Finding Solace in Solitude: Manuela’s Last Invitation
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Nobody came to Manuela's party, but she was still smiling—it wasn't the first time this had happened. After waiting long enough she cut the cake with her kids clapping and singing happy birthday.
While trying to sleep, she recalled the first time this had happened—her 22nd birthday. She had invited her close friends and colleagues, making all the arrangements, from the cake to the balloons. The only thing missing was the people who never actually showed up. She remembered how she had cried herself to sleep that night. She never bothered to ask why they didn't come; she already knew the typical excuses people made in such situations.
Today was her 29th birthday. She decided never to invite anyone again and to find
solace in solitude. She didn't cry, but for some reason, this time she felt even lonelier than when she was 22.
As a single mother, she was doing her best at her job, but her personal life was crumbling. Memories of her husband flooded her mind, despite the fact that he had left years ago when she was diagnosed. She loved him anyway. She had hoped that at the very least, he would call her on her birthday, but he didn't even bother to send a text. Deep down, she knew her job was the only way to escape her mundane life. She hated Sunday mornings.
She had tried to make friends at work, but that hadn't worked out either. None of her interests matched theirs—except for their shared love of coffee. She took two cups of coffee every day, one in the morning and one during her evening break. She liked Indian food more than anything else and worked an eight-hour shift. By the end of it, she was usually exhausted.
Her only motivation in life was her children. The way their faces lit up when she reached home and they rushed to hug her was adorable, to say the least. She always tried to pick them both up at the same time but was never actually able to do so. She loved them equally.
They didn't have many memories of their father, as he had left when they were only four. Manuela understood the importance of a father figure in a child's life and had tried to date again. She dated two men—one was a professor, and the other was a writer—but they both disappointed her when she told them about her kids. After that, she stopped dating altogether.
Tomorrow was a big day for her. After years of hard and honest work, she was finally getting promoted, and the same people who ghosted her on her birthday now expected a party invitation.
Every day, she took the stairs to the eighth floor because of her claustrophobia, yet she was never late. She was good at what she did and had won Employee of the Year five consecutive times.
After getting home and putting her kids to sleep, she would usually read books while listening to music. She admired the works of great writers like Dostoevsky and Sartre. She still remembered how passionate she had been about becoming a writer in her youth. But responsibilities had killed her dreams, and now here she was, working in corporate.
Sometimes she thought of leaving her job and trying her luck as a writer, but the mere thought of resigning terrified her. It wasn't that she doubted her writing skills; rather, it was because of her kids.
She had taken up smoking to cope with the separation but never smoked around her children or on office premises. Instead, she did it on the roof, gazing at the stars. On cloudy nights, she missed those stars more than the moon.
She had to find a way to tell her children about their father. They still didn't know why he had left and were also unaware of her diagnosis. She still couldn't imagine the look on their faces when she broke the news.
Her husband was the only person who
knew she was battling cancer. She could never forget how easy it had been for him to abandon his family in a moment that demanded his presence the most. She could never forget the disappointed look he gave her when she told him. Instead of embracing her, he simply left the room.
The next day, he left the house. He hadn't contacted her even once since then. But she missed him. She still loved him. She was still waiting for him to come back.
Even for a strong woman like her, raising two kids alone was a daunting task.
The caretaker she had hired was unhappy with her salary but still did her job because she loved the kids just as much. Manuela left the house at 9:30 and came back at 7:30. She was usually late in the rainy season when the roads flooded, but apart from that, she always managed to get home on time.
Her own childhood hadn't been great either. Her parents used to fight over the smallest things almost every day. They both loved her, but they were so consumed with their own lives that she often felt ignored and alone. Even at school, she barely had any friends. But she was sharp and hardworking, and her teachers really liked her.
She had a huge crush on a boy in a higher class but was too shy to confess. She still imagined how her life might have turned out if she had had the courage to tell him. He, too, had felt the same way. But they had both left it to destiny.
She didn't even know that he was still single, waiting for her, waiting for destiny to unfold. But who was going to tell her?
They had no contact and only one mutual friend. As much as they missed each other, neither of them asked about the other. Perhaps, for her, it had just been a crush. But for him, it had been love.
She knew he would accept her and her kids without question, but to her, it wouldn't be fair.
She thought she didn't need anyone's support, but deep down, she knew it was possible that she wouldn't be there for her kids for much longer. Someone had to take responsibility for them, and he was just the right man for it.
Maybe on one of her worst days, she would do what was needed. She would tell him. She would tell him she needed him and would finally be happy for the rest of her life.
But for now, she had other responsibilities.
She needed to buy a car—desperately. Although she was never late to the office, she had to make sure she got home to her kids on time, especially with the rainy season approaching.
She had two umbrellas in her house, both damaged. The first thing she would do today was buy an umbrella—one that could stand by her in the storms of life, unlike her husband.
She wasn't quite a perfectionist but was sometimes obsessed with having things exactly as she wanted them.
She liked her clothes black and her boots white. She loved rock music and hated jazz. She loved coffee and couldn't stand
the smell of tea. She was an atheist but had a deep love for her religion.
One could say she was a walking paradox—one no philosopher would dare to tackle.
She loved reading fiction but now wanted to read poetry. She was thinking of buying a book by Robert Frost. Frost, she believed, would be the perfect start. She had had enough of Sartre and Dostoevsky. Their writing was compelling, but their content was depressing. From now on, she had decided to read things that gave her mind positive energy.
Her cooking skills were improving, and for her, that was a great achievement—perhaps her greatest.
She had always struggled with cooking and had burned her hands several times.
But she never gave up.
Her mother had been her inspiration—an excellent cook. Unfortunately, her mother had faced similar treatment from her husband as Manuela had.
At last, she realized she had married the wrong person and had loved someone who couldn't even spell the word.
Tonight, she had to sleep early. She wanted to look perfect at her promotion celebration. Tomorrow, she would become the team leader of the same team she had joined as a consultant. As gloomy as her personal life was, her professional future was brighter than the noon sun.
Sometimes, she looked at her situation from a distance, imagining herself as someone else. She would ask, "Where did it all go wrong?"
And all she got in return was a confused, dismayed look—and a faint smile.
She woke up at 7:00, brushed her teeth with her favorite pink toothbrush, took a shower, and left for work.
She reached the office, and what she saw broke her heart. There was no decoration for her, and people were working just as they did every day. Manuela realized at that moment that nobody cared about her promotion, and her body started shaking. A teardrop formed in her eye as she sat on her new chair.
She couldn't focus on her work and started
to think about her family. Her only sister, Amy, came to her mind. She remembered how they celebrated each other's achievements wholeheartedly. For her, Amy was the best sister in the whole world. She decided she would call Amy and tell her everything after the day was over. It had been a while since they had talked, and this seemed to be the perfect time to get in touch with each other.
Jake, one of the interns, was the closest thing to a friend to her in the office. He came to her after a while and congratulated Manuela on her promotion. She wanted to hug him and thank him. "Thank you, Jake," she replied with a fake smile on her face.
She saw the office from her new seat and realized that there was nothing new. The white desks and black chairs still gave the
same melancholic glance at her, asking her to get out of this cold world. The only change she could notice was her distance from the air conditioner. She was a bit closer to it and could feel the difference in temperature. On the other hand, she was now farther away from the washroom, and as hard as she tried to ignore the fact, it still bothered her.
She completed her first day as the new team leader and left for home.
She reached home and collapsed on the sofa. Prayag and Priyank realized that Mom was stressed, and to give her space, they didn't approach her.
After a few minutes of rest, Manuela took her phone and called Amy. She didn't answer, and the call went to voicemail.
"Hi Amy, How are you these days? I miss you and wanted to talk. Call me back when you can. Bye."
She wanted to go to sleep. Sarah had cooked the food, but she didn't have the appetite. She told Prayag and Priyank to eat and went to sleep.
She woke up at midnight for some water. As she walked toward the RO, she realized she was quite hungry and decided to eat. She sat alone at the dining table and ate the leftovers. She washed her hands, drank the water, and went to check on her kids. She opened the door and saw them sleeping comfortably. She smiled and shut the door behind her.
