"Order three Happy Meals!", I ordered Darshan, once Chotu and I lounged on a cushioned bench, away from the crowd, just because Darshan didn't want people to notice us together; we were lucky McDonalds was almost empty. "And what will you have?", Darshan asked me. "Happy Meal! We're all having a Happy Meal together", I told Darshan, tapping the tip of my fingers on the table, excitedly, and he shot a weird stare at me. "Happy Meal? Dia, are you insane? What will people think of us?", Darshan narrowed his eyes. "First of all, people need to be around us to judge us...", I sarcastically smiled at him, pointing at a space devoid of human beings. "...and secondly, if you're with me, you have no other choice but to stop giving a fuck about their world and the judgement it throws. Go, order", I told him and he sighed, shaking his head to the sides, as he walked away.

Chotu chomped on his burger, and complementary chicken nuggets in front of us, while we sat together; Darshan awkwardly took small bites of the small burger, and I unwrapped the plastic cover around the free toys that I lived for! "I have a whole collection of Happy Meal toys back in Surat and I have a small exhibition in Mumbai!", I informed Darshan with an illuminating beam, and he looked on, as he listened to me with his usual calm smile. "You know what I love the most about Happy Meals?", I raised my brow. "What?", he asked. "The suspense! Between ordering and receiving the meal, I crack my head and wonder which toy I'll get. I love that feeling!", my voice melted and Darshan chuckled. "You should clear up a bunch of your awards in your cabinet and make space for an exhibition for the Happy Meal Toys. Take my advice, and you won't even regret it, I swear to God!", I suggested in exhilaration and sprung up from my seat, as the idea simply thrilled me. "You're mad. Businessmen visit my house, and if they notice that section in the cabinet, they'll---", Darshan talked, and I cut him off with a loud sigh. "---they'll judge you and you are so scared of judgements. And you think it's valid to be scared of judgements because you have an identity in the society, which you do not want to tarnish. The same old crap I'm tired of listening to", I said in one long stretched, and breathed out heavily, while he simply smiled. "Seriously, you're so boring", I mumbled under my breath and looked away, sadly. "I'm the Biryani, and you...you're plain rice", I rolled my eyes. "One out of the two of us needs to be The Normal One, because if the two of us are mad to the same magnitude, our house will be a playground, once we get married", Darshan shoved the idea off with a joke. "Once – just once – do what scares you. Are you scared of judgements? Do something insane that'll make people to judge you, face the judgements and answer them back. When you overcome, you'll understand it wasn't as bad as you thought. When we're scared of something, we enlarge it in our heads, but count on me with this – it's never going to be as bad, or big, as we think it'd be. Running away from something serves no good; you can run away for a while, but you'll get tired and it mentally drains you down. An unknown fear captures you and ties you down. When you run away, you'll feel an unsettlement in your heart. So, simply face it and get over it; see, as long as you're not going to die, what's the most that'll go wrong? Even if something goes wrong, it'll be alright and you'll be fine with time, but this suffocation in your heart when you run away from your fears will never subside. I always believe that – good choices make good memories, but bad choices, sometimes, make better memories!", I lectured him. "I cannot believe that I'm lecturing you so much only because I want you to have a Happy Meal exhibition. If you're not going to agree to this now, I'll stab you with a butter knife!", I warned him. "You won't spare me, without convincing me?", Darshan cued. "Absolutely not. I'll talk all day and make sure you get convinced!", I banged my hand on the table. "So, I'll add this one to my collection, first?", finally, he said and picked up a Smurf toy. "Oh Lord, thank you for being kind on me", I dramatically breathed out in relief, throwing my hands up in the air, and he laughed.

By the time our conversation met its end, Chotu licked the sauce off the tip of his fingers and beamed at us with a different glow on his beautiful face. "Thank you, Didi and Bhaiya. I won't forget this meal, ever", he thanked us, folding his hands together. "Here, keep this safe, alright? Eat a proper lunch and dinner today", Darshan offered him cash, which he gratefully took and hid. He touched our feet for blessings and skipped his way out of McDonalds. "Are you happy, now?", Darshan asked, as he watched Chotu cross the roads, through the large windows. "It was the therapy I needed. Thank you for bringing him here!", I told him, and stood up, with a heart that much lighter when compared to the one I owned in the morning. Bringing a smile on a needy person's face when you're having a bad day is the solution to the sadness; it bakes your heart warm in a way like no other! As Darshan and I walked out of McDonalds together, my iPhone vibrated and it was a message from Nash on the Chamber of Secrets Returns.

Nash: Girls, we haven't had a proper meeting ever since I landed. Meet me at Pizza Hut tonight for dinner!

'Girls, as in – minus Chanch, right? ;)', I texted, getting inside the car.

Nash: Of course! You and Vaish can finish off her share, while she lives off bland and watery soup from the hospital.

Chanch: There's a special corner in hell for you. You'll have diarrhoea if you eat without me.

'We have toilets in our homes. We'll manage, baby-doll', I messaged.

Vaish: OH MY GOD. PIZZA HUT. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT CHEESY, SOFT AND MOUTH-WATERING PIZZA AND HOT GARLIC BREAD?

'Plus, chilled Pepsi. And HOW CAN WE FORGET ABOUT THE LASAGNA?', I played along with Vaish.

Chanch: Go. To. Hell. Bitches.

Nash: We don't know about hell, but we're visiting heaven tonight, ChanChan :)

Vaish: AND, WE WON'T MISS YOU.

'Where's the party tonight?', I messaged.

Nash: PIZZA HUT!!!!!!

Vaish: Chanch, don't worry, we'll send you pictures. You're allowed to lick your phone screen.

Chanch: I'm blocking all of you.

'Joke of the Year', I typed.

Nash: This is the 4468920th time you said this. Come up with something different; this doesn't scare me anymore.

Vaish: Guys, stop bullying her. I bet she's crying under the hospital bed right now.

'We cannot afford a flood in Mumbai, at the moment. Right, we should stop', I teased.

Nash: Chanch?

Vaish: HELLO, CHANCHAN?

'She's done with us', I laughed silently, as I texted.

Vaish: If you ever come online again, I hope you read this – all of us love you, Chanch.

Vaish: But food is life, too, so we're bound to ditch you :P

Nash: So, it's final. Pizza Hut. Tonight. 8 P.M. sharp!

Vaish: You forgot the most important information – NO CHANCH!

'Lol, alright, see you guys. Bye!', I typed, before going offline.

Deeper into the day, the weight on my chest wore off, slowly, and I was beyond glad.