The Weight of the Diamond Ring
By: Gunjan Phukan
Tags: Short Read, Short Story, Screenplay, Screenwriting, Lovestory

Photo by nikki gibson on Unsplash

The time is evening, and the lights are taking over the streets in New York City. The roads are busier as in any other weekend days, and it’s New York City. All the DJ-driven clubs, late-night restaurants, cocktail bars successfully tempted the people out of their houses to stunt with sparklers or dance the night away in some underground warehouses.

Beautiful cars are all over the street. The red Bentley Continental GT hitting the road is shining so bright that it’s illuminating the night streets. The car is heading in the direction from where an indistinct tune of music is coming from. The car now stops near a jazz club, and the door opens gently. A gorgeous lady steps out of the Bentley, and now she elegantly walks into the club. Just then, her phone starts ringing, and she picks it up.

Danielle: Hey, I have already reached the club. Please don’t get late for our anniversary at least.

Mathew: I will reach in a moment. You know right, about the big deal I had to fix today. It’s almost done; just have to wave the clients a bye and then I will be with you in a second.

Danielle: Okay, I will be waiting as always.

Mathew, her husband, hangs up the call saying, “I will be there in a short while.”

Danielle takes a look around and then walks to the empty table in the corner. The place is dimly lit, giving it a serene ambiance. She now gets herself seated on a chair there and starts scrolling through her phone, probably to hide her disappointment from all the couples having quality time there. Talented artists playing jazz music is making it the best place to celebrate old fashion and spend an hour listening to classic piano tunes.

Just then she hears someone calling out her name. Danielle raises her eyes from her phone and finds Mrs. Hall, her new neighbor. Mrs. Hall is a rich lady in her late 60s and has come all alone to the club. Danielle now greets Mrs. Hall.

Danielle: Hello Mrs. Hall. It’s nice to see you.

Mrs. Hall smiles and asks her if she could join her as Danielle too appears to have come alone. Danielle warmly accepts her request. Mrs. Hall sits next to her, and then to start a conversation, she speaks out.

Mrs. Hall: I love coming to this club. Jazz is classic, and so am I.

Danielle smiles as Mrs. Hall continues speaking.

Mrs. Hall: I started coming here often in the last few months. The voice of one specific artist pulls me here every time. He has an unbelievably soulful voice. He is playing in this bar regularly for the last few months, and hopefully, he has a show today.

Mrs. Hall is busy telling Danielle all her experiences and opinions when suddenly the stage illuminates with lights and on the stage, is someone ready to play his piano. The man starts playing his piano, and simultaneously Mrs. Hall exclaims, “Here he comes”.

As soon as the first note hits Danielle’s ears, she looks at the performer, and in the very next moment, she is completely numb. It is like time stopped its flow for Danielle or perhaps it changed its course for Danielle. Mrs. Hall continues praising, “What a lovely voice, it is going to make me fall in love again”, but Danielle is nowhere to react to anything. The body was present there, but the real Danielle flew somewhere back in time to her nostalgic hometown, Greenville, Alabama, where she met her love for the first time, 16 years back.

Photo by Chris on Unsplash

She went back to the time when young Danielle walked through the country roads of Alabama bunking her classes to reach the pub; her 16-year-old boyfriend worked in. With each memory popping in, a string of hundred others followed. She remembers his glowing face and his smile every time she visited him. She remembers riding together in his cycle down the country lanes. She remembers boating together in the Sherling Lake and also the flock of swans that would accompany them in the late autumn or early winters. Sometimes, they would sit on her roof, and holding hands they would watch the bright stars disappear into the light blue sky. Those days were so alive when they held each other and went for long walks in the winter mornings.

Danielle remembers an incident when her boyfriend threw down with a few of her classmates because of them constantly threatening her that they would inform her parents about her relationship with a pub waiter. She regrets this incident, though.

Later that day, when she got back home, her father told her that they would be leaving for New York City the next morning. She was dumbstruck for a moment and later when she tried to ask for the reason, her father said, “There’s no future here in this country, New York can provide you what you deserve and what you want”. Saying this, he went upstairs to assist his wife in packing.

Danielle couldn’t believe that she was going to leave behind the town where she grew up all these years. The town which had seen her entire childhood. The town which had taught her the meaning of friendship, care, happiness. And most importantly, the town which gifted her, the love of her life.

Danielle couldn’t believe that she was going away from her love the next morning. She didn’t want to believe it because her heart was deeply connected to the place and him. She hurriedly pulled out in her mother’s car and headed towards the pub. Her car screeched right next to the pub. She hurriedly stepped out of the car and rushed inside to her boyfriend. As usual, he was serving the customers while she appeared in front of him. As soon as he saw her, he smiled, but it didn’t take him long to realize the hint of a tear in her eyes. She walked to him and hugged him tightly. Unaware of what was going on, he apologized to her for throwing down with her classmates. There was complete silence for a moment until Danielle broke the silence speaking to him about the incident that happened in her home early that day. Danielle spoke out.

Danielle: I don’t want to leave this town. I don’t want to go far from you.

Swallowing the teardrop that was about to fall, hearing her, he said.

The Boy: That’s right what they have planned for you. It would be best if you moved to New York.

Danielle then unhugged him and raised her eyes to look at him cluelessly.

The Boy: There’s no future in this town. You deserve better than this, after all, you are growing, and this town will soon run out of space for your wings to fly.

Danielle burst out in tears when he said these words.

Danielle: I don’t want to go. I want to live with you all my life.

To this, the boy promises her to visit her twice every year until he makes himself capable of standing on his own two feet. And that, once he establishes himself, he would be leaving permanently for New York to marry her. Then the boy pulls out his golden ring, his mother gifted him seven years back and puts it on her ring finger.

“Danielle! Danielle! Danielle! Are you okay?”

Mrs. Hall waves her hands over Danielle’s face to normalize her.

Danielle now feels her presence and looks at Mrs. Hall and smiles, saying “I am fine”.

Now Mrs. Hall Speaks.

Mrs. Hall: See I told you, this musician is unbelievable. His pure music can make people fall in love.

Danielle nods this time with a smile.

Mrs. Hall: Only if I had made the right decisions in my early days, I wouldn’t be here alone.

Danielle now looks at Mrs. Hall and notices the hint of tears in her eyes. She then shifts her eyes to the musician on the stage and says.

Danielle: I too, have made few wrong decisions.

Saying this, Danielle looks at the diamond ring on her ring finger.