See You Later

Chapter 26 (The past)

Eight years ago: College

Maahi tried to remember the precise moment she knew she had fallen in love with Aarush.

She was sitting in the amphitheatre, waiting for him. Nipun and the entire lit department had loved their article so much that the next editorial cycle, Aarush's name had automatically been pencilled in next to Maahi's. Without wishing to, her heart had felt a jolt of rejoicing.

And they had continued to work together for every cycle after that. Invariably, they had become friends.

She was listening to old songs when he appeared. As he made his way to her, he met a bunch of people. He greeted everyone with a warm smile and a word or two. Then he spotted Maahi. He brightened and waved, with a huge grin that made its way all the way up to his eyes. Maahi couldn't help but smile back while asking her heart to calm down. He pointed at himself and back at her and raised two fingers to connote that he would reach her in two minutes.

She nodded and quietly looked down at her blank notebook. For the want of something to do, she wrote down her name. It felt empty so she wrote the words 'list of topics' next to it.

"Hey!"

She looked up and saw Aarush already sitting next to her. He smiled at her and asked, "Have you thought of anything new? I feel a little blank, to be honest."

She shook her head and showed him her notebook.

"This is the thinking I've done so far."

He quickly read the words in the notebook and laughed.

"Good. I feel a little less guilty."

He took her notebook and pen and wrote something on it. He then laid the notebook on his lap and leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes to think.

She leaned in to read what he had written.

'Maahi & Aarush's List of Topics'

She smiled and looked up at him. They spent the next hour making a list of topics that made sense to them. That excited them. By the end of the hour, they had a few good topics that worked for both of them. She closed the notebook and said, "Okay. Let's take the day and lock in on three to take to Nipun. Works?"

"Works."

With that, he stretched his arms and said, "I have to go, Mehra. I promised my mom I'd come home early today."

He stood up and stared absently into space. He then turned around and looked at Maahi to ask, "See you later?"

She nodded and waved. For no apparent reason, the lyrics of 'Aaj jaane ki zidd na karo' appeared in her mind as she watched him walk away. The part that described what it felt like to watch your beloved walk away from you.

That precise moment is when she realized that she finally understood the meaning in a way she never had. 

She knew then as she watched his retreating figure meet other people. 

She knew that she had fallen in love.