A belated love story, part 3 ...

Continued from part 2

After a few months, around September 1989, my father suddenly took ill. My father's ill health took our family to Native land. This time it was not a vacation but an emergency. The reputed doctor, whom my father always consulted was located in Native land. So we had to finally plan a visit . But by then, my excitement for meeting Alice again, had already faded as I was concerned about my father's health.

As soon as we reached Native land, my father had to be hospitalized and I never got a chance to even think about Alice let alone visit her.

At last, after two weeks, the doctor of Native land told us that my father will recover very soon. They treatment was given at the right time there was nothing to worry! I was able to finally relax when my father was discharged from the hospital. I went to a phone booth near by and I rang up Maria (at Golden gates) from the Native land.

That same evening Alice's father came to visit my father. It was then my thoughts caught up with her. I had seen Alice several times from the window and walking past the street, but she never came to meet me.

Now I recall, I was so tense worrying about my father's health, that I did not realize that, this time Alice never came to visit me. Nor did I find the time to go to her house.

Above all, not even Maria enquire any thing about her. She did not want to, specially while my father was recovering.

Well now it was all right, my father was recovering, my mother who was worried sick during my father's hospitalization, started to smile again and for a little while it appeared, that family problems with the relatives of the Native land also seemed to have subsided.

I decided, it was the right time to pay her a visit at her house.

Two years is a long time for many things to happen. The moment I entered the house, I realized that. Her had mother opened the door for me and I saw the house was recently painted. Her mother was very pleased to see me. My eyes searched for her Alice was no where to be found.

Her mother made tea and we engaged ourselves in formal conversation. I tried to appear normal for as long as possible till finally her mother mentioned her name. My heart skipped a beat!

She related, "My dear Sudip, I am so glad your mother does not have to worry about you regarding you studies ¹. And look at my daughter... I had to appoint at least two tutors for her... "

"Where is she? ", I interjected.

"Oh! She has gone to study at her tutor's place"

Damn! I got here after two years and she is no where to be found! I continued,"When she will be back?"

"After noon two o'clock."

That's too late, I need to get back home before that for lunch. In the evening I need to accompany my father for the Doctor's appointment. I had to sacrifice the idea of meeting her that day. There were few more days left and I can definitely meet her then. I have so much to talk and share with her and I also need to ask, will she...?

The second visit to her house, gave me the chance to see her from a distance of a few feet. Alice was my age, 14 years old. And God she was beautiful. This was the first time, in two long years that I was able to see her from such a close distance. She seemed to have grown beautiful by each day since the last time I saw her.

I still remember, how sweet she looked in a light pink colored blouse and blue faded jeans and she still had that shoulder length hair gave her a even more sweet appearance. I remembered that she wanted me to come back soon and am I sure that I noticed her eyes to be moist ²?

Alice seemed to stick to her mother every time now. She never gave me a chance to be with her alone. But still one day she said, she did find my eyes even more fascinating. My thick and long eye lashes, I got them from my father. Those were a matter of interest for her since we were children.

She did comment on my eye lashes. She said they were cool!

I did not get a single day to to talk to her alone, apart from one day during my second or third visit. I was sitting in her room that day. The phone suddenly rang in the middle of the conversation, her mother got up to pick up the extention that was there in her room, to answer the phone. Alice realized that her mother was facing away from us, she suddenly ran her fingers through my hair.

I was startled! I felt an electric current run through my body and she withdrew her hand in a flash before I could comprehend what had just happened. Her mother kept the receiver of the phone back to the cradle, it was a wrong number and she joined us back. I was still amazed at what she had done and her mother had no clue about that. She continued to behave formally, as if nothing had happened; till I returned home that day. I did not tell any body about what she did.

This incident somehow prompted me to visit her house more frequently, but alas! She continued to stick to her mother and never touched me again... well, for the rest of my stay in the Native Land. I started to feel she was avoiding me. All those visits to her home turned out to be disappointing. She would talk but formal. She seemed to maintain a distance ³, but why suddenly touch me for no apparent reason? I never got the answer at that time!

After three or four more visits to her house I seemed to get bored and I stopped visiting her house.

Gradually my father recovered completely and the day to leave for Golden gates drew nearer. I was busy packing my clothes, diary, etc... I happened to peep from the gap between the curtain and the window in my room. I caught a glimpse of Alice, she was at sitting near window of her house. The curtains of her widows were not drawn unlike mine, as a result, she was fully exposed to my view. I saw that she was reading a book (or she pretended to do so). I did not know that she had already noticed me peeping, from the corner of her eye. I went back to packing I thought she was not paying any attention to me.

I had almost finished packing , when a gust of wind billowed the curtain of my window, I subconsciously turned to look that way and this time I saw, she had ditched the book and she came to her window and was looking out directly at me and intently.

I gave her a formal smile. She smiled back. I noticed her eyes were full of some mischief! I paid not attention to that as I was already disappointed with her cold behavior. After two days we left for Golden gates.

Upon retuning to Golden gates, I dashed to Maria's house. I told her what had happened. Alice was ignoring me. She gave me all the emotional support I needed. I told her, "Maria, my relationship with Alice appears to be a game of chess and this game of chess seemed to have entered a boring stage."

Maria gave me all the encouragement she could ⁴and the next few years things started to happen so fast that I never realized the tides were going to turn within three more years.

Continued to part 4

---

All rights reserved © Sudip K Ghosh aka *~Anecentric