Nothing But Love

“ARJUN?” she shouted.
“That’s a strange way of greeting your friend,” he said as he entered the bedroom, “Hey girls!”
“You’re going to Brussels?” she emphasized on each and every word in her question.
“How did you get to know?” he asked her casually, claiming a seat between both of them.
“So you’re really going?” she asked, bemused. Before he could utter a word, she leaned in towards him and gave him a hug. “You’ll go without me? I’ll miss you so much. When are you leaving? And when will you return? Who’s accompanying you? God, I’m going to miss you so much.” She was still hugging him. He smiled. He was enjoying it.
“I’m just going for a week Shriya!” he tried to console her. She nodded, and let a moment pass. The room enjoyed the reign of silence. Arjun looked at Akanksha who was sitting at his right. She smiled. She always did.
“Arjun?” Shriya broke the silence.
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t go!” she said with a face and voice so sad, he believed she would start crying any moment.
“Really?” he asked, confused. “Uh-Okay” he replied with a smile. Within a moment, there were shrieks and laughter, loud enough to shake every single thing present in Akanksha’s house, followed by a dance on the bed obviously put up by Shriya as her two besties kept staring at her.
“See! I told you he won’t go, didn’t I?” she asked Akanksha, who looked at Arjun in disbelief for a long time, and just nodded later. “I’ve got to tell this to your mom too. I’ll be back in five.”
“You aren’t going?” Akanksha asked as soon as Shriya left the room.
“Nope!” he smiled. He leaned across the bed and reached out for her study table and tried to open the drawer. She slapped his hand and kept him from opening the drawer. No one knew what secrets she hid from the world in that drawer. Meanwhile, there were screams and bellows from the adjacent room in Shriya’s voice alone.
“Look at me, Arjun. You can’t just cancel it. It was your dream!”
“It still is. I’m just postponing my dream. And I never really planned to go. I would never picnic without you both. I have already told Mum that I won’t be coming. And it was never a picnic. Mom has a job offer at the University there, and she just wants to find out if it’s worth the move. I just wanted to check how both of you react! And besides, I was supposed to go with my family. But wouldn’t it be better if I get to see Brussels with my besties a few years later, if not now? I hope you and Shriya will come along. Won’t you come Anna?”
Only her family, Arjun and Shriya called her Anna and she liked being called that. Every pet name has a story and Arjun always wondered about the story behind Anna. For some reason, he never asked. And she never told. “But Arjun—”
“It’s okay Anna. Brussels can wait” he winked.
She smiled. “You love her a lot, don’t you?”
“You know the answer, don’t you?” he asked back as a certain sadness took over his eyes. “And,” he said pulling her pastel cheeks, “if I’ll ever leave, that would be never to come back again.” He smiled. But she didn’t hear a word. She was too busy staring at his moist, deep eyes.
***
The door was closed, but the uproar could be easily heard outside. Hers was the only room located upstairs in the house— quite suggestive of the fact that she was the only child to her (now separated) parents. Even her mother, who was busy working in the kitchen, received the chaotic sound waves from upstairs & shook her head— with a smile although— as she looked up at the analogue clock hanging on the adjacent deep cerulean painted wall, as if a certain realization had dawned on her. September had brought a lot of cold along with the dark monsoon clouds, and as a result, all the windows in the drawing room were shut— including her favourite one.
It was 8 o’ clock and the fixture was about to be kicked off. It was the Manchester derby— Manchester United were scheduled to take on Manchester City in the English Premier League, and two of the craziest ‘United’ fans awaited the epic soccer fiesta in the room upstairs. The preparations for this contest had been long and tiresome, but at the same time, were apt and perfect too. Curtains closed, lights off— the only light in the room was that of the larger-than-life 42” Television set located centrally that connected them to a time zone running four and a half hours behind theirs. Two large porcelain bowls filled to the brim with popcorn and French fries, packets of their respective favourite chips, and a bottle of coke that sat right in the middle of the elliptical table in front of them─ all they thought they would need was present right there.
The referee blew the whistle and the timer positioned in the top right corner of the television set went ticking. “Go Cristiano! Finish ‘em off!” she screamed, showing off her colossal aggression. When most people at school called him Ronaldo, she preferred saying Cristiano. ‘I like the way his name sounds,’ she’d often tell Arjun. While her belligerence was on its peak, he was, on the other hand, much patient and calm— like it was in his blood. “Just don’t give away the possession boys,” was all he could spurt out. Forty-five minutes into the first half, the board was devoid of goals. Two minutes of added time too, proved fruitless. The referee declared half time as both the teams, and both of them, breathed a sigh of relief. Thirsty, he reached out for the bottle of coke, just to find out that it was half empty. He looked at her in disappointment, discontent and disbelief.
