AUTHOR'S POV
Months have passed and the season has changed. It was the end of Ahaana's first year in college. As she was done with her final examination and was waiting for her results to continue with the next year.
The faded memories of the Group Discussion still haunt her. Even after avoiding them, she can't stop but pile it up with her other unforgettable sad memories. A wish to breathe freely without tension was all she wanted.
It feels so ironic, that even after dodging the same guy for like two times, and running away from him every single time she saw him, she still couldn't help herself in avoiding to think about the GD. No one could actually predict that the GD would become the reason for their worst encounter. No one, literally no one could have imagined that Mitansh would know the 'stranger and the someone' was the same person and Ahaana would faint in front of everyone and end up wrapped around his arms on the same day!
She wanted to deny the unfamiliar feeling of being safe around him, even though he triggered her anxiety each time they met. She was not ready to accept the fact that when he touched her, it felt like he never wanted to leave her. She was busying herself with only one thought, 'I'm a fool, what's wrong with my thoughts? What's wrong with me?'
It would be a lie to say that Mitansh was not a popular guy, or that the incident was known to just some people. Everyone, almost everyone knows about Ahaana now. The students who used to ship Inayat and Mitansh and adored their relationship now hated Ahaana till death. Whenever they got a chance, they didn't let Ahaana go without bullying her or without taunting or staring at her. Even though Ahaana was the victim, who didn't do anything wrong, still the merciless kids bash their hatred on her. Her seniors, even her batchmates were not ready to see her smile. They made it hard for her to live and walk inside the university. But thanks to God, she is staying outside the University, otherwise who knows what those monsters might have done to her.
Mixed thoughts and overlapping emotions clouded Ahaana's thoughts. After that Incident, Mitansh didn't show up in front of her. His face was just like faded smoke she was inhaling every time she tried to remember him.
Every night a picture of a man flashed in front of her eyes but she always failed to recognize him. Is he Mitansh? Why is he coming into my dreams? She was slowly forgetting his face. It should have felt like a good sign, but no, it was troubling her instead. His name was the most common word she heard on a daily basis, but not knowing the face the name belonged to was so confusing.
This was an effect of her anxiety and over-stress. The pressure on her brain has made it weak, to stop her thoughts, to stop the continuous pressure, her brain has taken the task on itself and has made her forget about random things, mostly the whole drama which unfolded in GD. She tried to ask about Mitansh from her friends, Arushi and Moorna, but they ignored her questions. They both were afraid. They didn't want to see Ahaana again in the clinic, lying on the bed helpless, helplessly.
Arushi became her shield again, same as she was in school, and fought with everyone who teased Ahaana. She was stronger now. Many feared her presence, but the teenage mind has the power to come up with tricks to get their work done. Without Arushi knowing, they would plan something which would probably be hard for even God to predict.
Ahaana took her backpack and moved out for the library. Library, in these past months, was the only place which was not ruthless towards her. From that day Arushi vowed to never leave Ahaana alone. But this time, even after trying so hard to accompany her, Ahaana refused. Ahaana sat on the same table from where it all began. Where she first met Mitansh, where she screamed 'Mehul's' name. Avoiding the harsh memories, she still chose the library in front of everything. She loved to sit there. It keeps her happy. No human interaction, no worries, only the sound which could suppress her off-beat thoughts. The creaking sound which reminded her of her dadu's presence.
YOU ARE READING
An-EXIT
Teen Fiction'You're afraid of the things, You never thought you ever would be!' Ahaana Jaiswal, a girl buried in the layers of her suffocating past memories, chooses a profession which she never desired. Gadgets and robots, a bachelor's degree in Electrical and...
