He must have walked for a quarter of an hour before he felt his legs tiring. He saw a green Bajaj Chetak parked on the roadside and decided to rest for a while. He sat astride the driver’s seat and closed his eyes, waiting for his breath to catch up. His hands fumbled inside the bag trying to find the letters. He arranged the printouts in the order in which he had received them. His mouth was dry. He had a sip of Masti. He began to read.

The first letter—a proper one on paper—after she walked out on him. Then, the emails that came later, with details of her new boyfriend:

Dear Bebe,

I am very happy. The boy is called Javed Khan and he is a practising Muslim. He is six foot tall, an ex footballer. He is balding and has a big nose. He is a serious techno freak; Dave Clark is a name I hear often. He’s also into garage and house etc. He prays all the time and will not marry me becoz it is against his religion to marry a Hindu. It seems his chances of going to paradise reduce . . . hmmm. Well, one meets all types.

But I am happy. He is very caring and my sense of numbness seems to be ebbing away. He makes me feel like I should care for myself. I don’t think I give him much but he seems happy to take care of me and tries to solve my problems in whatever way he can. I guess sometimes god sends people just to help you out in times of stress and then they go away.

He bought me my own website for my birthday which is the nicest thing I can think of . . . so now there is an arundhatibannerji.com on the net . . . still under construction as I have to upload my portfolio. I felt very touched. I’ve been having very painful migraines this past month and he has given me this rare herb that seems to be working wonders.

He is a genuinely nice person. I don’t want anything else at this moment.

I’m sorry . . . this must hurt to read but this is my reality.

Every once in a while he goes off to Holland on business. The days he is away I miss the companionship a lot. I read books, go to the gym, freelance. I do miss you but I am changing . . . I HAVE changed. I’m quieter, more introspective, I want different things from life, I want a sense of security and stability, I want simplicity . . . and Javed is fulfilling these needs . . . anyway work beckons.

Ciao,

Arundhati

Hi Bebe,