love until eternity

chapter 4

the walk on the beach was getting long, the deep sand getting buried under their shoes made their steps longer and harder. Purvi exasperated, already being done with the otherwise long journey. 

"yaar saare hi venues beach ke hi beechon beech hai kya..." remarked dushyant, as kavin chuckled. 

"hmm, you see, sunset photos ke liye isse acha backdrop kahan milega..." played along kavin too with the sarcasm, making them chuckle. 

"i know you are making fun of me, but listen, mujhe ek hi baar shaadi karni hai, toh mujhe photos chahiye hai joh main actually dekh paon baar-baar...." retorted purvi, while kavin could only let out a chuckle, as ishita and dushyant had a tight lipped smile, recounting the fate of their marriage. 

"backdrop itna matter nahi karega, make sure it's actually the golden hour...kahi bhi photo achi aa jayegi..."  gave ishita some sound advice to purvi, in order to lessen the pressure of the perfect venue choice, as purvi couldn't help but think on it. 

"humara vaala pandit mat bulana, muharat se ghanta late pakka aayega..." joked dushyant, as ishita couldn't help but chuckle. 

"arre, purvi kya pata humare phere ho hi golden hour pe...kya shubh moharat hai nahi!" added on kavin to the initial joke, as purvi just shook her head in disbelief. 

"i swear tum agar aisi hi jokes sunate rahe na, main shaadi kiye bina divorce de dungi tumhe!" exclaimed purvi in annoyance, as she walked a few steps ahead of them. 

"arre, purvi yaar...come on, joke tha!" attempted kavin to stop purvi, as he ended up leaving ishita and dushyant behind to catch up to purvi.

Ishita and dushyant were left alone, with a feet of distance between them, the breeze that flew between them, seemed to be as cold as their unexchanged glances, that continued to look forward to just not move towards each other. 

"so...ab tum, US mein hi rehte ho?" asked ishita, quick to look away after glancing at him for a split second, surprising him, as he too glanced at her for a split second before responding. 

"nahi, woh bas, project kaafi lamba khich gaya wahan pe than was expected, par again, project bada bhi hai, do multinational companies ka merger hai...so...itna bhi bada surprise nahi hai, time lag raha hai..." responded dushyant, letting out a dry chuckle, filling the silence in the air. 

"oh...toh tumhe mil gaya woh bada project, joh tum hamesha chahte the..." recounted ishita, as dushyant too couldn't help but smile a little and shrug his shoulders. 

"aur phir, what's up with you?" inquired dushyant, the conversation surprisingly gaining some momentum. 

"kuch khaas toh nahi...bas, yeh pehla family event hai joh attend kiya hai pichle ek saal se...surprisingly aisa lag raha hai sab bhul bhi gaye, divorce ke baarein mein..." replied ishita, as dushyant's mouth formed an 'oh'. 

They both were walking in silence now, letting only the sound of waves be in the air, as he took a good, long gaze at her before he opened his mouth to say his next words. 

"ishita, i'm really sorry for...." attempted dushyant to express his repent, which made ishita put her guard back up completely, as she turned to him with a forced smile. 

"it's in the past, dushyant, let it be there...." shut down ishita his attempt to apologise immediately, her forced smile could not hide the apparent sorrow in her eyes, as she was quick to walk away. 

                                                                        ***

the hotel staff was picking up the utensils left behind after the dinner, as ishita sat on her bed, her head rested to the back of the bed, as she took a long sigh, before she got a call already, it was purvi.