The Traveller picked us up from the landing point and transported us back to the shop. We borrowed an USB cable from one of the helpers and transferred the pictures of GoPro to Avinash's phone.

"I look hideous," I screwed my face.

"You look cute." Avinash showed me a picture where I had my tongue out.

"Ughh you keep them." I groaned as we mounted his bike.

"What is the name of the Cafe again?" He asked kicking his bike to ignition.

"Cafe De Piccolo," I repeated.

We navigated through the heavy traffic and finally reached the cafe Mia had mentioned.

I unclusped my helmet and brushed my hair with my hand.

"Are you sure Mia will be okay?" Avi asked me.

"Yes, quite sure." I assured him.

The cafe was quaint and picturesque. The exterior had white woodwork while cream woodwork adorned the interior walls. Small wooden chairs with colorful seat cushions, and glass topped wrought iron tables sat across the cafe floor.

I found my roommate sitting with a girl in Indian attire. That must be Fatima.

Mia came up when see spotted me and pulled me to her table.

"Fatima, this is Naxi."

"Hi Naxi," Fatima smiled brightly. I couldn't help but notice that her pretty porcelain face was covered with scars.

"Hi Fatima. It is nice to finally meet you," I grinned. "Mia eats my head with your stories all the time."

"And she eats mine with yours." Fatima smiled back, wrinkling the scar that ran down from her upper lip to her chin. There was a deep gash on her right cheek too, though it was healed, but it had left its mark forever.

"And Fatima this is Avinash." Mia pointed her hand at Avinash, who hovered behind me.

"Naxi's crush?" Fatima exclaimed. Mia gave her a warning look "I mean the guy from your dance team." Fatima tried to salvage.

"Right you are." Avi politely shook her hands.

"You guys ordered anything yet? I am famished."I groaned.

"We were waiting for you." Mia pushed the menu towards me once I and Avinash settled down on the two empty seats across them.

"I will have one chicken burger with extra cheese, French fries, white sauce chicken pasta, a red velvet waffle...and a peach ice tea...that's all." I pushed the menu to Avinash.

Mia motioned the server and placed our orders. Avinash ordered a continental chicken sizzler while the two girls ordered a chicken pizza. I wondered how their stomachs could be satisfied with so little food.

"Mia never told me about your love story," I told Fatima while we waited for our food, "will you do the honour?"

"Ummm should I sit in another table?" Avi asked nervously, not sure whether he should be privy to Fatima's story.

"Unless you feel repulsed by a lesbian love story, I don't find any reason for you to leave." Fatima grinned.

"Oh...no...no...its just that.." Avinash tried to explain.

"You can sit here and listen Avi...I hope you don't mind me calling you Avi." Fatima said kindly, Avinash smiled nodding in response. Mia shared my shock, gaping at Avinash.

"What?" Avinash smirked.

"Nothing." Mia and I replied in unison.

This was probably the first time Avinash had allowed a complete stranger to call him 'Avi'. Fatima was obviusly unaware of this fact because she immediately started with her story.

"Mia and I were best friends since our kindergarten days. However, during middle school she drifted away, and started hanging out more with others. Her group was quite popular since they ruled all the extracurricular activity teams. I on the other hand was left alone. Those days Mia only spoke to me when she needed class notes or wanted me to do her homework," Fatima smiled at Mia, who held her hand.

"Even those small exchanges made me happy. Her mother however made her leave all extracurricular activities when her grades spiraled down." Fatima grinned.

" 'If you don't leave these frolicking and concentrate on your studies, you will fail your secondary boards'." Mia said in a tone which was probably an imitation of her mother's, "thank god my mother made me leave all those. I was lagging behind in all the subjects, so I scurried back to my angel." She pulled Fatima's nose lovingly.

"Initially I thought what I felt for her, was a normal best friend feeling. Till that movie Barfi released." Fatima continued.

"Since both of us were crushing on Ranbir Kapoor at that time, we went to watch the first show on its release date. However, when I teary-eyed watched Jhilmil lie with Barfi before dying together, I imagined Mia lying with me like that, when we were probably seventy years old." Fatima's voice cracked "I couldn't imagine living in a world which didn't have Mia in it. It was then that I realised I was in love with Mia."

"Not being able to stop myself, I stole a glance at the girl, who was sitting beside me, and to my surprise found her staring back at me." A smile creeped on Fatima's face, recalling the memory.

"From the very next day, she started avoiding me." Mia said pursing her lips. "She wouldn't answer my calls or talk to me in school. I had no idea that she felt the same way as I did. I was scared that she may have found out about my feelings when she caught me staring at her during that movie. Maybe that was why she was avoiding me." She sighed.

"I avoided her for over a month; Both of us clueless about the each other's feelings." Fatima said.

"Then one fine day she asks me to meet her at the sunset point." Mia took over the narration, "I knew something was wrong with her the moment my eyes landed on her. She was wearing that white salwar suit, which made her look like an angel. But what troubled me, were the dark circles around her sunken eyes."

"I owed her an explanation, for the sake of our friendship." Fatima said.

"I still have that letter she gave me that evening," Mia dived into her wallet and handed me a crumpled and stained neatly folded letter.

I unfurled it, noticing Avinash peer over my shoulder. I placed the letter on the table so that he could read it too.

"Ma'am your orders." The waiter appeared with our food and I motioned him to keep it on the table. The hunger that was tugging every nerve of my stomach few moments ago, was completely forgotten as I read the letter.

Dear Mia,

Firstly I am sorry for avoiding you for the last couple of weeks.

I know you would hate me and never want to be friends with me after reading this, but you deserve an explanation.

I haven fallen in love with you Mia. I know it is wrong but I cannot help it and neither am I ashamed of it. I am proud that I have fallen in love with YOU.

I cannot stay friends with you because,'it will only mean heartbreak for me'. I wish we could be like Barfi and Jhilmil, but what happens in movies, never happen in real. I know my love will forever be one sided, but whenever you need me, I will be there beside you.

I love you Mia. I wish I could say no one can tear us apart, but in my lovestory there is no 'us', it's only you Mia.

From

Fatima

I gaped as I read the letter. They were probably fifteen then. How could someone feel so much at such a tender age.

"Imagine my reaction reading it." Mia smirked. She took the letter back and folded it, tucking it lovingly back in her wallet.

"Then what happened?" Avinash asked. Mia too was surprised like me, noticing his eagerness.

"I cornered her in school." Mia grinned. "She looked like a scared puppy. I dragged her to the girls' washroom, which was absolutely deserted. I locked the door and went straight for her lips." Mia clicked her fingers making Fatima blush.

"Since then we have been together." Fatima gushed.

"Did anyone find out?" Avinash asked

"Not as long as I was there. People knew we were bestfriends since kindergarten, so no one suspected anything." Mia took a deep, "her father eventually found out during my visit this Diwali. That is how she got all those scars."

"Unless you get beaten up for love, your love story remains mediocre. These scars are what makes it a legend" Fatima said sportingly. Mia took Fatima's hand in hers and pressed it against her lips.

"I still can't believe the Apex court recriminalized homosexuality." Avinash said clenching his fist.

"Even if the court decriminalized it, the society would always outcast us." Mia smiled sadly.

"My stomach is growling." I said, trying to lighten the mood. "I can't believe your love story kept me away from my true love." I moaned digging my teeth into the soft bun of the burger.

"If I ever go for a buffet meal, I am taking you with me. You will surely eat more than the money's worth." Avinash exclaimed, "I mean is that your stomach or a bottomless well."

"Bottomless well." I giggled.

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