The next morning in the office, a few colleagues congratulated her and gave her flowers. "Why today and not on the actual
day of my achievement?" she said to herself.
She worked hard in her new role, just as expected, and led her team very well. Everybody accepted her as their leader wholeheartedly in a few days. She mostly worked in Excel and was slowly mastering it. She was still waiting for the callback from Amy as she worked her shift.
Two days passed, and still, there was no response from Amy. "She must be busy," Manuela thought and gave a long sigh.
She taught Prayag and Priyank herself too whenever she had time. She wanted to make sure that their kids achieved their dreams. She taught them mathematics and science. The rest of the subjects she left to Sarah. They both knew how brilliant the kids were and left no stone unturned to
Give them the best guidance. They made sure that the kids didn't end up like them.
On the last day of the month, Manuela received her salary. She had a list of expenses in her diary as always and thought, "Where is she going to spend the extra amount?" She wanted to buy some boots and clothes for herself but knew it was time she stopped spending money on herself and spent it on her kids. She decided to buy clothes and books for them with her extra money. She was on her way to becoming the best mom.
Priyank loved mathematics more than physics and chemistry, while Prayag loved physics more. They both often argued about which subject was superior, and after having a heated debate, they would turn to Sarah and Manuela to settle it. "Both are equally important" was the answer they received from both of them. It
It was funny and adorable watching both of them fight. They brought life to an otherwise lifeless home.
Manuela decided she would take both of her kids shopping on Sunday. She already knew what both would buy. Priyank, as always, buys all-black clothes, while Prayag would buy grey. Both would eat Mexican pizza after shopping and would end the day after ordering a chocolate shake. Sarah would come along if she were free, and she too loved the pizza, and the three of them would order and finish the large pizza while Manuela finished her burger.
The only thing that scared her was her husband coming back for her kids. What would she do then? She is suffering from cancer, and the judge would most probably give the decision in his favor. He is rich.
and would take care of the kids much better than her. Sometimes she wakes up at midnight when this nightmare of a possibility comes into her mind. All she is left with in this life are her kids, and she would, under no circumstance, give them away.
They were on their way to the mall when Manuela's phone rang. It was Amy. They both talked about their current lives, and Manuela shared all of her sorrows with her. Amy said everything is going to be all right, and they hung up the call at that note.
Manuela and Amy both promised each other they would call each other more often.
Manuela still had her husband's number in her phone and desperately wanted to call.
him too after she hung up Amy's call. She wanted to tell him about her promotion and how much their kids had grown, but in her heart she knew he didn't deserve to know any of it.
They reached home at 6:00 and started unpacking the clothes to try them on. Everyone bought something except Manuela. The kids were happy, and that's all she wanted from her life now.
Just when they were about to go to their respective rooms, they heard a knock on the door. Manuela staggered towards the door and opened it, and what she saw brought her heart an unexplainable joy. It was Rishav, the boy she had a crush on in school.
"Hi, Manuela."
"Rishav, what are you doing here?"
"I talked to Amy, and she told me everything."
"Come inside first."
"Listen, Manuela, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I love you and want to marry you."
"But Rishav..."
"No, Manuela, it's not the time for ifs and buts. You need someone to put your life together, and that is exactly the reason why I've come to you."
"You don't understand, I'm dying, Rishav; I have cancer."
"I know, Amy told me, and that's why she pleaded with me to go and talk to you."
"We will talk about it in the morning." "Let me show you the guest room."
In the morning, Manuela introduced everyone to Rishav, and all of them were excited to meet him. She told them Rishav will be living here for some time. The kids cherished the addition of a new member in the family. Rishav greeted both of them with a smile and got the same in return.
Manuela told him she will tell him her decision once she returns from work.
Rishav took the kids to school and waited impatiently for her to return after reaching home.
The clock struck 7:30, and Rishav knew she would be here anytime from now. His heart started racing, and his palms became sweaty. He wanted to call her but decided that he would wait for her to come. He asked kids to do their homework and tell him if they needed help. The kids went to their rooms, leaving Rishav and Sarah alone in the hall.
"What do you think? Will she accept me? asked Rishav.
"She should," replied Sarah.
Their conversation was cut short by a knock on the door.
"She is here," Rishav exclaimed.
He rushed to the door and opened it.
Without wasting a second, Manuela
hugged him with all her strength.
Tears rolled down both of her eyes as she said, "Yes, Rishav, I will marry you."
They both smiled and, with tears in their eyes, kissed each other. Sarah, too, started crying watching all this and realized that Manuela finally had found the support she desperately needed.
Holding hands, they went to Manuela's bedroom, and the house was finally complete. Now the only thing that needed to be tackled was to reintroduce Rishav to the kids as their new father, but for now they couldn't help but embrace and kiss each other.
They decided that Rishav would shift to their home and find a new job there, preferably in the same company in which
Manuela worked. Manuela promised him to arrange an interview. Rishav started his preparation and was keen and confident to clear it.
Both Manuela and Sarah helped him in his preparation, and in this way he became a member of the family in no time, a home where everyone liked him. He was about to marry his childhood love, and he couldn't ask for more.
He went to the interview wearing a white shirt, black pants, and boots. They asked him tough questions, but he was well prepared and cleared the interview with ease.
Once out of the interview room, he rushed to Manuela to tell her. Manuela was eagerly waiting for him, and once he reached her, she gave him a big hug.
without even asking anything. She knew he would clear the interview.
It was almost 7, and Manuela decided to leave early with Rishav, as she could not hide her happiness and wanted to go home and share it with Sarah.
They reached home at 7:30, and as always, the kids were waiting for their mom and now a new member of the family too. It was only a matter of time before they would start calling him Daddy and the home, and Manuela's life would be complete again.
They decided to get married on Sunday.
As happy as Manuela was, her heart still missed her husband. And as much as she liked Rishav, she still loved Mike.
It was Saturday morning, and everyone was preparing for the wedding. They were trying on their new clothes in front of the mirror. Sarah and Manuela had chosen the wedding dress together, and both thought it looked gorgeous. Manuela tried it on and showed it to her kids.
"You look gorgeous, Mummy!" both of them screamed.
As she was undressing, she heard her phone ringing. She couldn't reach it in time, and the call went to voicemail. She opened it, and what she heard left her stunned. The voicemail said, "Hi, Manuela, it's Mike. Can you call me back, please?"
"What if he wants to come back?" "What if he has realized his mistake and wants to make everything right?" Thoughts like these kept Manuela awake all night.
It was Sunday—the wedding day—but all Manuela could think about was the voicemail from Mike. She knew calling him back was not a good idea. Today was perhaps the best day of her life since her first wedding, and she decided she wouldn't allow her past to ruin it.
They got married and promised to never leave each other, no matter the circumstances. Everyone in the church was all smiles, especially Prayag and Priyank. They knew their mom had found what she had been missing all these years.
They rushed to their parents once the rituals were over. Rishav picked up both of them, and that made Manuela smile. She knew she wouldn't have to worry about their future anymore.
The first few months of the marriage felt like heaven. Rishav made her and the kids
laugh all the time and made her completely forget about her diagnosis.
There was a café near their home that Manuela always liked, where she spent a good part of her weekends reading books. One day when they were going past the café when coming back from work, Manuela mentioned it to Rishav and told her how it had a special place in her heart. Rishav, without thinking twice, asked her to come with him for a cup of coffee, and with that, it became a special place where they went on dates and spent much-needed time together.
Everything in their marriage seemed to be perfect.
But even during this period, the last thing that came to Manuela's mind before sleeping was Mike. She remembered how
They were just as happy in their lives together as she and Rishav are right now. It took Rishav a while to realize that behind that beautiful smile, Manuela is still hiding the agony of her separation from her ex-husband, and it doesn't matter how much he loves her; she'll never love him back.
The distance between them started growing, and silence took the place of the laughs and giggles. They rarely talked on their way home or in the café.
One night while Manuela was smoking on the roof, Rishav came and asked her if he could join her. Manuela agreed.
