India lost the match.

Thank God India lost the match, because had India won the match, our apartment would have been Kavya's family's Bhangra dance-floor until sunrise. They were unbearably overexcited, extra and loud; I mentally thanked God a billion times because my family wasn't as weird as hers. Honestly, my family looked civilized, decent and pretty normal, when compared to hers. I wanted to run to Surat and squish my mom into a bone-crushing hug, because at least she never roamed around a stranger's apartment with face-paint smeared all over her face! The needles on the clock were almost striking 22:40 p.m., but her family had absolutely no thoughts of moving out; everyone lounged on the couch, as if they were in their house, and talked about absolutely irrelevant things...with each other, isolating Kavya and me. The two of us silently sat down in one corner, on the floor, and stared at them, as they dirtied the living room; chunks of food were scattered all over the carpet and the couches were glaringly stained. Anger overflowed within me, and it was a struggle to hold onto calmness.

"I'm sorry to say, but your family's a pain in the ass", I quenched, softly. "Well, I cannot argue", Kavya breathed and kept her head on my shoulder. "If you argue, I'll throw you out of the balcony", I threatened, keeping my head on top of hers. "I want to run away to a faraway land, I swear", she frowned. "I don't know when that'll happen for you, but I'm going on a road-trip with my friends", I blurted out to her. "OMG, so lucky!", her voice melted. "Where are you going, though?", she squealed and when I was about to answer her, an incoming video-call from the group interfered our conversations that I had to excuse and lock myself up in our bedroom, stranding Kavya with her mad family.

I answered the incoming call and adjusted the camera on the bed, as I waited for us to connect; after a brief moment, the pictures flashed and I almost jumped off my bed in joyfulness. "HELLO!", I squalled and covered my mouth with my hands, behind which a broad grin hid. Nash frantically waved at us, Vaish's beam illuminated the rooms of my heart and Chanch...still struggled with her phone, with an utterly annoyed look on her. "All of us are going to contribute money and save up to gift Chanchal a good phone", I joked. "The phone's okay, Dia; it's the signal. My hostel's right in the middle of a jungle", Chanch absently said. "That's where animals belong; you're at home, ChanChan", Vaish pulled her leg and we laughed. "How are all of you? I missed you, guys!", Nash exhaled loudly, with a contented smile, and we talked about each other's well-being, until Chanch's connection was stable. "Will anyone bother questioning me? Do I even exist for all of you?", Chanch flatly asked, expressionlessly. "No, you don't", Vaish and I said at once and laughed. "The question has to be the other way around – do we exist for you, Chanch?; because you're running away from us, all the time. You don't even bother texting us", Nash scorned. "Exactly; at least come online to let us know you're alive", I backed Nash up. "I hate long distance friendship, man; we're literally in different directions", Vaish sighed, falling back on her bed. "And long distance friendship is terrifying", Chanch confessed. "I know, right? You don't even know when your friend will stop talking to you and shut down on you! The uncertainty exists in real life, too, but you can confront the other person when things go wrong. But when you're running a friendship over the internet, you're a block away from cutting all strings and that—that's so scary", Nash shuddered. "You know, I had a friend online; she lived in the US. I met her in Darshan's fandom, and we were so close with each other; she was my 2 a.m. partner and we'd simply chat all day. We would talk of meeting each other, someday, and I would often tell her that I would hug the life out of her, if we met. But then one day, she vanished; her account was no longer available and she did not return. It has been so many years since that incident; I made many friends and lost even more, after that incident, but I'm not over her yet. It somehow still chokes my insides when I think about her, and us...and our promises. I thought we would last...I was stupid enough to believe in that. Losing people is inevitable, but some relationships are so bloody scary", Vaish narrated. "I love this...I love how we can go for months, without talking to each other, and when we do, we still connect the same way and pick up from where we left. I mean, look at us talking about the relationships we fear the most and we're hardly five minutes into this call", I smiled and tilted my heart to the side. "Exactly what I was thinking; Vaish, I agree that some relationships are so bloody scary, but some relationships can be so unrealistically comforting, too – and I assure you that our friendship will never die. We may wilt, but we won't ever die. We're so different from each other, but when you boil it down; we reflect one another. We have tasted betrayals in relationships before, all of us; and I know that we'll never put each other through it. Ever. We'll stay, and we'll stay until we're old grannies with rickety legs and wrinkly eyes", Nash emotionally said and while I tried to hold my emotions within. "We'll live in one house...when we becomes grannies!", I cheerfully said, in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere. "And all of you are going to follow a diet!", Nash joined. "We'll die anyways in our old-age, Nash; there's no point in eating healthy", Chanch hoarsely said and swept her tears away. "Exactly, we're going to settle down for chilled beer and Biryani!", I exclaimed. "We'll be such bad-ass Grandmas", Vaish chuckled, through her tears, and all four of us shared a laugh.

