Astonishment smudged the Officers' and constables' tired faces the moment The Darshan Raval walked in the Police Station, wearing a blue shirt and ripped jeans, and forced a smile at everyone in the station, as he shuffled inside, slowly and hesitantly. From behind the railings, I watched how embarrassed and anxious he looked; he couldn't stop himself from fidgeting with his car-key, and cracked his knuckles in nervousness. Our eyes met, as he looked around the station, but the second our eyes collided, he looked away, chewing the corner of his lower lip, and that...that was enough to twist the emotions out of my heart. It was hard to pretend as though I didn't notice a thing, when every little thing glaringly unfolded before my eyes. It was harder to show the world that I wasn't hurt. The ones who mean so much to you are the ones who hurt you the most, sometimes with the smallest of small actions, and that's so unfair. When your loved ones turn their faces away from you, you'll feel a pang in your heart and an unpleasant drop in your stomach, even if you're known to have a strong heart. No one – I repeat, no one – is emotionally stable before the ones they love; no matter how strong and stubborn you think you are, you'll fall weak, feel the pain and surrender yourself. That's love. That's the dangers of love.

Darshan shared a long, animated and uninterrupted conversation with the Officer, and around thirty minutes later, the constables asked the four of us to walk out of the cell. "How are you related to them, though?", I heard the Officer question Darshan, while we stepped out, and the question provoked my heartbeats to rise. "We, um...uh, we...", Darshan fumbled, and played with his car-key. "Employees!", he exclaimed, all of a sudden. "Yea, um, employees. They work in my company, in my dad's company", Darshan covered up, rubbing the side of his neck, and I lived through a rollercoaster of negative emotions within seconds; I didn't know why. "You should reconsider them, Sir; take my advice. They don't look too good. Be careful", the Officer advised Darshan. "Especially, this girl here...", a lady-constable grasped my upper-arm, and everyone focused their attention on me. "...she has a big mouth. She was in a brothel; but there's absolutely no sign of regret, or guilt", the lady-constable smirked, and Darshan simply chose to turn away from me. I remained silent, and chose not to waste my energy, screaming the same thing out, time and again; that moment, proving a point to all of them resembled proving a point to a wall. "I don't know what they were doing in the lodge, but count on me, I know them personally, and they're from decent and good families. They're not the kind of girls you think they are. They're such good girls", Darshan convinced, clasping his hands together on the table. "I believe you, Sir, but I would still suggest you to have a talk with them. If they're from decent families, they should know how to protect their family's respect. We were shocked when we caught them in a third-class lodge. I know they're independent working women, and they can make their own choices, but they need to be watchful of their actions", the Officer stressed on his point, and Darshan nodded, hanging his head low. "Surely. I'll talk to them. Can I take them home?", Darshan asked, hesitantly pointing at us, and the Officer smiled in agreement. "You shouldn't have taken the trouble, Sir. If you called us, we would have carried out the formalities and released them. We know you personally, and we know that you would never take a stand for the wrong people", the Officer stood up with Darshan, and they shook hands, exchanging smiles.

Around fifteen minutes later – once we finished the formalities – we exited the crowded station, in deadly quietness. I stood miles away from them, because I felt I didn't belong there anymore. Darshan didn't dare to look in my direction, nor did he question if I was okay; he silently led us out and we trailed behind him. In the parking lot, we stood scattered in a circle, without uttering a word, until Darshan cleared his throat.

"Hey, calm down, Dumbo", Darshan lightly said and wrapped his arm around Vaish, giving her a side-hug, while she wiped her tears off her cheeks. "It's over. You're good. Stop crying", Darshan consoled, calmly, and rubbed her upper-arm. "Thank you. Thank you for saving us. If we stayed in for a little longer, they would have verbally harassed us, inside-out", Vaish said, shakily. "Haven't I always told you that I'll save your day?", Darshan said. "I never took you seriously", Vaish smiled. "Thank you, seriously", she said, gratefully. "Shut up! This is the least I could do for you, to pay you back for saving my ass whenever I'd sing the wrong lyrics in my concerts", Darshan joked, and she giggled. "And I miss you in my concerts, dude, come back!", Darshan cheered her up. "I'll definitely attend your concerts, but I don't think I'll perform with you", she wrinkled her nose. "But whenever you feel that you want to sing, call me up. We'll surprise my fans!", he told her, and she answered him with a nod.

