The Entwined Fates

Chapter 21: The Meet-up

I got up feeling very refreshed. After wrapping up my morning rituals, I suddenly got an idea. It had been a few days since I had talked to my friends, so the breakfast date sounded good. But as everyone was not in town, we decided to have a virtual breakfast date. I quickly set up everything and made my way to the kitchen.

By the time my breakfast was prepared, there was a call from the others.

“Heya! Kaise ho sab?” I asked as soon as the call started.

“Good!”, “Tired” and “Great” were the replies I received.

“How are you, Arya?” asked Aaru. “Your eyes look tired.”

“I am fine re. The new project is very exhausting. Bas ek baar khatam ho jaye, then I will be able to relax.”

Everyone nodded understandingly. We chatted and goofed around for a while. I always felt good when I talked to these guys. I suddenly remembered why I wanted to talk to them.

“Guys? I wanted to ask you something.”

They seemed to notice my seriousness and sobered up.

“Did you read the letters Dhruva wrote us?”

Ved and Zia nodded affirmatively while the others negatively.

“Did you?” asked Priyank.

“Yea. Just yesterday. I guess that’s one of the reasons why my eyes look tired. It was emotionally exhausting.”

“Yep! Same. I could not focus on my office work the next day.”

“I was actually thinking……. to meet him today. I think I need that right now. Or else I will go crazy.”

Ved was the first to reply. “You should. I was going to say the same thing. I feel we need to spend some one-to-one time with him.”

Everyone agreed to what Ved said. After discussing for a few minutes, I ended the call and decided to ask Dhruva about the meet-up. We made plans to go for an evening walk as he was bored sitting at home. I was both nervous and excited to meet him, especially after reading those letters.

I left my place to meet him in the evening. He met me near the park. I greeted him as soon as I saw him.

“How are you?”

“Good! So bored at home. Thankfully you saved my day!” he replied.

“Haha. Your welcome! You look a lot better too.”

“Yea. The bruises are fading. My hand is healing. All better.”

The climate was perfect for a walk. Not too cold, not too hot. Just perfect. We made small talks for a while. We realised that the sun was setting down already. So we decided to sit on the park bench. I knew it was the time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with Dhruva. Gathering up courage, I started talking.

“Dhruva, I read your letters yesterday. To say they made me emotional would be an understatement. I am actually glad that you found a way to pour your heart out. And I am glad you actually gave it to me eventually.” I smiled at him.

“Oh! You did! Wow! I am happy that you did. Better late than never, aye?”

“Hehe, yes.”

“Arya, I am really sorry. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark. Especially for so many years.”

“I understand it now. It's okay. I cannot fathom what you have been through. Everyone deals with everything differently. So, it’s okay.”

“Yes! But I still regret it. Please forgive me.”

“I am trying. Trust me, I am. Even though I understand, there is a feeling of hurt and betrayal that is stopping me. I felt as if you did not trust us enough.”

“You know that is not true.”

“Yea. I guess I do. But you know that it will take time. You literally appeared out of nowhere, you know, after being gone for so long. It will take time for everything to return back to normal.”

“I know. Take your time. I will earn your trust back,” he said confidently.

“It’s just that I keep thinking about what we went through after you left.”

“I know it must have been horrible. I am sorry. Will you tell me about it?”

After contemplating a bit, I started reciting. 
“I kept waiting for you for an hour. Calling and texting you continuously. But when you did not reply, I called the others. We searched for you everywhere. Literally everywhere. Called every possible person. Priyank tried contacting your family. But no one replied. We went to your place, but there was no one there. We were so scared. We did not lose hope but still could not find you. We finally decided to talk to our parents about it. Everyone was gathered and informed. Our parents decided to take the matter into their hands and tried to find you guys. But even they came up empty. We visited your place regularly but still no luck. One day your neighbours informed us that you shifted. Days went by, and we slowly accepted that you went away. Why, how, when we did not know. But we really could not do anything but accept. It took us a few months to get over the hurt.”

“Woah! I can imagine how hard it must have been. I am really sorry. I made you guys suffer so much. So sorry.”

“It’s okay. I am trying to forgive you. But it will take time for everything to go back to normal.”

“That is okay. I just need a chance to prove myself.”

“And you got it.”

With that, the topic was closed. We just strolled together in silence after. I felt content with the way things went with Dhruva. I was slowly trying to forgive him and trust him again. It would take time.

The letters surely helped.

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Author's Note:
Hello guys!
What do you think about this chapter? Let me know in the comments.
Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
- Mitali