The Return of Cinderella – A short story by Arun Jacob

A hundred red roses. The lady at the florist shop bunching them together gave a knowing

smile at Vivek as he watched her do a job with dexterity born out of practice. He caught a sight of himself in the mirror behind her on the wall. The guy staring back at him was not terribly good looking and yet attractive in an inexplicable sort of way. It’s all in the eyes… he mentally told himself. A few minutes later the bouquet was ready. It was an absolute stunner. Worthy of her, thought Vivek as he drew out his wallet to pay.

“How much is it?” he asked.

 “Four hundred and eighty, sir”.

He drew out five crisp hundred rupee notes and gave it to her. From the cash drawer the lady extracted a twenty rupee note and held it out for him to take.

“Oh no. Please keep it. You did a splendid job” said Vivek as he picked up the flowers.

“Thank you so much, Sir”. She paused and hesitantly asked “She must be a very special lady, Sir?” It was more statement than question. A quick smile flitted across Vivek’s face. “She is extremely precious, not just special. And she is coming back after a long, long time. Thank you very much”.

He turned and walked out of the shop to his car as the lady gave a shy smile behind his back for having elicited such a warm response to her query.

“Flight IC 830 from New Delhi will be arriving in ten minutes….” blared the public address system at the airport. Vivek smoothed out his shirt with his free left hand. The right held the bunch of red roses which was drawing admiring glances from just about everybody seated on the opposite row of moulded plastic seats in the arrivals lounge. Two pretty seventeen nothings were whispering to each other and giggling mischievously in his general direction. Somehow Vivek felt pleased that he was the target of their attention. One of the girls was clad in an impossibly tight pair of jeans and was crossing and uncrossing here legs as she leaned towards and away from her companion during the bout of whispers and giggles. And each time she landed her feet on the tiled floor, her shiny black stilettos gave out a precise metallic tattoo. The sound drew Vivek’s attention as if by some magnetic force.

Stilettos.

A faint but definite ache started in the region of his stomach and progressed outwards as his   thoughts flashed back to another who had loved wearing stilettos. In an instant he traveled back in time to another era. He was twenty seven and Rupa a stunning beauty of twenty two.

“I love wearing stilettos Vivek. In fact I am buying two pairs for my cousin brother’s wedding” said Rupa as she clutched on to the phone cradled between her chin and shoulder. Absentmindedly she stared at the lines on her palm as Vivek on the other end started a lengthy discourse on the long term harmful effects of wearing such high heeled shoes. So very like him thought Rupa. Always concerned and not wanting anything bad to happen to her. That’s how their relationship had always been.

“Well if you could call it a relationship in the first place” mused Vivek as he went on and on almost by rote about the merits of flat shoes against high heels. What mattered was that they both had a great time discussing any topic that existed under the Sun. Be it the judiciousness of choosing Anthropology as a subject, the latest film in town, or whatever, they just had a great time and a big trip constantly sparring over the phone. Almost inevitably in every argument he would let her win in the end. Not that she was less knowledgeable than him. Combined with her inherent intellect she was also such a forceful personality that she could steamroll and convince even Shakespeare himself that he had never written any of his great stories but that it was all one big illusion during one of his midsummer’s night dream.

This strength of character so visible on her face is what attracted Vivek to her in the first place. She was a student in the computer training institute where he had started his career as a marketing executive. It was during one of the youth festivals of the centre that he had seen her for the first time.

Cinderella.

That was the first word that came to his mind as he stood rooted to the spot and watched her intently engrossed in a game of chess. Beauty with brains. If somebody could embody that phrase it was her had a tough time trying to organize the rest of the day’s events. He was concentrating more on knowing her precise whereabouts at any given time. In the midst of this chaos he managed to ferret out her name from the class register. Rupa. So appropriate thought Vivek. Especially for someone who it seemed had been carved out of marble by a divine sculptor. Not just to make a statute but to enshrine beauty itself. Towards the evening when everybody was gathered under the big tent, a game of fishpond was organized. In this game anonymous messages were written about a person and then read out aloud over the mike and were accompanied by much merriment from the gathering.

“And here’s one written for Rupa” said the emcee, “No idea who has written it but this is what it says.” All eyes turned to Rupa and she moved forward ever so slightly with an expectant look on her face. “Ok here goes. After having seen you I know what Cinderella must have looked like.”

A collective gasp of admiration went up from the crowd. Rupa blushed a deep red accompanied by a shy smile. From one corner of the gathering Vivek fixed her in his gaze and that instant deep inside his heart knew that he was madly and irretrievably in love with this apparition of beauty, charm and grace.

