udaan I the art of flying

Ｅｐｈｅｍｅｒａｌ

E p h e m e r a l - lasting for a very short time.

ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ'ꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ

Adira was seated on her seat almost falling asleep, she didn't particularly like pathology. It got her to sleep as soon as possible, but she tried her best to stay awake and complete the syllabus before the semester exams.

Meghna too was studying sitting opposite to adira's desk. Her grades weren't as great as adira's but she was a decent student.

Not a topper, not a backbencher, not an average student either. It's a different category;

Above average, good but not good enough to be a topper. These students are the happiest in their lives right after backbenchers who found joy in every little thing of their lives.

As Meghna diligently pored over her notes, she couldn't help but notice Adira's struggle to stay awake. She could not blame her either, adira might be a genius but every one had to give in to pathology.

"Adi, you look like you're about to fall asleep on your desk," Meghna teased, nudging her friend gently.

Adira yawned dramatically and rubbed her eyes. "I swear, Meg, if I start snoring, just poke me with a pen or something."

"I'll keep that in mind, only if I'm awake though," Meghna chuckled.

"But seriously, we gotta stay awake. The only thing worse than pathology lectures is having to retake them."

Adira groaned, flopping back in her chair. "Please, no more talk of retaking anything. I've already mentally retaken this class about ten times."

Meghna grinned. "Hey, think of it this way: every minute we stay awake is us defeating our sleep."

Adira raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like something a sleep-deprived human would say."

Meghna shrugged. "Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures."

It was almost 2 in the mid night, meghna's eyes were red and adira was still focused, living on the packet of solid instant coffee.

Meghna remembers the time she creeped out at adi eating coffee powder and not making it, when she asked why, adi replied and shrugged, "Amma said it will save time,"

Meg shrieked and replied, " i swear, you're going to make me insane. I'll show you the real taste of coffee. my brother used to say I make the best coffee in the world,"

Now meghna was more than used to all of adira's study tactics that she'd safely hidden from Lehan.

With a tired chuckle, Meghna glanced at the clock. "I can't believe it's already 2 AM. Time flies when you're having... well, not exactly fun, but at least company."

Adira refused to look up from the book as she was on the last line,

Meghna dragged her chair too tired to even getting up from her place.

"Hey-" adira yelled as she realised it was already past 2 in the night.

"I'm bored, let's play a game." Meghna suggests droopily.

"Meg, are you serious?"

"No, I'm too tired to even lift a finger, i might pass out on the desk."

"Mm," adira hummed in satisfaction of completing a chapter of pathology. maybe a tinge was because she's spending her time with Meg just like how she imagined 8 years ago.

"Megh," adi strikes up a conversation as meghna still lies in the desk.

"If natasha came back, if she wanted to sort out everything with you. Would you agree to it?". She herself didn't know where the question came from. it was sudden.

"Are you kidding me? No, of course not. Nats-" she still used that nickname.

"I mean natasha and i are a long lost story. Why would you bring that up now?"

"i'm serious." adi says,

Meg chuckles nervously and replies, "why would I want natasha to come back? I have nikhil, amma, nanna, nanamma, you and many more good friends of mine in this college,"

"Nats didn't do anything wrong. why did you guys fall out? what went so wrong ?" Adira questioned in a flow not realising this was an intimate topic for meg. just like how her parents' divorce was.

"And adi, I haven't told you everything yet. I'm not sure if I want to talk about it but i hate her." Meg says drily.

"Would you not go back to her? If she apologized, if you could sort it out." Stop it adi.

She really wanted to but wasn't it too late already?

Meg had to talk about it, meg actually wanted to. She was too tired of acting fine about it when she clearly wasn't.

"You know what, this might be very pathetic of me. Maybe even miserable of me but if she came back..

I'd never let her go again. i don't hate her, infact I still love her."

"If she comes back I'll put my arms around her and cry for hours and then talk about guys. Just like old times."

Meg said almost tearing up, her emotions were all over the place but it was adira; her adi. she didn't have the fear of getting judged.

"I miss Nats, i miss my sister so fucking much that it hurts at times," meghna couldn't hold it in anymore and she threw herself so tired at adira. muffled sobs were heard as adira patted her back tenderly trying so hard not to hurt her more than now.

"I just do not understand why it had to turn out this way. Baba and ma try to pretend like everything is fine when they clearly have a distance. Nikhil, that idiot tries to lighten up everything when he needs a shoulder to cry at nights. I miss my old family adi, and my family is not complete without Nats."

"I wish everything, every fucking thing made sense."

"Shh, focus on your breath." Adira said still holding meghna on her arms. It was very uncomfortable but that didn't matter at all.

Meghna never wanted to show her vulnerability to anyone but adira was an exception, she wasn't in the right mind to comprehend but she knew she had a soul who would just be there. The reassurance they both have each other was something people from their college envied.

As Meghna's sobs began to subside, Adira gently wiped away her tears. "You don't have to figure everything out right now, Meg. Sometimes, it's okay to just let yourself feel whatever you're feeling."

Meghna nodded, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "I just... I feel like I'm drowning sometimes, you know?"

"I know," Adira replied softly. "But remember, even in the darkest moments, there's always a glimmer of light. You just have to hold on to that."

"And you're the glimmer to my dark." Meghna said as she hugged adira getting up from her desk.

There was some magic meg had, she could reboost herself.

"Ugh too corny," adira said internally smiling.

"And you better not wipe your snort on me young lady!" Adira warns in a stern voice.

"I'll make a cup of coffee for you," adira says and Meghna shots back and joins her hand to plead her.

"NO, YOU COFFEE MONSTER. YOU CAN GO LIVE ON YOUR DISGUSTING COFFEE. "

"Alright then, if you're not tired enough to shout then you won't mind making two cups of hot meg's style coffee right?"

Meg flicked her forehead and said, "coming right up,"