"You still love him, don't you?" Rishav asked while trying his best to hide the melancholy in his voice.
"I don't know," Manuela replied after taking
a long breath.
"But you miss him, don't you?"
"Yes. I think so."
"Did he ever call or text you after leaving?"
"Yes, one day before our wedding."
"Did he say he wants to come back?"
"I don't know; the call went to voicemail, and I never called him back."
"I thought once we get married, I'll forget him."
"But you didn't."
"I haven't, but I will," replied Manuela and went down.
Rishav, all alone on the roof, looked up at the starry night sky in despair.
It was Priyank's birthday the next day, and everyone in the house was excited. He invited all of his friends in the evening and asked Manuela and Rishav to come home early. Rishav, on their way home, decided that it was the right time to buy a pet. In the evening when the party was over, they surprised Priyank with the best present of the evening: a puppy. Both Priyank and Prayag were thrilled about having a new member in the house. They named him Harper.
Rishav took the kids and Harper for walks in the evening on weekends while Manuela went to the cafe to read. On their way home, Rishav always glanced at Manuela for a few seconds, hoping that she would look back, but she never did.
Unlike Manuela, Rishav made some friends in the office, and the one he was closest to was Nora. She was a tall, beautiful girl who was much younger than him. They went on coffee breaks together where they shared a few laughs and talked about their personal lives. Over time they grew closer, closer than they should have.
Nora knew Rishav was married but still fell in love with him. Rishav, too, felt the same. They both knew they loved each other, but neither had the courage to confess. Rishav did not want his marriage to fall apart, and neither did Nora, and with that their love never made it out of the canteen.
Manuela found a new friend in poetry books and started writing herself too. She started an Instagram page for her poetry, which got some following, and read some of it to Rishav before going to sleep, which made him feel like he wa s a part of her world once again.
As the following on her page began to grow, Manuela started asking for Rishav's opinion before posting her poems. He also helped her write the captions and choose the background pictures and music.
Poetry breathed life into their otherwise failing marriage, and Rishav couldn’t have been more thankful for it.
They started going to the café together once again, where Manuela spent most of her time typing on her phone, trying to come up with a new poem, while Rishav looked at her—and then at the café—realizing how it had again become a special place of love for him. It wasn't quite the same as it was but still was enough.
It was a normal morning with a slight drizzle. With their hands held tightly together, Manuela and Rishav left for the hospital. It was the day of Manuela's surgery. Rishav sat in the waiting room, reading his wife's poems, understanding and feeling every bit of emotion that was poured into them, hoping she comes back alive to write more.
The surgery lasted a little over four hours. The doctor came out, and Rishav rushed towards him.
"Is she OK?"
"Yes, she is going to be fine."
"Can I meet her?"
"Not now; she is unconscious. After half an hour…"
"OK"
Tears rolled down Rishav's eyes as he punched the air in joy.
Finally, after half an hour, Manuela woke up and saw Rishav sitting beside her, her palm softly held in his. They both smiled, and Rishav kissed her on her forehead.
It took her 6 weeks to fully recover. During this time, she skipped work and stayed at home. But when the kids were at school and she was all alone in the house, she found herself staring out of her bedroom window, waiting for them and Rishav to come back.
Loneliness crept into her heart, and she was often lost in thoughts. She didn't remember if she ate or not, and the coffee she made for herself would often turn cold before she remembered.
Her own home felt like a prison. A prison with its door unlocked, asking her to run away, but she had no idea where to go.
It was during this time that she and Harper finally bonded. She started taking him out in the backyard and playing fetch with him and realized how Rishav's decision to buy Harper was completely right. With time, Harper became just as close to Manuela as he had been with Rishav and the kids.
But the poetry books and Harper were not enough to fill the echoing sadness that filled her heart, and Mike’s voicemail was the final hope she turned to in her misery.
She got into the habit of playing it again and again, until her quivering fingers almost pressed the call key.
Then she would throw the phone away and press a pillow to her face with all the strength she had left in her weakened body.
With her eyes closed, she would imagine the face of Mike, smiling at her from a distance, telling her he was only one call away.
As the clock struck 3:00 in the afternoon, she would get up from the bed, open the front door, and start pacing the floor, waiting impatiently for her kids to come back. She rushed toward them when they finally arrived and embraced them, not letting go until the kids asked her if she was okay. She would then help them change, and after a few hours, they would go on an evening walk together with Harper. After they returned home, she would again grow impatient—for Rishav to return. She never knew she was so attached to him until now and realized how he had become an inseparable part of her life.
The first few weeks were the hardest for her to endure, but after that, she got used to it. She was finally fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer and had the chance to spend more time with her kids. So, when the six weeks were finally over, she surprised Rishav by telling him she didn’t want to return to the office. She wanted to stay at home.
“But don’t you get bored when no one’s around?”
“Not anymore.”
A few years passed, and Manuela was in the café alone, waiting for her coffee with a manuscript of the novel she had written based on her life, when the unthinkable happened.
Someone from her past came and sat across from her at the table.
It was Mike.
“Hi, Manuela,” he said in a shaky voice, struggling to meet her eyes.
“Mike?” she replied, still in shock.
“You never called me back.”
“Do you really think you deserved it?”
“No. But—”
“But what, Mike? You left us when we needed you the most. And now it’s too late.”
“I’m sorry, but I was afraid… afraid of taking responsibility for an ailing wife who might die, leaving me alone to take care of the kids.”
“So what do you want now? I’m happily married. There’s no place for you in my life.”
“At least let me meet the kids.”
“They’re no longer your kids, Mike.”
“I understand, Manuela. And I’ll leave you and the kids alone if that makes you happy. But do me one favor—if you or the kids ever need me, just call. I’ll be there this time.”
Mike got up and went outside from where he hoped for her to give him a final glance, but got nothing. Then he turned and walked away.
For a few minutes, Manuela’s heart kept pounding as she wiped her sweaty forehead with her handkerchief.
Then she started writing, her fingers trembling as she did so.
As the lonely bird flies past the moon,
And tells me, See you soon,
I wonder if I’ll see her again,
For with it I want to share my pain,
As we go our different ways,
There is a voice inside me that says,
One day I’ll get over the pain,
One day I’ll see her again.
She wrote, finished her coffee, and slowly looked outside the glass window to see if he was still there, but he was gone.
Just when she started to leave, it started raining, so she went back to the chair she was sitting on. As she watched the raindrops collide with the glass windows, memories of the time she had spent with Mike in that café flashed before her eyes. She remembered how they almost always ordered the same thing — an espresso for him and a cappuccino for her.
Then they would talk about their work and decide which movie to watch on the weekends. Sometimes, they would argue about the smallest of things. Other times, they would remain silent, watching butterflies fly around the beautiful little garden that surrounded the café. These were the moments that made her believe they were made for each other.
When she realized that the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, she decided to rush home.
She reached home and decided to put on dry clothes. Once she was dressed, she took a seat on the sofa. The kids were in the park with Harper, and Rishav was at the office. After giving a long sigh, she lay down on the sofa with her head facing the ceiling and stared at it for a while.
Then she got up, went to her bedroom, and stood in front of the mirror. She remembered how she had stopped looking at the mirror since Mike left and barely put on any makeup when she went outside. She kept looking until she noticed all the minute changes that had occurred in her body and her face. She was now skinnier than before, and there were tiny wrinkles at the outer corners of her eyes.
She felt as if the person in the mirror was a stranger she had met years ago — a stranger with memories that never crossed paths again, until now. She rested her forehead on the mirror, closed her eyes, and stayed in that position until she heard the footsteps of the kids and a woof-woof from Harper.
At night, when she was smoking on the roof alone, she thought about her decision not to let Mike meet the kids. The way he had asked to see them made her feel that he genuinely wanted to and had missed them.
Although he had left them years ago, they were still his kids. But to the kids, he was now a ghost—they barely remembered him. They had truly accepted Rishav as their father, and her gut told her that nothing good would have come if she had let Mike meet them.
