See You Later

Chapter 14

The present: Not far from the cocktail venue

Maahi was tired. Both physically and mentally. She needed some time to quietly sit and do nothing. Think nothing. Just be. For ten minutes. She hadn't even made it to her cabin yet. She was sitting on the steps leading up to a tiny pond. Another great spot for pictures, she thought. This place was really a goldmine for aesthetics, wasn't it?

After zoning out for ten minutes like planned, she got up. She heard the soft creaking of the gate open behind her. She picked up her camera bag and turned around slowly.

Just like that, her carefully thought-out plan took a nosedive in the pond behind her. Aarush stood there right in front of her, on top of the steps. He was no longer distracted, on the phone or talking to guests. No. Now, he was looking directly at her. It was almost like he had come in search of her.

She looked at him for a few moments. All was quiet for a while. She then took a deep breath and looked at the gate behind him, bracing herself to walk past him.

As she crossed him, she heard his voice almost immediately. It was the same, of course. Deep, lilting, thoughtful.

"Has it been that long?"

She turned around and faced him to ask, "Sorry?"

He was now surveying her expressions, as though he was trying to look for something. He took a step closer and asked with a hint of sadness, "Do you not remember me?"

She wanted to laugh. If her former self could hear Aarush Iyer ask such a question, she would have definitely laughed. After all, she had longed for the day she couldn't recollect this face with such inherent ease. She had longed for the day that the sharpness of some of the memories would finally fade into oblivion.

She sighed. There was no way around this, was there? She took a step forward and looked into his eyes defiantly.

"The question is do you remember me?" She asked.

He leaned backwards with the weight of that question. He shook his head and looked down, breaking eye contact momentarily.

"Mehra..." He said softly. It sounded like a release of some sort of emotion.

She knew she shouldn't have done it but watching him look down dejectedly, she felt something twist in her heart. So, she said it anyway. But she tried to infuse a casual nonchalance while saying it.

"Long time, no see, Iyer."

His reaction was immediate and almost visceral. He looked up and met her eyes with a smile that kept spreading across his face. He came closer and only stopped a step away from her. By the time he had reached her, the smile had reached his eyes. And time had turned back on its heels.

"You remember."

She looked at him, a small, wry smile forming on her face as she said, "Yeah, it hasn't been that long."

He was taking her in as though she was an old memory that brought him joy. His eyes spotted her earrings, the chandbalis and then darted across to her eyes to smile again.

"Hasn't it?" He asked. "It feels like a lifetime has passed."

She hoisted her bag strap and shrugged. She didn't know if she wanted to open this door. She felt like she could escape with her heart intact. She hadn't felt like the way she had the first time she had ever seen him after all. There was no strong, tumultuous river crashing wave after wave of emotions. Just a few ripples. She could deal with that. So, she took a step aside when she could and said, "It was nice seeing you again, Iyer. I have an early morning tomorrow. Good night."

She could go to her cabin and relax in her backyard. Things would be fine. She breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't so bad.

Just then, she saw a shadow next to hers. Sigh. Spoke too soon.

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. So, she just kept walking ahead.

Aarush kept up and said, "Wait..."

"For what?"

He strode alongside her with his hands in his pockets. He clearly wasn't done with this conversation.

"I want to know more..."

"About?"

He turned towards her and started walking backwards, facing her.

"You, of course."

She looked up and saw him walking backwards again after a long time. She closed her eyes and easily saw the 20-year-old Aarush doing the same thing. She opened them again to see the older Aarush doing the same thing again. She sighed and reached out. She held him by the arm and turned him around to walk beside her.

"Stop walking backwards. You'll fall."

He looked down at her hand on his and smiled but fell in step as per her command.

He said sweetly, "I'd read that you'd become a full-time photographer. I was so happy to see that! I didn't know you were covering this wedding though."

She shrugged and said, "No one did. I was a last-minute addition. The bride's sister was very persuasive and knew how to talk me out of a tiny break."

He asked, "You were supposed to be on break now?"

She nodded.

He looked ahead and said, "Well that sucks, I'm sorry."

She looked at him briefly and looked back ahead to say, "It's okay. I am actually enjoying it."

"I'm glad."

She was near her cabin now. So, she stopped at her door and said, "Okay well, this is me."

He looked up at her door and suddenly looked back at the cabin behind him as though he found something funny. He then pointed at that cabin and said, "How fortuitous. Because that one there is me. See you later, neighbour."

Author's Note: I remember readers noting how it took 9 whole chapters for the Balcony protagonists to meet. I have finally one-upped them and made it to 14 chapters now. :P