Yrkkh 4- Ek Anokhi Milan

Meet Abhir Abhimanyu Birla

"Abhir is a gifted boy" Abhir mockingly spoke as he walked out of the station. He rolled his eyes, "aur yeh gifts mein kya mila?" he mumbled to himself as he walked the usual way back home, "Sab jaga wo saala modeling agency aata rehta hai mujhe wo duniya mein le jaane" He told himself, "Ek do photoshoots kya karli, hutne ka naam hi nahi lete. Kitni baar kaha ke mujhe aapni studies paar focus karna hai, par nahi. Abhir Abhimanyu Birla, tum toh gifted ho, tumhe toh model bana chahiye" He came to a stop beside the busy road waiting for a rickshaw. He looked around to see the familiar rickshaw driver he'd always catch a ride to get back home, there he saw a group of women on the other side sitting and staring at him. When their eyes met with his, the group instantly turned and began giggling. After some time, one of them crossed the road and walked up to him.

"Tum wo ho na?" She said with crescent eyes.

Abhir gave a weak smile, "ji" he said, knowing that she has no idea who he was, he was just good-looking, that's why she assumed he must be someone important.

"ek picture le sakti hoon?" she asked, taking her phone out.

He nodded reluctancly, 'no' was not a word in his dictionary. Then, one by one all the ladies were taking pictures with him. Slowly, little children coming back from school were taking photos with him, random stranger came and began complimenting him on his 'work', telling how big fans they were of him. He just smiled and nodded saying thank you. As the crowd grew, so did Abhir's anxiety. He felt that pit in his stomach form as strangers bumped into him, one phone here, another there, people trying to catch his attention by calling him 'sir' or whistling to him or clicking their fingers. Yet again, Abhir was stuck in a small space, unable to get out due to his social anxiety and people pleasing tendencies. 

Suddenly, he felt a hand grasp his wrist and yank him out of the crowd. It was that familiar rickshaw driver. The old man with bright orange hair gave a toothless smile and sat down in his rickshaw. Abhir followed and sat down, without another word, the rickshaw driver set off. Abhir never knew this guys name, but for the past 3 years every single time he'd leave school, he would come to this one spot and this rickshaw driver would drive him home. It was like a silent deal they both had subconsciously made. While Abhir had the money to use some taxi or uber, Abhir still chose the Rickshaw for a reason he still doesn't know why. Such was Abhir's life, struck with such good luck that crowds form around him. He was trapped cycle of trying to fullfil his dreams of becoming a doctor whilst trying to run away from the life filled with fame and money, that life held too many dark memories for him. 

Abhir sighed and looked outside at the busy streets of Dehli, "Look at how everyone is running in the rat race," he spoke to himself, "aur yahan mein hoon, jo...kuch nahi kar sakta. Na model ban sakta, na padhai kar sakta, na kuch dost bana sakta" He looked to the rickshaw waale uncle, "sirf tumhe jahnta hoon, aur kisi ko nahi" He said in a dramatic tone, "yaar kitni depressing ho gayi meri zindagi," before he continued to ramble randomly onwards, his phone rang. He looked to it, it was a private number, but a number Abhir non the less recognised. Deepak Malhotra, head of one of the biggest agencies in Dehli. Abhir's face dimmed.

He clicked on the answer button as his head slowly lowered, "Hello" He asked as his first firm voice turned into a whisper.

"Hello Abhir" the strong, baritone voice spoke, "Sanjay ko kuch kam tha, aa jaana"

The shor of the city left as Abhir focused on the phone call, he tensed up, "kya kaam tha?"

There was no response for a while, "Mujhe kaisa pata, sirf tum aa jaana" and with that the call ended. 

Abhir gave out an subdued exhale. He wasn't going to that mans house. Abhir was smarter than to know that Sanjay would ask for him to come over, just like his father that guy was a bully. No matter how close this Deepak wants to come to him, Abhir will never let that guy win. Not after the chaos he caused for his family. And especially not after what he did to his parents.