She was still in shock over the fact that he had come back to see her and the kids. Why after all these years? she thought. As much as she had missed him, she realized after their conversation that she did not want him back in her life.
For her, the person she had missed and was still in love with had died long ago—just not buried yet.
She came to bed and was surprised to see that Rishav was still awake, reading one of the poetry books Manuela kept at her bedside.
"How is it?" Manuela asked, smiling.
"Beautiful," replied Rishav.
Manuela gave Rishav a long, affectionate look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because I love you."
It was the first time she had ever said that to him.
"I love you too," replied Rishav, returning her smile.
"Don’t forget your medicines," he added.
Manuela decided not to tell Rishav about Mike.
It was a Sunday morning with a clear sky and a cold breeze that entered through the half-open windows.
The kids woke up before Manuela and Rishav and decided to take Harper on a walk by themselves, as they did whenever Manuela or Rishav were too busy to go.
They came back after about an hour and saw their parents working in the kitchen together.
"What are you guys preparing?" they both screamed together in joy.
"Potato-stuffed flatbreads," replied Manuela.
"Or as we call them in Hindi—Aloo ke parathe," Rishav added.
After breakfast, they decided to watch a children's movie together. The four of them sat on the sofa, switched on the TV, and put on Penguins of Madagascar.
As the kids laughed together, Manuela and Rishav, who were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, smiled at each other.
It was also an important day for Manuela, as she had completed the manuscript for her novel and was ready to submit it to publishers. She did it after preparing lunch.
After waiting for about six months and facing multiple rejections, she finally got a reply from one of the publishers—they were ready to publish it.
The book soon became a bestseller, and readers applauded her writing and the story in their reviews. She started getting calls and messages from relatives and friends telling her how much they loved the book and asking her to keep writing.
And one of the most unexpected people who called her was Mike.
"Hi, Manuela," he said after taking a long breath and letting it out in a sigh.
"What do you want now?" replied Manuela in a calm voice.
"I read your book. It was amazing."
"Is that it?"
"No, it's not."
"After all these years, I’ve realized what I lost when I left you. I lost a beautiful family and a purpose for waking up in the morning. Here I am, alone in my apartment with no one to share my sorrow. Loneliness follows me around like a shadow. Even after having everything, I feel incomplete. And that’s when I remember you—how we loved each other and made so many beautiful memories. Memories that are still vivid in my brain. I know I can’t come back into your life like I used to, but the least I expect from you is that you pick up my calls like you did today... and try to forgive me."
"Why don’t you get remarried?"
"I did once. But I soon realized she only married me for my money. It didn’t take long before the marriage fell apart. Since then, I’ve been living alone."
"Listen, Mike, all I can do for you is forgive you. Nothing more than that."
"You don’t understand, Manuela. The only reason I’m still breathing is because my heart believes you still have feelings for me. And all I’m asking you to do is answer my calls... and meet me in that café once in a while. Can you do that for me?"
"And what will I say to my husband? That I’m talking to and meeting my ex-husband every once in a while? What will he think?"
"Tell him exactly what I told you. I’m sure he will understand."
"I’ll try to answer your calls Mike, but forget about meeting. Bye."
Manuela hung up and tossed the phone aside.
Rishav got a job offer from another company with a handsome salary, and he decided to leave. But it was not so easy. Nora was absolutely devastated when he told her. She couldn't imagine how her life would be if she didn’t get to see him on a daily basis.
"When are you leaving?" asked Nora.
"Next month," replied Rishav.
"So you’ve decided to leave me alone here."
"I don’t want to leave you, Nora, but I have to go. I have kids who are growing up."
"And what about me? Don’t you love me?"
"I do. But we always knew our story would end one day—unfinished."
Nora didn’t reply. Struggling to hold back her tears, she left the canteen.
After that day, she stopped talking to him altogether.
Manuela knew that Rishav and Nora were very close to each other, and after Rishav returned from his final day at the office, she had a conversation with him about Nora just before they were going to sleep.
"How is she dealing with you leaving?"
"Who?"
"Nora. I know she was your best friend in the office."
"We don't talk anymore. The day I told her I’d decided to leave, she stopped talking to me."
"It seems she might be in love with you."
"I don't know. She never said that to me."
"But you know she does, don't you?"
"Maybe. But what's the point? I'm married to you, and I love you. That's it."
"Do you love her too?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Just tell me. I completely understand if you do. I have been emotionally unavailable to you most of the time in our marriage. It's only human if you fell in love with someone who was there for you during this time."
"If you really want to know, then my answer is yes. I do love her. But not the way I love you. I can live without her, but not without you."
"Really?"
"Yes. And now that we’ve stopped talking and I’m leaving the office, you don’t have to worry about her anymore."
"I was never worried. I trust you," Manuela said as she pressed Rishav’s hand.
She then turned away and turned off the lights. As she tried to sleep, flashbacks of Nora's beautiful body came to her mind. She remembered how they always went on coffee breaks together and how the whole office thought they were having an affair. And as much as she tried to ignore it, Rishav's confession today felt like a dagger to her heart.
A few months went by but Manuela never got a call from Mike. She tried telling herself that she didn't care but in her heart she hoped he was OK.
It was a Tuesday morning, and the clock read 10 a.m. when Manuela started making tea for herself. Rishav and the kids were out, and she was alone in the house when she got a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, is this Manuela Smith?"
"Yes."
"Ms. Smith, I'm sorry to inform you that your ex-husband, Mike Jones, is no more. He was found hanging in his apartment last night. I'm his lawyer."
The teacup Manuela was holding fell to the floor and shattered.
"Ms. Smith?"
"Yes, I'm listening," Manuela said as she collapsed into a chair near the dining table.
"He had officially revised his will to leave everything to you."
"I don't want anything."
"I'm sorry?"
"I said I don't want anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Manuela replied, and hung up the phone.
She slowly got up and went to her bedroom. From her cupboard, she took out an old album and opened it. Then she slowly leafed through the pages filled with pictures of Mike. She couldn't believe he had left the world without even saying a final goodbye.
For a few days after the news of Mike's departure, Manuela seemed lost in thought and didn't talk as much as she used to. It felt as if her past was waving goodbye to her, telling her to fill the hole left inside her by them with new hope, a new dream, and a new future.
Rishav, in his new job, missed Nora as he sat alone at a table in the canteen with his coffee. He had told himself—and Manuela—that he would be able to live without her, but the years of memories he made with Nora didn’t fade. Now, they were as vivid as they could have been. He missed her laugh, her habit of going silent when upset, and her glittering eyes when she tried to hold back her tears. He knew what he had done to her wasn’t right and wanted to call her. But the fact that she hadn’t called him since he left made him think again.
“Maybe she’s over me after all,” he thought, and dropped the idea of calling her.
Little did Rishav know how desperately Nora missed him without showing it. The reason she had stopped talking to him was that she wanted to prepare for what was coming—her world without him. A huge wave of loneliness struck her whenever she had coffee in the canteen. Sometimes it hit her so hard, she would leave her coffee half-finished and rush out of the canteen, panting heavily. On the office floor, she would often stare at the chair Rishav used to sit on until someone nudged her and asked if something was wrong.
She soon started to regret her decision of not talking to him during his last month in the office. She thought she was preparing for his absence, but deep down in her heart, she knew she was punishing him for his decision to leave her. But as she sat alone in her bed and sleep eluded her, she couldn't stand it anymore and decided to call Rishav.
While trying to sleep, she recalled the first time this had happened—her 22nd birthday. She had invited her close friends and colleagues, making all the arrangements, from the cake to the balloons. The only thing missing was the people who never actually showed up. She remembered how she had cried herself to sleep that night. She never bothered to ask why they didn't come; she already knew the typical excuses people made in such situations.
Today was her 29th birthday. She decided never to invite anyone again and to find
solace in solitude. She didn't cry, but for some reason, this time she felt even lonelier than when she was 22.
As a single mother, she was doing her best at her job, but her personal life was crumbling. Memories of her husband flooded her mind, despite the fact that he had left years ago when she was diagnosed. She loved him anyway. She had hoped that at the very least, he would call her on her birthday, but he didn't even bother to send a text. Deep down, she knew her job was the only way to escape her mundane life. She hated Sunday mornings.
