The Journey (2016)

Prologue

                  

"Sometimes there's airplanes I can't jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We all got our stories but please tell me-e-e-e
What there is to complain about ..." 
- Good Life, OneRepublic

This story is dedicated to dreams that are lost and forgotten, to love that is pushed away, to perspectives that are washed out by the society and to the life that we didn't live.

Before you start reading —
Don't mistake me for a writer. I am not.
I started writing this story when I was about 16. There was no plot, no concept, just an emotion that I didn't know how to express any other way. So I wrote this on the last pages of my notebooks whenever I felt emotionally charged to do anything else.
This story has been written and rewritten more than 20 times. Each time with a new idea, new feeling and by a new me. I change, and with me this story changes. Anyone who has read my first draft knows this. With each renewal, this story becomes more contemplative, more confusing and more frustrating.
I don't write to tell a story, I write to let go of my inhibitions.
The story has more conversations than anything else. Focuses on two characters and their personalities.
To whoever is reading this, thank you. The words ahead are not my final work of art, they're more of the drafts sketched and erased over and over so many times that new strokes are hard to make out. But what do I do? I can't seem to throw it away. So I am saving it as a reminder of one thing that has been my great and terrible partner since the beginning.

But don't mistake me for a writer. I am merely throwing my colors together on a cheap canvas and creating a mess. I am not an artist.

The Prologue

Radhika stood in the hallway with her heart beating in anxious dilemma. She inhaled cautiously, scared to make any noise as she contemplated a decision. Her hand reached out for the knob but she pulled it back again. The bag on her shoulder felt heavy and she knew she needed to move. Her mind raced with questions and answers. A part of her scolded her for even thinking about such a thing while the other part of her was encouraging her to turn around and get out as fast as she can. At last, she walked back to her room and sat down, letting the bag slide off her shoulder and on the bed.

There was another battle in her head, but she knew it was over. She had taken a step back and now there was no way her heart will move from its decision. With a heaviness suffocating her every vein, she put the bag in the corner of her closet and went back under her covers. She stared outside the window and wished for the world beyond, and when she fell asleep, she dreamt of the world beyond.

When her eyes opened to the sun, she could already feel the defeat. The heaviness on her heart reminded of her discourage and cowardice. The knowledge pulled her mood down and she walked to the bathroom with a dismayed frown on her face. When she came out, she had put on a nice dress and a nice smile for the world, and chucked her comfortable nightdress in the laundry bin.

With those bright eyes and happy pull on the lips, she skipped down to the kitchen to find her father frowning at his phone.

"Morning, papa!" Radhika said, her father replied with a smile and continued whatever he was doing. "What are you doing?"

"I am trying to make spinach enchiladas." He replied. "But I don't understand this part of the recipe."

"Oh." Radhika replied, helping herself with a cup of chocolate milk. "Not going to work today?"

"No, I will go in later. It's a slow morning." Her father said. Mr. Rahul Shah, Radhika's father, owned three gas stations in the city. What started with one risky investment became a well-assured business settlement. Now he was looking for some different kind of investment. "And a friend of mine is visiting today."