Love

It was a glorious evening when breeze slowly descended on the park. The day before was pretty warm and humid as the climate was at its finicky best. To those regular visitors and irregulars, it was yet another pleasant evening breeze that they enjoy when they visit the park, for the breeze in itself was seasonal. Even, the die-hard regulars, at times skipped the park visit whenever they had other priorities. The trees on the park, wither and flourish per the season. The trash bins start their day empty and end with full bin. Even the park benches, probably the most stable of the lot, undergo a coat of repaint, once in a blue moon or when council elections are round the corner. But for Ove and his evening visits to the park, everything changed.

Every single evening, he would turn up sharp at the exact same time. He would start with his routine of a brisk walk around the park and exactly after the third round, he would sit on the exact same bench. If it was occupied, he would go near the bench and suddenly collapse clutching his heart. That ploy almost always ensured, the seat is vacated, either to call for help or simply to escape from that moment. That particular bench had the best view of the park, with the exact amount of shade projecting a golden evening dusk, at the exact distance from nearest lamp post, when the evening grows dark and it was neither too far nor too closer to the entrance/exit. But these nitty gritties meant nothing for Ove, for his purpose, nay, penance like routine was for a totally different reason. And the reason went by a name as well.

It was the very bench where he first saw her, casually reading a novel, munching on an apple. Ove, was part of the laborers involved on setting up the park. The bench where she was sitting was just laid and Ove wanted to paint it quick as he was losing sun. In all through his career, there was not a task that had slipped deadline. But the moment he saw her, he knew, he slipped, literally and figuratively. He tried his best to be deceptive, but for a person straighter than the shortest distance between two points, he was horrible at it. When he was about to clear the trash can near the bench, he heard a voice “Guess this must be the cleanest of trash cans in this whole block”. He stood motionless for a moment, like a kid caught in the act at the very moment, with a hand in cookie jar. He could feel blood rushing across his ears and cheeks and didn’t even realize how long he was staring at her. All the while he thought vocal chords just emanated sound. But for the very first time, he could sense that, they carried smile as well. How she managed it, he never knew. But every time when she spoke to him, he felt a new sensation and identified newer emotions that he had never ever felt in his life before. If she felt offended by his response, it didn’t show on her face. She spoke some more, none of which were audible to Ove, whose ears where ringing with the sound of blood rushing through. It was as if someone fixed a conch on his ears and forgot to turn it off. She stood and came closer to him.

“Will you come here tomorrow?”

He nodded his head vigourously, which must’ve amused her so much that she laughed. It was a different kind of laugh, devoid of mock, insult or arrogance but so full of mirth, life and joy. She waved him bye and walked away. He saw her all throughout, till she became a dot and finally vanished from his site. She even turned back a few times and watching him stand motionless, waved at him again from a distance. It took a while for Ove to get out of the trance and the very next moment he was on to setting up the bench. He wanted to make sure it was the best bench on the park, fit for a queen and by the time he felt he was kind of done with the bench, it was already past bedtime. He painted it and recoated the portions that felt overdone and to give an even coating he again redid the whole process. He tightened the screws, oiled them and wiped the whole bench clean more number of times than any bench had ever been across the whole wide world. It must have been several hours and he never felt a single strain on the effort. He still wasn’t satisfied, yet with fading light and lack of any more dry cloth to clean, he decided to call it a day and to come back early next day morning. He covered the bench in tarpaulin, like an artist protecting his canvass and went back home.

The next day, he was the first person to report to duty and went straight towards the bench. He touched it a few times and inspected it for close to an hour to locate any blemish. Soon the sun was at its peak and yet there was no sign of her. He pulled himself away from the bench towards other tasks, which he made sure where within eyesight distance from the bench. He skipped lunch in fear of missing her and started roaming around the park. On his third round across the jogging track, he met her. She was standing across the bench and as she saw him. She waved at him. He hesitantly lifted his right hand and half waved back and immediately dropped back in attention posture as if the air around was electrified. She laughed again and he felt the world go blur. When he regained his focus, he saw the worried look on her face and it was pretty close to his, as he was lying on her lap. He got up like a spring un sprung, only to wobble unsteady and settle back again on her shoulder. She laughed at his antic so much that he turned beet red in color. He mumbled his apology and stood up. When he was about to turn back she called out to him “What is your name”

“mmm…Ove”
“That’s a nice name”
He mumbled a thanks and stood there watching the grass beneath his feet with impeccable attention.
“Did you had lunch?”
Then only he realized he hadn’t eaten since the day before. He felt embarrassed to have missed his routine and shamefully nodded his head.
“Will you join me for lunch?”
“Sure”

It was the beginning of numerous luncheons and the routine was always the same. Ove would book his favorite table, favorite since the day they shared it, in his regular restaurant, would order his regular roast and wash it down with a gulp of his regular bitter. Except for anything that was even remotely associated with her, there was no “favorite” in his life, but just “regulars”. On the other hand, she would fancy herself and try out a different item on the menu which pretty soon was exhausted. Yet they continued that restaurant as their haunt where the luncheons followed dinners and eventually their wedding reception as well. On the day of their wedding, the entire staff of the restaurant threw them a party and the lead chef whipped out his list of specials. Ove was adamant on paying the bill, but the restaurant owner, threatened to beat him to a pulp if he even took a nickel out. He did relent after constant posturing by Ove and allowed him to redo and repair their furniture, which was gladly accepted by Ove.

On the night of their wedding, she teasingly said, “You know what, till now you’ve never called me by my name”
A visibly embarrassed Ove said, “I didn’t need to. From the moment I saw you, I felt ..complete..in love”
She laughed till her cheeks turned pink and said “actually we do complete each other in love..my name is Elle”
“Oh my God..you are smiling. You should learn to do this more often” and she started laughing again.
The laughter continued for many years and finally when Elle was on her death bed, she began to worry about Ove and that derailed her health even more. Ove being ove, seldom showed it on his face but internally he was quivering in anguish. During one of her better days, she insisted on being taken to the park where they first met. He felt as if she introduced him back to the world. They took a silent walk around the park and without exchanging a word, they reminiscenced the number of times they visited the park and when they crossed the bench where she first met him, she made him stop and they sat in silence watching the sun set. It was a glorious evening with cool breeze, with the park dotted with regulars and irregulars, trees beginning to show the effect of impending autumn. She held his hand in silence and they watched the evening glow from fading sun, slowly settling into darkness. That night Elle breathed her last.

Since then, every day, Ove makes his sojourn to the park, awaiting his time to reunite with Elle. For only she can make him complete, in love.