She had tried to make friends at work, but that hadn't worked out either. None of her interests matched theirs—except for their shared love of coffee. She took two cups of coffee every day, one in the morning and one during her evening break. She liked Indian food more than anything else and worked an eight-hour shift. By the end of it, she was usually exhausted.
Her only motivation in life was her children. The way their faces lit up when she reached home and they rushed to hug her was adorable, to say the least. She always tried to pick them both up at the same time but was never actually able to do so. She loved them equally.
They didn't have many memories of their father, as he had left when they were only four. Manuela understood the importance of a father figure in a child's life and had tried to date again. She dated two men—one was a professor, and the other was a writer—but they both disappointed her when she told them about her kids. After that, she stopped dating altogether.
Tomorrow was a big day for her. After years of hard and honest work, she was finally getting promoted, and the same people who ghosted her on her birthday now expected a party invitation.
Every day, she took the stairs to the eighth floor because of her claustrophobia, yet she was never late. She was good at what she did and had won Employee of the Year five consecutive times.
After getting home and putting her kids to sleep, she would usually read books while listening to music. She admired the works of great writers like Dostoevsky and Sartre. She still remembered how passionate she had been about becoming a writer in her youth. But responsibilities had killed her dreams, and now here she was, working in corporate.
Sometimes she thought of leaving her job and trying her luck as a writer, but the mere thought of resigning terrified her. It wasn't that she doubted her writing skills; rather, it was because of her kids.
She had taken up smoking to cope with the separation but never smoked around her children or on office premises. Instead, she did it on the roof, gazing at the stars. On cloudy nights, she missed those stars more than the moon.
She had to find a way to tell her children about their father. They still didn't know why he had left and were also unaware of her diagnosis. She still couldn't imagine the look on their faces when she broke the news.
Her husband was the only person who
knew she was battling cancer. She could never forget how easy it had been for him to abandon his family in a moment that demanded his presence the most. She could never forget the disappointed look he gave her when she told him. Instead of embracing her, he simply left the room.
The next day, he left the house. He hadn't contacted her even once since then. But she missed him. She still loved him. She was still waiting for him to come back.
Even for a strong woman like her, raising two kids alone was a daunting task.
The caretaker she had hired was unhappy with her salary but still did her job because she loved the kids just as much. Manuela left the house at 9:30 and came back at 7:30. She was usually late in the rainy season when the roads flooded, but apart from that, she always managed to get home on time.
Her own childhood hadn't been great either. Her parents used to fight over the smallest things almost every day. They both loved her, but they were so consumed with their own lives that she often felt ignored and alone. Even at school, she barely had any friends. But she was sharp and hardworking, and her teachers really liked her.
She had a huge crush on a boy in a higher class but was too shy to confess. She still imagined how her life might have turned out if she had had the courage to tell him. He, too, had felt the same way. But they had both left it to destiny.
She didn't even know that he was still single, waiting for her, waiting for destiny to unfold. But who was going to tell her?
They had no contact and only one mutual friend. As much as they missed each other, neither of them asked about the other. Perhaps, for her, it had just been a crush. But for him, it had been love.
She knew he would accept her and her kids without question, but to her, it wouldn't be fair.
She thought she didn't need anyone's support, but deep down, she knew it was possible that she wouldn't be there for her kids for much longer. Someone had to take responsibility for them, and he was just the right man for it.
Maybe on one of her worst days, she would do what was needed. She would tell him. She would tell him she needed him and would finally be happy for the rest of her life.
But for now, she had other responsibilities.
She needed to buy a car—desperately. Although she was never late to the office, she had to make sure she got home to her kids on time, especially with the rainy season approaching.
She had two umbrellas in her house, both damaged. The first thing she would do today was buy an umbrella—one that could stand by her in the storms of life, unlike her husband.
She wasn't quite a perfectionist but was sometimes obsessed with having things exactly as she wanted them.
She liked her clothes black and her boots white. She loved rock music and hated jazz. She loved coffee and couldn't stand
the smell of tea. She was an atheist but had a deep love for her religion.
One could say she was a walking paradox—one no philosopher would dare to tackle.
She loved reading fiction but now wanted to read poetry. She was thinking of buying a book by Robert Frost. Frost, she believed, would be the perfect start. She had had enough of Sartre and Dostoevsky. Their writing was compelling, but their content was depressing. From now on, she had decided to read things that gave her mind positive energy.
Her cooking skills were improving, and for her, that was a great achievement—perhaps her greatest.
She had always struggled with cooking and had burned her hands several times.
But she never gave up.
Her mother had been her inspiration—an excellent cook. Unfortunately, her mother had faced similar treatment from her husband as Manuela had.
At last, she realized she had married the wrong person and had loved someone who couldn't even spell the word.
Tonight, she had to sleep early. She wanted to look perfect at her promotion celebration. Tomorrow, she would become the team leader of the same team she had joined as a consultant. As gloomy as her personal life was, her professional future was brighter than the noon sun.
Sometimes, she looked at her situation from a distance, imagining herself as someone else. She would ask, "Where did it all go wrong?"
And all she got in return was a confused, dismayed look—and a faint smile.
She woke up at 7:00, brushed her teeth with her favorite pink toothbrush, took a shower, and left for work.
She reached the office, and what she saw broke her heart. There was no decoration for her, and people were working just as they did every day. Manuela realized at that moment that nobody cared about her promotion, and her body started shaking. A teardrop formed in her eye as she sat on her new chair.
She couldn't focus on her work and started
to think about her family. Her only sister, Amy, came to her mind. She remembered how they celebrated each other's achievements wholeheartedly. For her, Amy was the best sister in the whole world. She decided she would call Amy and tell her everything after the day was over. It had been a while since they had talked, and this seemed to be the perfect time to get in touch with each other.
Jake, one of the interns, was the closest thing to a friend to her in the office. He came to her after a while and congratulated Manuela on her promotion. She wanted to hug him and thank him. "Thank you, Jake," she replied with a fake smile on her face.
She saw the office from her new seat and realized that there was nothing new. The white desks and black chairs still gave the
same melancholic glance at her, asking her to get out of this cold world. The only change she could notice was her distance from the air conditioner. She was a bit closer to it and could feel the difference in temperature. On the other hand, she was now farther away from the washroom, and as hard as she tried to ignore the fact, it still bothered her.
She completed her first day as the new team leader and left for home.
She reached home and collapsed on the sofa. Prayag and Priyank realized that Mom was stressed, and to give her space, they didn't approach her.
After a few minutes of rest, Manuela took her phone and called Amy. She didn't answer, and the call went to voicemail.
"Hi Amy, How are you these days? I miss you and wanted to talk. Call me back when you can. Bye."
She wanted to go to sleep. Sarah had cooked the food, but she didn't have the appetite. She told Prayag and Priyank to eat and went to sleep.
She woke up at midnight for some water. As she walked toward the RO, she realized she was quite hungry and decided to eat. She sat alone at the dining table and ate the leftovers. She washed her hands, drank the water, and went to check on her kids. She opened the door and saw them sleeping comfortably. She smiled and shut the door behind her.
The next morning in the office, a few colleagues congratulated her and gave her flowers. "Why today and not on the actual
day of my achievement?" she said to herself.
She worked hard in her new role, just as expected, and led her team very well. Everybody accepted her as their leader wholeheartedly in a few days. She mostly worked in Excel and was slowly mastering it. She was still waiting for the callback from Amy as she worked her shift.
Two days passed, and still, there was no response from Amy. "She must be busy," Manuela thought and gave a long sigh.
She taught Prayag and Priyank herself too whenever she had time. She wanted to make sure that their kids achieved their dreams. She taught them mathematics and science. The rest of the subjects she left to Sarah. They both knew how brilliant the kids were and left no stone unturned to
Give them the best guidance. They made sure that the kids didn't end up like them.
