UNLIKELY PARTNERS( Smriti & Perry)

Broken Bridges

As dinner approached, the buzz of conversation and clinking of cutlery filled the air, an evening that was meant to be light-hearted and convivial. Smriti, having just joined the gathering, scanned the room for Perry. When she finally spotted her friend, Perry was seated at the far end of the table, engrossed in conversation with Sophie and Wareham. The warmth that had previously enveloped their interactions was conspicuously absent, replaced by a cold, palpable distance.

Smriti tried to catch Perry’s eye, but Perry’s gaze remained fixed on her plate or occasionally on her conversation partners. The slight nods and polite smiles Perry offered the others felt hollow and rehearsed. Smriti's attempts to engage her—through a gentle touch on the shoulder and a soft, “Hey Pez, can we talk?”—were met with a curt, unresponsive nod. Perry’s demeanor was almost as if Smriti was a stranger, a sharp contrast to the genuine warmth Perry usually radiated.

Every time Smriti tried to reach out, Perry’s indifference deepened. Smriti’s heart sank with each ignored gesture, each unanswered look. The joyful chatter and laughter around her felt like a cruel backdrop to her personal turmoil. The contrast between the exuberant atmosphere and Perry’s frosty behavior left Smriti feeling isolated and hurt, her heart heavy with the weight of unspoken words.

When dinner concluded, Perry excused herself swiftly, leaving the table without acknowledging Smriti or offering any explanation. Smriti, now overwhelmed by a mixture of hurt and confusion, found herself standing alone amidst the crowd. The noise of the gathering felt distant as she processed Perry’s behavior. Her heart pounded as she excused herself from the lingering conversations and made her way to Perry’s room.

Knocking softly on the door, Smriti’s anxiety grew with each passing second. When Perry opened the door, Smriti didn’t wait for an invitation. She stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and faced Perry with an urgent, almost desperate look.

“What was that behavior, Pez?” Smriti’s voice trembled as she took Perry’s hand, her eyes pleading. “What’s wrong? Why are you treating me like this? I don’t understand.”

Perry’s response was icy, her gaze hardening. She withdrew her hand from Smriti’s grasp. “Wow, really? You don’t even know what you’ve done, Ms. Mandhana? How would you? You were too busy celebrating birthdays and all.”

Smriti was taken aback by Perry’s harsh tone. “Pez, I told you I wouldn’t be free today. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Perry’s eyes flashed with anger. “Oh, and you didn’t feel the need to explain where you were going? You could have told me. Instead, you were off cuddling the birthday girl.”

The accusation hit Smriti hard. “Pez, you’re getting it all wrong. Do you really think there’s something between me and Harman?”

Perry rolled her eyes with frustration. “Well, the things I saw suggest that. And you didn’t offer any explanation about your plans yesterday. It must have been something private, right? I didn’t know you were already seeing someone.”

Smriti’s eyes widened in shock. “What? You think I’m seeing someone? Perry, I—”

Perry cut her off, her voice rising in frustration. “God damn it, I was so stupid! I thought I was helping you heal. I thought you needed me. But look at you—you’re perfectly fine, enjoying yourself with Harman. You used me to get over your traumas, didn’t you? You only needed me for that.”

Smriti’s face contorted in pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to comprehend Perry’s words. “Shut up, Perry. You really think that of me? You think so low of me that I would use you like that? You know what? I was thinking how lucky I was to have found someone who understands me. I thought you were different. But now I see—”

Her voice broke, her emotions overwhelming her. “—I see that I was wrong. How stupid I was to fall for you, to believe you really cared.”

With a final, anguished cry, Smriti turned and fled from the room, her sobs echoing down the hallway. Perry stood frozen, her heart pounding with shock. The weight of Smriti’s words struck her deeply. Perry had assumed that Smriti’s happiness with Harmanpreet was evidence of betrayal. Yet, in that moment, Perry realized that Smriti’s feelings for her were genuine, and she had misjudged the situation completely.

As Perry grappled with the realization of her own mistakes, she was left with a haunting question: if Smriti’s love for her was real, then why had Smriti been with Harmanpreet? The confusion and hurt of the evening had not only exposed the fragility of their bond but also left Perry with an unsettling doubt about what truly lay behind Smriti’s actions.

Perry staring at the closed door, the echoes of Smriti’s hurtful words lingering in the room. The distance between them felt insurmountable, leaving Perry to confront the painful reality of her own misconceptions and the complex emotions that lay tangled within their hearts.