Page 111 - Love Story of a Commando

There was no stopping me now, everything inside me was coming
out as tears.
That black hole inside me was shrinking in size with each passing
second. My sobs started to slow, and in a few moments I regained my calm,
and reason returned to me fully. Suddenly, I was aware of Virat tightening
his grip around my shoulders and how I was huddled against him.
Embarrassment washed over me. I shrunk some more, unable to move.
As if unmoved by my condition, struggling with his own demons, he
said, ‘You know, Riya! What I hate most?’
And answered himself, ‘The dew!’
‘I have been to missions in deep jungles, sometimes on snowy
mountains too, and although we are trained to fight urban warfare in cities,
jungles and mountains also come as a part of the mission sometimes. You
actually never can predict what threatens the security of your city and where
you might stumble upon danger. I don’t know why but all the terrorists have
a knack for dark, gloomy and difficult places,’ he said as if talking to
himself.
‘The helicopter would always drop us a few miles before our target
destination, mostly in deep forests or sometimes even in the water.
Sometimes even slithering is not an option so we just dive down with the
help of our parachutes or just jump straight into the ice cold chilly waters of
oceans or rivers. They hide themselves well. We always go out as a pack,
never alone. Our brother’s back is more important to us than our own. And,
that assures our survival.’ He paused for a moment.
‘We lay traps, hold our positions and stay perfectly still for hours and
hours. Initially, the body will protest out of agony and pain but then it
accepts it. Night falls and it gets colder but still you find it okay while
waiting patiently for the prey to run out of patience and just do something,
anything. But after two in the night the dew starts.’ He inhaled deeply.
‘You don’t wear your plastic gear because it will make sounds. So
you have no option but to be still while the dew seeps in and gets into
everything. It goes into your bones slowly. And still you have to sit there,
getting colder and colder. You cannot even sneeze. I truly, deeply and madly
hate dew.’
I did not know what to say to that, so I just nodded.
I asked him slowly, ‘Where were you gone, Virat? You said you
would find me.’
‘Riya! I don’t know how to tell you this and I hate to tell you this but
there were nights when I cried for hours remembering you, only because I
wanted to see you one more time, but I could not even do that,’ he said.
‘Why? Do you even realize what I have gone through? After all that
happened between us in the Taj, I thought we were meant to be together