"Thank you for coming all the way, Darshan", Nash thanked him, and he smiled at her. "Don't thank me. Treat me! You owe me a good treat", Darshan jovially said, bringing a smile on all their faces, except mine. "We'll definitely invite you over for lunch. Nash cooks so well", Chanch said. "You're talking about salads, right? Even, I can do that", Darshan said, flatly, and the girls laughed, together. "No, no, she's a good cook, but she doesn't eat what she cooks", Vaish rolled her eyes. They shared a light, casual and happy conversation together, and I entirely uninvolved; I stood a distance away from them, and looked down at the ground, while I heard them laugh and talk. No one bothered to look in my direction, and that simply stung my heart, deeply, but I stood as still as a rock. I didn't exist for them, pretending that it didn't matter.

"I'm sorry for whatever happened today. But take care, next time, okay? For the sake of friendship, or whatever, don't walk into places that'll bring you down. Spare a moment to think about the consequences. If some people do not want to understand, let them be. But if you think something's wrong, don't do it. Simple", Darshan advised them, and indirectly targeted me, but I didn't move, nor did I think of reacting. I was emotionally exhausted. "I'll drop you home", Darshan offered. "Oh no, please! You did so much for us, already. We'll take a cab back home", Vaish said. "Why would you do that? I can drop all of you, trust me", Darshan argued. "We live in different corners of the city, Darshan. We'll book an Uber, each, and get going", Chanch said. "But I insist", Darshan stubbornly said. "No, please. Don't worry about us. We'll take care", Nash smiled at him. I thought they'd take a moment to say something to me, but they didn't. They simply bid goodbye to Darshan, and parted ways with me in absolute silence, stranding me behind with Darshan, with whom I existed in awkward silence for a while. I wanted him to show his disappointment openly, and I wanted him to scold me for doing what I did, but he had nothing to say. Or maybe, he chose to stay mum, I didn't know.

"Shall I drop you home, or will you take the train back?", Darshan coldly questioned, without looking in my direction, and that question did something to my heart. He never asked that question before; whenever we were together, he'd drop me home, without questioning. But I guess, that night, he didn't want me to be with him and although I had choices, something told me that he didn't want me to be around. "I'll take the train", I whispered, despite knowing that the next train would arrive at 04:30 a.m. only. "Okay", he simply said, and a drop of tear crept out of my eye; thank God we stood midst a dimly lit road. The next moment, he turned back around and shuffled towards his car, in the dark, while I stood behind him with tears in my eyes. I anticipated for him to stop and turn back around to catch a glimpse of me; I expected him to hurry back to me, and insist that he'd drop me home. But life is not a movie; he kept walking, and I watched the growing distance between us. I stood alone, that night; and I thought I lost everyone I had.

At around 03:40 a.m., I sat back on a long and cold bench in the empty Railway Station, and gazed at the dull, dark and starry sky, as I felt the wind brush past my skin; I felt calmer, but I was somehow still at chaos, one I thought I couldn't untangle on my own. I think it's weird how the ones, whom you think know you inside-out, can make you feel like a stranger, within a moment. What's weirder is how pain makes us so selfish; when we're hurt, we'll let go, and it doesn't matter who it is and how deep of a relationship we share. By the end of the day, all of us are simply so selfish; we care too much about our-broken-selves that we don't give the other person a chance to reason themselves. We're scared of being broken, so we keep protecting ourselves, and our hearts; but little do we know that we're destined to shatter apart, in some way, or the other.

