It was almost 7:00 pm. The sun was about to go down in the horizon(In Mumbai it sets at 7). The sky was brilliantly red and orange. It was tranquil and gorgeous. 

Mitali stood in a corner, admiring the scenic beauty of the sky.The college was over. Only some students were there , who were busy in the preparatitions. Ruhaan was with Tapasya. She had said that she had some work with him. But Mitali knew that deep down , she was envious that Ruhaan  was spending more time with her. 

The atmosphere around  expelled her to cantillate. She burst into a song.

Aate Jaate, Hanste Gaate

Socha Tha Maine Man Mein Kai Baar

Adi stopped in his tracks.He could clearly hear the melancholy voice , coming from the other side of the corridor. He turned and found Mitali , gazing into the sky and harmonizing.He started taking slow steps towards her.

Mitali:

Woh Pehli Nazar, Halka Sa Asar

Karta Hai Kyun Is Dil Ko Bekaraar

Adi joined her.

Adi:

Ruk Ke Chalna, Chalke Rukna

Na Jaane Tumhe Hai Kiska Intezaar

Mitali spun around and found a smiling Adi , synchronizing with her. A smile spread on her face.

Adi:

Tera Woh Yakin Kahin Main To Nahin

Lagta Hai Yehi Kyon Mujhko Baar Baar

Mitali and Adi:

Yehi Sach Hai, 

 Shayad Maine Pyar Kiya.

Mitali:

Aate Jaate, Hanste Gaate

Socha Tha Maine Man Mein Kai Baar

Adi:

Hothon Ki Kali, Kuch Aur Khili

Yeh Dil Pe Hua Hai Kiska Ikhtiyaar

Mitali and Adi:

Yehi Sach Hai,

 Shayad Maine Pyar Kiya

Mitali:

Haan Haan Tum Se,

 Maine Pyar Kiya

They looked at each other and then smiled.

Mitali: To aap ga bhi lete hai?

Adi: Ji ha, Madam.Hum thoda bohot sur taal samajh lete hai.

Mitali:(giggling) Vah! Aap to bare talented ho ji!

Adi: Ha! Voh to hai. 

Mitali: Vaise gaate huye kaafi ache lagte hai , aap.

Adi: Hum to humesha hi ache lagte. Tumhi pehli baar notice ki ho!

Mitali: (Sarcastically) Acha ji!

Adi: Hmm. Tumhe kabhi mujhe guitar bajate dekhna chahiye. Mujh par fida nahi huyi to mai apna naam badal lunga!

Mitali: Acha! Phir to kisi din tumhe guitar bajate sunna hi padega. Uske baad tum apna badal kar.............uh.....Pluto rakh lena . Bolo shart manzur?

Adi: Pluto! Yeh to kutte ke naam jaisa hai!

Mitali: Arey! Pluto ek planet ka bhi to naam hai na!

Adi: Tha! Usko solar system se nikal diya gaya tha! Aise to agar maine apna naam Pluto rakh diya , to mujhe bhi the 'cool guys' ki list se nikal denge!

Mitali: (sarcastically) Vah, kya logic hai!

Adi: Anyways, ab kaha hai to piche nahi hat ne vala! Shart manzur!

Saying that, he raised his hand for a high-five. Mitali looked at him for a while and then high-fived him.

Mitali: Kisi din fursaat se baithke aapko sunenge. Abhi chalte hai. Hm?

Adi: Hm.

They kept on looking at each other. Mitali blinked innocently while Adi smiled.

Mitali: Ab agar aap hamara hath yu pakre rahenge, to hum jayenge kaise?

Adi realized that he was still holding Mitali's hand. He slowly let go off her hand.

Mitali:(smilingly) Phir milte hai.

Adi: Zaroor.....

Mitali turned and walked ahead. Adi looked at the retreating figure and ran his fingers through his hair.

And both of them couldn't get that stupid smile off their face......

                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was an awkward atmosphere surrounding Room 223. Both the girls were busy summoning their thoughts. No one said anything. Just then, Shayantani burst in through the doors.

Shanu: I have something to tell you guys.

Mitali patted the side of her bed and indicated her to sit there. Shayantani did as she said.

Anu: What is it?

Shanu: Okay.......so......I and Sahil were in the library today,......

Mitali: Ooooohhhhh!!!

Anu: Abhi tak usne kuch kaha tak nahi, aur tu already oohhhh kar rahi hai?

Mitali: Sorry, continue Shanu.

Shanu: To hum kuch kam kar rahe the and..........

Anu: Abhi suspense mat badha yaar. Bata na kya hua!

Shanu blushed and narrated the entire Library incident. Once she was finished,her face settled on an unbecoming shade of red.

Anu: Vah bhai! Finally,kuch to progress hua tum dono ke relationship mein.

Shanu: Friendship mein!

Anu:(sarcastically) Ha ha ...vahi vahi!

She winked at Mitali. Mitali chuckled. Both of which was noticed by Shanu.

