The Station Leave

Ashirbaad and Roka

I sat there with my mouth hung open staring at Tia. Shocked doesn't exactly describe how I felt at the moment. Maybe a bit flabbergasted. 

"Tia...how could you!" I asked suddenly, making him look up at me.

"What? Is it a sin to have a crush like that?" She asked. She looked like a child confessing to stealing sweets to their mother after getting caught. 

"It's not about that idiot! It's about the fact that you had a crush on Dev bhaiya and didn't utter a word about it to me. And even if it was someone else, why wouldn't you tell me? Did you not trust me?" I asked accusingly. This was about us more than it was about her and Dev bhaiya, at least for me. 

I might sound selfish right now or that I'm trying to make this about me. But I've known Tia since we were in kindergarten. I knew her hair to hair. And the same went for her! I was completely transparent to her. So it just hurt a bit to know that the friend I hold dearer than anything else didn't trust me with such a huge secret. It made me wonder if I've come out as untrustworthy to get at some point.

"Anu I'm sorry about this but this was just a bit embarrassing to me" she said, staring at her feet. 

"Embarrassing? Tia I was staying up nights writing poems and love letters. I was carving initials on tree trunks. I was the one recreating movie scenes in my head. You think you'd come off as embarrassing to me?"

"It's not about what I did? It was about how I was back then." She said looking up at me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I was... I don't know just-" she stammered. "I wasn't the girly type back then. I was fucking delinquent before anime girls made the term popular. And-"

"And to have a thing for the school's golden boy would've been a dent in your reputation? Is that what it is?" I asked. 

"These things mattered to me back then, ok!" She said in a whiny tone. 

"Sounds like they still do" I muttered under my breath. 

"What?"

"Nothing."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at Tia. Was this the same girl reassuring me since we got on the flight in Delhi? Now here she was, a complete mess acting like a teenager herself. 

"See this is why I didn't tell anyone. Now you're laughing" she said, throwing her hands in the air and pouting. I quickly wrapped my hands around her shoulder and gave her a tight hug. "Buddhu! That's not what I'm laughing at!"

"Anyways, now let's forget all this" I said. Tia nodded in approval. "But you can't just keep hiding like this right? Preet and Chitra di are getting married and sadly that means Dev bhaiya will be around for quite a while. You both have to face each other at some point."

"What are you suggesting?" She asked.

"Closure"

"WHAT?!" Tia jumped. "I can't talk to him. You tell him. You're closer to him. Yes! You're closer, so you'll do the closure" she said. I knew arguing with her was going to be pointless. When have I ever won an argument against her anyways? I just sighed and approved of it. Whatever gets us by this thing smoothly. 

"Puchki! Tia! Where are you both? Come here immediately" Ma yelled from outside. We hurried out the kitchen to find ma angrily looking at us while fixing her aanchal over her head. "I swear to God kids these days have no manners whatsoever! There are guests out here and these two are gossiping inside instead of attending to them! Now come fast will you both?"

We rushed over and started following ma. "Preet's mother is going to do something called roka or something. Whatever that is." Ma said as we moved towards jethima's bedroom.