Ira, as usual was wearing a tad too much of a make up, which made her tiny face laughable. The pink of the excessive blush on her cheeks could have sent anyone into serious fits of hysteria, to be followed by another fit of impulsive laughter. Her curly blond hair managed to fall just at the edge of her bare shoulder which had a peace emblem tattooed all over.
I coughed to the strong feminine fragrance she wore, and she made it worse by laughing hard.
''Allergic much? ,'' she said as she nimbled her tongue out her duck like swollen lips.
''No, just allergic to garbage,'' I murmured as she looked on. Nevertheless, she never used to make a sense out of anything I said.
''So, How have you been?,'' she enquired as she sat dwo on the bed with a thump. That got me furious, since I had wanted to end up the intial greetings and send her straight out the house.
'' I am fine,'' I said.
The intensity of the moment made me realize my strength. I was pretty good at lying to anyone, but my heart wished that I somehow learned the art of fooling myself. Life was full of realities, which made their way out the rugsack one by one.
But some realities were difficult enough to gulp, and dear enough to spit out.
''So, why don't we three go for a movie together?,'' screamed out Ira with a wave of excitement. Without making an instant reaction, I glared a look at Abby's face, which had all those shades of rage and innocence like a mixed fruit coctkail.
Before Abby was able to hum out a low agreement, I spoke out in denial.
''I am not well, so it would be great if you both make it to the next show'', I announced with a wry smile, detectable only by Abby.
Ira just nodded her head as she looked at her nails. I wondered if she had fingernails of platinum or something which could win her a greek war or save a few dying tigers. Nevertheless, I kept mum as instructed by Abby's sudden gesture.
''Okay,'' she screamed out all of a sudden as she jumped back on to her feet and clenched her clutch tight.
There was a parting handshake, and I knew I had to wash my hands at least ten times to get rid of the stupid fragrance.
''See you next time,'' she managed as she walked out with Abby, leaving me alone to my world of tainted happiness. I waved as if very sad, but my heart was pretty much relieved.
I heard the front door shut, and the ray of light coming in was gone.
Limping through the hallway to the kitchen, I decided to switch my cellphone on.
The screen made a stupid noise before it finally came to light.
There was an array of missed calls and messages awaiting my attention, as I managed to comfort myself on the sofa with a can of juice I had fetched myself from the Refrigerator.
'Guava' I read from the pack as my eyes spoke of excitement and delicacy. I had loved guava juice ever since I was fourteen, and the can had a billion memories which had crinkled along.
I sipped in a puddle of happiness, as I looked through some messages.
There were messages of sympathy and encouragement. They all knew what I was feeling and going through, and that made me feel a bit accompanied.
But the short message from Ananya touched my heart...
Ayan,
These are some lines I read from the novel 'A tide at the shore'. I know what you feel at the moment, I hope this helps.
''
The irishman stood at the beach, watching the tide conquer the sands slowly.
His eyes were fixed at the wave, no matter harsh it came to hit the shore.
'' What are you looking at? ,'' asked a curious young man standing aside him.
He smiled, as he pulled out a shell from his pocket.
''Look at this beautiful shell, this was something I loved, this was someone whose presence I had ever cherished, this was once someone who meant a lot, but then it was eaten up by the wave,'' he said, as he threw the shell back into the ocean.
''That's sad, but what can you do now? ,'' said the young man, making a sad face.
''I'll fall in love again friend. But this time, with the wave'', he said as walked away.
''There are things we can't keep forever, Ayan. Know that, It will make you stronger,'' I whispered to myself as I watched a few tears coming out my eyes, But these were not tears of pain, but realization.
I smiled at the message once again, as the phone started ringing up.
''Hye dad! ,'' I said in a voice that spoke of being happy and content, or in a voice that was mine.
''Ayan, I've booked your tickets for your flight back to Jaipur tomorrow, so make sure you board on time,'' he straight away let out.
''Oh, thank you Dad! I'll make sure I do that,'' I said after being taken aback by a sudden surprise.
''I'll call you later then, when I get back home from the office! Till then, take care,'' he said out of benevolence as he dropped the line.
I got up off the sofa, and rushed out to the living room to look out for my travel bag and stuff. The room was all messed up, as usual.
I started the hunt for my clothes and books, which ended in an hour. I finally gathered my tired self back on the couch as I heaved a deep sigh of relief.
I had not been able to find a pair of jeans, but all my novels were intact, and that was a sense of sheer delight. I made a heap of my books, and that took me higher as I looked on.
I was all in smiles, before Abby entered.
