Very much in love! That’s how one would describe them, as they walked hand inn hand, under the green canopy, besides the sea. They were deeply engrossed in conversation. She had just received a call from her dear friend, settled in Canada for years. Once again she had urged Sanika and Abhimanyu to think about relocating to Canada.
Sanika sighed, “ If wishes were horses ….!” “ Are you so keen to go to Canada?” Abhi asked her. “ Yes, I wish to go and explore that beautiful country and from what Rina tells me, the quality of life is pretty good too!” “ Hmmmm!”
Next evening when he came home, Abhi had a surprise for Sanika. He made a call and after the preliminary greetings handed the phone to his Darling wife. He is an agent for Canadian immigration. She nearly fell. Then ensued a rigorous interview, questions, queries and quiz.
Once she got off the phone, she hugged him tightly and the joy rolled down her cheeks.
The next few months were a flurry of work, paperwork, e mails, applications and interviews. At every step, so many doubts snared their minds. And finally, there were barely a couple of months left to take off to their dream land.
Where did they get that energy? Office, home and then preparations to go to a new land. It was just work, work, work. No respite.
He resigned. His boss was stunned. Abhimanyu was so good, capable and creative. And they even paid him less than the contemporaries. Boss kept enquiring if there was any way they could retain him. Of course Abhi couldn’t divulge their dream. So, he politely thanked him but refused. At his farewell party too, he was gracious and polite.
They were all packed. Ready to board the flight. But, the whole world was held to ransom by an innocuous micro organism. Covid 19 had struck. Their flight got cancelled, as many countries around the globe shut their borders and wouldn’t allow travel. Heart broken they came to know that even Canada had shut its doors to any travellers.
There’s always a silver lining among the darkest of clouds. They were informed they could travel to Canada, as they were officially allowed, along with Canadian citizens and their dependents. After weeks you could see Abhimanyu and Sanika smile as they put on their masks and stepped out for a walk.
Now began a hunt for airlines. Flying had been reduced to the bare minimum. They managed to book themselves on the only flight to Toronto, boarding it with mixed emotions.
Meanwhile they had got in touch with an old friend, who was guiding them in what to do and how to do in good old Toronto. HE was a friend they had lost contact with, but who reassured them, every time they spoke. He would say don’t worry, “ Mai hoo na!”
After a tiring 24 hours travel with 10 hours of layover at London, where they spotted not a soul in the humongous Heathrow airport, they finally touched down at Toronto. All the passengers were jubilant and shouted “ Hurrah!” like kids on a school excursion. Relief was palpable. The crew had never received such sincere and copious gratitude.
Clearing all formalities, as they stepped into the vast empty spaces of one of the world’s busiest airports, they felt overwhelmed. Amidst all the chaos, lockdowns, flight cancellations, they had reached.
Feeling a little lost, a little confused, kind of surreal, they were wondering what to do next when they saw a lone man striding confidently towards them. Well built and strong, kind of handsome in his own way, he approached them. His smile lit up his face and infectiously spread on to theirs. There was always a ray of hope! Maintaining social distancing they had to be happy just talking as cheerfully as they could as he said, “Welcome to Canada!” All fears and doubts were laid to rest as their dear friend gave them the warmest welcome possible, by being there in person. The rays of the setting sun pierced through dispelling the gloom. Sanika caught hold of Abhi’s hand and squeezed it as she said, “ Our wish came true after all!”
#Lockeddownwriting
