Letting go

"Yaar, matlab main kar sakti hu but mere se ab ho nahi payega"

This was the first thing I heard as soon as Shreya opened the door. She was in the middle of a conversation with someone and almost immediately my eyes went to the phone in her hand. She was on a call with someone and she had put it on speaker. As soon as the sentence was said, there was a pause. It was like everyone in the picture was mulling over the sentence. I was trying to guess who was on the other side of the call and what were they giving up. Shreya's eyes had teared up and a small smile was forming on her face. I wasn't expecting this reaction. I was immediately intrigued. Considering the silence on the other side of the call, there were some afterthoughts there too.

As the pause stretched, I started feeling like I was interrupting something personal and important. Shreya must have thought the same because she quickly removed the speaker mode, opened the door, motioned me to take a seat. 2 minutes, she gestured with her hand, and took her call inside.

By the time her call was done, my curiosity had piqued and I had mentally calculated the depth of my friendship with Shreya to decide how inappropriate it would be to ask her what was the person on the call saying when I arrived and why Shreya was so happy to hear that. So naturally, as soon as she re-entered the living room, against my better judgment and manners, I ended up asking her about the conversation that I had accidentally eavesdropped on. 

Thankfully, she did not seem to take offense and immediately answered the question. So the person at the other end of the call was Neha, her childhood friend. As per Shreya, Neha was one of those people who stresses a lot over finishing all the tasks on time, gives her 150% to every task, and takes up more than her share of tasks. A person who gives no regard to her health and peace of mind over her work and other responsibilities. Shreya didn't really have to elaborate much because I painted a picture of Neha right away. I have many Nehas around me so it really wasn't that difficult.

 Shreya said, "So, you can imagine how I must have felt when she said",

Yaar, matlab main kar sakti hu but mere se ab ho nahi payega

Yes, I could imagine. Neha wasn't giving up. She was letting go. Despite not knowing Neha personally, now I was feeling proud of Neha too. Shreya said that Neha had been balancing dual responsibilities at her house and work for a long time now. She had invested a lot on both ends with no regard to her health so it was really unfair when she was pressurized from both ends. And the pressure always increased during holiday seasons with everyone taking her for granted assuming she would be ok taking up the additional load of work instead of taking a break during the holiday. So, what she managed to do today almost sounded unreal.

Today, she had had enough so she negotiated responsibilities and tasks at both ends, with her team at the office and her family at home. Without compromising on anything that was important to her, Neha delegated and distributed her tasks among others clearly stating why she was doing this. Shreya laughed remembering what Neha had said. Neha had told her that when she was done, a few of her team members and family members were looking at her as if they were saying this is so unfair and Neha just responded, ya, welcome to my world.

I laughed out loud and wiped the tear that had slipped from my right eye. Wow. 

This never happens.

"I think your friend has created history today" 

"Hah, I agree"

"This calls for a celebration"

"Good thing I was already prepared", Shreya said handing me a glass of wine. 

"To small victories" 

"To letting go"