Not-So-Girly-Girlfriends #MissionDesi #YourStoryIndia

Okay.

Zara

It was a great brunch at Vivan's place. We had a nice session of catching up with old days and we also told him about our visit to school. It was a lot of fun really and I wish we could stay more but of course we couldn't. We have a train journey from Hyderabad to Bangalore. We couldn't find a flight but so what? Journey by a train is a lot more fun than in a flight. Flights can be all cozy but trains have their own fun. There is no one nagging you to tell you to tie your seat belts. It's not necessary to sit on the single seat as you can roam the whole compartment, and no one gives a damn if you make a hell lot of noise, until it's time to sleep. So yeah, I really like train travelling. 

We go back to our room to get our stuff. I don't see Alisha anywhere. "Where's Al?" I ask. 

"She told me that she needed to pick up something from a store she saw on route. So she asked me if I could carry her bags down and I agreed."

"She'll come back in time right?"

"Yep.. she'll meet us near the cab."

"Okay," I said and went to the washroom to get my shampoo. It was hard to ignore how Alisha and Vivans behavior had shifted. They both were mostly quiet or spoke only when asked something. Everything was going great but after the desserts things seemed to have changed.Maybe Jay's call is the reason behind her mood swing. That guy just wont let her breath. I would have died of suffocation if I were in her place. 

So by now all our packing has finished. I took my bag pack on my shoulder and the trolley bag's handle in my hand. I helped Myra with Alisha's hand bag and we all left the room. Myra and Vicky went and checked out from the hotel, while I waited in front of the hotel for our cab. I see Alisha walking slowly in our direction. As if she was lost in some thoughts. 

"You okay," I asked her. 

Ahe looked up at me and I take in her red, puffed up, face. Her cheeks seemed to be hot and so was her nose. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was definitely crying. I walk in haste towards her. "I'm okay," she says in a little voice while giving a small smile. 

"No, you're not," I said. 

"I am," she argues. 

"Dammit Al, this time I can clearly see it that you are not okay," I yelled at her. 

"I am freaking okay!"

"Just admit it once, Al, just once. You don't need to hide your tears from us. You wanna cry? Cry in front of us. We'll try to stop your flow and if we cant we'll join you in your sorrow but don't run away from us. Aren't we even worth seeing your tears? Don't you trust us even that much? You are not okay. And sometimes... sometimes it's okay to not to be okay," I said as her face reddened more and she just hugged me and let those tears flow. Finally. 

"I'm not okay, Zara. My life is a mess.. I am a mess.." she slowly says still hugging me tight. "I don't like to be a mess."

"It's okay... It's totally fine," I assure. "It is okay to be in a mess."

She nodded slightly and cried. "What the hell happened," I heard Myra say as the both of them rush to us. I gave her a glare which made her stop asking questions. 

Vicky squeezed her by her shoulder and let Alisha rest her head on her shoulder.

"Do you wanna talk," Vicky asked.

"No she replied," as she hugged Vicky. 

"Okay, I'm just glad you let it all out..." she said and hugged her back. 

This is one heck of a day. I don't believe i am getting to witness this. I shouldn't be smiling really but I cant stop that curve from emerging on my face. For the first time Alisha has shown us her sad side. I expected her to spill every thing but then every thing has a particular time. This probably isn't the time for her to tell us her story. She is already hurt. I just don't want her to hurt herself more by just letting him stab her everyday. I love her. But right now, at this instance, I am happy; because she let a part of herself lighten up. She let that burden inside her drain in the form of tears. 

We hear the cab enter the driveway. It's already 7 pm and the train leaves the station at 8:15 pm. We hand our bags to the driver who keeps everything in the boot space as we all sit inside. We reach prior the arrival time of the train, hence we hang around for a while. As usual, to kill the time, we couldn't find a better option than eating food. So we decided on trying the local delicacies. The only veg local thing available was Haleem, which I gladly took. It was slight pale dirty green in color and it looked like it was exceptionally wet oats and was topped by cashew-nuts. It tasted yummy though.  Vicky took a chicken shawarma. Alisha took something called as butter-cheese-pizza-dosa. It's a really odd combination but she said it was worth the money she paid. Myra took keema (smashed mutton) somosas. If you try to search for these recipes anywhere around the world then your search is in vain because these dishes are only available in Hyderabad or if you just come across an Hyderabadi then I suppose you are lucky. 

We enjoy our dishes. I see Alisha totally engrossed with her food. Food always soothes you. I text my mom about our whereabouts and she immediately tells me to buy some Karachi biscuits which I readily buy. She also asked me if I could buy something that she named 'Badam ki Jalli' but then it happened to be a sweet dish and since we will be travelling more, I don't think the sweets will remain good till we reach home. The last thing i want in my bag is really amazing sweets having fungus on them.

The announcement of our train's arrival comes up as we gather our belongings. In no time we see people gathering around near the doors, pushing each other to get in the train. This is a usual scene since we have seen people trying to get in the local trains of Mumbai. The difference is just that the crowd there seems to be just thrice than what is in front of us. We waited for five minutes for the crowd to subside as we pick up our bags and enter our train. 

"Bangalore, here we come," I hear Vicky say when we all safely entered and the train started to move.