"This was exactly what I missed. You have no idea how terribly I miss all three of you, every goddamn day. It's so hard to cope with everything, and sometimes, I wish I could be with all of you and hug the life out of everyone; that's the therapy I need now, I swear", Vaish admitted, looking down at her hands. "Same, Vaish, same; my roomies are such horrible people. They steal my money, and I cannot utter a word against them because it's two against one. They are literal best-friends and I don't even exist in the room; I'm sitting in one corner with my assignments all day, because when I'm busy, I don't feel lonely. Being lonely is a one thing, but feeling lonely in a crowd is a different thing, altogether. They laugh at their jokes and gossip all day, and it is hard to pretend like it doesn't bother me", Chanch confessed and I figured out that it was going to be a Night of Confessions; we were holding in a little too much, and it was time to unleash our sadness.

"Nash?", I prompted and expected the 'bag of mysteries' to reveal something about her life. "Omar...", she whispered, wrinkling her nose, and smiled, powerlessly; for once, her smile couldn't conceal her pain. "I'm doing all I can to get over the thought of him and sometimes I feel that I've gotten over him. But when I'm at home, when I'm alone and when it's all silent – I cannot stop thinking about him, and us, and whe—where---", she took a pause when her voice cracked and dragged a shaky breath in. "---and where we would have been if we were together today. It feels like I'm lost, all over again", she shook her head to the sides and we listened; we had nothing to console her with. Astonishingly, she still talked about him, as though he splashed colours in her dull life. "He loved me, I loved him and we could have lived a decent life together, but his family had to ruin everything for us. And if they could destroy my dreams, even before I was a part of their family, I understood that it wouldn't take them too long to destroy us, if they found out about how much Omar loved me...they are so possessive about him, because of his money. I regret letting him go, but I think marriage isn't solely about us; it is about our families, as well, and I don't think I was wrong", Nash blankly said. "You weren't wrong, Nash, and I'll always be proud of you for being practical with your choice", I smiled at her. "Can we not talk about our sad lives and please focus on the road trip? Where we going and what are we going to do? Oh my God, I'm so excited already!", Chanch changed the topic and squeaked excitedly.

And once we began talking about the trip, we lost ourselves; we were baffled, clueless and utterly disorganized. We didn't know what to do, or where to go; we simply suggested destinations around India, aimlessly, but couldn't bring ourselves to agree to anything! Nash had a reason to turn every suggestion down. "Can we go to Goa? I haven't visited a beach in years!", Chanch suggested and Nash made a noise, throwing her head back. "Chanch, Sri Lanka is an island of beaches. I'm tired of beaches; I need a change!", Nash declined her idea, on the spot. "But Goa is beautiful", Chanch frowned. "No means NO", Nash stated, adamantly. "No one listens to me!", Chanch huffed and crossed her arms against her chest. "Because you're our baby, and no one listens to a baby; the baby listens to everyone", Nash stuck her tongue out. "How about Chennai?", Vaish recommended and Nash's expressions wildly changed, as though Vaish said the unthinkable. "What are we going to do in Chennai? We're going to get burnt and return roasted, dude. There's nothing exciting about Chennai, and we'll literally have to eat Idli and Dosa every day; my taste-buds have grown sick of South Indian food", Nash turned down and Vaish sighed. "All of you are so useless. Think of something nice!", Nash scolded. "Nash, you're such a pain in the ass at times", Vaish scolded back. "Nash, I'm sure you're not a pain in Vaish's ass...because she doesn't have one yet", Chanch monotonously said with a smile. "Bitch, did you just say that?", Vaish's jaw dropped open, and the three of us laughed hard. "There's absolutely no difference between the floor and Vaish's ass; both are equally flat", I giggled. "Vaish is like a smooth road; even India might not have such good roads", Chanch cracked. "It's okay if we're flat. We can jump on a trampoline, without having to hold anything!", Nash debated. "And, and...and we can sleep on our tummy, comfortably", Vaish supported her argument. "Cardboard pieces", I smirked. "Smooth roads", Chanch shrugged. "Stupid friends!", Nash exclaimed. "Go to hell, both of you", Vaish shouted and we broke out into a laugh, together. "Before we go to hell, can we go on a road-trip? Where are we going?", I reminded and we revisited deadly silence, struggling to pick a destination.