“You finished HALF of it? HALF?” his pitch gave the complete idea about his annoyance.
“I was damn thirsty, Arjun, and each time I took a sip, I just craved for one more!” she answered with a cute kitten-like innocence piling up on her already beautiful face.
“Then why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Well, you were so engrossed. And I thought you would get angry on me if I had disturbed you for such a petty thing” she answered trying to sound as guilty as possible.
“Oh, right. Okay” he said, forgiving her within a moment.
“And that’s why I love you baby” she said.
She was looking at him exactly the way he loved— hazy eyes transfixed on him as if looking through him, head lopsided on her right shoulder, giant annular earrings clanging like a wind chime as they swayed back and forth like a pendulum— bumping into her cheeks occasionally, face resting on the palm of her right hand while the left one being folded supporting the right elbow, a smile developing and stretching to the farthest corners of her face, and a dimple emerging out of nowhere and bejewelling her already endearing smile— she was nothing less than perfection. He didn’t even realize when he had lost his heart to her. He was thunderstruck— not only because of her splendidly divine looks, but also owing to the statement his despairing ears had just analysed.
She puffed-up her eyes. “How was it?” she enquired.
“How was what?” he asked back, petrified.
“The proposal,” she cried, “you silly boy! You think I’ll make a good girlfriend?”
“Yes Indeed!” He smiled at her, breathing a sigh of relief.
“You’re a cutie! You know that?” she said pulling his cheeks. “Can I ask you something Arjun?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever” she said looking into his eyes, “fallen for someone?”
“I— I mean, I’ve never—” he stumbled upon his words.
“You’re dumb, you know” she shook her head.
“WHAT? But why?” his pitch descended exponentially.
“Chuck it. By the way,” she hushed, “do you have feelings for Anna?”
“No! She’s my best friend and—”
“So what you’re trying to say is best friends cannot, or rather, should not fall in love, right?”
“No! In fact—” he started but wasn’t allowed to finish.
“Quick!” she said all of a sudden, “the game has already started,” and all that he was about to say had vanished into thin air.
The red devils seemed more confident this time around. They were mounting a burden of numerous niche passes and even worked out a few delicate crosses. The possession stats of the second half were pretty satisfying as the Reds possessed the ball for a gross 61% of the twenty odd minutes that had ticked, thanks to which, Arjun had completely lost himself to the TV. Shriya was sure the game was on the verge of slowing down for some time looking at the new team strategy. Eyeing the opportunity, she looked at him and gradually lifted the pack of lays that lay resting softly on his palms. She was skilled in this job, enough to succeed without having him noticed. Ten minutes later, he happened to notice that he was trying to find chips in his palms as the pack had already disappeared. He looked at her and smiled, lost in his thoughts and completely failing to notice not only the first and the only goal of the match that was scored by the team he was supporting, but also the ear-splitting celebration his best friend was up to.
***
He looked around. The class was full. He checked his wristwatch which cried out that it was 9 o’ clock in the morning. He looked at the classroom door that was wide open, giving him a complete view of the corridor and the lush green playground beyond it, thanks to the modest height of the corridor wall. He looked up at the ceiling and stared at the rotating blades of the fan, trying to locate its centre and simultaneously murmured something softly that seemed like a prayer. The fan demonstration-cum-prayer lasted for a few minutes, and he directed his neck and sight back towards the door. His bag pack sat beside him silently, as it performed its duty of reserving the place adjacent to its master, tirelessly.
The classroom was just fine when it came to accommodation. Accommodation─ not space. It was richly spacious─ ample space to roam around, the walls on the either sides of the blackboard breathing calmly thanks to the numerous windows dug through them. The right one was more comfortable, for it had the trees and open air standing outside. However, the left one boasted of the entrance door in its front corner─ the one that would lead her in, and that’s what he was waiting for. He was looking at the trees outside through the window to his right, involuntarily tapping his right foot on the flooring, when he heard someone enter the classroom. He looked at the door, expectations flooding his eyes.
And there she was. Finally. ‘Finally,’ he thought. He smiled at her. She resembled a doll─ a really cute one. Dainty brown pinafore culminating just at her knees, sheltering her bright yellow full-sleeved shirt whose neckline in turn supported a murky brown tie, an equally bright yellow hair-band— the colour of which was in step with that of her shirt— holding her long silky hair in a neat puffy pony-tail that dangled from side to side, a cherry red ‘Nike-MUFC’ wristband which he spotted her taking off the left wrist in no time, the only thing missing was her pair of earrings, making her earlobes appear bleak. ‘How can anyone possibly manage to look this cute?’ he thought, while his eyeballs were still fixed on Shriya. His Shriya.