The very next day he contrived an introduction through one of his colleagues who was Rupa’s instructor. The deal was struck for the rather expensive price of a sumptuous lunch at the 3 star hotel that was nearby. All for a good cause thought Vivek as he gladly accepted. Introductions were done in the front office of the centre followed by a cup of coffee in a canteen in the same complex. The sheer proximity of this goddess sitting there across the table made Vivek’s head reel. And from that moment onwards there was no looking backwards for him. The following days were a pleasant journey of discovering each other’s likes and dislikes and various other small details. Though initially shy and guarded, Rupa gradually accepted Vivek into her innermost orbit of her close friends. Which was a tremendous achievement considering that she was extremely selective as to whom she chose for a confidante. To his credit he was her closest buddy as she herself told him after about a couple of years of telephonic dalliance and infrequent meetings on occasions like festivals and birthdays.

But to reach this stage had taken some doing by Vivek. Meanwhile a lot of water had flown under the bridge during those two years. Vivek had changed jobs and got into a multinational where he was soon one of the star performers. The one constant in his life during this period of transition was that each and every day his undisclosed love for her grew stronger and stronger. That’s right. Undisclosed was the word. Despite the fact that otherwise he was such a confident person he was still very apprehensive as to how she would react if he expressed his true feelings for her. All along they had been very comfortable in each other’s company and were the best of friends. But never once could he gather the courage to tell here those three small little words that he so desperately wanted to. He was happy living in his own cocooned world, basking in the knowledge that at the end of each tiring day there would be her voice goading him onto bigger successes in life. He had progressed only to the extent of now routinely calling her Cinderella. After about a month of their initial meeting he had let her in on the secret that it was he who had written the message for her during the fishpond game. She had sounded pleased when he told her about it. Calling her Cinderella was a big enough hint at his true emotions for her surmised Vivek. Being the smart girl she was he was sure that she could fathom the depth of his feelings for her. And thus continued their long conversations encompassing just about everything under the wide blue sky.

Everything except three little words.

The sands of time shifted in this growing and ebbing tides of their relationship. Another year passed and one day he did it. Cutting short another one of their discussions about the merits of reservations or some such like topic, Vivek steeled himself for the moment of reckoning. He had been building up his courage iota by iota over the past few days.

“Rupa, I’ve wanted to tell you something for a very longtime now.”

“What is it Vivek?” There was a shade of apprehension in her voice. “Rupa I really don’t know how you are going to react to what I am about to say. But what I am going to say is the God’s truth. From the moment I have seen you I have been madly in love with you. My whole life for the past few years and right at this moment revolves around you. And if I am living and not merely existing it is because of the fact of your presence in my life. Infact I cannot even imagine a future without you being there for me. I love you Cinderella.”

There was a muted silence over the line. Vivek held on for a couple of seconds for her reply and then asked, “Can I come and see you at your place tomorrow?” Time stood still and after what seemed like an eternity Rupa replied “Yeah sure. Make it at 5 O’clock. I’ll be back from college by then.”

It was the most important day in his life. He was in the card shop for almost half the day trying to pick the right one for the occasion. There were a million things he wanted to tell her and obviously a single card could not convey all that. But then he needed to give her something to his Cinderella that would tell her just what it was she meant to him. By about three in the afternoon he scrubbed himself clean and almost drowned himself in an assortment of aftershaves and colognes. He wheeled out his bike and zoomed off to the florist shop. Meticulously and with great care he picked out the best fifty roses. He was in a mood to shower her with all the flowers in the world but knew that it might not be well received by her stern mother who from time to time made noises about their long conversations over the phone. So only fifty roses it was. He kept an eagle’s eye over them as they were bunched into a bouquet. He knew that she loved flowers and was certain that she would like this bunch. She had a great passion for gardening and was constantly pottering around her rose plants at home whenever she had some free time. As he bought the bouquet of 50 red roses, he promised himself that he would give her a hundred red roses on the day he would propose and she would be his for eternity. He smiled simply thinking about it. On the way he stopped at a super market and bought the biggest chocolate there was. A small gift for someone you loved more than your own life.

It was slightly tricky riding and balancing the bouquet on his thighs. But he managed to do it somehow. On the dot of five he was outside her door. Internally he was a nervous wreck.

But drawing on the reserves of all his strength he pasted a confident smile on his face and rang the doorbell. He heard footsteps approach the door and it creaked back on the hinges.