"How about Rajasthan?", I proposed. "Who goes on a road-trip to Rajasthan?", Nash questioned. "NASH!", the three of us exclaimed in unison, and complete annoyance. "Who – in their right sense – would travel a great distance to stare at desert, camels and sand?", Nash argued. "Rajasthan holds much more than that, Nash. You'll love it", Chanch said. "I don't feel like", Nash wrinkled her nose. "You know what, Nash? Stay back in Australia and mind your own life. You're so picky, you made India look so small!", I rolled my eyes. "LADAKH!", Vaish screamed, out of nowhere, grasping our attention. "OH MY GOD, LADAKH, YES!", Chanch jumped and covered her mouth. "What's Ladakh now?", Nash was clueless. "OUR ROAD-TRIP DESTINATION!", I announced. "Why didn't we think of Ladakh before? We're so stupid. Ladakh is perfect for all of us", Vaish kept her hand on her forehead. "Breathtaking views and beautiful weather!; on top of that, the place is so calm, still and silent. What more do we need? Ladakh is final!", Chanch stated. "And Nash, if you disagree with this, we're all going to unfriend you", I warned. "Chanch, you forgot to mention about the good-looking boys!", Vaish exclaimed. "Oh God, that whole area is blessed with the hottest of hot boys; I cannot wait for the trip now", Vaish's voice melted and we laughed. "There's this boy from Ladakh in my University – he has blue eyes and a perfect beard, man. He's carved to perfection; so good-looking!", Chanch said. "Talk to him!", Nash insisted. "I don't know what to say; Nash, you know I cannot even talk to girls, let alone boys!", Chanch rolled her eyes. "You should probably compliment his eyes", I advised. "He'll think I'm desperate", Chanch simply said. "You are!", Vaish uttered. "But he doesn't need to know, Vaish", Chanch flatly answered. "Just get me his number; I'll set you up with him, on our trip to Ladakh", I said. "No thank you! Please don't ruin my respect in front of him. Focus on your love life, Dia", Chanch folded her hands in front of the camera.