The teacher scanned her attire with an ‘is-this-the-way-you-come-to-school’ look and checked the clock. Shriya was scared she might be yelled at, but the old lady preferred ignoring her indiscipline and unpunctuality and allowed her inside with a smile instead. Shriya was befuddled. Confused, she entered the classroom. Arjun placed his bag pack on the floor and vacated the seat next to him for her, but she didn’t happen to notice. Instead, she appeared to be searching for a seat in the first row. She threw a glance and was delighted to locate an empty seat on the very last bench. To add to her glee, Jai had taken the seat adjacent to the vacant one. She quickly covered the distance, claimed the vacant spot, kept her sack down and smiled at him. He gave her a ‘whatever’ look, that Arjun happened to notice from exactly the opposite corner of the classroom but she couldn’t recognize even though she sat next to him.
The electric bell riveted to the wall outside the classroom rang and there were smiles all over. Arjun breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent the entire day sitting alone, wondering why she had preferred sitting beside Jai. Being completely lost in his thoughts, he was the last person to leave the classroom. He saw Akanksha and Shriya waiting for him in the corridor. Akanksha saw him coming and smiled at him. He smiled back.
“Why” she asked Shriya, “would you sit alongside Jai?”
“Is sitting beside Jai such a big deal?” Shriya asked back in a high pitch.
“You sit with Arjun every day, don’t you? Akanksha made sure her pitch was higher than that of her besty. “And besides, he saved a place for you. What’s up with you?”
“It’s okay Anna,” Arjun said, calming her down, “not a big deal!”
“That’s what. What difference does it make?” Shriya asked, confused.
“Shriya?” asked Akanksha, “Do you like that guy?” She was more angry than curious.
“I don’t know! I mean, he does look cute to be honest. And he has that special something. But—” Arjun had already stopped listening. He was too busy mending the first crack on his soon-to-be-broken heart.
***
“Arjun?” her sweet, childlike voice sanctified his ears through the telephone speaker. The night had fallen. It was ten past ten, which meant it was time for their daily phone call— time for Shriya to call him up. It was like some unwritten tradition of theirs. The only time the phone call would not happen was when the two of them were together.
“Hey!” he said, trying to sound cheerful, “you’re late.”
“I know, I know” she said in a voice that sounded a little blue, “listen up, I wanted to ask you something important”
“Yeah?” he said, nervous.
“You hate Jai?” she asked, and bit her lip. She corrected it instantaneously saying, “I mean, you too hate Jai?”
“Hate? I don’t know” he said. “I mean I hardly know him. The guy joined our school just weeks ago.” He hated Jai like no one else did.
“I mean the way Anna reacted in the morning,” she said in a shaky voice, “I thought you hate him too”
“Does that even matter?” he asked casually
“Of course it does, Arjun. Yes of course!” she cried. “If you don’t like him, I won’t talk to him, ever. I swear! Ever”
“And if you like him,” he said as he gulped the truth down his throat, “I can never hate him.” She smiled.
“Pumpkin Pie,” she hushed softly. She called him Pumpkin Pie for she thought he was equally sweet. “Okay, quickly tell me the schedule for tomorrow then”
“Organic Chemistry, Literature, Biology, Calculus, and Domino’s after school” he summed it up.
“Copy that, captain!” she shot back, straightaway.
“And don’t forget, in the evening we have to accompany Anna to shopping too. She’ll go nuts if we don’t. You, to be precise, not ‘we!’”
“Yeah-Yeah. I get that” she sighed. “Should I hang up then?”
“Yeah” he said clearing his throat, “Good night Shriya!”
“Arjun?”
“Shriya?”
“Is there,” she whispered, “something else you want to say?”
“No?” he was bewildered as always.
“Okay then!” she said quickly, “See you tomorrow. Good night!”
***
“Where’s Shriya?” Akanksha asked him, as they exited the classroom together. Arjun looked around and then looked down at his feet as he suddenly remembered something. “I won’t be attending the classes tomorrow,” she’d told him on the phone the other night. “Got some important work” she’d reasoned. It had been two weeks since that incident and things hadn’t improved at all. In fact, they had worsened. Shriya was now hanging out more with Jai, ‘totally smitten by him’ as Akanksha would describe it.
They entered the cafeteria and walked up to the counter. He ordered a Decaf Mocha while she waited for him at the table─ a table that was─ by all accounts─ reserved for “the three musketeers” as everyone called them, one amongst whom, was missing, until her chain of thoughts broke and she saw her third musketeer─ Shriya─ sit at another table with Jai. She had a toast sandwich in her hand, and so did Jai. Akanksha looked at her in disbelief while Arjun, who had now returned to their table, just stood there, devoid of expressions.
