EXHALE

A storm was brewing in the distance and it seemed to be fast approaching Charleston. It was dark outside but the lightening set everything aglow every now and then. Nothing else could be heard above the din and rumble of the thunder. It appeared as if it wouldn’t be long before it started to pour. Another storm had been raging in Neeti’s mind for a while now. She couldn’t take it anymore….She couldn’t live on two planes at the same time and was tired, tired of lying and pretending…. She stared blankly at the computer screen that sat on a desk in the study. Then, as if having resolved the quandary in her mind, she came back to her senses and signed into her gmail account. There was an email from Ajeya, her husband; the man her parents had chosen for her 10 years ago.

Nee, deal through. Will be home by dinner tomorrow.

A

Curt and crisp, that was Ajeya. He was a good man and had been a good husband to Neeti. Yet there was something that was missing…

Neeti opened up the email that had been tucked away in the Drafts folder for days now. She glanced over it one last time.

Ajeya,

I met Sujoy during one of my poetry reading sessions. Sujoy is a painter and also has his own art school. We have been seeing each other for a year now. I thought it was time you knew…

Neeti

She took a deep breath and hit the Send button. An eerie calm came over her with this exhalation…