The Journey (2016)

The Word

"'Cause it's too cold, 

For you here,

And now, so let me hold,

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater"

Sweater Weather, The Neighbourhood

The Word

Radhika yawned for the third time in the past five minutes. Her eyes couldn't stay open for more than a few seconds, despite all her efforts. They left just a few minutes ago from the hotel with her luggage. To her surprise, all her clothes were washed dry and ironed. She wondered once again why Nikhil had the fine idea of driving out at two in the morning. So she asked him.

"Seriously, dude," she started, leaning against the window. "What are we doing on the road at such an ungodly hour?"

"I told you! I want to get there early in the morning." He replied. He seemed excited and full of energy for someone who was sneezing his head out yesterday. Maybe it was because of the trip but Radhika had her bets on the can of Coke sitting between them. She grabbed the can as soon as he reached for it and downed two large sips. "How are you so sleepy? We slept all afternoon!"

"You slept through the whole afternoon! I was watching a movie!" Which she was regretting at the moment but wouldn't admit it. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was a guilty pleasure that Kunal uncle was very nice to offer watching with her. It was one movie that she will constantly criticize but watch it with a smile on her face anyway.

"Right!" He said and then started singing the theme music of the movie. Radhika gasped and hit his shoulder. "Ouch! Woman, I am driving!"

"Stop making fun of me!" She said. He laughed.

"I woke up three times because of that stupid movie and its never-ending parties!"

"It makes people happy." She defended. Radhika always knew she was a hypocrite when it came to Bollywood movies. She knew the flaws and often rolled her eyes and scoffed at them but when someone else said something against them, she jumped to its defense. Her love for stories was greater than her annoyance for cheesiness.

"At what cost though?" He asked, "All they do is give hopes to people."

"Hoping is not always a bad thing." She said, looking out the window, watching the lights blurring by, going too fast for her eyes to focus.

"Not always, but giving unreal expectations can hurt someone." He shrugged. Nikhil glanced at Radhika who kept her eyes outside. He couldn't see her expressions in the dark but the silence vibrated through the car. He was about to ask what was wrong but she spoke again, softly.

"You're right." Nikhil raised his eyebrows at her reply. "Expectations can hurt."

"That's not what I meant." He said quickly. "I meant fantasies."

Radhika thought about an entry she wrote in her diary two years ago. The only thing that can hurt me is expectation. As long as I don't expect anything from anyone, I will be fine. How can I expect people to be anything different than what they are when I am unwilling to change myself?

"Radhika? What happened?" He asked and she shook her head with a smile.

"I am thinking about something I wrote about two years ago." She admitted. She could have lied and said nothing but Nikhil always saw through her creepy smile. And anyway, she didn't feel like pushing on a mask in front of him. She recited what she remembered.