And there she was. As beautiful as ever. Awkwardly Vivek thrust his hand out and said, ‘Hai . . . this is for you.” Rupa took the bouquet and said, “They are lovely. Come in.” Somehow she seemed to exude less radiance than other days. Must have been a tough day at college thought Vivek; what with her this competition and that competition, plus the onus studying? Rupa excused herself, went in and came out with a vase and put the flowers in it. During her brief absence Vivek wriggled out the card and the chocolate from inside his shirt. The moment she finished arranging the flowers, with a flourish of his hand he held out the chocolate and the card and said, “These are for you too”.

“Oh, what is all this for Vivek?” Rupa asked weakly. Vivek smiled and said “It was very important for me that you take them from me. Especially today.” She silently accepted. For a while there was an uncertain almost awkward silence and then Rupa asked “Tea?”

“Yeah”, replied Vivek. Rupa went in. Vivek looked out through the window at the sun that was preparing to call it a day. A large cloud was flitting across the pastel shades of the dusk sky. It seemed that the edges of the cloud were kissed by the rays of the sun and it all looked so beautiful. Vivek smiled to himself.

A few minutes later Rupa came out with the tea and handed it to him. This was followed by another awkward silence. During this time Vivek concentrated nervously on not dropping tea on to his shirt and Rupa sat with a distant look in her eyes. Her eyes seemed focused somewhere around the bunch of startling red roses in the vase. They were both avoiding looking into each others eyes. The sound of Vivek putting down his cup and saucer broke her reverie. She looked up at Vivek who was looking expectantly at her. She seemed to gather herself mentally and at last looking at Vivek asked, “What is all this, Vivek? What is happening?”

“ I love you, Rupa “ he answered simply.

“But I don’t. How could you? Whatever gave you this idea that I was looking for anything more than good friendship from you?”

Vivek sat there stunned as he heard her say this. Devastated. His head reeled and a hollow ache hit him in the stomach and rapidly spread out to the rest of his body. He looked around helplessly and a film of moisture glistened in his eyes. His sight now hazy, he looked out through the window. He noticed that the cloud which only moments ago was like a magical apparition had turned a dark grey and had enveloped the brilliance of the sun. He sat there looking out of the window, stunned and hopelessly lost.

After about a minute or so Rupa continued, “I am sorry, but that is how it is Vivek. You have been a terrific friend, the best in fact but nothing more that that. To me you will always be that nice little boy with so much enthusiasm and life in everything you do but nothing more than that.   I have my own ideas of my dream man and you are not that. Please understand.” Vivek stood up the moment she finished saying this, blurted out a mumbled bye and walked out of her place.

She called him up at his office the next evening. And all hell broke loose. It was not like any ordinary conversation. More like a duel of words. Vivek pleaded, argued, begged and said just about everything he could think of to convince her that his life would be meaningless without her being there to guide and help him along as his life partner. But Rupa was firm in her decision. After about an hour of this, in sheer frustration Vivek banged the phone down. The next couple of days were pure hell for him. Never ever in his life had he been so devastated, so confused. And he did not have anybody to turn to. The irony was that Rupa was the only person in the whole world who could help him out in this situation. He was in a deep depression and held out for almost a fortnight. And then he called her. She sounded normal but there was just that little hint of concern in her voice. Vivek had also managed to get a grip on himself by then. Well almost. He knew he was mentally strong but the past few days experience had drained him totally.

He opened the conversation hesitatingly by apologizing to her. “I am sorry about the way I behaved. I understand how you feel Rupa. I apologize for trying to impose myself upon you. I think it is going to be alight now. It was my own stupidity to read between lines when there was nothing written there. I guess I am just learning a big lesson in life the hard way. I am sincerely sorry for all the trouble. If there’s one thing that I really hate, that is making you unhappy. Believe me never ever will I put you through this again.” It was like everything he had strived for, everything he had aspired for had just vanished in the blink of an eye. All those castles of fantasy and happiness he had envisioned for the future lay in ruins all around him. What kept him going was a faint hope that someday she would also see just how much he cared for her and realize how great they would be together. A very, very faint hope but he knew that a drowning man has to clutch at all available straws even if they existed only in his imagination.  

So the strands of an uneasy liaison were picked up again and meandered along. Until the day Rupa told him that her parents had arranger for her to see a ‘nice boy’ who came from their kind of background and would blend perfectly into the fabric of their family. Vivek was stunned and amazed when he heard this. The sheer unfairness of the whole scenario overwhelmed him. Here was his Cinderella about to meet a person whom she had never met earlier but was somehow convinced that he would be the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor who would carry her away into the ‘and they lived happily ever after’ kind of setting.