“She hates sandwiches!” Akanksha finally let it out. “What is she even doing with one? Analysing why she hates them?” She seemed quite disgusted at the sight of Shriya having a sandwich in her hand.
“Well,” he said with the coffee cup in his hand tilting to a side, “people change Anna. For the good!” he smiled at her─ a forced one, one that had some sort of grief woven around it. She gave him an I-know-what-you’re-doing-there look. After what seemed an eternity, Shriya spotted them, asked Jai to excuse her, and joined them at their table. She understood from Akanksha’s looks that they were quite mad at her.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” she asked, puzzled.
“What’s wrong with us?” Akanksha sprang up with a counter-question. “What’s wrong with you? Bunking lectures for Jai? Lying to us? And Sandwiches?” she was furious.
“Calm down sweetie! Will you?” Shriya placed her hand on hers. “Jai is a good guy, you know. He’s new at school, plays soccer and has invited me for a game today.” Anna and Arjun looked at each other in disappointment. The three of them always left school together, and now that final exams and holidays and drifting apart were just a few weeks away, the need for it was highlighted. “Look, Arjun, I know it’s Friday and you have to run your errands, but I really don’t want to miss the game. So, I suggest you guys leave. I’ll leave after the game. You guys don’t need to worry about me, you know,” she assured. “I’m a big girl!”
“Yeah” Akanksha said looking at her, “I hope the last line was true.”
“We’ll wait” Arjun hopped in. “You finish up your game.”
“Really? Wowie! I so love you guys! Hey why don’t you both join the game too?” Shriya offered. “Come on. It’ll be fun. What say?”
***
It was time for the game. Arjun and Akanksha had decided not to play, and to wait for Shriya instead. Jai suggested it would be better if they had a little warm-up and executed a bicycle kick during the practice which Shriya seemed to have relished completely. The game kicked off finally.
“What an asshole!” Akanksha said, eyes fixed on Jai, as she and Arjun watched the game from the bench.
“You’re not supposed to say that Anna” Jai smiled at her.
“Say what? Asshole?” She seemed utterly agitated. “Just look at him. Showing off his bicycle kick to impress a girl? He thinks his skills are clinical? Who is he? Wayne Rooney?” she sighed. “What’s wrong with our musketeer though? She knows more about soccer than he would ever know, and just look at her! Pretending like it’s an absolutely first-hand territory. You know what I think? I─”
“ARJUN!!!” Shriya screamed as she had a fall. One of the opponents had given her a brisk push to dispossess her and she tumbled over a stone, as her foot started shedding blood. Arjun and Akanksha ran towards her as she sat there, holding her right foot, unable to stop both the blood that gushed out of her foot and the tears that flooded her eyes. As soon as they reached, Akanksha started wiping her tears while Arjun lowered her stocking, having a look at the foot that was hit and pressed his palm firmly on the bruise, and the two of them started consoling her. Shriya had always had this habit to be pampered. Since she had been raised by her mother alone, thanks to her parents’ divorce, she was a mollycoddled kid. Akanksha and Arjun too─ since they knew it─ were always protective of her.
“These things happen. But crying on such silly things? Jai snorted. “I like strong girls you know” he told to his friend who stood nearby, “babied girls are such a No!”
Anna looked at him with a ‘you-asshole’ look while Arjun was furious. “Hey! Look─” he said as Shriya shook Arjun’s hand away, tied her kerchief over the bleeding foot and stood up. Arjun couldn’t believe her as she decided to continue with the game.
***
“Heya!” he heard her voice through the telephone. He looked at the clock that hung on the wall nearby and found out it was just half past nine. “What you doing?”
“Not much” he answered, “Just done with dinner.”
“Are you mad at me Arjun?” Shriya’s voice sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Uh-No” he mumbled. “Why would I be mad at you?” he countered quickly.
“Because after the game, neither Anna nor you listened to what I wanted to tell you both. You guys were quiet all the way to home, dropped me off and then left in a hurry.” After the game, she had tried telling them about the perfection and precision of Jai’s soccer skills, but Arjun and Akanksha turned a deaf ear to her. They were just too furious to even react. “Won’t you listen to me Jai?” Shriya asked him back, each and every word layered with innocence. And he couldn’t say no. He never could.
***
He looked around. ‘Style Perk’ was a poky, confined store that provided excessive diversities of clothing for women and was easy on the pocket. As a result, it was always jam-packed. The AC tried its best to pump conditioned air through the numerous dresses hung one after the other, in vain. There were open shelves that were accorded specific varieties of apparels. The store was so modest when it came to space that it wasn’t possible for more than two people to stand in between two adjacent shelves.
