You Two Are Perfect For Eachother

PROLOGUE

*This story is a work of fiction*

You know how people say that you should not assume things  otherwise something something...well, this something something happened to our heroine, Mansi.

For as long as Mansi can remember, she had been engaged to be married to Vikram, the eldest son of her father's very important business associate. This was fixed when Mansi was a mere 12 year old and Vikram was 15. The kids, although young, were old enough to understand that they were betrothed and for the next four years Vikram and Mansi were the power couple at their school. There was nothing special about them but everything was special to their eyes.

Mansi was your average overachieving middle-class girl who had big dreams and the courage to chase them. Vikram on the other hand was not the smartest bird in the flock but he was destined to take over his father's business, something in which he had the upper hand over everyone...even his father. Vikram's life was already written-up by his parents and hence, according to plan, Vikram left to pursue his higher studies from the USA as soon as he completed his class 12th. Mansi was just 16.

It was okay for a while. Mansi was a dedicated betrothed. She dived even more into her studies and managed to make time for Vikram as per his convenience because wasn't that what females are supposed to do? Her mother did it, her grandmother did it, her aunts did it...she just followed suit. All she wanted then was to be worthy of Vikram. His family was wealthier and more well-to-do than hers so she did not want anyone to say that Mansi did not deserve such an alluring husband as Vikram.

Relationships don't go sour in a day. It happens slowly but once the rot starts to set in, the best thing to do is to let go - life lessons which we learn after decades of experience. Mansi learnt this at the mere age of 17!

A few months passed and Mansi was happy with the new routine which she had set into. She got up at 6:30 AM every morning. She studied for an hour and then went to school. Her school got over at 2:30 PM everyday, she stayed back for two hours and sat in the library completing all her homework. She reached her home around 5:00 PM everyday, spent some time with her family and took an evening nap between 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. At 9:00 PM everyday, she was woken up by Vikram's call. They talk a little and then she has dinner with her family. By 10:30 PM she is back in her room and her family has already retired to their rooms for bed. This is when Mansi picks up her books and studies until 3:00 AM everyday. This is when Vikram calls her to tell her about his day and they talk until Mansi falls asleep.

That Wednesday was also the same. Mansi did all of the above and slept at 6:00 PM but was awoken by her mother at 9:30 PM who had come to call her for dinner. She quickly checked her phone but Vikram had not called. She called him but he disconnected the call within 2 rings. Mansi thought nothing of it at first, maybe he got up late and rushed to class? He could have dropped her a message but Mansi squashed the over-thinker in her as she proceeded to go for dinner.

Vikram did not call.

Vikram did not answer any of Mansi's calls or messages.

It went on for 2 days.

It was an extremely rainy Saturday morning which was not out of the ordinary since it was the Monsoon season in Delhi but something else happened. Vikram called Mansi at around 7:00 AM when she was getting ready for school and the call ensued as below:

Mansi: Oh Thank the Lord! Vikram I had been worried sick! Is everything alright? Are you okay? What...what happened? It's been 2 days!

Vikram: *pause* Yeah! Everything is good. I was just extremely busy with midterms.

Mansi: Oh!....Are..are you done with them now?

Vikram: Yeah.

—silence—

Mansi: Vik..umm...so you'll call me today? I'm about to leave for school right now.

Vikram: Yeah.

Mansi: Okaaay...Bye, I guess?

Vikram: Bye.

Vikram disconnected the call.

The rain felt ominous to Mansi for the very first time and she loved the rain. Rainy days at school were the best, with the pitter-patter of water drops in the background and the exciting tales of why Benzene is non-polar being animatedly explained by the teacher...honestly what else can one desire? But today, she could not concentrate. Mansi had a nagging feeling and she just knew something was wrong. Did Vikram fail his classes? Mansi was sure that there was no problem at home since she talked to her future mother-in-law almost daily and she would have mentioned something if anything was amiss.

This went on for a few days...

It had been almost 3 months to that first day when Vikram had not called Mansi according to their timetable and a lot had happened. It started with a drastic decrease in the number of calls and texts. This slowly developed in the off-calls which happened to be short, very very short. One day, Mansi was just about done with Vikram and they had a fight, the biggest fight to-date. The conclusion? Well, Vikram simply told Mansi that this long distance thing was not working for him. He said that he felt constantly guilty about not being able to give Mansi the time and attention which she deserved and this was impacting his academic and social life in the States. He was sure that the same must be true for Mansi as well.

He suggested taking a break.