My Guiding Star

Part Eight

"What are you saying?" he frowned at her but again slumped down in misery. In her stupidity she would have exposed her secret to him. 

She was horrified on her slippage and didn't realized Ranjan is still talking to her. His words slowly penetrated into her ears ".....don't have brain to see the genuine girl. No one believes me and no one is there for me."

His words become more and more slurred. Niranjana understood that he forgot her presence and know that he will not remember anything in the morning. She could not control her tears. Even now she cannot stop her love for him. She told the words before becoming a coward again. "Don't say that Ranjan. I believe you and I am there for you."

She didn't expect such a reaction from him when she saw him smiling at her. He looked like a small boy looking longingly for something that he wanted more than anything in the world. 

"Will you? Will you be there for me? Will you?" She gasped in the way he pleaded again and again. She know it's the most stupid thing to do, but she will repent on it later. Now Ranjan is the priority.

"Yes. I will. I love you." She said softly, feeling good for her answer as she saw him relaxing visibly. But she didn't anticipated his next reaction. He came near to her and took her face with both his hands. He looked as if she will disappear once he closes his eyes.

Her eyes became wide when she saw her reflection in his eyes. She felt as if her reflection is becoming slowly bigger. She realized that it is not her figment of imagination, but because of his face getting closer to hers. Before stopping him or stepping back, he kissed her. Niranjana was stunned and her brain fused to give any commands to stop him.

He slumped down on his bed, before she realized on what had happened. She is neither able to move nor able to think on what to do next. She slowly sit on the chair near the window to look outside the moon, which is the only witness for what happened now. She don't want to think further on what will happen next. She can worry about it later. After sometime once she returned to her senses, she turned back.

If she expected him to feel guilty or embarrassed on his actions, she is in big disappointment. Instead she found him sleeping. His face is so relaxed as if all his burdens have been lifted from his shoulder, which is correct in a way. All the burdens have been shifted to her shoulders. She started giggling which turned to silent cries. She didn't know when she slipped out and reached home.

The clock chimed twelve times and Niranjana looked around to see her room and slowly come back to present. Looking at the time she faintly thought "Time for Cinderella to come back to reality" and chuckled at the thought.

She knew the next morning of that night, Ranjan moved to his Uncle's place. She could not able to recollect how the next whole week passed before joining the hostel. She haven't met Ranjan after that and carefully avoided talking about him or Bala Uncle and Saraswathi Aunty. She know that she cannot avoid him at all, but still the prospect of meeting him makes her nervous. Will he remember that night? If yes, how will she face him? If not, how will she face him?

Niranjana never knew when she slept and in the morning she felt groggy and groaned that she don't want to get up. But she don't have the power to suspend time and got up to face whatever is in line for the day.

"Let me have at least one more day to gather myself to face him." She told herself. But an inner voice taunted her that she had more than 5 years and she was not able to do that.