Arjun took a seat next to the one-piece shelf as Shriya browsed through the outfits. She had called him up and asked him if he could accompany her to shopping, and there he was. What was strange was that Akanksha had apparently declined the offer as she had some important work. It was obviously strange, because Akanksha was a shopaholic, had the best choice when it came to clothing, and the three of them always shopped together. Always, he thought. Always, until now.
After looking through the same collection thrice, and staring at a handful of them for some time, she pulled out a couple of them and turned to face Arjun. “Which one?” she asked him, holding a strapless, purple one-piece in her left hand and a white, full-sleeved wear in her right hand.
“The white one looks better” he responded, “to be honest.”
“You think?” she asked, now having a look at both the outfits.
“Well, the purple one might seem better, when it comes to colour, but” he gulped, “the white one looks really rich, you know.”
“Okay then” she concluded cheerfully, “the white one it is!” He waited for her outside, at the entrance of Style Perk, while she paid the bills. A couple of girls offered him a what-the-hell-is-a-guy-doing-here looks as he just kept looking at his feet, red-faced. “Thanks for coming yaa!” she patted his back as she exited the store.
“You say that every time, Shriyu!” he said, making a poker face. “Well, anyway, I was thinking if, you know, have a coffee or something?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, her pitch descending, “Actually, I can’t. I have this really important work Arjun. Is it okay of we have it next time?”
“Yeah. Fine” he said, eyes transfixed at Shriya. Important work, he thought. It was nothing less than a shock for him as it was always Shriya who would insist for a coffee or a pizza. She would never say No to coffee. Well, never, until now, he thought to himself.
***
“Hey dodo” he snapped through the telephone mic, “Why didn’t you come for shopping?”
“Look Arjun, I have no interest in helping her get ready for her date, okay?” Akanksha retorted. “You are in love with her, I’m not. Remember?”
“Uh . . . Shriya’s” he stammered, “going on a date? With Jai?”
“She didn’t tell you that?” she asked, surprised. He remained silent. “Arjun??” she yelled.
“Maybe” he reasoned, “she totally forgot about it. It’s okay. So, what you doing?”
“Hey,” she bellowed, “I’ve known you from Kindergarten, okay? So I know when you’re really okay, and when you’re pretending; so the next time you try pretending, good luck with that!”
“Hey! Calm down Anna” he said in a somewhat anxious manner, “Since when did you started getting furious? What happened to ‘cool Anna’?”
“This is something anyone would get furious at, Arjun” she cried, “She can’t just take you along for shopping and then hide the reason from you! How mean is that? Disgusting!” she said as she slammed the phone, and he just listened taking it all in.
***
He knocked the sandalwood door and waited outside, holding the bouquet of roses in one hand. The night was chilly and made him shiver regardless of his woolly hoody that enveloped his Golf shirt, and his Jeans made little effort to make him feel warm. He looked at the grass that showered in the exquisite moonlight making the drops of dew shimmer like pearls. He coped with the frosty wind as it hit his face and all the remaining warmth in his body came apart. His chain of thoughts was abruptly broken, as the door against which he was leaning, opened all of a sudden.
“Welcome Arjun” Shriya’s mother greeted him, smiling pleasantly at him. Shriya stood behind her, waving her hand at him. His face flushed out of embarrassment, which he quickly transformed into a smile. He entered the house, and handed over the bouquet to Shriya’s mother.
“Thanks for having me over for dinner, Aunty,” he said, still a slightly red-faced thanks to the incident at the door. It was Saturday night and Shriya had called him up to convey her mother’s invitation for dinner, which he obviously couldn’t and hadn’t rejected. Shriya’s mother prepared absolutely lip smacking cuisine─ her Paneer dishes were scrumptious, her varieties of rice were luscious, and her desserts were delectable.
“So” he said, looking up at the milky, pale moon that brightened up the sky, “we have hardly talked in weeks. What’s up these days?” They sat on the porch outside the house after dinner, catching some fresh air.
“Well, nothing much” she said looking at him, and then turning her face away, “except for the fact that Jai asked me out, and we kind of… had a date” she confessed.
“Yeah, I know” he said, not looking at her, “but I would’ve been happier if you’d told me that before, you know. You didn’t have to hide it from me.”
“Arjun…” she trailed off. After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke, “I told about it to Anna, and she was kind of─ pissed. I didn’t want to hurt you too, Arjun.”
“You already did that Shriyu” he said, gulping a lump down his throat, now looking at her. “Do you like him?”
“I don’t” she said looking down at the grass beneath her feet, “know. I don’t know,” she completed, finally.
But I do, he said to himself, as he turned his attention towards the night skies again. I do.
