It was 3 AM and I was awakened by the sound of my phone and saw “Vaidik Calling” on the screen. I picked up the video call and could hardly see anything as my eyes were still adjusting from the sudden light.
Before I could say anything in my sleepy voice, I heard a very excited “Hello Komal!” from him.
I managed to see him clearly and there he was with a larger-than-life smile on his face and his eyes screamed giddiness. I replied-“what’s up?” with a confused smile and he broke the news to me.
“I can finally come to India. We are going to meet in person really soon!”.
It took me a minute to digest what I just heard.
Yes! This was finally happening! Our eight months of dreadful wait was finally over! We were finally going to see and talk to each other out of our screens!
I could no longer hold my happiness and with the phone in my hand, I ran down the stairs to break the good news to his parents, who just like me, were desperately waiting for him to come home.
Yes, I was staying at his place with his parents at that time.
When I went down, I saw that they were already up and had happy tears in their eyes. They told me that they just read Vaidik’s message that he can finally come home to meet us.
It was a very emotional moment, but little did I know that I had a bucket load of emotions waiting for me in the next few days.
Soon he booked his tickets and not long after we started making our plans.
24th Oct 2024. 12:00 AM-
I was tossing in my bed, too excited for the coming morning that I could not sleep.
I kept imagining about him all night and didn’t realize when I dozed off. Waking up to my alarm at 4:00 AM in the morning, I got up at once (which is very unusual for me as I keep hitting the snooze button) and went straight to get ready for the day.
I wanted to look my best today. I was going to meet the love of my life!
I was ready in an hour and got in the car. It was a one-and-a-half-hour drive to the airport.
All along the way, I felt butterflies in my stomach. On the way, I spotted a flower shop and bought a bouquet for him.
Finally, I arrived at the airport at 6:30 am and read his text that he had already landed.
I parked the car and ran towards the arrivals gate. My eyes were searching for a tall, curly-haired man but my brain could not focus.
I gathered myself and took a deep breath and reminded my heart to take it easy. Then, I took a few steps ahead, and at some distance, I could see a man in a cream and blue checked shirt, trying to find someone.
My heart leaped, and my feet started to run towards him. Halfway through, he saw me too and our eyes met! He could not believe his eyes and before I realized I was in his arms I could feel his strong arms holding me tight.
He lifted me while still holding me and my vision was a blur from happy tears and had a rush of a million emotions in my heart.