I never thought
at the age of 60, something so strange would happen to me. A woman who had always been intelligent, who lived by the rules, dedicated her entire life to her family, husband, and children… One night she suddenly lost her mind and slept with a man she didn’t know.
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, fear and shock hit me so hard that I felt like my heart was going to stop beating. That man was lying next to me, his hair was white, his face was strange, but there was a frighteningly familiar reason why my blood ran cold.
The previous night, in Delhi, he had attended an old friend’s birthday party. He had drunk too much. Since my husband passed away, my friends have been advising me to go out more, to fight the loneliness. At first I just wanted to have fun, but the alcohol and music sent me into a whirlwind of emotions. That man—Rajiv—came to the party with a calm and respectful air. We talked a lot, and the last thing I remember before I left was him agreeing to walk me home.
Then everything went blurry. I could barely contain the feeling of that handshake, that seductive look, and most of all, the sadness that had been suppressed for years that had clouded my judgment. When I woke up, I found myself in an unfamiliar apartment in Gurgaon, next to a strange man. My whole body was shaking; I was scared and I felt something was wrong.
I searched for my cell phone, my watch… At that moment he turned slightly and smiled:
“Good morning… Are you okay?” His voice was weak, but he seemed to be hiding something.
My heart couldn’t stop beating. Before he could answer, his eyes were fixed on the head of the bed. There, a picture.
That picture left me paralyzed: it was Rajiv next to someone I knew very well… my late husband, Anil.
I froze. My wife, who had died five years ago, what was she doing in that picture with Rajiv? What relationship did they have? Suddenly, forgotten memories came flooding back: Anil rarely spoke of his childhood friends, almost never mentioned his past. Now I understood that there was more: at least close enough to appear together in a picture, framed in an intimate setting.
I forced myself to ask him:
“Who are you? “Why do you have a picture of my wife here?”
Rajiv was silent for a few seconds and then sighed,
“Anil and I… We were students, as well as colleagues. But we distanced ourselves many years ago. I never thought I would see you like this again.”
His words sent shivers down my spine. Why had that best friend never shown up during the decades of our marriage? Why had I discovered his existence under these painful circumstances?
Rajiv looked at me and said calmly,
“There’s something else… Something I think you should know. Before he died, Anil confided in me.”
I gasped. All these years I had carried the weight of his sudden loss, convinced that my wife had died suddenly, unable to speak. Only now did I realize there was a secret?
Rajiv opened a drawer next to the bed and pulled out a yellow envelope. The handwriting was unmistakable: that of Anil Rao, my husband.
“This is the last letter Anil sent me. I have kept it for five years… Until now I haven’t had the courage to give it to you.”
With trembling hands I opened the envelope. Anil’s words came to me as an echo of the past:
“Sir, if you are reading this, it means I am no more.
There is a truth I have never told you.
Rajiv is not only my best friend… He has also saved my life more than once. I am eternally indebted to him. And I know I will never be able to repay him.
I am afraid to think that one day you will be left alone. So, when that time comes, let Rajiv be by your side. He understands me, and he will understand you too.
And there is one more thing you need to know: I did not die suddenly as everyone believes. I knew about my illness long ago, and only Rajiv knew. I asked him to keep the secret because I did not want you to suffer watching me gradually deteriorate.
If anything happens, I hope Rajiv will protect you. Forgive me… For leaving so many secrets behind.” **
Tears welled up in my eyes. For five years I had thought that Anil had left me alone without warning. But the truth was that he knew, he had prepared, and he had even entrusted me with Rajiv: his best friend, whom I had never met.
“Do you know… about his illness?” I whispered.
Rajiv nodded, his voice breaking,
“Anil has known about his cancer for a long time. I suggested that he tell you, but he refused. He said that if you saw him getting weaker every day, you would suffer more. So he chose to leave quietly, as if it were sudden.”
I put my hand on my chest; I felt thousands of needles piercing my heart. One part of me felt betrayed, the other was filled with love and pain for Anil.
Rajiv looked at me with troubled eyes:
“Meera… There is something else. Anil knows that I… I have always felt something for you. And in the letter he wrote: ‘If Rajiv really loves you, I hope you find peace by his side. Don’t leave me alone.’
I was speechless, trembling. That letter was a comfort and at the same time an unbearable burden.
Yes, she had fallen into Rajiv’s arms… But now she had discovered that perhaps this was all part of Anil’s plan.
I looked at him, angry and relieved at the same time. My heart was divided: half still belonged to Anil, the other was beginning to feel something for the man in front of me, the friend who had kept the secret for five years.
“Rajiv… is this fate, or just a cruel joke” I asked in a trembling whisper.
He didn’t answer. He just held my cock for a long time, and then took my hand.
In that room lit by the morning light, I realized that the truth was too big, too complicated. From then on, my life would never be the same again.