On the last day of the month, Manuela received her salary. She had a list of expenses in her diary as always and thought, "Where is she going to spend the extra amount?" She wanted to buy some boots and clothes for herself but knew it was time she stopped spending money on herself and spent it on her kids. She decided to buy clothes and books for them with her extra money. She was on her way to becoming the best mom.
Priyank loved mathematics more than physics and chemistry, while Prayag loved physics more. They both often argued about which subject was superior, and after having a heated debate, they would turn to Sarah and Manuela to settle it. "Both are equally important" was the answer they received from both of them. It
It was funny and adorable watching both of them fight. They brought life to an otherwise lifeless home.
Manuela decided she would take both of her kids shopping on Sunday. She already knew what both would buy. Priyank, as always, buys all-black clothes, while Prayag would buy grey. Both would eat Mexican pizza after shopping and would end the day after ordering a chocolate shake. Sarah would come along if she were free, and she too loved the pizza, and the three of them would order and finish the large pizza while Manuela finished her burger.
The only thing that scared her was her husband coming back for her kids. What would she do then? She is suffering from cancer, and the judge would most probably give the decision in his favor. He is rich.
and would take care of the kids much better than her. Sometimes she wakes up at midnight when this nightmare of a possibility comes into her mind. All she is left with in this life are her kids, and she would, under no circumstance, give them away.
They were on their way to the mall when Manuela's phone rang. It was Amy. They both talked about their current lives, and Manuela shared all of her sorrows with her. Amy said everything is going to be all right, and they hung up the call at that note.
Manuela and Amy both promised each other they would call each other more often.
Manuela still had her husband's number in her phone and desperately wanted to call.
him too after she hung up Amy's call. She wanted to tell him about her promotion and how much their kids had grown, but in her heart she knew he didn't deserve to know any of it.
They reached home at 6:00 and started unpacking the clothes to try them on. Everyone bought something except Manuela. The kids were happy, and that's all she wanted from her life now.
Just when they were about to go to their respective rooms, they heard a knock on the door. Manuela staggered towards the door and opened it, and what she saw brought her heart an unexplainable joy. It was Rishav, the boy she had a crush on in school.
"Hi, Manuela."
"Rishav, what are you doing here?"
"I talked to Amy, and she told me everything."
"Come inside first."
"Listen, Manuela, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I love you and want to marry you."
"But Rishav..."
"No, Manuela, it's not the time for ifs and buts. You need someone to put your life together, and that is exactly the reason why I've come to you."
"You don't understand, I'm dying, Rishav; I have cancer."
"I know, Amy told me, and that's why she pleaded with me to go and talk to you."
"We will talk about it in the morning." "Let me show you the guest room."
In the morning, Manuela introduced everyone to Rishav, and all of them were excited to meet him. She told them Rishav will be living here for some time. The kids cherished the addition of a new member in the family. Rishav greeted both of them with a smile and got the same in return.
Manuela told him she will tell him her decision once she returns from work.
Rishav took the kids to school and waited impatiently for her to return after reaching home.
The clock struck 7:30, and Rishav knew she would be here anytime from now. His heart started racing, and his palms became sweaty. He wanted to call her but decided that he would wait for her to come. He asked kids to do their homework and tell him if they needed help. The kids went to their rooms, leaving Rishav and Sarah alone in the hall.
"What do you think? Will she accept me? asked Rishav.
"She should," replied Sarah.
Their conversation was cut short by a knock on the door.
"She is here," Rishav exclaimed.
He rushed to the door and opened it.
Without wasting a second, Manuela
hugged him with all her strength.
Tears rolled down both of her eyes as she said, "Yes, Rishav, I will marry you."
They both smiled and, with tears in their eyes, kissed each other. Sarah, too, started crying watching all this and realized that Manuela finally had found the support she desperately needed.
Holding hands, they went to Manuela's bedroom, and the house was finally complete. Now the only thing that needed to be tackled was to reintroduce Rishav to the kids as their new father, but for now they couldn't help but embrace and kiss each other.
They decided that Rishav would shift to their home and find a new job there, preferably in the same company in which
Manuela worked. Manuela promised him to arrange an interview. Rishav started his preparation and was keen and confident to clear it.
Both Manuela and Sarah helped him in his preparation, and in this way he became a member of the family in no time, a home where everyone liked him. He was about to marry his childhood love, and he couldn't ask for more.
He went to the interview wearing a white shirt, black pants, and boots. They asked him tough questions, but he was well prepared and cleared the interview with ease.
Once out of the interview room, he rushed to Manuela to tell her. Manuela was eagerly waiting for him, and once he reached her, she gave him a big hug.
without even asking anything. She knew he would clear the interview.
It was almost 7, and Manuela decided to leave early with Rishav, as she could not hide her happiness and wanted to go home and share it with Sarah.
They reached home at 7:30, and as always, the kids were waiting for their mom and now a new member of the family too. It was only a matter of time before they would start calling him Daddy and the home, and Manuela's life would be complete again.
They decided to get married on Sunday.
As happy as Manuela was, her heart still missed her husband. And as much as she liked Rishav, she still loved Mike.
It was Saturday morning, and everyone was preparing for the wedding. They were trying on their new clothes in front of the mirror. Sarah and Manuela had chosen the wedding dress together, and both thought it looked gorgeous. Manuela tried it on and showed it to her kids.
"You look gorgeous, Mummy!" both of them screamed.
As she was undressing, she heard her phone ringing. She couldn't reach it in time, and the call went to voicemail. She opened it, and what she heard left her stunned. The voicemail said, "Hi, Manuela, it's Mike. Can you call me back, please?"
"What if he wants to come back?" "What if he has realized his mistake and wants to make everything right?" Thoughts like these kept Manuela awake all night.
It was Sunday—the wedding day—but all Manuela could think about was the voicemail from Mike. She knew calling him back was not a good idea. Today was perhaps the best day of her life since her first wedding, and she decided she wouldn't allow her past to ruin it.
They got married and promised to never leave each other, no matter the circumstances. Everyone in the church was all smiles, especially Prayag and Priyank. They knew their mom had found what she had been missing all these years.
They rushed to their parents once the rituals were over. Rishav picked up both of them, and that made Manuela smile. She knew she wouldn't have to worry about their future anymore.
The first few months of the marriage felt like heaven. Rishav made her and the kids
laugh all the time and made her completely forget about her diagnosis.
There was a café near their home that Manuela always liked, where she spent a good part of her weekends reading books. One day when they were going past the café when coming back from work, Manuela mentioned it to Rishav and told her how it had a special place in her heart. Rishav, without thinking twice, asked her to come with him for a cup of coffee, and with that, it became a special place where they went on dates and spent much-needed time together.
Everything in their marriage seemed to be perfect.
But even during this period, the last thing that came to Manuela's mind before sleeping was Mike. She remembered how
They were just as happy in their lives together as she and Rishav are right now. It took Rishav a while to realize that behind that beautiful smile, Manuela is still hiding the agony of her separation from her ex-husband, and it doesn't matter how much he loves her; she'll never love him back.
The distance between them started growing, and silence took the place of the laughs and giggles. They rarely talked on their way home or in the café.
One night while Manuela was smoking on the roof, Rishav came and asked her if he could join her. Manuela agreed.
"You still love him, don't you?" Rishav asked while trying his best to hide the melancholy in his voice.
"I don't know," Manuela replied after taking
a long breath.
"But you miss him, don't you?"
"Yes. I think so."
"Did he ever call or text you after leaving?"
"Yes, one day before our wedding."
"Did he say he wants to come back?"
"I don't know; the call went to voicemail, and I never called him back."
"I thought once we get married, I'll forget him."
"But you didn't."
"I haven't, but I will," replied Manuela and went down.
Rishav, all alone on the roof, looked up at the starry night sky in despair.
It was Priyank's birthday the next day, and everyone in the house was excited. He invited all of his friends in the evening and asked Manuela and Rishav to come home early. Rishav, on their way home, decided that it was the right time to buy a pet. In the evening when the party was over, they surprised Priyank with the best present of the evening: a puppy. Both Priyank and Prayag were thrilled about having a new member in the house. They named him Harper.
