"I can't do that, Nanna. I have to go" Anju's voice greeted me as I entered her house the next day.

"You can't go alone" Her father looked antsy.

"I need to do this!" she continued impatiently.

"What's going on?" I commented curiously, settling on the sofa beside uncle while Anju stood facing us with a scowl on her face.

"She wants to go to Rajahmundry" Auntie responded when the duo didn't answer.

"For what?"

"Her friend from the states sent a gift to someone"

"You can post it" I suggested.

"That's what I was saying!" uncle snapped making her glare at me.

"And I told you I can't! I want to meet in person" She replied to him but continued to watch me with a scowl.

"You can't go alone. Ramu's retirement party is this weekend, so I can't take you either"

"I can take her" I offered.

"No, thank you" Anju is quick to refuse.

"Can you?" Her father looked relieved.

She's too stubborn to let go of her decision and we both know it.

"Yes. As it happens, I have nothing else to do" I reminded.

"I will go alone" Anju repeated stiffly.

"That's not going to happen" he said strongly "You either go with Vamsi or you don't go at all"

"Nanna!"

"You don't know anybody and you have never been there" he argued.

I can see the wheels turning in her head until she finally relented with a deep sigh "Fine. Then we leave tomorrow. As early as possible; so we can come back home by night"

"How far is it?" I asked as calmly as possible while my heart danced at the idea of spending a whole day with her. Alone.

I arrived at her house the next morning on time. 8 AM.

We took off immediately in her father's car. After getting fueled up, we set off onto the highway for our four hour long journey.

"Do you have the address?" I asked trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah"

"Who is she?"

"What?" she gave a puzzled look.

"The one you're doing this for. Who is that friend?"

"Anusha"

As she didn't follow up, I prodded "Is she from states?"

"Yep"

I sighed. She's not going to make this easy!

"How do you know her?"

"We were in the same class; shared a room in New York and then in Orange County"

"That means you're close to her"

"Yes"

Dammit.

"Are you planning to be snippy for the whole day?"

"You offered" she replied snarkily.

"And you want me to regret it" I mumbled under my breath as she turned on FM; no doubt to avoid talking to me.

Except for a brief stop at CCD, we traveled in silence for the rest of our journey.

With narrow roads connecting multiple villages, small and big, it didn't seem plausible for a while that we'd find the address easily.

With some help from Google Maps and asking around, we reached on time.

The house looked impressive; like the ones you see in films.

The tiled front yard adorned a magnificent fountain that no longer worked but there's a patio fit with a wooden recliner like most traditional houses.

"We are here to see Sanketh" Anju said as a farm hand came out to greet.

"Please be seated. I will fetch him" he replied, showing us the plastic chairs by the recliner.

Anju chose to sit on the steps and I followed her while the man went inside.

"Who are you?" A tall man wearing a sleeveless black vest and grey tracks returned with a suspicious frown as we stood up to greet him.

"Er-- My Name is Anjali. Are you Sanketh?"

"Do I know you?"

"No" Anju looked uncertain for a second before adding "I am from Vizag"

"What is this about?" He seemed interested.

She paused for a bit as if unsure what to say "I am a friend of Anusha"

The curiosity on his face evaporated and his eyes hardened at the mention of her name "You can leave then"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a couple of minutes"

"I have nothing to say to any friend of hers" he replied chagrined.

"Please. I came all the way from Vizag" Anju said quietly.

"Why did she send you?" he said with a look of exasperation.

"She didn't. It's my decision to come. She'd kill me if she knew"

A look of disbelief crossed his face and she added quickly "Actually, I came to give you this. She gave me your address to post but I want to give it personally and meet you once"

He hesitated to take the bag from her hand "I don't want anything from her"

"Can we sit? Please" Anju said calmly and before he can deny, she continued in hurry "I swear you won't regret it"

He looked uneasy but settled on the opposite step making us follow him.

"What is it?"

"I met Anusha in New York two and half years ago. We have been friends ever since and I think I know her pretty well"

"Why are you saying this to me?" he looked bored.

"I want you to know that she's not what you think of---"

"Are you seriously going to lecture me about my own cousin?" he said impatiently.

"What happened between you five years ago was wrong on her part but---"

"Do you even have any idea what happened? How I felt?" The anger in his voice made Anju wince and I moved close to her though I have no idea what's going on.

We are supposed to give the gift and leave. This confrontation, whatever this is, is not on the agenda and I feel like the odd one out who has no knowledge about the situation.

