In A Heartbeat!

1.

***

The city that never sleeps - Mumbai, is the home of about 15 million people! The busyness across the avenue, those 'never quite' streets very well accompanied by the calm and composed Arabian Sea. The people of the city precisely believe that the Arabian Sea looks marvelous during monsoon days and resplendent during the rainy nights; as it was seen from the balcony on a 21st floor apartment house.

Tanishka walked into the balcony holding her phone in the hand, and there it vibrates. "Samar" name appears on the display as she swipes to answer.

"Hello!" Says Tanishka
"Hello Tanishka?" A faded voice comes in reply.
"Can't hear you Samar."
"Hello?" The voice keeps fading.
Tanishka finally disconnects and returns back to her room.

Tanishka! As the name would stand - Unique and Cherished; well she lived up to it. Slightly oval-ish shaped face with a fair skin tone, having high and wide cheekbones that supported her dazzling smile very well. Dark glazing eyes, small and evenly apart below her trim eyrbrows added to her good looks. Long black shiny hair which were held together by a white hair band made her look just perfect! Dressed in her regular black coloured night suit, she entered her bedroom.

A room pink in colour, more of a girly sort of room. Few picture frames lying on the walls. Mostly a neat room, but it just wasn't the day. A whole junk of mess spread around the bed. Divya, her younger sister holding a childhood picture and giving it a laugh.

"What have you done Divya?" In a bit exasperating way, Tanishka started clearing the mess from the bed.
Surely, Divya was the more impish among the two sisters. Five years younger than Tanishka, but sometimes behaves as if her elder sibling.

Her curly black hair with dark brown eyes and dimples on her cheeks made her more attractive. Divya had been to New York for her studies, and returned just a few months back.

As Tanishka was piling up the mess,
"Just look at this picture Tani." Divya would call out Tanishka by several names - Tani being one, as she hands over the picture to Tanishka.
Near about 15 year old family photograph. Unrecognizable these two sisters; seated on the laps of their parents, who looked like some old movie stars. Funny outfits, funny expressions made sure that Tanishka did not escape without a chuckle!

Dozens of old pictures as such were in that pile. Divya and Tanishka began looking for more.
"Look at this one; the reason why you're afraid of horses!" Tanishka laughed as she passes on that photograph to Divya.

- An eight year old Divya sitting on a horse with a super scared look. -

"Heyy! I'm not scared of horses okay? I just hate them!" Divya started yelling.
"Moreover that was a stupid stupid horse! Moron suddenly got stood up on two legs and pushed me off his back."

All this while, Tanishka was just looking at the anger on Divya's face and bristled out laughing. Divya made a whining face, and got up from the bed irately.
"You do this purposely, don't you? Everyone enjoys troubling me!" She went out to the balcony, folded her hands and filled some air in her mouth to get a grumpy look.

Tanishka slowed down her laughter and followed her to the balcony and just hugged her.
"We always trouble that one person whom we love the most!" she said softly.

Divya gave her a bit smile as Tanishka continued, "Let's look for some more pictures?" Divya nodded as they returned back to bed.

Smiling, grinning and laughing as they relived their old memories through those photographs. Beneath the heap of all these pictures, Divya found an old raddled brown coloured diary.

"Hey look what I found..." said Divya as she opened it. "...And it has your name written on it."

Tanishka felt numb for a moment, as Divya's smile broadened after looking at that diary. "I am so gonna read it!" She added.

Tanishka's smile had suddenly disappeared; she just kept looking at the diary.

"Give it to me Divya! Please." She exclaimed drawing out her hand towards the book.
"After I read it completely."
"JUST GIVE IT TO ME DIVYA!" Tanishka raised her voice and snatched the diary. Divya became a bit concerned. Concerned and also curious to know what was actually in that book.
"I don't want you to read it." Tanishka continued and got up from the bed to keep it safe in her closet.

"Its too late now. We should probably sleep." Said Tanishka as she started picking up those photographs from the bed. Divya just shook her head and started helping Tanishka.

Divya turned the lights off, "Good night Tanu!" she said, and went off to sleep.
Tanishka was lying on the bed with her watery eyes wide open. The recurrence of those old memories kept striking her psyche.
Those exquisite days, reflexive times spent together, romantic beach walks, kisses on the forehead, endearing little hugs, all just kept striking her back!