The Scars ✓

Twenty Four

Kiara wore a red frock, knowing it was his favourite color and he always said that she looked the most beautiful girl in it and paired it with her favourite sandals and left to meet Kabir.

She saw him waiting outside her house door. As soon as he saw her, his hand drew back to the back of his neck, a thing which Kiara grew to notice that he did when he was nervous. It all seemed to go in a slow motion for Kiara but the closer they seemed to get, the more confident Kabir started looking.

"Hey there, beautiful!" Kabir said with a goofy grin as Kiara approached him.

"Hey, how are you?" Kiara asked.

"Perfect. Come walk with me. I have this basket full of sandwiches that Mom made for us."

"Aww, that's so thoughtful of her! Tell her I said thank you and that she is the best!" Kiara spoke. Kabir shrugged as if to say, well, obviously.

It was a ten minute walk to the tower and it seemed to pass so fast because they were constantly talking and bickering about the stuff they saw on their way.

They reached CN Tower and went into the life to go up. While they were there, Kabir said,

"Listen, when this door opens, I want you to close your eyes and open them only when I tell you to."

"Should I be worried or prepared for any prank you'll pull on me?" Asked Kiara, jokingly.

"Maybe, maybe not." Kabir said and then laughed at the confused expression he received in return.

"Kabi-" Kiara was cut off because the elevator door opened.

"Close your eyes and stand here, I'll be back in a moment." He said.

"Okay?" Kiara said more like a question.

After a couple of minutes, he asked Kiara to open her eyes and come towards where he was standing. She started walking towards the area but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Kabir had laid out a small sheet right in the middle of the glass floor with the basket on it.

"Kabir! You know I am scared of heights. Was this the only place you could think of, for setting this up?" Kiara said, backing off from the floor.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll be okay. Don't look down. Just come straight up. You'll become used to this height soon." Kabir said.

"Nope, not happening." Kiara said not moving from her stance.

"It'll be okay, I promise you. Trust me. I know you're scared of heights but you have to face it to overcome it.-" Seeing her reluctance, she continued, "-Okay, here's what we'll do, you come up here, and after a while, if you still feel uncomfortable, we'll get off, okay?"

"Okay. Fine." Kiara said and then slowly, with cautious steps, holding Kabir's hand like her life depended on it, went up to the place where their picnic was set up.

Soon, Kiara got used to the height and Kabir started showing her all the things that otherwise were hard to see. Kiara scanned the whole area very carefully because she was very scared that she might not be able to gather so much courage ever in her life.

To her, it looked like they were sitting on top of a cloud, beneath them, everything seemed small. Their excitement level was beyond the height of the tower.

But there was something wrong with Kabir's behaviour that day and Kiara could sense it. He was almost his usual sense but she felt like he wasn't being himself completely. He seemed too nervous around her, which wasn't usually the case with him. Out of curiosity she asked him,

"You don't seem to be 'you' today. What is the matter? Is everything all right?"

"No, actually I had to tell you something..." said Kabir, with his hand rubbing the back of his neck and his eyes not meeting hers.

"What is it Kabir?"

"Uhh... okay, look, I don't know how you'll react to what I am about to tell you. You may just snap at me or walk away but whatever reaction you give, please wait for me to finish, okay?"

Kiara looked at him, questioningly but nodded not knowing how to react to what was coming her way. It was the first time that she was hearing a guy speaking with so much affection in his eyes and words.

Kabir spoke with voice too soft but its message clear and loud. He said,

"Look, I don't know how to speak in an indirect way so I am saying it in the best way I know. From the day I met you or rather, ran into you I couldn't think of anything else except you and your face and the way you said 'sorry.'"  Kiara was about to say something but was cut off by Kabir's speech. He continued and said,

"You are so distracting that whenever I cross you, even when you don't look at me, I feel bad that our eyes didn't meet even for a fraction of a second. When you talk to other friends of yours, I get jealous of them. When you hug your other friends to bid them goodbyes, I just can't help but be jealous of them. Everything you do affects me deeply. I get affected from each step that you take towards or away from me. To simply compile all my feelings for you in a few words I would just say that..."

"Kabir, wha-" Kiara intruded once again only to be cut again. Kabir held her hand and his thumb caressed her knuckles. He said,

"I like you Kiara. I always have and I always will. I like you beyond words..."

This completely shocked Kiara. For a moment she just went blank and couldn't think what to do and how to react to this kind of situation.

"I know this is new to you and that we're too small to do this. I know that you haven't even thought about me as anything other than a friend. I don't expect you to answer me immediately or answer me at all. But, I wanted to tell this to you so that you know what exactly is going on with me."

Kabir paused to look at Kiara's face and when he saw no expression, continued,

"You do not have to feel the same way I do. There is no necessity to like me the same way I like you. That is not how this works."

Kabir couldn't understand what he should do to make the tension between them lessen. He felt that the more he spoke to lighten the mood, the more awkward things became. So he decided to stay silent and wait for what Kiara had to say to him.

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