Could she be really as dumb as that, he wondered. That night he sat down and wrote her a note.

“Dear Rupa, it is sad that a long and wonderful relationship has to end this way. But I’d rather have you feel sorry for this sheet of paper than me standing like an idiot in front of you. Also to tell you not to call me up ever again. I would like to remember a Rupa I knew and not a Rupa who belongs to a stranger. Believe me when I say that there was a Cinderella inside there somewhere but you never gave her a chance. I do not care to know the reasons as to why you are doing this to me, though I can hazard a couple of guesses. Anyway how does it matter now? From now on it will be a tough battle for me to pick up the shattered remains of a dream and get on with the rest of my life. And the saddest part of course is that you wouldn’t be there to give me strength, to console me. But even that is alright. Because I always aspired for your love and never for your consolation. It is funny but it does seem that the odds of life never seem to favor a person. Like how I met my one in a million Cinderella but am being forced by a set of very unfortunate circumstances to let go of her. And since the same odds apply to you also and you know more than anybody else that it will be a one in a million chance for you also to find somebody who adores you more than I do, I am betting that someday, somewhere you will wish I were there for you. And that day all you have to do is come back. And if you do face that situation in life and still stick to your stubborn pride, believe me that will be the day I will really hate you. I am only bidding goodbye to Rupa and not to my Cinderella. So long take care and be happy wherever and with whomever you are Princess”.

Vivek never heard from her for the next five years.

Those five years were good for Vivek. He quit his job and started a marketing firm of his own. From a modest beginning he grew by leaps and bounds and soon outpaced most of his contemporaries in both fame and fortune. He set himself targets that to others looked impossible to achieve. But with his single minded devotion managed to beat all deadlines. It was like he was doing some sort of a penance to exorcise the devils within by closing himself out to everything to the exception of his work. And soon his fame preceded him wherever he went. He found a mention in some of the leading business publications of the country and was showered praises for his path breaking efforts.

Thoughts of his Cinderella flitted across agonizingly from time to time. During such periods he buried himself deeper into his work. And gradually with sheer will power and with the soothing, healing touches of the passing time he learnt to subjugate his depressive moods.

“Flight IC 830 from New Delhi has just landed …” blared out the same bored voice. Vivek shot up with a jerk from his reminiscence. The girl with the stilettos and her friend were already walking towards the gate from which the disembarking passengers would exit into the lounge. Vivek smiled inwardly with anticipation and picked up the bouquet of the hundred red roses. He smoothed out the cell phone wrapping on the flowers and followed the rest of the crowd trooping eagerly towards the gate. A few minutes later, a stream of tired looking passengers started coming out of the gate to be immediately engulfed in embraces and handshakes. Vivek waited at a distance looking expectantly towards the gate. And then it happened.

Rupa.

She had only a small bag in one hand and a purse strung over one shoulder. She stood for a moment at the gate looking around uncertainly. And then she saw him. Vivek stood rooted to the spot. He couldn’t believe his eyes, but there she was, actually walking towards him. With a faint smile adorning a face that was still very pretty but was also somehow very tired. A few moments later she stood in front of him. Only inches away. They stood there looking at each other without uttering a single word. It’s all in the eyes… the thought flashed through Vivek’s mind.

“Hai Vivek. It’s me.”

She stood there waiting for him to say something. Vivek was tongue tied and looked completely lost. He could not believe this was all happening for real. Rupa was saying something to him but he was only half hearing.

“Ru……….Rupa is it really you?” Vivek managed somehow to blurt out the question.

“Yeah sure, it is me. Go ahead and give me that tap on the head like how you used to do earlier. Remember. It is me of course. Zapped you, didn’t I?” There was a sudden commotion at the gate and still in a daze Vivek pulled his eyes away from Rupa’s face and noticed that a horde of gun toting security men were clearing the gate of all exiting passengers who would have to wait a few minutes more before meeting their loved ones. Vivek realized that he and Rupa were standing directly in the path that would be taken by the VIP and his entourage.

Collecting his thoughts he turned to Rupa and said, “Hey let’s move to the side a bit.” They both moved a few paces away to the side of the snacks bar which was diagonally opposite the reservations counter. Only then did he take a long look at her and the full impact of the past few minutes dawned upon Vivek.

It was true. She was actually back. After a long time. A very long time indeed. But why?

Rupa smiled sadly as she said, ‘one in a million is truly a very unfavorable odd Vivek. And yes, you predicted right in your last lines you sent me. Remember?’

By now Vivek was almost regaining his composure. But he still looked uncomfortable. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and realized that a film of sweat was forming over his forehead.