"Talking about your love life...how's everything between you and Darshan?", Nash raised her brow. "Good...I guess", I answered, uncertainly, and the three of them looked on in silence, expecting me to say something more. "It feels like it wasn't the right time to fall in love", I decided to be honest with them, and get the truth off my chest. On my occasions, I felt that I hurried through my decision; maybe, I was simply scared of losing him to someone that I walked into the relationship, thoughtlessly, and when we were together, I was lost. I wasn't someone who mastered the art of balancing things out in life; I always stood on the extreme end of the spectrum, and unsurprisingly, I was bemused in the relationship. We were two aimless wanderers in love, who battled to fall on the same page, but couldn't. "I haven't felt uncertain about anything in life for months, but now, I'm mentally questioning our relationship every other day; I don't know...I don't know what's happening", I admitted. "He's living his own life. I'm living my own life...and...I don't see the point. Every time a question about our relationship surfaces up, I simply shrug it off my shoulders with hopes that one day, I'll understand but I'm still so unsure about everything – as in, us. It's not that we don't love each other; we do, we love each other a lot...but I don't know if we're meant to be. The uncertainties, questions and doubts about us are bothering me. Our relationship has changed. Now, we're actually together; it feels so different when compared to the days when we were hardly in love with each other and that's absolutely understandable. But I don't think we're giving each other enough time right now, when we have to. On top of everything; we're so secretive about our relationship and I cannot tell you how annoying it is; we're avoiding people and public places. This was a mutual decision, and I try so hard to be okay with it, but I'm not. I'm not okay with loving someone so secretly that I don't even have the freedom to hold his hand in public, or walk down the road with him in the evening, or post a picture of us on social media, or...do things normal couples do. I'm so open about everything in life, and this is the most important thing but I'm hiding it beneath layers", I was astonished because of how words flowed out, uninterruptedly. "Are you scared of his fame and the attention?", Nash prompted. "Not really; I don't think that's going to bother me much. But I'm scared about how life would be when we end up together. I didn't think too far when I said I loved him. But now, I feel that there's a lot of thinking to do; I don't want to be a part of a meaningless relationship", I exhaled. "Dia, you're overthinking; your relationship may look meaningless right now, but it's only going to be a matter of time until it finds shape. The two of you are busy, and it's valid to feel this way, but don't let it get to you. However your relationship is right now is for the moment and it's going to change when Darshan returns from his tours. I don't know where the two of you will land up, but all I know is – Darsh loves you so much and he'll fix this for you", Vaish advised. "And Dia, not now, but once he frees himself from his tours, talk to him about this. Don't hold this in, with you; let him know that you're not comfortable with the way things are. He's understanding and he loves you; I'm sure he'll do something about it", Chanch spoke and I nodded. "Relationships are hard work, and it only becomes even more challenging when you're with a person whose life is under the spotlight. My only advice is – be patient, Dityaa. Relationships, in general, need time; but no matter how long it takes for you to settle down together, never stop loving each other. Never stop being there for each other. Sometimes, Darshan will fall short and when he does, forgive him; I know how short-tempered you are and that's why I'm saying this. Long distance relationships are tough, and sometimes, you'll even wonder if you're in love anymore. Just remember that no matter how big your doubts are; your love for each other is bigger. Never stop giving each other a reason to smile, and grasp every chance you can to let him know that you love him. No matter how many people are in love with him, nothing can ever match up to the happiness you'll give him when you randomly say that you love him. Love's not as big, or complicated, as we think it is. No matter how unmovable the distance is, love's simplicity will never change. Just be loyal, loving and sincere, and everything's going to be alright", Nash smiled and my heart went out to her; she genuinely loved Omar, and although he walked away, she was still trapped. "Nash, is it hard?", Vaish's voice softened and her fake smile widened a little, as she dragged a sharp breath in. "It is...but I know I'll be okay one day. Everything's temporary in this world; if happiness can fade, why won't pain?", Nash said, looking lost, as though she was convincing herself. "All of us are going to be okay. It's only a matter of time until we find happiness, purpose and light in life", I said, and we smiled.

"There's a lot of catching up to do, I guess. We'll have a lot to talk about on our way to Ladakh", Vaish stretched her arms out and yawned. "I need to go right now. My stupid roommates will return from the dining hall now", Chanch muttered, bitterly. "Bitches!", Vaish spat. "I want to bang a steel bottle on their head and screw their eyes out of its sockets", I said, furiously. "Enough with the anger, girls; go sleep. I'll take care of the bookings and let you know", Nash said, calmly. "GOOD NIGHT! I LOVE YOU, GUYS", I said out aloud. "ChanChan, I love you", Vaish deliberately focused on Chanch, making her feel uncomfortable. "Oh God, you haven't changed. Just say that you'll love her. No one's going to fine you", I rolled my eyes. "Yeah...I love you", Chanch awkwardly said. "I don't mind setting her up with any boy, but someone teach this baby how to say I love you", Vaish uttered in annoyance. "I feel bad for her husband already; he's going to be the most unloved man in this world!", Nash pulled Chanch's leg. "Enough, go away!", Chanch snapped, and we burst out laughing.

Once ignited, some sparks never die...and togetherness belonged there; it was the sole ray of light on a bad day.