Love Never Ends -Episode 3

"If I may ask, what brings you here on birthday, I mean celebrating alone?", Deep popped up the question as soon as they were seated in their bus. Riya was already expecting this and replied calmly, "I wanted to make my 30th special and all my friends were busy with their families".Though the answer seemed convincing it was half the truth. Riya was here to sort her emotional issues. She was here to search for her happiness and direction in life. Watching Riya lost in her thoughts Deep decided to keep silent.It was already 4 pm and it was going to be night by the time they reach Zurich.

Maria's announcement about the traffic jam ahead brought Riya back from her thoughts and she made a mental plan of things to be bought on her way back to the hotel. She was also eager to check Deep's profile since she did not believe strangers easily. Deep asked her about her holiday plan and Riya replied that she would be traveling to places around Lucerne and would be back to India in few days. Deep already had taken an off today and was going to be busy for the next 2-3 days. He so longed to spend some more time with her. "How beautiful it must be to stay in Switzerland surrounded by so many serene places?" she asked."Yeah, only if you are not working 18 hours a day", He replied with a sarcastic smile. "All places seem to be the same once you get busy with routine."She could not agree more with him. Lucerne was approaching and his heart raced fast. "Will you like to meet again," he asked her directly. She loved his genuineness and maturity.No childish tricks to impress. But this was her first solo trip abroad and she wanted to be sure about his credibility. She asked his number and said would contact if possible. Maria announced Lucerne tourists to be ready to get down on next stop and Riya could sense the discomfort on Deep's face. She thanked him for the company for the day and went near the bus door to get down. Over the years she had learned not to get too attached to anyone. She just waved him a friendly bye while getting down and the bus left for Zurich.

Deep sat in Riya's place as soon as she left. He could still sense her mild perfume. Riya had not shared her number. She looked independent, confident, and a little crazy too. She was quite younger than him. But does age difference really matters in a good friendship? he wondered. For years together he had been working continuously. A sense of fatigue had started to creep into his life. So he had started taking such short breaks in between. Riya brought a fresh breeze with her. He really wished Riya to contact him at least once. He opened his Handycam and checked Riya's pictures. Her saree-clad pics were really amazing and he could not stop himself from smiling. He had found a perfect birthday gift but only if she called.

Riya on her way back stopped at the departmental stores below the Main station and packed some salad and sandwiches. Once back in the hotel, she took a hot shower and switched on her Indian number. Her cell was flooded with birthday wishes and voice messages.

"Heroine call to kar", Geet had messaged. Riya instantly called her. Geet was her school buddy and was the main reason behind this trip. She was behind Riya to take some time off to plan her life and wipe off the old memories.

In fact, she and her hubby had planned this trip for Riya. Geet always knew how fond Riya was of mountains and snow."Hey sweetie, how's your dream trip going.SRK Mila?"She asked in her usual excitement. "It was too good. Thanks Geet".Riya replied. She wished to tell about Deep but thought it would be too early and she knew Geet would force her to meet him again. They talked for some time and she hang up the call. Next was a video call with family. Her parents and younger brother. They all were pretty worried. It was just the second day and they seemed sad that she was away on her birthday. She told everyone to cheer up as she had her dream day today and she was really happy. She promised to keep them posted and would mail all her filmy pics soon. Once all calls were done and messages replied, she felt tired. She so wanted to check Deep's profile but postponed it for the next day morning and fell asleep.

When the alarm rang it was a bright sunny day outside. It was 6 am and today was a day to explore Lucerne. She prepared some tea and before going outside decided to check on Deep's profile. She could not locate him on social networking but found him on a professional networking site. The profile was quite impressive with rich corporate experience. It seemed he was a total workaholic and quite an achiever. He had published several articles and had been a speaker on various platforms.No wonder his conversational skills were so impressive. A message popped up at the same time on the site and it read "Happy birthday".It was Akhil and she missed a heartbeat. Should she be happy on receiving his message or sad she wondered. It had been 10 years and still, she could feel the pain. She closed her laptop and got ready for a morning jog. Memories of Akhil had kept her stuck at a place and it was now time to move on.

Track along Lake Lucerne is a jogger's paradise. Crystal clear water and a super light breeze. Riya could sense her lungs to be really happy while jogging. She sat on the bench watching the beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and birds chirping around. Today she was to visit the transport museum and then in the evening had a boat ride booked. She opened her mobile screen and thought for a while. Was it really ok to message Deep? He had a charm that was attractive. She had experienced this before also in the case of Akhil but Deep certainly looked more mature. And she was here to clear off all her bitter memories. There was no harm in making new friends. She typed, "Good morning" and pressed enter.

She was late for breakfast and was anyhow bored of eating bread and eggs. She had some fruits and got back to her room. She checked her pics on DSLR and mailed the good ones to her mother and Geet. There was no reply from Deep and she decided to rest for a while. It was noon when she reached the transport museum. It was crowded with kids and families being summer. It was quite interesting and after moving around for 2 hours she reached the cafeteria.

It had been pretty late for Deep the earlier night and resultant he got up late. He had to rush to office and had got no time to check his mobile. It was only when he had finished off his priority tasks he checked his inbox and was super happy to see her message. It was already six hours since she had messaged and he wondered how she would have felt.

"Hi super gal, hows you doing"popped up a message on her mobile screen. She was sure it was him but decided to wait till she finished off her yummy Pizza which she felt was the best she had eaten to date. Riya was calm and relaxed. She had learned to be patient in her profession. She replied to him with a pizza pic and emoticon. He was eager to talk to her and dialed her number. Riya felt a little anxious to pick up his call. She had always liked to message more than talking directly. It gave her time to think and reply. The mobile rang for a while and stopped. She felt a little embarrassed and called him back.

" Sorry, I missed your call". "Sorry I checked your message late".They both laughed. They had a small conversation and Riya shared about her upcoming boat ride in the evening. He had a meeting lined up and had to hang up the call.