SWEET NOTHINGS - A COLLECTION OF MISHBIR OS

OS 6: This starry night

There was a soft gush of wind, rustling the grass gently. Mishti smiled, she loved the smell of nature. Sniffing deeply, she revelled in the chilly wind, the sound of the leaves rustling, the soft laps of the water.

"Ghar chale? It's late and Rajshri aunty must be worried?" Abir commented, sitting down beside her on the mat.

She turned her head to look at him, "mmn mmmn" she shook her head, "I called badi ma. We have more time" she said, looking back up at the stars.

Abir narrowed his eyes at Mishti, she was lying down on the mat they had spread by the river, her eyes intently staring at the stars, a soft smile playing at her lips. Abir felt his own lips perk up in a smile, she seemed so serene , so peaceful.

So beautiful Abir thought, as he lay down beside her, hooking his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars.

They remained like that for a while, neither speaking a word, but both reveling in the comfort that only nature could offer.

"I used to come here with baba when I was little"

Surprised, Mishti turned her head to look at her best friend. His hazel eyes were clouded in memory, a smile grazed his lips. No wonder Abir loved the riverside so much. It held memories of his father. She didn't know much about his father, he rarely opened up, but she knew his baba was very important to him, and that Abir missed his father.

She turned on her side to look at him. Sensing her gaze on him, he turned his head in her direction. She looked at him closely. There were tears glistening at the corner of his eyes. And it pinched something deep inside her.

These days everything about Abir affected her - today afternoon, they had reached for the same pencil and his hand had engulfed hers - an act which had happened hundred times earlier casually but lately it had become anything but casual for her. And she knew why. Kind of.

Unsettled, she pushed those thoughts to a corner, knowing that she needed to be the friend Abir had always been to her.

"And that's why the riverside is special" she commented softly, incredibly proud that she had managed to maintain the strength in her voice.

Abir nodded, looking up at the starts, "every Saturday, baba would bring me here and we would lie down and count the stars"

Mishti felt herself smile at the image of a little Abir cuddled next to his father, his little hands pointed towards the sky, his perky little fingers counting those twinkling stars above. That little boy must have had everything in the world that night, Mishti thought sadly. And she instantly felt her stomach clench with the thought that it had never happened again. The chance to know his father as he grew up had been snatched away from him.

Abir turned to look at Mishti briefly. She was lost in thought, her eyes on his face, but not really looking. He hadn't shared this with anyone. Not even nanu. Baba had told him that this was their hideout, their secret. Just baba and Abir, no one else. And as a little boy, he had felt that he had everything in the world. And today, lying in the same spot with Mishti, his angry chorni, the girl he loved with all his heart, he felt like that 6 year old boy again.

"That's scorpio"

That shook Abir from his thoughts, and he turned in the direction that Mishti was pointing - sure enough up in the sky was the constellation that he had always found as a little boy. Her excitement was palpable. He rose his brow in question.