A true story, modified just a bit.

A dog’s bark  in the distance shattered the silence that he seemed to enjoy. Turning on his bed, he looked at the clock: 2 am in the morning and still no sleep. As a habit he generally slept late but after today’s events, insomnia was the last of his worries.

How did it all start? he wondered. The day started with the usual promise of meeting her in the afternoon. He had to finish off some of his long-delayed projects, but he still found enough time to keep the rendezvous.

The first sign that something was wrong manifested itself in the presence of her friend. In all the dates they went on, bringing other people was a strict no-no. Wryly, he remembered that cliché: two’s a company, three’s a crowd.

Sitting silently she barely acknowledged his coming. As he came closer, he saw her eyes. They were blood-shot red. It could not have been drugs. And she was not known to miss out on sleep. It was tears. He was in for a shock.

‘Hi sweetheart,’ he said. ‘How are you?,’ he sought to lighten the tension.

It was the friend who replied. ‘She is not doing well. How could you do such a thing?’

‘What are you talking about,’ he asked in bewilderment.

‘It was my birthday yesterday,’ she spoke finally.

‘Shit’, he muttered to himself.

He had already forgotten it  before. She warned him that if there was a next time, their relationship would end. She could not bear to be with a man who had no feelings and no concern for the things that interested her, she had told him the last time.

And lo, he had gone and gotten himself into a pickle yet again. This time there would be no second chance.

His first utterances of apology had no effect on her. Her mother had already warned her about him and she feared that the old woman was right. There were times, she felt, he loved his job more than her. And with a steely resolve she handed him back the bracelet, he had gifted to her when he first proposed to her. And then with a last swipe of her eyes, she said, ‘Goodbye’ and walked off with her friend, leaving him standing with the bracelet in his hand.

At first anger boiled within him. He wanted to scream at her, but checked himself and turning away made the long journey home. He tried to sleep to forget those memories, but with each passing hour, the wounds became fresher.

Sighing, he rose from his bed and examined the bracelet. It was the last remnant of the memory of his mother. He felt his throat go dry and gulped down a glass of water.

He remembered what his mother told him. ‘It is no use running away from problems. Later on they will come to haunt you again. It is best to deal with them right away.’

On his way back to the bed, he saw the phone. Will it be worth a try, he wondered. After all he had nothing to lose.

He dialled her number. It rang  four times before her sleepy voice came through the receiver, ‘Hello.’

‘Hi, it’s me,’ he said. ‘I am sorry for what I did and please forgive me.’

There was silence at the other end, punctuated only by her breath. He waited with anticipation.

‘I forgive you,’ came the reply. ‘Come to my house tomorrow. I want you to meet my parents.”

He hung up the phone with a smile. Life was good again and this time, he swore, there would be no more mistakes.