A few days went by as I switched into lazy mode. All
these days, there weren’t any calls or texts from her. As I was too lazy to let
anything else bother me than BK’s words, I just assumed that she may have got
new friends and slumbered in my bed.
It was hard but I convinced myself to let her stay in
my mind as a beautiful soul that walked a while with me. Before I could live
with that for a few hours, my phone screen flashed and it was her call.
I smiled at my insecurities and answered the call.
‘Where are you?’
No ‘hello’, no ‘hi’, no ‘it’s me shahana '…directly to
where am I and I decided to lose a friend like this!! I mentally slapped hard
on my face and replied
‘Home’
'Ok. so dinner at my place '
‘Yah…that…’
‘You are coming. Ok!!’
‘I don’t know yaar…I'm not in a mood to socialize '
‘Still with Her!!’
‘No...actually I’m thinking about rejoining marine’
‘I will be happy to buy you some poison or a rope’
I opted for silence.
‘You should believe in yourself shinu. You know, I
showed your photographs to my dad and he was quite impressed with your talent.
He said you are made for this. Don't let anything make you think otherwise.'
‘I don’t think at this stage flattery is going to
work’
‘Wha- … OK Shinu, what happened!!’
‘Life!!’
'I will wait. Take your time '
‘It’s… this is not going to work shahana. All this
photography…Even BK thinks I'm doing all this to "show her" '
‘Oh…so that’s what it is… Shinu, why did you step into
photography!!’
'Because I'm good at it and I guess fame also
influenced me '
‘And!!’
'I love capturing memories and time in a single click
'
‘Ok, now tell me about something else that fascinates
you.’
‘Like…’
‘Like something you would love to do, something that
would make you mad if you can’t do it anymore, something that brings out the
best in you-’
‘Okay…I get it...’
'Don't let the past ruin your future. You are doing
what you love to do and you are capable of doing wonders in your field. I know
BK is not completely wrong, but I think you are past that stage. Just trust me
in this.'
‘Yah..’
'So, going back to the sea!!'
'I would love that poison you mentioned earlier '
'Ok, so get ready and be here for lunch '
‘You are not cooking. Are you!!’
‘Hah Hah.’
‘Ok bye then’
‘Bye’
When I arrived at her place she was already waiting
for me at the door. She and her dad welcomed me inside. He was exactly how
Shahana mentioned him. He asked a few formal questions and was very much
interested in knowing the story behind many of my photographs.
When I paid a glance at shahana during our
conversation, I could see that she was worried about me getting bored. Before
her dad started asking me about the places I traveled, she stood up and said
‘Dad, let me show my room to him’
'Ok... I will prepare something special drink for him
by that time then'
He walked to the kitchen and we walked upstairs.
The moment I stepped into her room, I understood that
there is so much more for me to know about this girl.
All her walls, even ceilings were covered in art.
When she switched on the fan, her ceiling appeared
like a galaxy to me. I walked around, trying to understand every painting in
that room. I was a fan of the artist that she is within minutes. Everything,
even a random dot had meaning. But something about one painting felt familiar
to me. I stared at it for a while and stared at her understanding what it is
about.
‘So, what do you think?’
'Everything in this room is really good. But I think
this is my favorite.'
‘What about it!’
‘The girl with a luggage bag staring at the
fountain…that’s where we met right!’
‘Wow…you have an eye for this too…I’m impressed’
‘It’s ready’
Her dad called us down before we could talk anymore.
During the dinner, all I could concentrate on was how
happy she was around her dad and how much love he showers upon her. Thinking
about all the curt nods and silence I share with my dad, I felt jealous. He is
a loving dad…but...
As her father went off to sleep wishing us Goodnight
and motioning me to be comfortable, we moved to the balcony for some fresh air.
‘You are in heaven shahana’
Those words just escaped from me.
'there is enough to make this hell, but we don't let
it be '
‘Okay…’ I looked at her like she owes an explanation.
‘My mom isn’t home. That’s why I insisted that you
should come today.’
The way she air quoted ‘mom’ was enough to define her
relationship with her stepmother.
She changed the topic before I could think of one.
'So…what's today's plan
‘Sleep!!’
'Huh, boring yaar…’
‘BK went to Banglore for a meeting and having a
midnight tea alone is more depressing than it sounds.’
‘I will join you then’
‘Don’t you need like ‘permission’ from anyone!!’
'I'm a girl with free will to do anything I want '
‘Yah right’ I laughed at the way she dramatically said
that.
‘Trust me, dad won’t have any problem with that.
Waking him up isn’t a good idea though. Will tell him in the morning.’
‘Are you sure!!’
‘Yah’
‘Ok…so I will leave now and will be back after
midnight to pick you up.’
‘Perfect.’
On my way back home and to her house on BK's bike to
pick her up, I was totally tensed and couldn't shake it off my mind that she
wasn't scared at all.
She walked out like a cat, careful not to make a
sound, climbed on the bike, and said 'Go'
I acted exactly like a robot out of tension and took
her to the tea stall without uttering a word. I took a glance at the mirror,
only to see her smiling face. I was hooked on that smile and it took me a while
to realize, this is the exact cliche scene in plenty of romantic movies, and
sigh.
I ordered the usual masala tea and came back to her
with snacks. She shoved a 200₹ note into pocket even though I resisted and
began munching the snacks.
Sharing our problems, dreams and silly details of life
felt pretty easy sitting on that bench under the sky.
Of the many things she said, one was that her nickname
was ‘chippi’. As she is indeed a gem, I felt that was perfect. I made a mental
note to erase shahana and place chippi in my brain and phone.
‘Hey, shall we go?’
‘Where to? Home??’ it was clear from her tone that she
isn’t interested in returning home anytime soon.
And of course, I wasn't mentioning that.
'Nope, just come with me '
She accompanied me without any hesitation or further
questions.
But when I helped her climb the ruins of what was once
a monster chimney of a brick-making plant, there was a 'why here?' in her eyes.
Though I was a bit worried about whether she will like
the place or not, I told her to trust me and as she blinked her eyes saying she
does, the night view of the whole city under the starry sky caught her
attention…My worry was answered with the glow on her face and I was glad that
she loved my favorite spot in the whole city.
We stayed there long enough, enjoying everything that
nature offered us, exchanging infinite words through every glance. Growing up
in a world that misunderstood words, what we had felt special. She was special.
It was almost morning when I dropped her off. There
was a thankyou lingering in her eyes and I welcomed it with a wink.
She laughed at my gesture and asked
‘What about tomorrow? Tea ride!’
‘No, not tomorrow. I have something special in mind
and also I have to work. So wait for a few days. Will you!!’
‘Tell me what it is. then I will’
'Sorry, no way. Bye for now '
I smiled at her angry face and turned the bike to
leave.
Within the next day, I surrendered to her
determination and informed her a rough date. For a girl of her curiosity, that
wasn’t enough, but she settled for it. I browsed enough to get the plan right
and as the night came, it was perfect.
We walked into the waves, just like last time, but
under the moonlight and millions of stars.
She turned a full circle to watch the sky as I
assembled the camera. For anyone else, it would be just a full moon and some
stars. But she knew what I meant. The blue moon…
She sat there, in the sand, watching the waves and the
sky…
I came down to sit near her after taking a few
pictures and putting on a time-lapse. It was now a habit, to sit together and
let silence fill between us. I decided to lie down on my back after some time
and as I was literally counting stars, she popped up a question.
“Shinu, what’s
the most painful thing in this world?”
0 Comments