Rishav took the kids and Harper for walks in the evening on weekends while Manuela went to the cafe to read. On their way home, Rishav always glanced at Manuela for a few seconds, hoping that she would look back, but she never did.
Unlike Manuela, Rishav made some friends in the office, and the one he was closest to was Nora. She was a tall, beautiful girl who was much younger than him. They went on coffee breaks together where they shared a few laughs and talked about their personal lives. Over time they grew closer, closer than they should have.
Nora knew Rishav was married but still fell in love with him. Rishav, too, felt the same. They both knew they loved each other, but neither had the courage to confess. Rishav did not want his marriage to fall apart, and neither did Nora, and with that their love never made it out of the canteen.
Manuela found a new friend in poetry books and started writing herself too. She started an Instagram page for her poetry, which got some following, and read some of it to Rishav before going to sleep, which made him feel like he wa s a part of her world once again.
As the following on her page began to grow, Manuela started asking for Rishav's opinion before posting her poems. He also helped her write the captions and choose the background pictures and music.
Poetry breathed life into their otherwise failing marriage, and Rishav couldn’t have been more thankful for it.
They started going to the café together once again, where Manuela spent most of her time typing on her phone, trying to come up with a new poem, while Rishav looked at her—and then at the café—realizing how it had again become a special place of love for him. It wasn't quite the same as it was but still was enough.
It was a normal morning with a slight drizzle. With their hands held tightly together, Manuela and Rishav left for the hospital. It was the day of Manuela's surgery. Rishav sat in the waiting room, reading his wife's poems, understanding and feeling every bit of emotion that was poured into them, hoping she comes back alive to write more.
The surgery lasted a little over four hours. The doctor came out, and Rishav rushed towards him.
"Is she OK?"
"Yes, she is going to be fine."
"Can I meet her?"
"Not now; she is unconscious. After half an hour…"
"OK"
Tears rolled down Rishav's eyes as he punched the air in joy.
Finally, after half an hour, Manuela woke up and saw Rishav sitting beside her, her palm softly held in his. They both smiled, and Rishav kissed her on her forehead.
It took her 6 weeks to fully recover. During this time, she skipped work and stayed at home. But when the kids were at school and she was all alone in the house, she found herself staring out of her bedroom window, waiting for them and Rishav to come back.
Loneliness crept into her heart, and she was often lost in thoughts. She didn't remember if she ate or not, and the coffee she made for herself would often turn cold before she remembered.
Her own home felt like a prison. A prison with its door unlocked, asking her to run away, but she had no idea where to go.
It was during this time that she and Harper finally bonded. She started taking him out in the backyard and playing fetch with him and realized how Rishav's decision to buy Harper was completely right. With time, Harper became just as close to Manuela as he had been with Rishav and the kids.
But the poetry books and Harper were not enough to fill the echoing sadness that filled her heart, and Mike’s voicemail was the final hope she turned to in her misery.
She got into the habit of playing it again and again, until her quivering fingers almost pressed the call key.
Then she would throw the phone away and press a pillow to her face with all the strength she had left in her weakened body.
With her eyes closed, she would imagine the face of Mike, smiling at her from a distance, telling her he was only one call away.
As the clock struck 3:00 in the afternoon, she would get up from the bed, open the front door, and start pacing the floor, waiting impatiently for her kids to come back. She rushed toward them when they finally arrived and embraced them, not letting go until the kids asked her if she was okay. She would then help them change, and after a few hours, they would go on an evening walk together with Harper. After they returned home, she would again grow impatient—for Rishav to return. She never knew she was so attached to him until now and realized how he had become an inseparable part of her life.
The first few weeks were the hardest for her to endure, but after that, she got used to it. She was finally fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer and had the chance to spend more time with her kids. So, when the six weeks were finally over, she surprised Rishav by telling him she didn’t want to return to the office. She wanted to stay at home.
“But don’t you get bored when no one’s around?”
“Not anymore.”
A few years passed, and Manuela was in the café alone, waiting for her coffee with a manuscript of the novel she had written based on her life, when the unthinkable happened.
Someone from her past came and sat across from her at the table.
It was Mike.
“Hi, Manuela,” he said in a shaky voice, struggling to meet her eyes.
“Mike?” she replied, still in shock.
“You never called me back.”
“Do you really think you deserved it?”
“No. But—”
“But what, Mike? You left us when we needed you the most. And now it’s too late.”
“I’m sorry, but I was afraid… afraid of taking responsibility for an ailing wife who might die, leaving me alone to take care of the kids.”
“So what do you want now? I’m happily married. There’s no place for you in my life.”
“At least let me meet the kids.”
“They’re no longer your kids, Mike.”
“I understand, Manuela. And I’ll leave you and the kids alone if that makes you happy. But do me one favor—if you or the kids ever need me, just call. I’ll be there this time.”
Mike got up and went outside from where he hoped for her to give him a final glance, but got nothing. Then he turned and walked away.
For a few minutes, Manuela’s heart kept pounding as she wiped her sweaty forehead with her handkerchief.
Then she started writing, her fingers trembling as she did so.
As the lonely bird flies past the moon,
And tells me, See you soon,
I wonder if I’ll see her again,
For with it I want to share my pain,
As we go our different ways,
There is a voice inside me that says,
One day I’ll get over the pain,
One day I’ll see her again.
She wrote, finished her coffee, and slowly looked outside the glass window to see if he was still there, but he was gone.
Just when she started to leave, it started raining, so she went back to the chair she was sitting on. As she watched the raindrops collide with the glass windows, memories of the time she had spent with Mike in that café flashed before her eyes. She remembered how they almost always ordered the same thing — an espresso for him and a cappuccino for her.
Then they would talk about their work and decide which movie to watch on the weekends. Sometimes, they would argue about the smallest of things. Other times, they would remain silent, watching butterflies fly around the beautiful little garden that surrounded the café. These were the moments that made her believe they were made for each other.
When she realized that the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, she decided to rush home.
She reached home and decided to put on dry clothes. Once she was dressed, she took a seat on the sofa. The kids were in the park with Harper, and Rishav was at the office. After giving a long sigh, she lay down on the sofa with her head facing the ceiling and stared at it for a while.
Then she got up, went to her bedroom, and stood in front of the mirror. She remembered how she had stopped looking at the mirror since Mike left and barely put on any makeup when she went outside. She kept looking until she noticed all the minute changes that had occurred in her body and her face. She was now skinnier than before, and there were tiny wrinkles at the outer corners of her eyes.
She felt as if the person in the mirror was a stranger she had met years ago — a stranger with memories that never crossed paths again, until now. She rested her forehead on the mirror, closed her eyes, and stayed in that position until she heard the footsteps of the kids and a woof-woof from Harper.
At night, when she was smoking on the roof alone, she thought about her decision not to let Mike meet the kids. The way he had asked to see them made her feel that he genuinely wanted to and had missed them.
Although he had left them years ago, they were still his kids. But to the kids, he was now a ghost—they barely remembered him. They had truly accepted Rishav as their father, and her gut told her that nothing good would have come if she had let Mike meet them.
She was still in shock over the fact that he had come back to see her and the kids. Why after all these years? she thought. As much as she had missed him, she realized after their conversation that she did not want him back in her life.
For her, the person she had missed and was still in love with had died long ago—just not buried yet.
She came to bed and was surprised to see that Rishav was still awake, reading one of the poetry books Manuela kept at her bedside.
"How is it?" Manuela asked, smiling.
"Beautiful," replied Rishav.
Manuela gave Rishav a long, affectionate look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because I love you."
It was the first time she had ever said that to him.
"I love you too," replied Rishav, returning her smile.
"Don’t forget your medicines," he added.
Manuela decided not to tell Rishav about Mike.
It was a Sunday morning with a clear sky and a cold breeze that entered through the half-open windows.
The kids woke up before Manuela and Rishav and decided to take Harper on a walk by themselves, as they did whenever Manuela or Rishav were too busy to go.
They came back after about an hour and saw their parents working in the kitchen together.
"What are you guys preparing?" they both screamed together in joy.
