He whistled.

I ignored him, and kept walking, clinging on tightly to the thin strap of my handbag.

He whistled, again, and honked once, as his motorbike trailed behind me, slowly.

I stood to my ground and turned around, looking at him expectantly with a straight face.

He beamed at me broadly, and while he studied me from head to toe, I snapped my fingers inches away from his face, drawing his attention towards me. "You were missing for three days. Where were you? I kept coming back every morning with hopes of meeting you, and you didn't let me down", he said, flirtatiously. "Street dogs are better than you, bastards; at least, when we chase them away, they don't come back shamelessly", I bitterly said, and watched how his expressions changed into something furious, but that morning, I wasn't terrified. I wasn't scared of facing him anymore, but I was certainly scared of running away from him, because my fear would grant him a reason to keep coming back to me, and I didn't want him to think that I was under his control, not even for a second. It was hard, but I did all I could to fiercely look into his eyes with a brave face. Sometimes life takes you places and makes you stand midst situations where you'll be forced to stay strong, no matter how terribly your heart shakes with fear.

"I'm asking you one last time; will you come on a ride with me tonight? I told you, I won't take a 'no' as an answer. If you don't listen to me, or agree with me, I have my crooked ways of getting what I want. That night was a trailer, but if you trigger me, I don't know what I'll do", he warned and I listened on, with an idea brewing at the back of my mind. "Will you come, yourself, or shall I take you away forcefully? See, darling...", he traced the tip of his finger along my face. "Don't touch me!", I said, through my gritted teeth, and brushed his hand away. "...I can hold your hand, drag you with me and no one's going to give a fuck at night. This is a big city, with lonely roads, and this area does not have a CCTV camera; anything could happen. I can do anything with you, dump you in a drainage and keep moving; people may find your body, but they won't find out about the truth. Think about it – why do you want to show me attitude and ruin your life, when you have the choice to surrender to me? I'm asking for one night, that's all; I won't bother you, after that, I promise", he convinced me with his cheap talks and I pretended to be convinced, and frightened, both. "You won't bother me, again, won't you?", I cued, looking pretentiously convinced, and he smiled at his apparent victory. "Only if you spend the night with me. Just one night", he said, and although I wanted to bash him up, then and there, I clung onto my nerves, calmly. "Okay. I'll book a room in Rainbow Lodge tonight. Be there at 10, okay?", I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me, falling straight into the trap I set for him. "Tonight, you're going to have the shock of your life", I told him, calmly. "I cannot wait!", he exclaimed. "You'll never forget tonight. I swear, I'll make it memorable. I'll see you at night. Bye", I shyly said, waved at him awkwardly, and walked away, hanging my head low. I've always believed in destroying what destroys you, and as I made my way to Darshan's apartment, I built the biker's destruction, which I couldn't wait to unleash the same night.

'Girls! Are you in for some adventure? I need the three of you tonight. Please!', I sent a message on our WhatsApp group, as the bright yellow cab jostled through the busy roads of Mumbai.

Nash: Adventure? Elaborate.

Vaish: I am on my way to University :(

Chanch: I do not care what adventure it is, but I am in. I'm tired of staying indoors with Vaish.

Vaish: ChanChan, that's what happens when you're sick!

'Meet me tonight at Rainbow Lodge. At around 09.30', I informed them.

Vaish: Rainbow Lodge? Do you even know what you're saying? That area is beyond disgusting.

Chanch: It's pretty much like a brothel, as far as I know.

Nash: WTF. What are you up to, Dia?

Vaish: I don't care about your 'adventures' anymore. I'm out of this.

Chanch: Same.

Nash: Can we hear her out, first? Dia, explain!

'Thank you, Nash!', I typed, hastily, and explained the situation to them in one long essay.

Nash: OMG.

Vaish: This happens so frequently, it's not surprising anymore. I hate how most men think that they can impose their decisions on unfamiliar women, only because of the motherfucking tag being a man.

Nash: Exactly, Vaish. They think that keeping women under their shoes and making them dance to their tunes is their birth-right.

Chanch: This is simply so unacceptable. Blame the freedom their families grant them, only because of their gender. Most men won't take 'no' for an answer, because from what they have witnessed all their lives – they haven't had to fight for basic rights, but that's not the same for us.

'Right. We, girls, have to put up a fight to get hold of our basic human rights, right from going to school to getting out of house. But for boys, it comes for free; they're born with that freedom to wander around the world and they're given the liberation to leave a legacy behind. But it's sad that they loiter around the streets and demand girls to spend a night with them, while their sisters sit back at home and draw their dreams on the walls of their houses, and that's the most they could do! Pathetic!', I typed, furiously.

Vaish: But you cannot entirely blame them for what they do, or how they behave; I'm not taking their side, but my point is – they've grown up in a society, where their fathers beat their mothers up, lock them indoors and impose decisions on ladies. Most of them are TOLD that when a woman argues with them, it makes them weaker, which is why they do not take 'no' for an answer.

