The Obsidian Eyes
Despite being late at night the airport was bustling with people as everyone was running to board the flight from Delhi to Kolkata. Dr. Rudraksh Banerjee was walking briskly with his secretary following him closely. The secretary looked at his wristwatch and said thoughtfully, “It seems like we won’t be able to reach the hospital on time.”
Dr. Rudraksh sensed the tension in his secretary’s tone as he assured him. “Don’t worry, my sons and Officer Roy are already there. They will handle everything.”
The secretary took a peek at him as he spoke in admiration. “I really admire your calmness, sir. If I were in your place, I would have fainted by now.”
Dr. Rudraksh chuckled as he proceeded to enter the plane. “You truly look like you are going to faint any moment now.”
“Good morning, sir.” The air hostess greeted him with a smile. Dr. Rudraksh smiled back and sat down in his seat.
The secretary put his bag underneath the seat and was about to rest his head on the seat when Dr. Rudraksh’s phone rang. He glanced at the phone and noticed that his elder son Rudra’s name was flashing on it. “Sir, hurry up and pick up the call.”
Mr. Rudraksh nodded and received the call. Before he could even say something, the person on the opposite end started talking, and he became completely silent. The secretary was dying from suspense, but he couldn’t do anything other than squirm restlessly in his seat. Finally, Mr. Rudraksh asked a question, “What is the color of the baby’s eye?”
The secretary stopped squirming in his seat and let out a questionable sound, “Huh?” Although he knows that his boss is a very enigmatic person and it is still very challenging to comprehend what is going through his mind. But it’s also true that he is a very family-oriented person and loves his family members more than his life. Still, it’s his first time hearing that a grandfather only asked about his grandchild’s eye color before asking about his health.
His train of thought broke when Mr. Rudraksh spoke up, “All right. I have spoken to the ministers about the hospital chain. I will directly come to the hospital; there we will discuss our next move. Akash is there with you, right? Hmm, very well, gather everyone at the meeting hall after three hours.” He disconnected the call and glanced at the secretary. “Ravi, give me my diary.”
The plane was about to take off, so both of them tied their seatbelts, and Ravi gave him the diary Mr. Rudraksh had asked for. He took out a pen from his shirt pocket and started writing in the diary. Ravi couldn’t suppress his curiosity and finally asked, “Sir, um, could you please tell me what you talked about with Rudra sir?”
Mr. Rudraksh chuckled. “I thought you would ask me as soon as I hung up the phone. My guess was a little wrong but not totally wrong as you finally asked me the details.”
‘This sly old fox is really wrecking my nerves. I really want to throw him out of the plane.’ Ravi’s face turned cold in anger as he mentally cursed his boss.
Mr. Rudraksh beamed and raised his hands in his defense. “All right, don’t be so angry. I feel very scared when you get angry with me. Dhriti gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and everything went smoothly. Rudra’s personal driver will receive us from the airport and take us to the hospital where everyone is waiting for us. We will see Dhriti and my grandson first, and then we will go to the conference hall and discuss the meeting with the ministers scheduled for tomorrow.”
Mr. Rudraksh stopped talking and was about to start writing when Ravi asked with a frown, “Wait, why did you ask about your grandson’s eye color?”
Mr. Rudraksh’s smile widened, and he closed the diary as he glanced at the pitch-black sky outside the window. “I was waiting for someone’s arrival, and he finally came. He came back to fulfill his promise.”
Ravi was puzzled after hearing Mr. Rudraksh’s words. “What? Who came back, and what promise are you talking about?”
Mr. Rudraksh became silent for some time and then looked at his secretary. “The Obsidian Eyes.”
Mr. Rudraksh’s beautiful hazel eyes shone with such brightness that Ravi became speechless for quite some time. He gulped. “Sir, um, you are also aware that black eyes are not a real eye color. Eyes that appear black are actually dark brown that they are almost indistinguishable from the pupil.”
Ravi noticed that Mr. Rudraksh had already started writing, and the heading he wrote on top of the page was the same words he spoke a few moments ago. “The obsidian eyes.”
Mr. Rudraksh answered without raising his head. “Do you believe in miracles?”
Ravi doesn’t know why, but his consciousness warned him that it’s best to answer this question in affirmation. “Yes, I do believe in miracles.”
“Then you have your answer.”
Ravi was about to ask what his words meant but fell silent when he saw him start writing. He clicked his tongue and leaned his head on the sofa. Mr. Rudraksh also focused on his writing.
“The Obsidian Eyes”
I couldn’t forget them even after so many years had passed since their death. How could I not remember them when I grew up listening to their love stories? I was just a little boy when I lost her due to her old age, and it seemed like he was following her shadow, so he also left this world just seven days after her death.
