I Need You..

Chapter 15

5 years later... 

Rishi 

Rishi was standing outside the Airport, a little nervous. He then saw a white guy, with a short stature and a bright and colorful t-shirt, who was holding a flashcard that stated, "Riosams", the name of the MultiNational Company, Rishi worked for. He and his colleagues, Shiv and Wasim, waved at the man. He then placed all their luggage in the trunk of the car and asked them to be seated inside it. Rishi sat in the right corner. He rolled down the car window, slightly popped his head outwards and inhaled the air of Australia. It was strange and cold. It might be pollution free, but it did lack the freshness of India. All of a sudden, a thought knocked his head, 'Don't think about it! Don't!' Said Rishi to himself. He shaked his head and rolled the window up again. 

The driver left them at the "Claire Hotel", and they were handed the keys to their separate rooms. He entered his room by scanning the card that the receptionist provided him and threw himself on the bed. "Australia..." He said. It was the first time Rishi visited Australia, thanks to his company, he was there for a week, and had a lot of work to do. He had to leave for his office in two hours. He had to freshen up and look at the PPT that he and his team had prepared before leaving the hotel room, but he was in no mood to do so. He wanted to rest. He closed his eyes, and exhaled, the bed was bouncy and comforting. He would have fallen asleep, but he heard a ring on the door, "Rishi! What are you doing? Come outside!" He knew it was Wasim. He opened the door, "Yeah! What?" He asked, "Hey! What are you doing in your room? Come no, let's go and check out beautiful girls! You know those amazing blondes!" Wasim said, winking. "No, I don't want to!" "Arre! Chal na Rishi!" He said and pulled his hand in order to drag him out of his room. 

He was being pulled, just the way she did, Wasim had grabbed his hand and was moving forward without even looking at him, just like her... this took Rishi, to the place of happiness, to his comfort spot, a place woven with the memories of her. Too beautiful, yet too heartbreaking. He could see her, the back side, the ponytail, the shoulders, the hand which was stretched back, the bracelet, the school uniform. He could even smell her scent, still confused whether it was the perfume or the shampoo. It had some magic in it, something that could drive him crazy. "Rishi! Are you listening??" Asked Shiv waving his hands in front of his eyes. "Huh! Yes..." Rishi said. 

They went to a café, sat at a table, and were ready to check out all the girls, while Rishi was trying to throw his thoughts out of his mind. He thought about concentrating on something else. He looked around and saw a flower. 'Oh.. that's a tulip, or.. maybe a lily?... Ah! Nevermind!'. He then shifted his gaze to something else, 'Oh! This wooden chair is so tough and strong.. Nice.' He looked around again to see something worth thinking about, when his eyes landed on a little girl. She was white, and had blonde hair, wearing a purple frock with a matching bracelet.... 'She wore these kinds of bracelets too.. the ones with beads, and smileys in between them. She loved matching them with her outfits. And she also had one with her name written on it. It was her favorite one...' Poor Rishi, realized that he was thinking about her again... 'Ah! It's impossible to be in Australia and not think about her... why does everything I do or see take me to her? Why do all my thoughts end up on one name, Pia?' 

Rishi was in the office building. High-tech, advanced and way better than the one in India. After his meeting, he was in the canteen with his colleagues, who were busy staring at their mobile phones. "Why can't you guys just eat properly. Please keep your phones away!" He said. "Oh come on! We can't! We are uploading pictures! It's our first time in Australia dude! What else do you expect?'' Shiv said with utmost joy. "Hey look, I posted this picture. Just see if it's good! And tell me about the caption as well, please!" Wasim said as he handed his phone to Rishi. He looked into the phone, but wasn't able to focus on Wasim's huge grin in the photo he just uploaded, he rather wanted to search for her. It felt as if he had lost control over his fingers. His thumb went straight to the magnifying glass icon, clicked on the search bar, and then his fingers typed out, 'Pia Shriv-' "Hey! What are you upto? Are you checking my dms?" Wasim snatched his phone off Rishi's hand. Even before Rishi could realize what had just happened, he had had a girlfriend or rather a fiancé whom he was about to marry, and her name was Pia.