They never met...

CHAPTER 14- FALLING APART

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Tu khenda si tu aavega,
naale chan sitaare laveega....

Hun chan sitaare kho gaye ne
Lagda kise hor de ho gaye ne.... 

Hun divee waangu tapni aa,
Te charkhe waangu khapni aa

Na charka bacha na door,
Mai laaban maan da chor.......

*Flashback continues*

Author's pov:

The once vibrant hues of their online connection seemed to have dimmed. Mahima, buried under the weight of her responsibilities, found herself working double shifts at the cafe. Her studies, once a shared passion with Jagjeet, had been relegated to the back burner. Bills piled up, a constant reminder of the financial strain her family was under.

One evening, during a stolen moment between calls, Jagjeet frowned as he saw the exhaustion etched on Mahima's face. "You look beat," he said gently. "Are you sure you can handle all this work?"

Mahima forced a smile, her voice raspy from a long day. "Have to, Jagjeet. Arpan's therapy isn't cheap, and you know Didi can't manage everything alone."

A heavy silence descended upon them. Jagjeet wanted to offer to help financially, but Mahima's fierce independence, the same spark he admired, held him back. "Don't neglect your studies, Mahima," he finally said. "Remember your dream of becoming an IPS officer?"

Mahima's smile faltered. "Dreams seem like a luxury right now, Jagjeet. Bills and reality have a way of making them fade."

The conversation ended on a somber note, a stark contrast to their usual banter. Disappointment gnawed at Mahima. She missed their late-night talks where they dissected news articles and dreamt of their futures together. Now, their stolen moments were filled with worries and unspoken anxieties.

Meanwhile, Jagjeet's life was taking a different turn. He was about to leave for his police training academy. His parents, a mix of pride and worry, helped him pack.

"Finally leaving the nest, eh Jagjeet?" his father chuckled, nudging him playfully. "Maybe you'll find someone special to take care of you at the academy, someone who won't make you pack your own bags."

Jagjeet's mother shot his father a glare. "Don't put such ideas in his head. He needs to focus on his training."

Jagjeet blushed, avoiding their eyes. The thought of someone special, someone like Mahima, did cross his mind, but the distance and the demands of training felt daunting.

The academy was a whirlwind of activity. Physical drills, theoretical classes, and camaraderie with his fellow trainees filled Jagjeet's days. Free time was a precious commodity, and phone calls with Mahima became shorter, more rushed. He found himself attending parties with his new friends, a social life he hadn't experienced before.

Mahima, on the other hand, remained trapped in her world of work and worry. Her social circle shrank, replaced by the constant hum of the cafe and the anxieties that gnawed at her.

A seed of insecurity began to sprout in her heart. Was the distance creating a chasm between them? Was Jagjeet, surrounded by new people and experiences, forgetting about her?

One evening, as Mahima stared at her phone, her heart sank. Jagjeet hadn't called, and his message simply read, "Busy with training. Talk soon."