Shanu: Ja yaar! Tum logo se kuch kehna hi bekar hai!

Mitali: Acha baba! Sorry!Nahi khichenge teri tang!Bas!

Anu: Ha bhai! Vaise mujhe bhi kuch kehna tha.

Mitali: Ek second....ek second! Tera konsa case hai?

Anu: Hai. Suno....

She narrated everything that had happened between her and Daksh, since day one.

Mitali: To tujhe Mr. Bad boy pasand hai?

Anu: Chup kar. Pasand nahi hai. Friend hai.

Shanu: Ha ha...vahi vahi!

This time she winked at Mitali. Mitali chuckled. Ananya threw a cushion between them and said,

Anu: Shut it!

Mitali: Par Anu, yeh tere past ka kya chakar hai?

Ananya smile lessened . She looked at Shayantani. Shayantani nodded slightly.

Mitali: Guys, it's okay if you don't wanna tell me. I understand.

Anu: Nahi.....Mitali, tu hamari friend hai. Tujhe pata hona chahiye.

Ananya took a deep breath and started,

Anu: I had a friend. His name was Ishaan Shrivastav. We were inseparable. Best friends. We loved each other more than anything. Aur phir kab yeh dosti pyaar mein badal gayi, I had no idea.

She paused for a second.

Anu: School ka last din tha.  Farewell party ke baad , he proposed to me, aur voh bhi sabke samne.Our friends cheered for us. That was the best moment of my life. Wasn't I considering myself the luckiest person on earth that day? I was on cloud nine.But my happiness did not last long.

Mitali placed her hand over hers and asked,

Mitali: What happened?

Anu: We were in the first year in college.Everything was going fine. Ishaan used to live with his Uncle and Aunt. His parents were in Delhi. Ek din use uski Mom ka call aaya, that she was sick and that they needed him there.At first , he was a little reluctant . But I encouraged him to go. Maine usse kaha tha ki his parents are way more important than anything and that he should go. And so he did.Par vaha jake......na hi usne mujhe call karna thik samjha aur na hi ek message karna. I waited for days.......just to hear his voice. Just to hear that "I Love You" or " I'll be back soon ", from him. But he never did.

She took a deep breath and continued.

Anu: Maine bhi usse call karne ki bohot koshish ki......but nothing happened. He never picked up my calls or answered my text messages.

Mitali: He just.......vanished?

Anu: (shaking her head in a no) Nahi................He did. He returned in my life. For perhaps the one last time.

Mitali: Matlab?

Anu: Usne mujhe call zarur kiya.........par 6 mahine baad. 

Mitali: 6 months? You waited for him for 6 months?

Anu: Kya karti Mitu? I loved him more than my life. Nahi ji pa rahi thi mai uske bagaer. So....when he called me 6 months later, I was overwhelmed. Mai khushi ke maare ro rahi thi. 

Flashback:

Anu: Hello! Ishaan! Kaiso ho tum? I've been trying to call you for so long. Kya ho gaya hai tumhe? Why weren't you answering my calls? Text ka bhi koi jawab nahi de rahe the! Are you fine ? Tumhe kuch hua to nahi na? Tum thik ho na?

Ishaan: Ananya......vo.....

Anu: Kya hua Ishaan? Is everything alright?

Ishaan: Listen.....uh......I need to tell you something.

Anu: Ha bolo na! Kya hua?

Ishaan: Voh......uh.........Meri.....engagement ho chuki hai.

Ananya's mind went blank for a second. She dismissed it reminding herself that she must have heard wrong.

Ananya: Um.....sorry....Ishaan,I think I heard it wrong. Tum keh rahe ho ki tumhari......engagement ho.......

Ishaan: Ha...Tumne sahi suna. Meri engagement ho chuki hai. And maine bas tumhe yeh bolne ke liye call kiya tha ki....stop calling me. Meri family ko yeh sab pasand nahi. Aur please mujhe text bhi mat kiya karo. My fiance is not happy with all this. I just wanted to clear things out. I just wish ki tum move on kar.............

But Ananya wasn't listening anymore. She clenched her fists and tried hard to hold back tears. She threw her phone and with a loud thud it crashed on the ground. She took the knife that was kept on the table and cut across the heart shaped cake.

Her 19th birthday cake.

Flashback ends

Mitali fumbled to find words. She had never heard about something so brutual .

"How could a person do something like this?",she thought.

Somehow, Ananya wasn't crying at all. She was just sad. Shanu got up from her bed and went and sat next to her. Mitali did the same. They hugged her from both sides.Ananya's face broke into a weak smile.

Shanu: Jaan, hum humesha hai tere sath.Tu khudko kabhi akela feel nahi karegi phir se.

Mitali: Yeah. We're your friends. And I promise that if you ever fall, I'll always pick you up.

Ananya looked at both them and smiled.

Mitali: After I finish laughing, though.

Shanu and Ananya glanced at each other and said,

"Tera kuch nahi ho sakta!"

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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