I saw my father hiding the unbearable pain behind that expressionless face and sobbing every night while sitting in front of her photo. The sight became so common to me that I stopped flinching whenever I heard sobs coming from the hall of the mansion. Just like him, my father was also a man of few words, so it was my mother who told me their love story.
I couldn’t understand properly why my father was so obsessed with her because at that time I didn’t know that obsession was in our blood. I realized this after marrying Mrinalini, my wife and with every passing time I felt what both of them must have felt after losing her. The feeling that was unrealistic for me became the sole reason for my life. I realized that, they wanted to keep her safe, just like me
Today I asked the same question that my father asked me after the birth of my two children. ‘What is the color of the baby’s eyes?’ And just like Ravi, I also asked him the same question, ‘Why did you suddenly ask about the eye color?’
Father only said that he would come back for her. But when I said that my son has brown eyes, he felt a bit disappointed. Still, he didn’t lose hope and waited patiently. But when the color of my second child’s eyes was known to be brown, he realized that he would not be lucky enough to see those two people whom he loved more than his life. Before leaving this world, he entrusted me with such a huge responsibility that I thought was almost impossible for me to complete. But now I can say that I am lucky to be able to see him again.
There was a difference between my and Mrinalini’s family’s financial situation, as I was the only son of the Banerjee family, and she came from a lower-middle-class background. She rejected me so many times that I almost had to marry her forcefully. It’s only after loving and marrying Mrinalini that I realized how difficult women’s lives are and how much they have to suffer before and sometimes even after their marriage. It was only after working 24/7 and mingling with people coming from every class of society that I was finally able to grasp the actual condition. No matter which country you live in, the situation of women is the same in almost all over the world.
It’s really very difficult for women and the poor to survive in the society we live in. Here, the judgment of right and wrong is somehow impossible; even more difficult is that there are no specific criteria to determine it. Everyone is a self-proclaimed judge; everyone knows what is right and what is wrong, but the strange thing is that whenever it is time to make a decision or take a stand, support for the truth disappears from everyone’s mind, just like a horn from a donkey’s head. Nevertheless, everyone is a defender of truth here.
This society has always differentiated between men and women. From the surface, it may seem that the situation is improving, but the reality is completely different from what is said in the face.
From the outside, everything looks like a fairy tale, but real life is just like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, where there is no stability. In today’s free society, they show women as princes, but they will never show how every woman suffers from hell behind closed doors.
What could they do? Where could they go? Where will they hide themselves when those who are bent on harming them are hiding among their own people? Maybe it is their destiny to suffer silently and accept their life as it is.
But it still hurts me like hell when I think about their situation and struggles. They know that the person who is hurting them or going to hurt them in the future is someone whom they deeply care for, but they can’t even do anything to prevent that. Actually, there are many helpless women who can’t do anything except silently stand there and let those bastards hurt them. Or, if they gathered enough courage and decided to protect themselves, then sometimes the same society would show them as gold diggers, selfish, characterless, and ruthless.
This is the life of women. It’s their destiny to suffer silently and accept their life as it is or take a stand for their rights and stay alone forever. Either they have everything or they have nothing.
But I firmly believe in God, so I know that those whose souls are intertwined together will always find each other without caring about the consequences. He doesn’t care about anything else in this world except her, so his arrival clearly indicates that he has only one purpose, and that is to protect her. She will follow her husband soon, and this time I hope she won’t suffer like that.
He looked outside the window and saw that the sky had already turned from black to light blue as the morning was approaching. “It may be because of the obsession for you that runs in the blood of the Banerjees’ that I could sense how your presence will feel. I know that you will be a wildfire, a passion that will burn with unrestrained desires, a flame that will warm every heart with such an intensity that will set every soul on fire. You will be the definition of love, deep enough to touch souls, powerful enough to conquer all obstacles, beautiful enough to make life worth living, and capable enough to change the destiny of mortals bestowed by the goddess. I know that you are too wild to be tamed as you are born of chaos. But this time I want to witness it with my eyes, how many men will try to tame that unresisting temptation. The same unresisting temptation behind that petite figure and long eyelashes that once shattered the underworld mafia king’s undefeated empire.”
A relieved smile bloomed on his lips as he wrote the last few lines before ending the note. “Let’s see how many hearts you will capture and how many enemies you will make this time. I am not afraid because Banerjees’ was never afraid of fate. Why should I be worried about the future when the end result is already predetermined? I am certain that you will be victorious even if the world collapsed the next day.”
He closed the diary, leaned his head on the seat, and mumbled after heaving a sigh. “I am eager to see how you will capture the hearts of my family members.”
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes because for those who loves with their heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. Sooner or later they will definitely come together.”
I am sorry for the grammatical errors and if there is any mistakes then do point it out.
