Once Upon a University Campus

An Imperfectly Perfect Evening

The tide had changed all of a sudden, What was music suddenly felt like noise, even the night blooming jasmine was odious. Annika felt frustrated at her own inability to hold her heart steady. It was prancing one moment and another it was sinking in misery, taking her along. The trio had finished their dinner and were sitting outside at the steps of the hostel where the breeze kept it comfortable. Sumo had much to share with Om. Annika reminded Om to call Shivaay. Om kept postponing it. The thought that it could be about his parent's divorce crossed her mind and would have wanted him to call his brother. But Om blissfully unaware of it all was sitting next to her laughing at Sumo's silly stories. His happiness strengthen her reluctance to force him to make that call.

Annika's obliviousness to their conversation became apparent when Sumo proposed they go and get themselves some Kulfi and Annika did not react.

"Akka,  you are lost in happy thoughts." Sumo shook Annika.

Lost in thoughts Annika was, but happy? Not quite.

The trio tugged a reluctant Annika to the dairy near Ganga dhaba and got themselves some kulfi. Sumo demolished her's with gusto. Om regaled her with stories from his workshop. Annika was there but very much not there. She almost trailed the other two with Chandni giving her a hard time. She managed to fix her Chandni with one hand balancing the rapidly melting kulfi in the other even as Om and Sumo stood chatting a few steps away waiting for Annika to catch up with them. She rose, next to her was the small creamy puddle the downward pointed kulfi had left. She barely took one step that she heard that unmistakable voice from behind.

"Annika"

The kulfi went crashing down right next to the creamy puddle.

"There you go!" Mr Outsider was staring at the lost cause of a kulfi.

"Annika ?" Om repeated with a pleasantly surprise, he was yet a stranger to his brother's brand new equation with his friend. "Ms Trivedi?" Om winked at Sumo.

"Annnikkkkkaaaaa" Sumo musically chimmed in winking back at Om before exchanging pleasantries with Shivaay, Who was oblivious to Om and Sumo's mischief.

"I was about to call you later. I was expecting you to be busy at this hour. I wonder what brings you here." Om suspiciously eyed Annika.

"I need you right away." Shivaay said as a matter of fact.

Om picked up the seriousness in Shivaay's demeanor. "All well Shivaay?" Om grew concerned.

"Yes, I hope so. We need to leave now." Shivaay was direct. Annika stepped away toward Sumo and turned to walk away.

"Annika, May I ask you to join us?" And as an afterthought extended the same courtesy to Sumo "Sumo you too."

Annika and Sumo exchanged glances. Sumo did not understand what was going on but was sensible enough to decline.

"Actually bhaiyya, I have an assignment to finish. You folks carry on."

Annika was torn. She wanted to go with them in the hope of sharing a few moments with him. But she was also aware that it could be related to the divorce and a potentially toxic scene awaiting there. The rational angel in her head also screamed "You are being asked to go along because you are Om's friend. Why do you have to play Om's friend all the time?"

Before she could say anything, Sumo whispered, "Akka, what are you doing. Just go!!"

Om too chimed in. "Annika, you should come along."

That was all the nudge Annika's poor heart needed. Sumo waved at the trio and returned. This was not the first time Annika realised that she had rendered herself incapable of listening to her rational head anyway. She reluctantly walked across the sad kulfi that had disintegrated into a creamy mess, a slender strip of bamboo stuck out as a relic of better times the kulfi had seen. The brothers walked ahead and Annika followed them. They both paused for her to catch up periodically. It reminded her of a day, the three walked similarly, on a day when they had set out for pasta but she had ended up hungry and humiliated.. But that day, she was deliberately slow and Mr Outsider deliberately fast, as if the two trudged towards opposite poles. Today was different. Her Chandni was holding her back, he was pausing for her to catch up. They were no longer trudging toward opposite poles. They had become opposite poles themselves, ready to succumb to the attraction that was natural for opposite poles.