I Was, I Am.

-THE FAREWELL- I-

Arjun and Disha insisted on coming to pick me up from my doorstep because they feared that if they left it up to me, I would chicken out from my attendance.

"Besides, I have to meet aunty and uncle." She'd said to me over the phone.

So, I stood there in my room, in front of the mirror and gazed at myself quietly.

"Get dressed!" Disha had insisted.

To keep my promise, I did pull out one of my fancy nude blouses and paired it with a regular pair of skinny jeans but omitted both jewellery and makeup.

Each one of them out there knew just how much I loved dressing up; and turning up to the party without doing just that would give out the message loud and clear; to him if not to anybody. And by him; I mean Aakash.

The door bell rang abruptly as my gaze went to the wall clock. 05:59 pm it showed.

Despite my gloomy mood, I smiled to myself. Disha was anything but punctual. Arjun; on the other hand; believed in utilizing each minute of his life. And clearly; some of his habits were growing onto Disha. Anyone would notice just how cute that was.

"Disha!" I could hear Ma squeal from the living room and Papa's warm laughter confirmed my guess of their arrival.

I walked out of my room and the first one to crush me into a bear hug was Arjun. He'd grown a moustache in this one month; his hair perfectly trimmed and maintained, and looked remarkably...married. All signs of bachelorhood were absolutely gone.

"How are you?" he asked, not breaking the hug.

"Good." I replied, resting my head into his chest.

I'd missed him.

"What about me?" Disha joined as I went on to hug her.

She smelled of jasmine and her perfectly washed luscious hair tickled my face. I drew back to see how gorgeous she was looking in the navy blue anarkali; she'd put on a little weight though.

Ma and Papa had a big, long talk with the newlyweds and it was only after a good forty five minutes that we were allowed to leave.

Aakash's family, house and belongings had always screamed 'Middle Class'! He wore absolutely ordinary clothes, had the most ordinary things and lived the life of a very ordinary boy throughout his growing years.

His father had had a steady government job with a strictly okay pay; never striving for anything more and the reason why they owned an apartment in South Bombay was because of his grandfather who had bought the apartment as an investment upon the insistence of his grandmother. His grandmother; was one really enlightened woman who had told me and Disha on more than occasion that education of females and their independence was an essential.

She had not been able to complete her education because she was married off at a young age of seventeen and though she really loved her husband, she felt this weird emptiness in her life that she knew only her independence could fill; which was why she insisted on buying an apartment of their own; so that they wouldn't have to depend on the company accommodation. It was her first step to independence.

She had passed away due to a heart attack in her sleep when we were eighteen; and I was glad that she didn't have to go through the pain or feel a thing. The doctors had said it was one of those cases that they called miracles for had she survived; she would have to be hospitalized for quite some time. She particularly hated hospitals and had requested that she never be taken there. And we were glad that that's exactly what happened.

Her words still rung in my ears.

"No matter what; you should be independent. Chase your dreams and never look back."