His perceptions about himself were broken. He explained frantically to his friend. He said it is not the thought of his wife getting close to another person that is bothering him. He reiterated that it was her denial of the truth that was responsible for his anguish. His friend tried to understand. But somewhere things did not fall into place. She could almost see through him. She was stunned into comprehension. Her husband’s thoughtlessness and insensitivity had not bothered her as much as her friend’s change. How was she to deal with this disillusionment? How was she to hide her own emotions that till now she had willingly shown to him? Who was the worse off, in this story of four, is debatable. Each one got scared; each one built their own defences. Each one, I pray, will emerge from this, if not unscathed but stronger. But will I?