Past...

His...

He was sitting at the cafe sipping a hot cup of cappuccino. the meeting had been disastrous. he was thinking about the next step when he thought he saw her. she was sitting a couple of tables from him. he blinked. once. twice. surely that cant be her. she is in another city. but what if it is her? he craned his neck to get a better view. it was her. he rubbed his eyes. it was still her. there was no mistake. she was laughing and playing with a kid. is it hers? it could be... he knew for sure that she was married. he was one of the witnesses at the registrar's office. in fact hadn't he helped her elope two days before their wedding. he smiled sarcastically. our wedding. he thought. if she had not told him that she was in love with some one else and if he was not so unconditionally in love with her then, this could have been their kid. no point thinking about that now. he looked at her again. she was playfully hitting the kid. he decided to go and say hi. he got up when a thought struck him. what am i doing? it took me almost three years to forget those fifteen days that i spent with her? it took me so long to lock her up in the deep recesses of my mind and move on... why am i unlocking it again? what good will that do? he sat down again. i can say hi to her, right? we can be friends? i can ask her how is she? he got up again. i don't love her anymore. i don't. he took a step in her direction when his phone rang. he looked down at his handset.  it was his mother. he looked up at her again. she was laughing throatily at some antic her kid was doing. she is happy in her life, it is time i become happy in mine. he smiled as he answered the phone, "yes ma, i am ready to meet the girl you have chosen. fix up the meeting..." and walked out from the cafe leaving some cash and his past behind.

Hers...
she was babysitting for her sister. her nephew always made her smile, no matter what. she was laughing at his latest antics when she suddenly felt a pang of disappointment. it could have been her kid playing around in the cafe if her husband hadn't forced her to abort their child. that was three years ago. so much had changed in these last three years. she sighed as she sipped her coffee. when she had met her husband... ex-husband that is, she still had trouble referring to him as her ex... she thought she had met the love of her life. she smiled warily. she had done so much for him, she acted so selfish... all because of him. what goes around comes around. she thought sarcastically. she broke the heart of that poor guy who her parents had chosen for her and karma had made sure that her heart was broken as mercilessly as well. she sighed. she could still see the hurt in his eyes when she told him that she loves someone else. she could see his disappointed face when she told him that she plans to run away. she could still hear the determination in his words when he told her that he would make sure she got married to the love of her life. she laughed again. her nephew was trying to wait tables. love of her life... who an year after their marriage decided that he loves someone else. someone who was richer, newly-divorced and thrice his age. it felt like a slap on her face. she was all alone suffering from post-abortion stress and paying of her ex-husband's debts. when things got too rough she went to her family which wasn't easy at all. she had to hear a lot but finally her mother and sister took her side. it had been long three years and now things were finally getting on track... she smiled as she ruffled her nephew's hair. she picked up her cup of coffee and looked around the cafe... and saw him. she squinted her eyes trying to focus. is that him? she kept staring. he was sitting a couple of tables from her and staring into distance. she smiled. she was just thinking about him and here he is. she felt warm. he had loved her. he had never said it but she could always feel it. those fifteen days spent with him were indeed interesting. she wondered whether he was married yet. she got up to say hi when she saw him smiling and talking to someone on the phone. his wife? obviously he must have married someone else... what was she doing? she can't meet him. she almost ruined his life. it was because of her that he must have had to face so much ridicule. now he is happy. she cant go into his life and turn it upside down again. she sat down again and looked at him as he walked out of the cafe and her life.