Nash: I don't think it is limited only to the small societies, but even so-called educated people are the same. Most men don't seek for their partner's consent. They're convinced that a marriage certificate means that your wife will satisfy your cravings, whenever you want...which is horrible. There's nothing called high-class, or low-class; everyone's equally fucked up.

Chanch: Gender-equality looks good on paper, and in articles. But when it comes to implying our words and thoughts in real life, no one's ready. Everyone's ever-ready to preach, though!

'That is true. Anyways, we'll meet at 09.30, then, alright? Come with your weapons; we'll take the life out of him and remind him of his dead Grandma!', I texted.

Chanch: We'll teach him a lesson he'll remember so well that he won't dare to look at another girl!!!!

Vaish: He'll return home with fractured bones, I swear!

Nash: We'll screw his eyes out of his sockets. Asshole!

'Ouch, that sounds painful', I smiled.

Nash: Guys. I need to get something off my chest. I've been holding it in for too long, and I need to get it off now.

Vaish: Fart it out, Nash.

'Vaish and her obsession with toilet is eternal!', I messaged.

Chanch: Maybe, her parents picked her up from the toilet, lol.

Nash: I met Omar.

Vaish: In your dreams, right?

Nash: I'm not joking. I met him, really. I went to Oberoi Trident four days ago because I wanted to capture some pictures, and I bumped into him there. Like, we did not meet, meet; we simply looked at each other from a distance, when we walked out of the elevator with the team. I think they're here for an upcoming series.

Chanch: Did he say anything?

'Did he approach you?', I texted, curiously.

Nash: No. Nothing. He walked away, and I didn't expect him to do that. He looked at me, as if he didn't know who I was. I never openly admitted this to anyone, but the truth is – even though we have broken up, and it's been well over a year, I never stopped hoping that he'll somehow come back and hold my hand, again. I expected some sort of miracle. They say that true love has the habit of coming back and my belief in our love never crippled apart, despite our separation. I always believed that one day we'll meet and he'll fix whatever went wrong between us. I never stopped loving him. I never stop hoping that he'll come back. But then, he looked at me and his eyes were empty; neither love, nor anger. Just emptiness, as if I was nobody to him. He burnt me away, while I stupidly admired the beauty of the destruction he caused.

Nash: That's all. I wanted to vent this out. Don't bother reverting to it.

As I read Nash's message, I felt a twist in my stomach. I couldn't imagine how unbearably painful it'd be when you look at him with love in your eyes, only to read the nothingness in his. I didn't know how heart-rending it is when you gaze at him, as though he's still your whole world, but he looks back at you, through the eyes of a stranger. But that's how it is at times – I've known tales about couples who have spent 5 years together, but ended their relationship because they felt that they were pieces of different puzzles that would never fit; I've heard stories about couples who tied themselves into a marriage, a year after meeting, and managed to beautifully hold on to their relationship. Times have been there where, love marriages have failed, and arranged marriages have worked out. While someone tasted true love at 18, another 18 year-old was fed with betrayal. The girl who never wanted to fall in love, found her soulmate; and the girl who always wanted to fall in love wandered around the world, helpless and alone. Some people take 2 years to reunite with their love, some people take longer to reunite with their partner, and for some, it doesn't happen at all. Some people fall in love at 20, some fall in love at 50 and some simply do not fall in love. That is life. It never bows down before us, and never does it listen to us. Sometimes you'll think that life is beyond unfair, sometimes you'll find yourself pondering about how inexplicably beautiful life is. You'll lose the ones you thought would stay for a lifetime, and you'll deeply connect with the friends you thought you wouldn't get along with. There will be a night when a stranger will be closer to you than your close ones, and there will be a phase where someone who has hardly talked to you will comfort and understand you better than the ones with whom you have spent your whole life with. Life is unpredictable; you have absolutely no idea about what's going to happen to you the next moment, who's going to hurt you and who will comfort you. One day, your loved one will throw you out on the streets and you'll find home in a stranger – you have no idea where life will drag you to, trust me.

Vaish: I've always told you that you deserve someone better than him. Let him go, Nash. Please.

'A man who cannot celebrate your success and chase your dreams with you is a man who does not deserve you. Good thing he left you, before the two of you walked into a long-term commitment, because he would have burnt your dreams down', I reminded her.

Vaish: A big FUCK YOU to him. It's his loss.

Chanch: I am with Vaish!

Nash: You poo-ple are the best! I love you, guys.

"Madam", the cabbie's voice forced me to look up from my iPhone screen. "Two-hundred rupees", he said, and I looked out of the window to find Darshan standing in the parking lot of his building, in shorts, with the vegetable vendor, who showed him vegetables. With a muddled look on his sleepy face, he scratched his head, as he looked through the vegetables on the cart. I couldn't conceal the idiotic smile that stretched on my lips, as I paid the driver.

I captured him, secretly, from a distance, and sent his picture in our WhatsApp group with a message that read – 'Singer Darshan Raval, um...who? ;)'.