Silchar Diaries

Chapter Nine: The girl from the past

" Riya?"
Ayan's voice had shock rather than uncertainty. It was not like he didn't know who the girl Anurag was talking about, but his mind involuntarily wanted to play innocent.

Sourav kept his hand on Ayan's shoulder.
" Yes. Remember Riya from Karimganj?"

"Well yeah, but isn't she in Shillong?"

Moumita snapped out. "Are you guys talking about Madhumita?"

Sourav: Oh yeah, it is her name too, but we call her Riya.

Ayan was now looking confused. confused.     "Wait, how do you know her, Moumita?"

Moumita confidently said with a smile. smile.     " Simple. She is in Section A, so we girls know her. her."

"Riya isis in our school. school."

Sourav was visibly enjoying Ayan's reaction. It was like he saw a ghost. He looked at Moumita, and they both laughed. laughed.

Moumita: Haha, haha, well, well, wait till you hear she is in the same hostel.

This time both Ayan and Sourav were shocked. After so many years, are they really going to meet their old playmate again? Will Riya recognize her?? Ayan's heart specifically was beating like a drum. He could feel its rhythm through his ribcage. He started panting for breath. The frequency he was taking air in was a sign that he was not the same calm he was just moments ago when he moved on from Sneha. His eyes were blinking as fast as they could. These signs are not taking place for the first time. It happened once, once, three years ago, and suddenly it is repeating itself.
Ayan's mind was constantly trying to image the last sight of Riya. When both of them hugged each other before bidding farewell. That hazel-eyed girl who used to wear frocks, who hated when her mother scolded her. Ayan knew Riya would not be that child anymore.

With his dry throat, Ayan uttered, "In which hostel does she stay?"

Moumita, looking at the sky and twirling her hair strand "I think it's H11; it's H11; I am sure it's H11. H11."
Anurag, who was still listening to the conversation, "Abhirup's hostel?"

Ayan closed his eyes; he was not sure what suddenly happened to him, but he didn't seek an answer. He wanted to meet Riya.

But where was Riya all these years? When Ayan and Sourav reunited in the hostel, so many adventures took place, so many friends joined, and Ayan even got a heartbreak and was in a worse situation. Even when he moved on from his love, all of a sudden she is mentioned after all these years and chapters. So the question rises: WHERE WAS RIYA?

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Separation from friends at a young age was tough for Riya. The fun she had will be lost in time. During the first weeks of moving to Shillong, Riya was sad. Her father tried to make her happy by showing her the famous Ward's Lake or buying her the favorite dolls. But no material thing can take the place of her two best friends, Ayan and Sourav. The next year, her happiness knew no bounds when, during Puja, Riya and her parents visited Karimganj again. Her nostalgia faded when she realized that Ayan and Sourav relocated. Riya missed her friends, but still she tried her best to live a normal life in Shillong.

Years later. Riya was now a grown-up teenager. Riya was unrecognizable; her body grew with her age. She made friends in her convent school, but deep inside she still missed her Karimganj. Riya had a stable life in Shillong with her father doing a decent job in ONGC. She would give her attention to everything—movies, songs, chatting with the few friends she had—but not her studies. This made Riya's mother more strict towards her. She would scold her and even hit her for discipline. This was the primary reason why Riya hated her mother and loved her father more. Her father was a simple-minded person who adored his daughter in every way he could. The remittance for her mother and her dependency on her father soon were going to shape Rita's life in the worst way.

It was midnight. Riya's father was late because of his meeting. He regrets selling his car, and he knew he was not going to get a taxi at 2:00 AM. He walks through the streets. The roads were completely empty; just a few vehicles could be seen. The dead silence and chipping of the crickets were making him uncomfortable. Soon after he saw a streetlight in the distance, a sense of assurance came to his heart. He walked towards it. Besides the street light was a diverging lane. The lane was fared more than illuminated. As he was going to pass, two men with faces covered with handkerchiefs surrounded him. Their physical aspect looked like that; they ranged from 19 to 32 years old and were wearing t-shirts and jeans. One of them had a pistol in his hand. They demanded everything he had. With fear, he put down his bag and handed his wallet and some cash he had. As one of the robbers took his wallet, the last thing he could see was a picture of baby Riya in her mother's lap. Just when he thought everything would go right, one robber's handkerchief fell off, exposing his entire face. The two argued with each other in the native language of Shillong until one of them shot Riya's father at point blank rate. The bullet directly hit his heart.

The news was devastating, as were the consequences. Wails of her widow mother, the women crying over her father's dead body. Riya can never get the scene out of her head. The only one who understood her was no more.

Financial pressure was more evident than anyone thought. After the murder, Riya's family received money as compensation, but was it enough? No. With no one in Shillong, Riya's mother left for Silchar. Due to the hateful side of her husband's family, she knew she was not going to raise her daughter in such an environment, so instead she moved in with her sister. Riya's life in Silchar started with her mother taking a government teacher job to finance her future, her maternal uncle and aunt, who were kind enough to give Riya her own room, and her cousin brother, who loved her even though they were not from different mothers.

Riya's life caught pace seeing her mother being strict in study time and crying secretly for her husband. She saw the struggle her mother was taking just to secure a better life so that Riya never had to be dependent. This planted one question on her mind: "Am I really a liability?"

From that day on, Riya focused everything on studies. She would be in her room the entire day for studies. Her grades improved, and she was the class topper. Since the day she joined Muktashree Boarding School, her roll no. was never less than the range of 5. Due to long-distance travel issues, Riya decided to stay in the house.

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"Okay, so it's final. I am going to call her Riya out," said Moumita while dialing a number.

"Why do you always have to be bossy?" Sourav in a frustrated tone.

Moumita pinched his nose, "Because I am.".

Ayan was fighting a war inside him. A war of emotions. Why is he getting anxious? Is ready to face his old childhood friend yet?

Just within some time, a girl entered. Brown long hair, killer smile, medium bust, curvy body, attractive face, glowing skin that clearly reflects. Ayan's eyes were wide open. The girl he used to play with, the girl he spent his childhood with, "the girl from the past," was in front of him as a grown woman.

Ayan put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart's rhythm like it was saying something only Ayan could understand. His eyes focused only on Riya. The surroundings become silent.
All these hinted to one thing: Our Hero is in love again.

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The next episode will release on Wednesday.