Eyes Don't Lie

The afternoon seemed serene. The cold zephyr with the soft winter sunlight and warmth of coffee was too perfect for the day. Finally, away from home, from chaos, from people in this small peaceful town of Bir, was the only break Sara had been yearning for since the ages. Unlike other tourist places of Himachal Pradesh like Dharmshala, Manali, or Mcloadganj, Bir doesn't have much tourist attraction. Only a paragliding site and an old temple and lots and lots of greenery. Everything appeared beautiful in that small cafe facing a green meadow and stream.

But she thought everything too soon because an extremely chatty and middle-aged man came and sat in front of her, "Do you mind?" Sara looked around her, there were vacant tables inside the cafe but it was too cold there, she too had realized. She didn't say anything and nodded her head in a yes.

"So, are you a professor?" The man asked. Sara gave a cold glance at him. She didn't say anything and continued with her novel. "Hi! I am Akash." He continued. Sara was slowly getting annoyed. She couldn't behave rudely. She nodded again. "Are you from somewhere north?" Sara was finally irritated. "Look, gentleman! I am ...." Before she could finish, Akash's phone rang.

"Hello. Hi Deepesh. I knew it will definitely create a buzz everywhere. Eyes don't lie. It's a mirror. It reflects everything. As a true journalist, I am too good at reading them. I already said he isn't innocent. Now, look at what was I talking about!"

For the first time in a while, Sara found something interesting and she looked straight into his eyes in search of something or anything which would reflect. Akash too got amused by her stare. He hanged up and started, "So Ms...?"

"Sara. I am Sara." Sara replied. "So Ms. Sara, you were saying something?" Akash said.

"So Mr. Akash, you can read eyes? And they don't lie to you! Sounds interesting!" Sara said with a grinning face.

"Yes. Well, I don't generally brag about myself but that's one of my many talents." Akash replied with a hint of pride.

Sara's mind turned mischievous. Also, she was getting a little bored as she couldn't escape this man. With a weird smile on her lips, she said, "Very well. Then let's play a game. I believe you are likely to stay in this cafe for a while. I will tell you two stories about me. One is true and another a lie. Let's see, how good you are in reading my eyes!"

Akash was baffled for a moment. He thought of something and then agreed.

"So here you go!" Sara started with the first story. "This is Rahul. My husband." She showed a snap on her phone where she had short hair. "I am a Catholic and he is a Brahmin. He was completing his Ph.D. in Physics while I was already engaged as an assistant professor in the same college."

"Ah! Wait! That means you ARE a professor." A glint of accomplishment in Akash's eyes.

Sara said nothing. Just smiled and continued. "We met in the library for the first time. Then exchanged some notes and gradually became good friends. When things became 'more than friends', we decided to get married. Naturally, as expected, our parents were strictly against it. Starting from veg and nonveg dietary problems to each and every ritual, I was questioned with everything: my short hair, unconventional style of living, my preference over western dresses, bla bla bla. Still, I thought, maybe things would improve after marriage. So against every odds, we went for the courtship. At first, it was as calm as it would before a storm. We both were isolated in the same house as if we were untouchables. Though everything was going at its own pace until one day when..."

Sara's eyes got foggy with tears, she took few hiccups and then continued," Rahul met with an accident and left us. Everything fell apart. I could not return to my own house. Here, Rahul's parents had completely dejected me. All I had with me was some memories and this snap in my phone. I moved to Delhi after that. I am a lecturer at a not so known private college and live on my own."

A slight essence of tension rose on Akash's face. This story seemed cent percent true. No fallacy. What will happen for the second one?

Sara looked at him for a moment. And then started with the second one. "This is Stephen. This picture was taken during one of the family picnics. After I graduated, my dad and father-in-law decided to get me and Stephen married. I had no idea if I could ever have protested. We were just good friends then. Neither any similarity of thoughts nor any similar habits. He loved to sit beside an old gramophone and listen to ghazal and I liked hanging out with friends. Still, we had no say in deciding our future and got married after all. We hardly exchanged anything at all. There was not a single noise in the house except for the clattering of the dishes at night. MNCs are already demanding and he spent most of the time on his laptop or pretended that. I never got a single clue what was brewing inside him. And on one unfortunate morning, after I got up, I found a note on my study table-

'Sara, I know it's not your fault. We both are forced into this relationship which we never wanted in the first place. I know it had been hard for you as well to stick here. But I am not as brave as you. I love someone else. God knows that I have tried my level best to adjust and forget her. But I failed. I feel claustrophobic. So I have decided to escape this without much troubling you unnecessarily. You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and you will find a far better person than me. I will always be there to help you with anything. Take care.'

And like that, my marriage ended within a month. I have been hating all types of relationships since then. Parents who think they always know better than us, marriage, because the other one thinks they can decide for me as well, everyone!"

Sara cried bitterly this time. Akash slipped his handkerchief. She took it, and both sat quietly for a while. Suddenly Sara realized it was getting darker. She got up and said, "This is my email id. You can mail me your answer."

Akash had a terrible sleepless night. He kept on wandering in his own room. Who was real: Rahul or Stephen? She had tears both the time. She wouldn't have those if she were lying. One has to be a lie.

After spending the entire night thinking about this, at dawn, he took out his phone and started typing.

"Dear Sara,

I think the second one might be true. You seem independent. You clearly didn't even want me to sit there with you. Human presence annoys you. So, the second one has to be your story."

Akash kept waiting for the mail. He spent the entire day in anxiety and checked his phone every hour expecting a revert. It felt like forever. Finally, at midnight, he got a reply.

"Hello Mr. Akash

You believe eyes don't lie. Isn't it. Well clearly, my eyes lied to you. From the beginning. Both the stories are wrong. They never occurred in my life. Because I am not a professor. I am an actor. I work in a theatre. And that man in the snap is my brother. So you see, Mr. True Journalist, eyes can mislead while reflecting. Eyes can also be misleading when they are reading those reflections.

Take care."

Akash was spellbound. He had nothing to see. He roamed in his own thoughts for a while, took a deep breath, and started laughing loudly. Finally, he spoke to himself, "Well played!"