The alternate ending

“You look like a dream”, “You are beautiful”, “I love you Maya”, and “You took my heart and stuffed it in your back pocket”, these phrases seemed to haunt Maya with a ferocity she couldn’t begin to fathom. She sank down to the wall and embraced herself with her arms, hoping to conjure his hands that had held her. As she continued to heave silently in her room she heard her mother scream “Maya will you stop locking your room and come out for once? Your aunt is coming and I need to cook, come help me!”. Maya took a deep breath, then another. These breaths seemed to be ineffective, she could immediately feel the pressure building in the back of her throat. throat, threatening to spill tears at any moment. She wiped her eyes with her top. After taking a quick look in the mirror, making sure her face did not look like she had cried for half an hour. Her mother’s knocks on the door seemed to get louder and faster, the knocks rang inside her head. She put on a smile and opened the door, “Sorry amma I was talking to Sree, she was telling me how her grandmother was annoying her again”. “You can talk to your friend any time of the day, now come and chop vegetables,” said her mother. Maya sighed and followed her mother to the kitchen and helped her with cooking and chopping. She smiled as she cut the onions, her irritated eyes and nose were watering. She was reminded of him, he who caused her immense joy and pain, Vishal. 

Two months ago

“How does one not have tissues in their room huh?” Maya questioned Vishal who was grinning from ear to ear. “So you are telling me that I should have known that your cold would interrupt our makeout session?” “I told you that I had a cold Vishal, and you insisted that I come” replied Maya while wiping her nose with a tissue she found in her bag. “My parents went out suddenly, and this was my only opportunity to kiss you, touch you and listen to you laugh” said Vishal. 

New York Nagaram song played as his ringtone. His mom was calling him. Vishal got up quickly and dragged Maya to the little store room that was built in his room for books and storage. “Don’t come out unless I knock three times okay?” “Is there anything else?’ Maya asked with annoyance written across her face. “Of course, do not forget to put your t-shirt back on”. Maya grinned and put on her T-shirt. Vishal bolted towards the door. 

Ten minutes later Maya heard three knocks, praying to all the gods that may or may not exist, she opened the tiny door. Vishal came in as if wanting to pull her, but then he reconsidered and closed the door along with Maya and himself inside. Darkness enveloped them in a heartbeat. He pulled her closer by her hips and kissed her. “Do we have to go out into the room? I quite like this tiny tiny room where you have to be this close to me” said Vishal. “Surely you must be enjoying this, because it's clearly me who is getting smushed”. She opened the door and went out to the room, Vishal comes out of there pouting. 

“So, what does your mother want?” asked Maya. “She gave me tea and I brought back some bajjis”.

Maya immediately took the plate and started eating the bajjis along with a sip of tea. Vishal sat back and took in the sight of his girlfriend eating happily. Her brown eyes sparkling more for the bajjis than for him, her long tangled hair a mess because of him and her mouth, slurping down the tea. “Will you save some for me?” Maya looked up guiltily at Vishal’s interjection. “I thought you got it for me” she defended. Vishal took a bajji and ate it along with the leftover tea. As he went near her to kiss her, he burped. Maya started giggling. “Sorry Maya” Vishal mumbled, embarrassment all over his face. “Oh now, why would you be sorry, it makes me want to kiss you even more”. 

Maya is jerked back to reality when she hears her mother talking again about her lousy and unreliable relatives. Her stomach was left with the tingling feeling that she felt whenever she thought of Vishal, a tingle of happiness because of how happy she had been, and unhappiness because he was not with her anymore. The day went quickly for Maya after her relatives came. They as usual made fun of her elder sister, ate a lot, criticized her elder sister’s life and career choices. When it was dark out, sleep seemed to evade Maya.