“What if I get separated? Will my wife be safe? I just want her to be fine. I don’t care about myself.”

“Look, I can’t give you any false commitments. Just give me few days’ time. I’ll have to make some calculations. These will literally require some time in accuracy but I think there can be some hope.”

“Okay, what must I do right now? What can I do now? What should I do as I leave?”

“Just keep silent and don’t talk to her. No matter what happens, don’t get trapped in an argument. Be nice to her but don’t talk too much.”

“Okay… Thank you.”

After coming back from this flashback, Richard remembered a dangerous kind of conversation with Mr Wallace who was more than just strange,

“Mr Wallace, I am very worried. A lot is going on…”

“A lot is going on. Not in your life but in your mind.”

Richard remained silent and gave his words a deep thought. He came to this conclusion that he was absolutely right. This kind of intrigued him and he asked,

“How do you know this?”

“Are you struggling against your thoughts to such an extent that you lost your will to care about what’s happening with you. A guy throws coffee on your shirt, you don’t care. You leave your care someplace you don’t even know about. You drop important documents of your job and you don’t care.”

“Oh, my God! Have you been following me or something?”

“I haven’t been following you but they have…”

“Who have?” Richard looked around as if someone was there.

“Those who have a communication with me.”

“What are these people?”

“You will see a tragedy regarding your wife. And this will happen sometime soon.”

Getting provoked and angry, Richard left the room saying in his heart:

No, this has got to settle. I cannot leave Pamela alone. She is not just my wife. She is the love of my life. I love her more than anything else in this world. I would rather die for her rather than seeing her going through any kind of pain or torment. I am going to her, I will bring her back home and nothing can separate us.

****************

That midnight, Richard stood outside the building where his wife was currently living.

One of the two security guards came to him and asked kind of sternly,

“Who are you? What do you want here?”

Richard told himself that he did not have to lose his temper, so he remained calm and said in a polite and requesting tone,

“I’m here to meet my wife.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Richard. I’m here to meet my wife Pamela.”

“Who?”

“Pamela.”

“Right. But why do you want to meet her now? Is this anytime to show up like this?”

Richard was about to lose his temperament, so he spoke while trying his utmost best to stay calm,

“Please just make a phone call. If she comes downstairs, I’ll be thankful to you. But if she doesn’t, I will simply walk away.”

The security guard liking his behaviour went back and made a phone call.

Richard felt a bit hopeful and delighted expecting his wife to show up.

He was standing like a normal and calm person as if he was very peaceful and he had nothing to do with the different kinds of violent activities.

He kept on waiting and he waited for nearly ten minutes. He was looking up at the window and then he was looking down. A moment later, he saw Pamela making her way outside and walking straight towards him. He took a deep breath of relief and said,

Thank God.

As Pamela stood straight in front of him, he said expressing his emotions,

“Pamela, my love, my heart, my soul. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you Richard?”

“I am broken. I am nothing without you. I want you back in my life.”

“I want us to be back together as well.”

“I’m really sorry about what happened. I was really wrong. I should have never done that. I was a really bad person. But I will change. I promise you I will change. I will improve myself.”

Pamela stopped him by holding his hands through hers.

“Richard,” she said, “you don’t have to apologise for anything.”

“Oh, come on Pamela, you can’t forgive me that easily. You have to say something about my behaviour.”

“It’s okay. I have kept our past behind us.”

“No Pamela, please. Please, don’t be so kind on me. I deserve a little punishment from you. You can’t forgive me that easily.”

“It’s okay Richard, please let’s just move on. What matters is that we will be together once again.”

“Oh, my God Pamela! Your kindness has no match,” Richard said in a state of shock, “I have no words to describe how beautiful you are as a person. I thought I would never see happiness in my life again, but I was so wrong. You are my life; you are my happiness.”

“Thank you Richard. Thank you for coming. I was waiting since the first day that you would either make a call or come over to ask me to return. And I’m really glad that you did.”

“We both were wishing for the same thing to happen. And it happened.”

Pamela nodded.

The two hugged gently.

****************

Two Hours Later

The two of them were seated in their bedroom, Richard began the conversation,

“It’s been quite a while and we both haven’t talked.”

“Yes, I know. I was also observing the same awkwardness.”

“Yeah, anyways, there is something I haven’t told you yet…”

“Oh!”

“And after I tell you about it. You won’t be as happy as you are right now.”

“Oh, dear Lord, please…”

“I have lost my job…”

“Oh, my God! Really?”

“Yes. I know, it has been very tragic.”

“Tragic?” she rephrased. “This is a disaster. Why didn’t you come and tell me that before. I would have come straight for you.”

“I know Pamela, you would have. I was really upset. I needed a shoulder to cry on. Anyways, you and I are together. I’m sure we will struggle together and things will become better.”