I scrolled through my contact list and called Pops up; I was certain he'd be on duty, but somewhere, I believed that I'd get lucky and he'd answer my call. And, I was lucky; it took him an eternity, but he answered my call. "Hello, dad?", I spoke up. "HI, DITYAA! CAN YOU HEAR ME?", he bellowed into the phone. "Pops, stop screaming. I can hear you", I wrinkled my nose. "Okay, hi, hello. How are you?", Pops questioned, in a softer manner. "I'm good", I yawned, throwing my head back. "Then, why did you call me up at 4 a.m.?", he asked, straightaway, almost catching me red-handed. "Just", I shrugged. "Just?", he echoed, suspiciously, and I exhaled loudly. "Spit it out. What happened?", he said and I smiled, powerlessly. "I feel so stupid", I breathed, and slumped down on the bench. "Because you are stupid. Your mom and I hid the truth from you, but the truth comes to surface, eventually!", Pops joked. "Dad!", I exclaimed, in annoyance, with a broad grin and he laughed hard. "Okay, okay, sorry", he apologized, laughingly. "But who made my little lady don feel stupid?", Pops asked, curiously. "I'm not a lady-don. I'm just the stupidest and most cold-hearted person I know", my voice cracked, and the storm I captured within me, began unleashing itself slowly, through my tears. "I kind-of lost all my friends, and it was my fault. I apologized. I did what I could to fix things. But they still didn't talk to me", I cried, and pursed my lips together. "Give them some time, Dityaa. When they cool down, they'll come back to you", Pops comforted. "Okay", I whispered, sniffing in. "But if they don't talk to me, again?", I prompted. "Then, you let them go", Pops answered. "But it's not going to be easy", I argued in a quiver. "I know, it's not easy, but it's going to be easier than holding onto something, or someone, that needs freedom from you", Pops said. "Letting go is hard, but loving the wrong person is harder. When you let go, you'll shatter, but you'll shatter only once; but when you love the wrong people with the right intentions, they'll break you every day", Pops lectured, and I listened on.

"You know, I loved a girl when I was in school...", Pops began narrating. "Does mom know?", I giggled. "Of course, she does, and she's okay with it because apparently, fools make mistakes", he said, and I burst out laughing, holding my stomach. "Oh God, so what about that girl you loved, some thirty years ago?", I cued, wiping the tears off the corners of my eyes. "I was seventeen, I reckon, and it was around the time of life where you're so unserious about everything in life, but when it comes to love, you're the most serious person, ever!", Pops said, and I laughed. "I was madly in love with a girl, who was in love with the feeling of love. Nothing I did was good enough, but I loved her so blindly that I kept pushing the envelopes, with hopes that one day, I'll win her heart and settle down in it forever. But even two years later, nothing changed. We graduated from school, and moved cities; at that point of time, the toughest thing to do was to let go of her, but I did because I had to. I was heartbroken, and I thought that I wouldn't fall in love, again. I thought my life met its dead-end. I thought I lost the little happiness I had in my life. Just when I felt that everything fell apart in a way I couldn't collect, I met your mom...", Pops took a pause, and my lips curved into a smile. "...and when we fell in love, she changed my perspectives. Dityaa, your mom taught me that when someone wants to be with you – when they really, really want you – they'll find wonders in the smallest things you do for them. You can give them a rose, and they'll make it look as if you bought the world for them. And when you don't give them anything, they'll still find solace in your mere presence", his words simply warmed my heart. "You'll have to fight for a space in someone's heart, but when that struggle becomes an everyday-thing, then you're better off alone. Our problem is - when we love someone too deeply, our entire world revolves around them; so, when they do not reciprocate, we tend to think that our world has met its end, but we need to understand that there's a world beyond them, and sometimes, it is beautiful in ways you cannot imagine, but it everything starts with letting go of what does not belong to you, okay?", Pops concluded. "Okay", I said in a hush, wearing a small, painful smile. "One more thing...", his voice trailed off. "I'm listening", I chipped. "...when you lose something, accept that you've lost it and move on; don't spend too long questioning, and wondering, why you lost it. If you've lost something, it only means that it isn't yours, because if it belonged to you, it wouldn't have left you, in the first place", Pops reminded, and just that moment, the train arrived. "Thank you for always being the 2 a.m. friend, who has never let me down or turned away from me", I smiled, gratefully, and rose to my feet. "No matter how many friends you lose, you'll never lose us. We'll be your best friends for life", Pops said.

You can have uncountable friends in life, but during the hardest of hard times, only your parents can lift you up, when the world drags you down. Growing up, you'll understand that your parents are the truest friends you've had, all your life.