***
“So what you’re telling me,” Arjun said over the phone, clearing his voice, “is that, Bundesliga is more competitive than the Premier league, huh?” They had been discussing the troughs and crests of English and German football for over half an hour now.
“But Bayern Munich is such a better team!” Shriya cried on the other side.
“Tell me one thing Shriyu” he said, his voice stern, “Do you even love United anymore?” She stayed silent. “Uh-Oh!” he said.
“No Arjun, I still love United, but…” she trailed off, expecting him to finish it for. He, on the other hand, stayed muted, listening patiently. “I’m sorry yaa Arjun. Just forget all this. I had called up to tell you that Jai invited me for a month-long picnic at his farmhouse these vacations. And you don’t need to worry at all coz Rhea and Tanvi will be there too. So, what should I do?”
“I don’t know” he said, taking minute long pauses between each word. “Listen to your heart.”
“I’ll listen to you Arjun,” she pleaded, “What should I do? Should I Go?”
“No” he whispered in the softest voice possible─ attempting successfully to remain inaudible.
“Arjun?” she checked after a minute-long silence, “Are you there? Should I go?”
“GO!” he bellowed, trying his best to sound as jovial as he could.
“Oh Arjun!” she cried out in an “aww-how-sweet-is-that” kind of way, “Thank you so much. Wow! I’m so excited. I need to go shopping and packing and what not. God! Hey, and don’t forget to inform Anna too, okay? I mean, I wanted to but I’m going out with Mom now, and she’ll go all-out if she comes to know that I gave her the stale news. And yeah, I’ll have to lie to Mom that I’m going with you. You’re my only friend she trusts, you know. Are you okay with it?” Silence. “Arjun? How would I come to know if you nod over the phone?”
“Yeah. That’s fine!” was all he could blurt out, and she hanged up. He called up Akanksha after a while. “Hey” he said, “So, Shriyu is in love I guess. Well, good for her, isn’t it?”
“Arjun─”
“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. I’m really happy for them” he assures her. “Have ever fallen for someone Anna?” he asks curiously.
“Uh” she says, hesitating in the beginning, “Yes!”
“WHAT?” he yells, loud enough for his neighbours to hear. “You are in love with someone, and you didn’t even tell me? Ridiculous! And I thought I was your best friend!”
“You are!” she cried. “It’s not what you think Arjun.”
“Yeah-Yeah” he exhaled. “So, tell me, what happened next?”
“Well, that’s a secret!” she said, blushing─ her face red.
“That’s so not fair!” he protested. “Nevertheless, I’m happy for you. I’m happy for everyone” he sighed.
“What’s wrong Arjun?” she asked, worried, “You sound troubled.”
He dillydallied initially, but narrated everything to her─ not just her vacation plans, but all the changes in her, her newfound liking for girly clothes, and even her increased liking for Bayern Munich. “She doesn’t like Manchester United anymore! Can you even believe it?” he grumbled.
“That sounds serious! She can let go of her Mom, but not ManU!” she let it out. “Why don’t you confess your love to her Arjun?”
“That’s of no use now, Anna” he said, heaving a sigh, “She likes Jai. It’s too late now”
“I know what you must be going through, Arjun” she tried to calm him down, “You need a hug. Come over for a cup of coffee. What say?”
“Nah” he said in a wobbly voice, “I’ll come over tomorrow evening though” he said as the line cut off.
***
He peered inside. The spacious drawing room was vacant and quiet. The only noise was that of the rain pouring outside. It was raining cats and dogs. He stepped out of his shoes and walked quietly to her room upstairs. As he walked through the open door to her bedroom, he caught sight of her, sitting on her armchair in the balcony, gathering the dainty raindrops on her palms, unaware of his presence. He stood there, observing her─ smiling, as she turned her face towards the skies, eyes closed as the fragile drops kissed her cushy cheeks. For a moment, he could notice nothing but her innocence, as she dribbled her legs on the floor, splashing a small amount of water around. Through a window far away, a lady stared at her too, as Akanksha, unaware of all these eyeballs gazing at her, continued her PDI─ Public Display of Innocence. Maybe she was aware, but she didn’t seem to care.
