The Boy Who Never Spoke

She has a story

"Hey Raghav, what's up? What are you doing here this time? Bunked your class, eh?", she exclaimed while exchanging a high five with that six feet tall guy clad in a hoodie. He looked up at her, dropped back his hood to reveal his sturdy facial frame spotting a triangular patch of beard on his chin,almost touching his pale lips that stretched wide as his eyes lit up with joy. Her high five could have landed right on his wide chest had he not stopped slightly to oblige her greeting.
"Hey Sneha, what a pleasant surprise. Yeh, ditched the thermodynamics class. You know how much it sucks. Plus I didn't had the assignment. What about you ? By the way, who are you ?"
Lok, who had been standing beside like a statue was caught by a little surprise. He introduced himself.
" My name is Sumit. First year, automobile engineering. Nice to meet you bro. Okay, will have to leave. Priya must be waiting..."
" Oh, Priya....I see, you handsome boy.Now that is the real reason for bunking the thermo class." She let out shrill laughter that went crashing through still air in the corridor, shaking hands at the end. Lok was expressionless yet not thoughtless.
Sumit, automobile engineering.....How does he know her? Saw how he talked. She almost fell on him while giving him a high five. She was so happy talking to her

"Here, here....let's sit here", she said placing her sling bag on the table. Now the sunlight blazed through the window pane, reflecting off the glass table kissing her silken hair and lighting up her face on an otherwise gloomy hair. She looked at him with a faint smile apparently to comfort Lok as his mind fought a battle with thoughts about her and Sumit.
" Could you please sit here, sir..." She smiled

That smile. Yes, that smile, like the one he had got sometime. She is smiling and talking to me. Nice. But, why she is calling me sir ?"

" Sorry, but I am only 19. Why do you call me sir ?", he asked with his eyebrows separated just a fraction of millimetres apart looking into her hazel coloured eyes, hesitantly.

"Oh! Do you know my age ?"
"No. How much it is ?"
" How dare you ask a girl her age just like that! I know very well the intentions of boys like you"
"Oh, sorry! Sorry ! I didn't mean that. I hope you understand. I hope you didn't mind..."
" Yes, I would mind if you didn't understand my sense of humour. She broke into laughter as she pushed his shoulder gently. He was relieved.
Thank god. It was just a joke."

It had been little over an hour. With ten problems nailed without a sweat, time passed by without much notice. The discussion about the assignment was occasionally punctuated with chat about one another.
"So, how all are there in your family? "
She heaved a heavy sigh for the first time that morning.
" We are a small family. Me, my father and my brother, who occasionally comes to home during holidays. Mom passed away when I was five..."
" That's sad. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that question. Didn't know that.."
"No, that's okay. My dad anyways remarried and I do have a foster mother. But...."
"But what?"
"Leave it, Lok. We only have twenty minutes left. Let us finish this fast.""
Her jaws dropped slightly as she scrambled for a compass from her geometry box.
" I have already done those problems. You can copy it if you want."
" Thank you. So nice of you" Her face lit up with joy once again and seeing that made the day for Lok. Usually people look more beautiful when they smile and those who are already very beautiful, look angelic. She was one such angel.

Rain never needs an invite to come especially when you are in Bhubaneswar and it is July. It didn't take one that day and it rained just when the classes were over for the day. University canteen buzzed like a beehive full of bees with barely a table empty for Lok to sit. He scanned the hall till wherever his eyesight could go, till it stopped at a fluorescent sling bag familiar to him. He walked over to there and stood near the table quietly.

"Madam, can I take a seat please?"
"Oh.."
She chuckled with pizza stuffed in her mouth and the mozzarella smeared on her lips.
" Sit,sit. So, even you can joke at times. Otherwise, I thought sir is always serious. Want to have some?"
He picked up a slice and pushed his chair closer to her.
"So, what was it ?"
"What was what ?" Her eyes zoomed out slightly while she bit into another pizza slice.
"In the library, you were saying something"
Her face grew small, the smile vanished like the sun hiding behind the clouds on that gloomy monsoon day. He could see a storm brewing in her eyes that he feared to have stoked unknowingly. She began after a long pause
" It has got to do something with my childhood, my parents. You remember I told you about my foster mother. "
"Yes, I remember"
"Well there's more to it. My parents were never like the ones any child would love  to have. They fought like cats. Every night my dad would shout and even hit my mother when she would ask him the reason for coming late to home. My mother didn't want me to know about this. So, every night she would put me to sleep in my room and lock the room from outside, thinking that I didn't come to know about my dad's gory acts. But each night, I would be woken up by his loud hoarse voice and banging of the bedroom door. My mother never uttered a single word about it, the next morning. When I would ask what had caused those scars on her face, she would give different false reasons alternated each day. This continued till one day I returned  from school and found police in my home, talking to my father. They said that my mother had been hit by a car and she died. I was shocked and locked myself that entire day. Time passed by. People say time is the best healer but you know my wounds were deep enough to be ever healed by time. So, I took the help of other things. I began spending less time at home and more time outside. I started spend a lot of time in our neighbourhood library because books made me forget about my problems. Made many friends over there. After school, I would go to the library and stay there till evening. After that, would roam market with friends. My father was least bothered about me just as he was for my mother and so was I about him. I had always hated him but that night my hatred grew even more - he announced to me that he was getting married again. Bloody selfish never cared for my mother and now a second marriage. Who could ever deny it was none but he who had knocked my mom! But no clue was ever found. I finished my school but by that time I had developed depression that led to nasty mood swings. I found it increasingly hard to get along with people. Life seemed to be nose diving once again till I met Savita tai. "

" Who is Savita tai ? "
" For me she is a messiah. For rest of the world she is a meditation teacher whom I met by chance. She realised the turmoil I was going through and invited me to her meditation classes for free. I started attending them and felt the difference. I still hate my dad but somehow poison of the anguish is now less scattered. "
Lok sat still till the lights of the canteen startled him. An hour had passed by and the evening had fallen. The hall was now scarcely populated with only both of them sitting in a corner.
"Oh, it's already seven! I have to go"
She stood up, pushing back the chair and just as she had laid her hand on the bag to pick up he spoke up " It's already dark. Let me accompany you till your home. Can I ?"

" Yes sir, you can." She smiled once more.