"Potato-stuffed flatbreads," replied Manuela.
"Or as we call them in Hindi—Aloo ke parathe," Rishav added.
After breakfast, they decided to watch a children's movie together. The four of them sat on the sofa, switched on the TV, and put on Penguins of Madagascar.
As the kids laughed together, Manuela and Rishav, who were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, smiled at each other.
It was also an important day for Manuela, as she had completed the manuscript for her novel and was ready to submit it to publishers. She did it after preparing lunch.
After waiting for about six months and facing multiple rejections, she finally got a reply from one of the publishers—they were ready to publish it.
The book soon became a bestseller, and readers applauded her writing and the story in their reviews. She started getting calls and messages from relatives and friends telling her how much they loved the book and asking her to keep writing.
And one of the most unexpected people who called her was Mike.
"Hi, Manuela," he said after taking a long breath and letting it out in a sigh.
"What do you want now?" replied Manuela in a calm voice.
"I read your book. It was amazing."
"Is that it?"
"No, it's not."
"After all these years, I’ve realized what I lost when I left you. I lost a beautiful family and a purpose for waking up in the morning. Here I am, alone in my apartment with no one to share my sorrow. Loneliness follows me around like a shadow. Even after having everything, I feel incomplete. And that’s when I remember you—how we loved each other and made so many beautiful memories. Memories that are still vivid in my brain. I know I can’t come back into your life like I used to, but the least I expect from you is that you pick up my calls like you did today... and try to forgive me."
"Why don’t you get remarried?"
"I did once. But I soon realized she only married me for my money. It didn’t take long before the marriage fell apart. Since then, I’ve been living alone."
"Listen, Mike, all I can do for you is forgive you. Nothing more than that."
"You don’t understand, Manuela. The only reason I’m still breathing is because my heart believes you still have feelings for me. And all I’m asking you to do is answer my calls... and meet me in that café once in a while. Can you do that for me?"
"And what will I say to my husband? That I’m talking to and meeting my ex-husband every once in a while? What will he think?"
"Tell him exactly what I told you. I’m sure he will understand."
"I’ll try to answer your calls Mike, but forget about meeting. Bye."
Manuela hung up and tossed the phone aside.
Rishav got a job offer from another company with a handsome salary, and he decided to leave. But it was not so easy. Nora was absolutely devastated when he told her. She couldn't imagine how her life would be if she didn’t get to see him on a daily basis.
"When are you leaving?" asked Nora.
"Next month," replied Rishav.
"So you’ve decided to leave me alone here."
"I don’t want to leave you, Nora, but I have to go. I have kids who are growing up."
"And what about me? Don’t you love me?"
"I do. But we always knew our story would end one day—unfinished."
Nora didn’t reply. Struggling to hold back her tears, she left the canteen.
After that day, she stopped talking to him altogether.
Manuela knew that Rishav and Nora were very close to each other, and after Rishav returned from his final day at the office, she had a conversation with him about Nora just before they were going to sleep.
"How is she dealing with you leaving?"
"Who?"
"Nora. I know she was your best friend in the office."
"We don't talk anymore. The day I told her I’d decided to leave, she stopped talking to me."
"It seems she might be in love with you."
"I don't know. She never said that to me."
"But you know she does, don't you?"
"Maybe. But what's the point? I'm married to you, and I love you. That's it."
"Do you love her too?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Just tell me. I completely understand if you do. I have been emotionally unavailable to you most of the time in our marriage. It's only human if you fell in love with someone who was there for you during this time."
"If you really want to know, then my answer is yes. I do love her. But not the way I love you. I can live without her, but not without you."
"Really?"
"Yes. And now that we’ve stopped talking and I’m leaving the office, you don’t have to worry about her anymore."
"I was never worried. I trust you," Manuela said as she pressed Rishav’s hand.
She then turned away and turned off the lights. As she tried to sleep, flashbacks of Nora's beautiful body came to her mind. She remembered how they always went on coffee breaks together and how the whole office thought they were having an affair. And as much as she tried to ignore it, Rishav's confession today felt like a dagger to her heart.
A few months went by but Manuela never got a call from Mike. She tried telling herself that she didn't care but in her heart she hoped he was OK.
It was a Tuesday morning, and the clock read 10 a.m. when Manuela started making tea for herself. Rishav and the kids were out, and she was alone in the house when she got a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, is this Manuela Smith?"
"Yes."
"Ms. Smith, I'm sorry to inform you that your ex-husband, Mike Jones, is no more. He was found hanging in his apartment last night. I'm his lawyer."
The teacup Manuela was holding fell to the floor and shattered.
"Ms. Smith?"
"Yes, I'm listening," Manuela said as she collapsed into a chair near the dining table.
"He had officially revised his will to leave everything to you."
"I don't want anything."
"I'm sorry?"
"I said I don't want anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Manuela replied, and hung up the phone.
She slowly got up and went to her bedroom. From her cupboard, she took out an old album and opened it. Then she slowly leafed through the pages filled with pictures of Mike. She couldn't believe he had left the world without even saying a final goodbye.
For a few days after the news of Mike's departure, Manuela seemed lost in thought and didn't talk as much as she used to. It felt as if her past was waving goodbye to her, telling her to fill the hole left inside her by them with new hope, a new dream, and a new future.
Rishav, in his new job, missed Nora as he sat alone at a table in the canteen with his coffee. He had told himself—and Manuela—that he would be able to live without her, but the years of memories he made with Nora didn’t fade. Now, they were as vivid as they could have been. He missed her laugh, her habit of going silent when upset, and her glittering eyes when she tried to hold back her tears. He knew what he had done to her wasn’t right and wanted to call her. But the fact that she hadn’t called him since he left made him think again.
“Maybe she’s over me after all,” he thought, and dropped the idea of calling her.
Little did Rishav know how desperately Nora missed him without showing it. The reason she had stopped talking to him was that she wanted to prepare for what was coming—her world without him. A huge wave of loneliness struck her whenever she had coffee in the canteen. Sometimes it hit her so hard, she would leave her coffee half-finished and rush out of the canteen, panting heavily. On the office floor, she would often stare at the chair Rishav used to sit on until someone nudged her and asked if something was wrong.
She soon started to regret her decision of not talking to him during his last month in the office. She thought she was preparing for his absence, but deep down in her heart, she knew she was punishing him for his decision to leave her. But as she sat alone in her bed and sleep eluded her, she couldn't stand it anymore and decided to call Rishav.
Rishav's phone rang a few times before he picked it up. Manuela was sleeping beside him, so he decided to go to the roof.
"Hi, Nora. How are you?" he said as he walked up the stairs.
"Not good, not good at all," she replied and burst into tears.
"Do you have any idea how much I miss you?" she said as tears poured down her cheeks.
"But it was you who decided to stop talking to me."
"That's because I was angry at you for leaving me, not because I stopped loving you."
"I wanted to talk to you, Nora, and you don't know how much I miss you too. But I thought you were over me, and I was happy for you."
"I'm not over you, Rishav. In fact, I need you more than ever."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to come back."
"I can't do that, Nora. I have a family to take care of."
"And what about me? Who'll take care of me?"
"Just give it some time, Nora. I'm sure you'll be fine. And if you ever need me, just call me."
"Don’t bother. If you can't come back, then forget that I even exist," Nora said, wiping her tears, and hung up.
As it turned out, Rishav was right. Nora started talking to other colleagues in the office and fell in love with one of them. They got married, and when the news reached Rishav, he was so happy that he couldn't help but call her to say congratulations—but Nora didn’t pick up.
It was the last call they ever made to each other.
Manuela, after finally getting over Mike's death, felt like a huge weight that had been tied to her feet—something she had to drag everywhere she went—was finally cut loose. She found her smile, the one lost somewhere in the woods of adulthood.
The worrisome face that had carried years of sadness now had a new glow.
The coffee in the café tasted better than ever, and the stars seemed to shine brighter when she saw them from the roof.
She wrote a poetry book that also became a bestseller, and a year later she gave birth to her third child—naming her Tara, after her beloved stars.
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