Shape of the Sun

Once upon a thing or not?

Anything concerning Rajkumar Reddy made Manmeet feel a certain kind of complexity. They had gone to the same elementary and high schools, with a mutual circle of friends. But they were not friends?

Why?

Really, it was hard to, especially when people always compared them together. Manmeet Chatterjee had never taken the Reddy prince to heart until they were seatmates in the last year of high school before college.

He was handsome, smart, and polite. It was his politeness that had caught her by surprise. It was hard for a female to get recognition in today's world. But Rajkumar Reddy didn't have that bias, and he impressed Manmeet. They were never a couple but everyone always said that they were, to the point where she wondered if she had given any misleading signs that she liked Rajkumar.

One day, she had gotten into a fight with another annoying classmate who accused her of being desperate for Rajkumar. Manmeet was never one to back down from a fight, and she hit her hard in all the right places. But at the end of the day, she still felt melancholy. How many times had she made it clear there was nothing going on? It pissed her off that the only thing she amounted to in the end was 'the girl similar to Rajkumar.' She fought so hard to always top all the subjects, but at the end of the day, Rajkumar's name was always there, firmly pressing hers down, and he didn't even make much effort.

It was an eyesore. It was so vicious. Why?!

Manmeet, in her anger, had kicked a stone, only to hear someone ahead groan, and she looked up to see her nemesis, rubbing his heel where the stone hit. Apparently, he had been reading a book before she interrupted him.

So, maybe a little effort. Tch.

"Sorry, Rajkumar." she walked over to where he sat under the tree behind their school, "Is it clotting?"

"No." he looked up at her, surprised at her choice of words, "...Clotting?"

Manmeet went on the defensive.

"What's wrong with the word?"

Rajkumar silently gazed at her with such intensity that perplexed her.

"Stop staring so much. It's not that you would really like me, right?" she asked, picking up on the star rumors buzzing in class.

His teasing gaze suddenly turned so serious that it greatly shocked her. It was just a joke for real. He can't take humor?

"Manmeet Chatterjee."

"W-what, Rajkumar Reddy?" she repeated his full name likewise, not backing down.

"It's not possible for me to like you."

Any forthcoming anger was immediately wiped out by his next set of words.

"What is like? Can you eat it? In the end, they are all stupid. I have noticed you, Manmeet, and a bright and beautiful girl like you would do amazing things. How can those unserious classmates bother you with such useless things?" he stood up and handed the book he was reading to her, "This is for you. I hope it will help you do the great things I know you would do."

Manmeet was stunned before looking down at the book's title.

What comes after Success?

For the first time in her nineteen years of life, Manmeet Chatterjee felt understood in a way not even her parents did. She looked at the retreating back and spoke up, her voice filled with confidence.

"You will do great things too, Rajkumar."

There was a slight pause.

"Thank you, Chatterjee. And", he turned to face her, with a handsome smile on his face, "if I liked you, I would have let you know. I always fight for my things, Chatterjee. See you at the top."

And at that moment, Manmeet felt a throbbing for this version of Rajkumar as she watched him walk farther away. He was bright and beautiful. The throbbing was so powerful in her ears that it took a lot of effort to whisper back, "See you at the top, too."

She didn't know if he heard it, which was almost impossible due to the distance between them.

That was a full eleven years ago and she had made it to the top as a chief architect in Southeast Asia. It was even more shocking that she was a female, and every doubt flung her way only served as a reminder of the only man that hadn't. Even Vicky had been skeptical at first.

Today, she had come out of her shell, as her friends had teased, because Gunjan had told her that he would be coming. Manmeet just wanted to see with her two eyes the man Rajkumar Reddy was now. She had heard about all his successes, it was hard not to, especially since his father, Mr. Reddy was Arora Architects' major client. Apparently, he lived in London as the youngest Chief of Pediatrics at the top hospital there with a condo, yacht, and all the works. Manmeet didn't even want to get started on the fact that she was older by two years.

Rajkumar Reddy had always been an evildoer. No matter how much she had throbbed at his words at nineteen, she was now a thirty-year-old woman who could only sigh at the short life of a first love or whatever it was. This was reality now and the fact that her dating life was so sad bothered her, not only her family, though she didn't reveal it.

Why did she always meet bastards everywhere? Was there no one that could even be 1% of that man? Again, she didn't want to deal with her mentality that always compared other men to him. It made her feel guilty for a reason but her stubbornness overpowered as usual. Manmeet Chatterjee did not believe that Rajkumar Reddy's good qualities were not in other men, even a measly 10% was enough.

Tch.