He entered the room on his toes. Making sure she was still unaware of his presence in her room, he made himself comfortable on her neat made bed. He looked around, and all of a sudden, he caught a glimpse of her study table and its mysterious drawer. Leaning across the bed, he slickly withdrew the already unlocked drawer from the shack. It was unfilled except for a note book─ a pink one, with miniature hearts drawn all over with different shades of glitter pens. He rolled the pages to find out that it was her picture diary. It was occupied with several photographs of both of themtogether, along with his choices and preferences─ from music to food, his likes and dislikes─ from Manchester United to Transformers, and her feelings about him─ everything penned down alongside. Halfway through the notebook, he found another photograph, which portrayed him hugging her. It was taken on a trek trip in their seventh grade. Apparently, she had spotted a snake and she had been so horrified that she went running to Arjun and she’d hugged him, and hadn’t let go of him even though all other kids were watching them. It had been quite a gossip in school, as every other kid had witnessed the hug─ the only one who’d missed it was the snake itself─ leading to rumours of their link-up and he hadn’t talked to her out of awkwardness for an entire week. A tear rolled down his cheek as he touched the “I wish it was forever” written next to the photograph, in her neat, print hand, enclosed in a little heart.
He wiped his eyes and walked into the balcony. The skies had run dry, and she was busy listening to what her Walkman was offering to her ears. She sat in her armchair wearing white cotton shorts and a Superman top, with hair wet and messy, but retained on one side of her neck. Standing behind her, he placed his palms on her hitherto closed eyes. Surprised, she sat upright, all at once, forced his hands aside─ which, in any case, offered no resistance─ and found him smiling at her.
“Hey” she said, startled, “I wasn’t expecting you!”
“I keep my promises!” he announced proudly. She chuckled. As they stepped inside, she found her notebook sitting on the top of her bed, with the page with the photograph from the trek, turned open. She couldn’t utter a word. She looked at him, completely clueless about what she was supposed to say at that very moment. “I’m sorry!” he said, doing the only thing she wanted him to do─ to speak. “I never knew about your feelings. I never asked. I just thought…” he trailed off, running out of words. “Why didn’t you tell me Anna?” he asked at last.
“Such things are not to be said, Arjun” she mellowed, “They are to be felt.  And besides, my eyes always said that, you know. You just couldn’t see it. In fact, you couldn’t see anyone else. You always loved Shriya. Didn’t you?” she smiled. She always did.
“Must have hurt a lot. Right?” he asked her.
“You know better, don’t you?” she countered, as they smiled looking at each other. A distinctive silence took over, as they talked─ not with some charming words, but with their honest eyes─ honest enough to confirm, that even though they never shared love, they did share pain. Pain─ something that’s eternal and long-lasting, unlike love.
***
The funny thing about time is that even though it moves at its own pace, it makes you feel it’s sprinting, when you desperately want it to just halt, for ever. Shriya was leaving for her vacations, the next day, and Arjun called up Akanksha. “Hey Anna” he whispered, “I-uh-wanted to tell you something” and he let out everything, as she broke down.
“Arjun!” her eyes welled up with warm waters, “You cannot do this!”
“Anna” he sighs, “please try to understand. Look, Shriyu’s leaving tomorrow, and I don’t want her to know any of this. I want her to enjoy her holidays. Okay?”
“Ar-jun” she said as the warmth of her tears took over her cheeks, “you cannot do this. You cannot do this to me. You cannot do this to Shriyu!”
“Anna!” he softened, “there’s a first time for everything sweetie! And I’d told you once─ If I’ll ever leave you guys, that‘d be never to come back again. Remember?”
But she couldn’t recollect anything. She couldn’t think about anything else. “You cannot do this” was all she kept saying.
“I’m sorry Anna. I’m sorry” he exhaled, as the line grew silent, all at once.
***
Arjun and Akanksha were at the station to see Shriya off. They had been there for a good fifteen minutes now, but Jai and his friends were nowhere to be seen.
“Everybody else running late?” he asked Shriya, still looking around.
“Ah, no. They’re already inside” she assured. “They have already pulled the curtains it seems. Should I call them?” she queried.
“Nope. It’s okay!” Arjun convinced her.
Akanksha was about to say something, when Arjun placed his hand on her shoulder, holding it firmly, as she realized the implication and backed off. As the warning bell hooted, Shriya broke down into tears and hugged Arjun. He hugged her back, holding her firmly, as if never to let go of again. A moment later, he pulled back and wiped her tears. She hugged Akanksha too, holding on to her, stroking her hair. She kissed her forehead and whispered “Take care.”
“Hey” Arjun said as the girls hugged each other again, “this isn’t legal in India, as of now!” Shriya slapped his hand as he burst out laughing, and so did she and Akanksha. On the second whistle, Shriya walked towards the train, climbed up the stairs, waved them good-bye and disappeared inside. The train took her along, leaving the station gently in the beginning, speeding up at a constant rate─ just like his tears─ and was nowhere to be seen in a minute, as he stood there, staring at the void the train had left on the station, and the one that Shriya had left in his heart.
Akanksha placed her hand on his shoulder. He shut his eyes firmly, preventing any more tears to exit his eyes, looked at her and gave her a fake smile. “Let’s go!” he hushed.