“What happened Rupa?”

“You sure you want to know Vivek? I don’t know how to put it really. Let me just say that things did not work out the way I thought they would. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know how to put it really. Let me just say that things did not work out. I honestly don’t know what went wrong. It’s just…just that…we were …well we could not go on any longer. It was all so uncomfortable. The whole setup. It was like I was being choked gradually but surely. Remember that stubborn pride you mentioned. It’s gone. Completely. After all the compromises I did and still things only went from bad to worse and …’

Her voice became faint and a small tear formed in Rupa’s eye as she stopped speaking. A few seconds later the tear drop swelled in size and rolled down onto her cheek. Vivek pulled out his kerchief form his left pocket and gave it to her.

“Thanks. I am sorry I’m behaving like such a baby” muttered Rupa. The first few grim eyed Black Cats trooped out of the gate. And soon the VIP himself emerged, followed by the inevitable harried looking aides. At a fast clip the whole group moved towards the main exit where a car with a revolving light on the roof was already waiting.

Vivek looked towards the passengers gate and saw that the rest of the passengers blocked in for such a long time were coming out listlessly and with annoyed looks on their faces. Rupa had wiped away her tears by then. Vivek again shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He smiled at Rupa. A very bland sort of smile that conveyed nothing.

“Well… so here we are Rupa” he said hesitatingly.

“Yes. Here we are Vivek. I suddenly realized that there was hardly anywhere else to go. Not a single person I could really cal truly my own. Dammit. What I had wanted all along was that one great friend to take me through life. And look at what I did. The only true and sincere relationship I was offered by you I threw away for… I don’t know what to call it. Well, call it a very immature decision. But I have grown up Vivek. Really grown up I’m back. Back where I belong. Your Cinderella has returned Vivek”.

The moment the word Cinderella was uttered Vivek stiffened imperceptibly. He still had slightly dazed look and the hand holding the hundred red roses felt suddenly very heavy. The hand was also wobbling slightly and jutting out in front of him. Rupa looked down at the bunch of roses and said, ‘Beautiful. They look absolutely lovely. But Vivek, how could you know that I……..”

Before Rupa could complete the sentence Vivek felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to his side.

Sonali.

She was standing there with a mischievous grin on her face. Vivek’s face broke out into a wide smile and almost in slow motion gave her the bunch of roses.

“Well…well. So here is my gift for leaving a business tour halfway through and come back to you. Is it?” Sonali asked Vivek. “And Vivek aren’t you forgetting your manners? Will you not introduce me to your friend? Coming in from the gate it looked like you were about to give away my roses to her” Sonali said with a disarming smile.

With an embarrassed smile Vivek turned to Rupa and said, “Sonali meet Rupa. And Rupa this is my wife Sonali”.

A slow smile spread across Rupa’s tired face as she looked at Sonali and acknowledged her with a nod of the head. They exchanged pleasantries for a couple of minutes and then Vivek said, “Since you are anyway in town why don’t you drop in at my place tomorrow for lunch Rupa? Sonali and I are celebrating out first marriage anniversary. It will be nice to have an old friend along. By the way where are you staying? Your old house?”

“No”, said Rupa haltingly. ‘My parents shifted back to Kerala a couple of years ago. I guess I will check into a hotel somewhere’.

“Shall we drop you there?” asked Sonali.

“Oh no, please don’t bother. I will be perfectly alright by myself. I am here for a short visit anyway.”

“You sure?” asked Vivek.

Rupa held his eyes in her gaze and replied in a measured voice.” I have never been surer in my life Vivek. Thank you anyway. Bye Sonali. It was nice meeting you. Have a great anniversary.”

“Bye, Rupa” said Vivek and Sonali almost in unison.

Vivek held Rupa’s eyes in his own for a long, poignant second as Sonali bent down to pick up the bag by her side. Rupa smiled back sadly at him. Sonali stood up with the bag and Vivek put an arm around her shoulder and together they started walking away towards the exit. Rupa stood watching them. Sonali had her face turned up towards Vivek and was asking him something.

“Is it the same Rupa, Vivek?”

“Which Rupa, darling?” asked Vivek haltingly.

“Your Cinderella…darling. The one you told me so much about” replied Sonali with a glint of mischief in her eyes. Vivek smiled and gave her a mock punch on the shoulder.

Rupa stood watching them till they turned the corner. Once they were out of sight she picked up her bag, turned and started walking towards the reservation counter.

The sound of her stilettos echoed in the cavernous hall that was by now almost empty and was suddenly very silent.

ARUN JACOB - 1997