the bird now reached under the roof landed on the portico, it started quivering its feathers... the drops of water fell on rekha's feet..she was watching the birds play in the rain, they were running around in circles playfully, far away she could see the ruins of a fort made of black stone...she can remember her running amidst the ruins with her hands running along the cold stone...things were different now, she came from mumbai to this village to visit her sick grandmother, she liked the village, its quiet surroundings, friendly people, irregular rain, cold atmosphere and especially the ruins of the black fort...she was looking into the village from thier old building when her phone rang, for the umpteenth time, rohan again saying sorry about what happened few days back...she didnt pick up the call, instead she turned her head away from her phone and tried to concentrate on her childhood days in the village, playing with farmers kids and dancing in the rain forgetting herself...before the call from her grand mother that she was sick, she was busy in her office in mumbai performing the final steps of her project, she was working on the project since the last two monhts and from this week she didnt even have enough sleep, most importantly she didnt meet rohan, the phone rang and the screen flashed the name rohan, rekha and rohan were in love since the last seven years, the voice wasnt rohans, instead it was ravi..rohans best company whom rekha hated. Ravi in a hurried voice said that rohan was met with an accident and was in hospital in a severe condition, rekha's heart started racing like an engine, she asked where rohan is and ravi asked her to go to rohans place as quickly as she can. She picked her keys and drove the car as fast as she could to rohans house. Everything was silent and she felt it gloomy, she saw the door open, she went in and suddenly rohan jumped from the back and held her from back...she was surprised and told him about the call, he then said that he made a bet with his friends wether she would really come for him, she stood without any expression on her face, after a few seconds tears rolled from her pink face which until then was filled with an anxiety of what happened to him..she slapped him on his face and slammed the door. All rohan could hear is the tyres of rekha's car skidding angrily on the road, the sound slowly died..he followed her to the office, she didnt talk to him, he went to her home, she didnt open the door, they fought many times but she never behaved like this, he sent her greetings, sms's, mails that he was sorry, she didnt reply, she didnt talk to him from last 10 days, he was still calling her trying to contact her and she was just avoiding him. The rain slowly stopped and she went into her house, sat on the table and ate her lunch in dead silence, her grand mother was asleep, the water dripping from the top into the small rain ponds was making a persistent sound. She decided to take a walk and went with an umberella incase it starts raining again, she set to the fort ruins, the rain just eneded, the smell of the wet soil filled her as soon as she entered the fields, rain drops which stayed on the leaves of trees fell on her as the wind blew slowly, she was trying to forget what happened, she was happy that her grand mother is recovering, but was unable to digest what rohan had done to her, the ruins slowly got bigger as she went closer, the wet green grass around the black stone fort grew until ankle length, far away she saw cattle grazing in the plains, a boy sitting on a high rock was playing a wooden flute with an umbrella made of dried coconut leaves on his shoulder, she sat on one of the ruins and placed her hands on the cold rocks and looked at the village, the cold air along with the wooden flute sound passed her, she suddenly felt as if she was in a different world..she laid her head back on the stone, she slowly closed her eyes, she was awaken by a womans cry, she ran into the fort, she saw a woman crying her heart out holding the hand of a man who lied motionless leaning his back to the wall, she ran to them, she laid her hand on the womens shoulder and asked her what happened, rekha tried to console the women, she was unconsolable, she didnt stop crying, after sometime she wiped her eyes and said that this man was her love, he died consuming poison as she wasnt talking to him, they fought over a petty matter and she didnt talk to him for a few days, after trying for many days to make her talk to him again, he took his life by consuming poison, she then held his hand to her face, kissed his hand as said '' I am sorry dear, I love you".... suddenly someone touched rekha's shoulder, it was ramu, thier servants son, rekha looked around and it was night already, moon was shining brightly and ramu was sent to seach her and he was panting for air as he was running around searching for her...she was sitting on the ruins with her head laid back onto the stone...she was confused of what happened and couldnt hear anything eventhough ramu was speaking something, after sometime she made her mind that it was a dream and jumped from the ruin into the grass and started walking to the village along with ramu...he started running before her playing with a stick...she turned back and saw the ruins, in the ruins she saw the women now lying with her head on the mans lap..both were silent now with thier eyes closed...ramu pulled her by her arm and asked her to come...she started walking backwards with her gaze still on the moon lit ruins...she heard the womens voice again " I am sorry dear, I love you" .... rekha suddenly started running to her house through the wet grass and ramu started running with her trying to catch her speed....she raced to her room, picked the phone, panting heavily, called rohan and said " I am sorry dear, I love you "
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