The Journey (2016)

The Confrontation

Unedited as usual. They might sound gibberish if I made too many typos though.

"Kahe yeh dil ke jaa udhar bhi tu

Jahaan bhi leke jaaye aarzoo

Ab toh jo bhi ho so ho..."

- Khwabon Ke Parindey, Zindagi Na Milege Dobara

The Confrontation

"Do we have to go through this?" Nikhil whispered over her shoulder as they watched a crowd of uncles and aunties separate for their gossip or whatever they do at the weddings. Fortunately, the younger generation didn't have to follow them and so Nikhil hung around Radhika like a lost puppy.

"Well, not really." She replied as she turned to face him. "We don't know them personally so mamma said we can skip the rest of the ceremonies other than the wedding on last day."

His eyes brightened as a smile bloomed on his face, "really?"

She nodded.

"What are we doing here then? Let's get out of this place!" He took her hand and headed for the exit of the wedding hall.

"Wait, I dressed up for this, I can't just leave halfway through!"

He turned to grin at her but didn't stop moving until they were outside and were greeted by the warm evening sun. She gasped when he wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "You look absolutely stunning but I did rather steal you for myself right now."

She clicked her tongue and patted his hands away, making him pout. "Come, I will take you somewhere."

His smile returned when she took his hand and led the way. This morning brought everything back to normal. Not just awkward normal but actually normal. She was laughing and playing with him as if they were back in the cottage house with no worries. Her laugh was so bright and her words were so carefree that Nikhil forgot about everything and allowed himself to enjoy the moment for as long as it lasted.

"Tell me one thing Nikhil," she asked as they walked down a path lined by bushes on two sides. The marriage hall was huge and was mostly covered in grass. A lot of guests were staying here but everyone seemed to be enjoying inside because there was nobody out here.

"Hmm," he replied distractedly. He was wondering where she was taking him.

"Why did you do that after I left?"

That caught his attention. He avoided facing her and stared straight when he answered, "do what?"

"Become a workaholic, not eat or sleep on time, act like some heartbroken Devdas to begin with." she counted them off as if she was counting off names of chocolates. He swallowed in annoyance.

Nikhil had never regretted his feelings for her. There were good days when he woke up and was able to get through the day without any aches but there were days when he woke up and stared at the ceiling without any thought in his head. His doctor had diagnosed him with depression. He refused to believe that. He couldn't be depressed over something so pathetic. His dad had told him to take a break but he would laugh it off. There were days when his dad entered his room to find him sitting on the floor with his eyes closed on music loud enough to reach the doors.

He wondered how much of this pathetic routine his dad told Radhika already.

"I wasn't acting like anything."

"Really? Was your dad lying then?"

"I like working. What is it to you anyway?" The sharpness in his tone surprisingly didn't affect Radhika.