"Do you?" he repeated, glancing at me.

The urge to take Anju's side made me intervene "I don't. But I do know my best friend doesn't take someone's side without a reason"

Her sharp inhale of breath is her only reaction.

"Well, let me enlighten. She---"

"No" Anju's response is swift.

He smiled sardonically "You don't want your friend to know? Don't you think he should? Having come all the way here to see me?"

To her silence, he added "Here it is. Anu's my cousin and our parents wanted us to marry; since we were kids. I grew up believing that but her friend was busy searching for love in facebook"

"That's not true!"

"Really? Didn't she tell you how I found her chatting with some stranger she was in love with?"

"That's not a mistake worth hating" I commented, startled by the animosity over such a petty issue. It's increasingly common these days to find love online. Stupid, yes but common.

"You are right. Because it's not the problem"

That sparked my interest "Then?"

"Please...." 

Anju's voice held a tone of sympathy as he continued, ignoring her "The profile seemed suspicious. So I did some background checking"

Anju sighed as if finally accepting the inevitable "By that, he means he created fake profiles as girls and began a friendship with him"

She did not need to go further. It already gave me an idea on how it's going to end.

"During that time, not only did I find out he's lying about him, he's doing the same to multiple other girls"

"Doing what exactly?" I asked curiously.

"Being charming, making girls fall for him and eventually extorting money from them with his personal woes. It wouldn't have been a problem if he stopped at that but I was worried he was capable of doing more"

I couldn't stay silent when he didn't go any further "What did you do?"

"Went to the police. What else?" Anju commented dully.

"What happened then?"

"Instead of being thankful for saving her, her friend accused me of lying, being jealous and ruining her name in the family"

"Everyone looked at her like a villain. Her own parents-----"

"Then she screamed in front of her parents that I did it so I can have her for myself; because no other educated girl will live with a brute & a farmer such as myself in this village" he responded coldly.

"She was upset. She trusted an asshole and you didn't exactly make things easier for her by going to police before telling her" Anju said in an accusatory tone.

"I did it because I knew she wouldn't believe me. Now, I learnt the lesson. Girls' minds stop working in matters concerning heart"

"She learnt her mistake. She tried to apologize-----"

"Yeah. Right! And that should make everything better" he said bitterly.

Anju sighed heavily "She was thankful. She still is. She knows that if not for you, her life would have been different. Terrible"

"That's not the impression she gave me. It seemed like a B.Sc agriculture guy is inadequate for madam Queen Elizabeth"

"No!" Anju cried out desperately "She never thought of you that way. You are right that she misbehaved upon learning what you did but she learnt her mistakes and is still feeling guilty"

He snorted.

That only seemed to anger her as she continued furiously "Which you know because she tried to apologize. For two years!"

"Hurt me and apologize! How generous"

"You are stupid" she screamed irately "You were in love with her. Weren't you?"

For the first time since our arrival, he shut his mouth; like he doesn't know what to say.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke "I was. Which was why I wanted to make sure the guy was alright; that he can keep her happy. But he turned out to be a terrible choice"

"That's why her words hurt you the most" Anju mumbled quietly "She knew it!"

"What do you mean she knew it?" He looked incredulous.

"I mean she guessed that was the reason. She tried to talk but you never let her again"

Several minutes lapsed before he spoke again "Why did she send you?"

"She didn't!"

He looked impatient "Why did you come then?"

"She wants to settle in the states. She doesn't want to come back. Ever" Anju replied and I realized that she purposefully not answered his actual question.

"Why won't she? She loves her parents. Her cousins. If not for the fact that she threw it to my face, I believed she even loved this village"

"She does"

"Then? Why doesn't she want to come?" he pressed on, looking curious and even a little worried.

"You are still in love with her" I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

Instead of saying yes or no, he repeated "Why doesn't she want to come?"

"Why do you think?" Anju said softly, with a look of absolute tranquility on her face.

"I don't know. How would I-----"

He stopped mid-sentence as if something suddenly dawned on him and he continued to stare at Anju with a look of astonishment.

"In case you want to talk to her, I left her number on the gift with your name on it" she said, getting up to leave "I'm leaving the bag here. I hope you have the heart to forgive her"

"Why did you come here, really?" he mumbled quietly.

"It's the least I can do for the girl who did so much for me" she replied with a wistful smile.

"I don't know what to do"

"I hope you take the right decision. But whatever you do, please never let her know that I'm here. She'd kill me. For real"

He gave a small smile "You can't leave without lunch"

"We don't want to impose"

My refusal is interrupted with his stubborn insistence and eventually, we relented. But we took our leave as quickly as possible after explaining that we have to be home before nightfall.