The tyres screeched as he stopped the car in front of her house. He stepped out of the car and stood next to her. She touched his cheeks, and out of the blue, he hugged her─ his eyes shedding tears already. She held his head firmly over her shoulder, but was unable to control her own emotions, as she hugged him even tighter, tears rolling down everywhere. “I love you Arjun” she whispered. “I have always loved you more than anyone else. I will always love you.” But he couldn’t hear anything except for his own cries, and pain, and the sound of his heart shattering into pieces.
***
Akanksha waved, a smile ornamenting her cheerful face, as Shriya stepped out of the train. A month had passed by, and Shriya had returned. After hugging each other, and a lot of shrieks out of excitement, Shriya calmed down saying “Where’s Arjun? Mom must’ve informed just you about my arrival, coz she thinks Arjun was there with me, too”
“Yeah. How was your trip?” Akanksha asked back.
“Fan-tastic!” she screamed. “It’s the best holiday ever, Anna! Well, I wanted to tell you a secret about the trip before leaving, but I couldn’t coz you have a soft corner for Arjun. And I couldn’t trust you, you know. You could’ve surely let me down.”
“Soft corner?” she asked, confused.
“You love him, don’t you, Anna?” Shriya winked.
“How” Akanksha wondered, “do you know?”
“Come on!” she shouted. “Everyone knows. Well, except for Arjun. He’s a dumbass. He never understands anything. Don’t worry. I’ll tell him when we meet him.”
“Uh-Shriyu” she paused. “I’m afraid, that’s not possible. He’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?”
“Glasgow. His mom got a job proposal at the University there, and since his dad works there too, she accepted it. And you know how important Arjun is to her. So they shifted there.” Akanksha finished her answer to find Shriya weeping on the floor. Akanksha sat on her knees, as she placed her palms on Shriya’s cheeks, wiping her tears with her thumbs.
“I─ I loved him, Anna. I loved─” Shriya screamed, finally, making way for more tears, as Akanksha looked at her, shocked. “─him. I have always loved him. I─” she stuttered, taking in fresh air, “I knew he loved me too. I waited and waited, but he never said it. And so I thought I should make him jealous. I thought he’d at least get jealous and angry and in that anger, he’d accept his love for me. And─” she said sobbing, “And I went to meet my Dad and spend some days with him, and not with Jai. I never get to meet Dad and I wanted to. But I couldn’t tell that to Mom. You know how she is. She’d have thought that I’m moving away from her, and all. That’s why I had to lie to her. And then I thought of this Jai thing so as to make Arjun jealous too, at the same time. I thought he’s stop me. But he didn’t.
“You know Anna” she said, making a tear disappear from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, “Every night, I used to ask him if he wanted to tell me something. He never said anything. I always waited for him to say, Anna. But he didn’t. He never did. How could I say I loved him? I knew he loved me. Everyone did. But I wanted him to accept it. Say it”
“I thought you were a confident, unorthodox, practical kind of girl, you know” Akanksha told her, patting her back.
“Maybe, you forgot that regardless of the unorthodoxy, practicality, and all, I’m still a girl” Shriya broke down again. Akanksha hugged her, patting her back and stroking her hair.
“It’s not that bad Shriyu” she said, appeasing her, “It’s not forever. He’ll come back, sweetie. He’ll be back.”
“You know what’s worst?” Shriya said, completely overlooking Akanksha’s conciliation, “At least you got to see him off, bid him farewell. I didn’t even get a chance” she sniffled.
“You know Shriyu” Akanksha said, pulling back from the hug, “On the day of departure, Arjun called me up to check if I’m ready. I was supposed to drop him at the airport. But I didn’t want to break down at the airport─ in front of all the people, in front of his Mom, in front of him─ and so I told him that I didn’t want to come along. He tried to convince me, but I didn’t listen to him at all. You know what he said, Shriyu? He was like ‘Life is a journey full of sadness and pain. Finding happiness is rare, so rare. And so, when you have a chance to be happy, take it. Don’t kick it away. You might not get another. Smiles are ephemeral. Tears are eternal. So when you’ve a chance to smile, take it. You might never get another.’”
And yet, Shriya wasn’t in a frame of mind to listen to her. “So I went to see him off. And when it was time to leave” Akanksha continued, looking straight into her eyes, “He hugged me goodbye and whispered, ‘I wish I had loved you, Anna.’ Do you know what that means, Shriyu? That even though he thought you didn’t like him, even though he thought you loved Jai, even though he thought he was nothing more than a friend to you, he never stopped loving you. Never. And probably, never will. Nothing lives forever, Shriyu. Not even pain. Pain, too, disappears someday, making way for joy. Nothing lives forever, Shriyu. Nothing but love…”