“Richard, I am shocked. I literally cannot believe what you just told me. What happened? Why did they fire you?”

“I wasn’t performing that well. I was upset. You can understand that.”

“Were you upset because of me?” Pamela asked.

“Come on, don’t think like that. There were many things. And even if all of this was because of all that, then you are not responsible for that. I am…”

“Richard, all of this is too depressing. We have to do something about it. Can you ask them to give you another chance? Is there any possibility that they would hire you again?”

“I don’t know; I can’t say for sure about that.”

“Look, it’s not in my control. If there was any way I could do something to help you, I would have…”

Pamela stopped talking and started crying. She hid her face.

Richard came closer to her and said,

“Oh, come on my love. Please don’t cry, it was painful enough for me to see you cry that day. Don’t cry in front of me right now. It would really make me weak.”

Pamela tried to say something but she couldn’t. Richard held her shoulder and said,

“My love, my little angel. Please, I beg you. Please don’t cry.”

“It’s just that…It’s just…I’m just upset that I couldn’t…”

Pamela was unable to speak since her voice was trapped up in crying and hiccups.

“What is it Pamela?”

“I wasn’t there with you. I wasn’t with you when you needed me,” she said instantly in one flow.

“So, why are you upset on that? We were on a dispute. So what? You weren’t supposed to be there. I mean you didn’t know…”

Pamela just wept and didn’t speak at all.

Richard was getting upset and he wondered,

Maybe, this wasn’t the right time to tell her this.

He also felt tender hearted and he began to cry as well. He cried for her and said,

“Please don’t make me cry. Your tears will kill me.”

After a detailed moment of silence, Pamela turned towards him and said,

“Okay, we will not cry. We have to be strong. I promise you Richard.”

Richard observed that she was looking straight into his eyes.

Pamela continued,

“Richard, I’m here with you no matter what happens. Even if we get so poor that we would live on roads, I’ll be there with you.”

Richard simply turned away his face and said,

“Please don’t talk to me like this. I am already too guilty; I cannot ask you for more.”

“Why not Richard? You and I are meant to be together. Together forever. We will stand with each other no matter what happens.”

Tears fell off Richard’s eyes, he simply said,

“I am just glad that I have someone like you in my life. You are a blessing I cannot compromise. This job, things like this will come and go but you and I are meant to stay like this forever. You are my wealth Pamela, you are my destiny, a place I want to be in forever.”

“Richard, don’t worry about us. I will be there for you, always…”

“And please tell me that you have forgiven me…”

Pamela said pleasantly,

“Why should I tell you that I have forgiven you when I was never upset with you? I wasn’t upset. I was never upset.”

Richard knew that she wasn’t speaking honestly but he admired her kindness and said,

“I am so glad that you have actually forgiven me…”

“Now, let’s put that messy business behind us and think about what we must do next.”

“Pamela my love, this won’t be a pleasant conversation. You know that.”

“Why not? What do you mean?”

“I mean this conversation will make us tensed and worried. At least I would be agitated. I’m just suggesting that let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay, we can do that.”

“How about we sleep now?” Richard smiled.

“That’s the ugliest smile I have ever seen on your face,” Pamela responded as a joke.

“I know,” Richard chuckled. “I’m in a middle of sorrow and happiness.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Come on, you know what I mean…”

Pamela laughed and Richard also laughed after her.

****************

Next afternoon, Richard was seated on the sofa of the same room. Richard said to himself,

This woman is more than a gem. She is a treasure. Do not lose her. Value her, cherish her. She is more than just a treasure. Stay with her and take care of her.

He saw his wife walking by and he wondered in his thoughts,

Oh, my God! I cannot believe You. I cannot believe that there do exist people who are this nice. It feels as if I never knew her. She is like an absolutely new person.

He then stood up and followed her.

****************

For the next few days, the couple enjoyed and lived a peaceful life, although they were struggling in their lives and they knew that they had to work really hard to make things better. Their closeness and friendship that had recently been developed was what actually mattered and this was what actually made the matters simpler between the two.

Pamela who had actually forgiven her husband from the bottom of her heart was constantly thinking about how she could amend their relationship’s status in the light of values that could make them feel complete. She was working really hard to make sure that their relationship was not going to get affected because of the different changes that were about to create difficulties for them. They had to make sure that the different kinds of changes would be conducted with the help of those who were not strong enough to resolve the matters in the light of obstacles that usually ruin the lives of families and romantic couples.

There was less hope regarding Richard that whether or not he would get another job in a prescribed amount of time. However, he made sure that whether or not the business opportunities were available for him, so he had to make sure that the kinds of activities that could give him a clear picture were actually meant to be conducted in the light of professional standards that could actually make him smarter and help him understand what exactly would be needed to pursue further ahead.

to be continued...