"Why did she leave the country?" I asked as we began our journey back home.

"She fell for him"

I raised my eyebrows "When?"

"When she realized his true intentions; that her love and happiness mattered more to him than his own" she said calmly "But the damage has already been done"

"She said terrible things" I reminded.

She nodded "She couldn't believe the boy could do the vile things they accused him of. She put her trust in the wrong person"

"She left because she lost Sanketh?"

"And because she couldn't see him so close yet so far away" she replied with a distant look on her face.

"You changed a lot, Anju" I said softly, noting how peaceful she looked "There was a time you didn't want to interfere in Neha's love life. Look at you, now"

She gave a sad smile "I should have trusted that girl. Should have supported her like a friend. But I was busy judging her"

"Not your fault. Shaan was wrong to dismiss her and make her a fool if he liked her"

"She didn't let him get off easy" she answered with a chuckle.

They must have talked about it; when they left me in Shaan's company.

The awkward silence no longer persisted unlike morning. Amidst the quiet hum of songs in the background, we talked about her M.S project, her job, my job and her life in California.

It isn't until she left to buy a water bottle and snacks did I realize how quickly time passed for the drive back home and how close I am to leaving her at her house before going my own way.

Like every day.

I don't want to do that today. I don't want to leave her; not after having a casual conversation like the old times.

I parked the car and waited for her to return as I watched her stumble from one shop to another trying to find something that clearly is unavailable.

She turned around, looking grumpy as she crossed the lanes when she slipped suddenly and fell on the wide divider between us.

My heart stopped for a second.

Quickly, I jumped out to help but found her standing upright and unhappy when I reached her "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright. They have red lays, blue lays and even green lays. Why can't they have orange lays?"

"Are you kidding me?" I shouted with indignation "I am asking are you hurt?"

"I'm fine!" she grumbled tepidly.

"Let me see"

"I'm fine!" she said walking away with the water bottle stuffed in her elbow.

"Stop being so stubborn, Anju. Let me see!"

"I told you---- hey! That's my water"

Opening the door at the passenger seat, I snapped "Sit down!"

"I want to drink" she said making me give it to her.

When she's done, I took the water bottle from her hand and sat on my knees to observe her injuries; if she had any.

Her palms have small cuts and tears from falling on her hands. I washed it with water and patted her hand dry with my hand kerchief.

She's wearing a full sleeved cream coloured kurti and sky blue leggings which makes it hard to know if she hurt anywhere else.

So, I did what I had to do.

"What the hell are you doing?" she grumbled uneasily as I tried to lift the fabric at her left ankle.

"You can be hurt" I answered with a glare when I found a drop of blood on her shin.

Rolling the pant upto her knee, I washed the wound, patted it dry and fixed a band aid that I always carry in my wallet.

I repeated the same to her right leg where she hurt herself just below her knee.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" I asked as I felt her arms, shoulders, hands and thighs to find if she had any more injuries.

"What are you doing!" she said, pulling away.

"I'm checking if you are hurt anywhere. Don't be stubborn and tell me so we can go to the hospital"

"I just fell down. It's nothing big"

"Don't be ridiculous. People fracture their hands and legs by just falling down"

"Stop reacting so much"

"Stop hurting yourself so much"

She rolled her eyes "I don't"

"Sure, you don't" I said sarcastically.

I have been carrying band aids for the last fifteen years for no reason at all.

"You make it sound like it's my fault. I'm not clumsy!" she screamed as I closed her door to walk around the car.

"No you are not. You are careless and that's worse!" I snapped as I returned to my seat.

"Well, you don't have to worry because I damn well took care of myself in your absence" she said bitterly.

"Keep saying that to yourself. May be one day you'll start believing it"

"You think I can't live without you? Well, here's some news flash: I can" she taunted in a fit of anger.

I haven't seen her this furious in a long time. In spite of being the one it's aimed at, it feels good to see the fire in her eyes.

She's not the same without it.

"Sure" I mumbled dispassionately just to irk her.

It worked.

"You know what people can't live without? Oxygen. Water. Food. Trust me, you're not one of them"

"Anju! Enough"

"What are you going to do? Give me another lecture?"

"No" I reached out to her and before she can stop, touched her lips with mine "I'm going to do this"

---

Thank you for reading. Vote, Comment and Share if you like this chap.

- JANAKI