Kindle to Rekindle

18. Love is in the Name

Days passed but Nivedya didn't flirt much with Nimrit. He wanted their friendship to strengthen before he confessed his feelings to her. Nimrit was somewhere lost and confused. She was starting to like the little things between them but Nivedya behaved more like a friend. Barkha also suggested Nimrit, to wait and understand what exactly was this feeling. Though she was sure Nimrit had passed the stage of liking, way back.

Aashna entered the class and saw Nimrit looking for something frantically, so she asked her with concern, "Nimrit, what are you searching for? Why do you look so glum?"

"I lost my panda bag charm. Barkha gave it to me as a parting gift. It was so dear to me." Nimrit emptied her entire bag, but it was nowhere, so she  sat on the chair with a gloomy face. Nivedya entered the class with his friends laughing at some joke when his eyes fell on Nimrit, and he instantly knew she ws bothered about something. He asked Aashna and she told him the reason.

He joined the search party and looked for the panda bag charm but couldn't find it in the class. So, he went to look for it on the huge school ground. Something pained his heart when he saw Nimrit's pale face.

Nimrit was overwhelmed by Nivedya's efforts but she didn't want him to stress, so she told him, "Nivedya, the school is too big for a tiny bag charm. We cannot possibly look everywhere. I appreciate  your concern but chuck it."

"I don't mind searching every dustbin of the school for something so precious to you. Come on, let's look for it." Nivedya kept walking with his eyes scanning the area. Nimrit could not believe the boy who belonged to one of the richest families in the state was ready to dirty his hand in the dustbin for her not-so-precious charm. Nivedya opened the lid of one of the dustbins but Nimrit ran and held his hand to stop him.

"No, please. The little panda was special to me because it was gifted to me by my best friend Barkha. She said it will remind me of her. But the ones we love are always in our hearts and just some article cannot be the only reason that reminds us of them, right? So, just stop this search mission and let us go to the class, the teacher has already come." Nimrit's eyes expressed how grateful she was. She left Nivedya's hand and walked towards their class. After walking ten steps she realised Nivedya was not following. She turned and saw him still standing there peeping inside the dustbin.
"Nivi, please come. We will miss the entire period otherwise."

Nivedya looked at Nimrit who was standing at a distance. Did she call him "Nivi"? He walked to her with long strides and asked her looking directly into her eyes. "What did you say?"

"To come to the class and ditch the search," Nimrit replied in a duh tone.

"No! What did you call me?" Nivedya's eyes bore deep inside Nimrit's looking for confirmation. Nimrit had never seen an emotion so intense in Nivedya's eyes. She gulped her saliva feeling scared and bewildered. Nivedya rubbed his arms to settle the goosebumps that erupted hearing his nickname. "Call me Nivi, from now till... forever." He walked towards his class without waiting for Nimrit because he felt wetness in the corner of his eyes and he wiped it quickly before entering the class.
It was not just love, but a deep, profound, and ineffable feeling.

Nimrit was still standing where Nivedya left her. The feeling she denied accepting was no longer undeniable. She was truly, madly, and deeply in love with "Nivi". Nivedya wiped his tears before they could fall but Nimrit could not. Her tears fell freely making her eyes puffy.

Aarfa asked for permission and came out of the class to check on Nimrit. "Nimrit, are you mad? Don't cry for a bag charm. We will find you a new one. Come on." She wiped Nimrit's tears and gave her water to drink. When they came to the class the teacher sympathised with Nimrit and asked her to leave if she needed time, but she quietly sat on her seat and resumed her studies.
Nivedya and Nimrit neither talked nor looked at each other after reading their heart.