Hamesha, Yours!

-34-

It had been three hours since Nandini sat on her balcony with no particular feeling but embracing the openness of the air. The breeze was calming, not moist, not stirring, not hot and not cold.  It was open and free, may be her feelings got her through. May be that small pill did really have magic if she ever had let it worked but did she need it now? She had asked the same question then and she asked the same question now. Nikhil was a bit stupid to have recommended it to her when she met him after Harshad's accident. He said it would be a fall back, a preventive measure for any low blows she might have. But, she hadn't ever found them until she had decided to leave Dehradun. That day she had found them stark open in her section of the cupboard, the one she had dug her hands into multiple times. It was funny how she laughed at them at first when she found them that day but then stared at them before keeping them. It felt as if now, after Dehradun, Nikhil's words may come true. So, she kept them as a preventive measure only to buy more by the time she had reached Goa and then, they had disappeared again two nights after she had met Harshad. These pills seemed to be magical and indeed they were. They left a fuzzy feeling after she gulped them and they seemed to love to play hide and seek with her. But, she had them now right in front of her. 

A soft breeze blew taking the light-weight packet of pills along with in down the balcony edge. She left a deep sigh. A trip to the pharmacy was added. Just for preventive measure, of course. 

Her phone buzzed before she could further rationale her upcoming-bill about the pills. 

"Dear St. Josephian, This is a reminder that the dress-rehearsal and final run-through for the fest will start at 7 PM sharp before the 10 PM fest. We would like all of you to collect at the messaged-addressed. Thank you! "

The voice-mail shut and she kept her phone down. It was finally time and it was quite funny how the incidents turned on her. 

She had left many things only to reach new places and new curve balls. She had left Dehradun to stop herself from being a baggage on herself and barrier in a blooming relation. She ended up through a long train journey in Goa where she stumbled into her past- Harshad. She stayed with him, funnily without much hesitation, and then,  when she was moving forward she was propelled into her past again- music. When she decided to fight it so that she could stand up again, when she again started to feel like a baggage about living in his place, she got a perfectly laid empty house all to herself and may be a secure job. Well, that was to be decided today. 

She nudged her thoughts away convincing herself that may be that was life- ups and downs. The sound of it was adventurous but in reality it is draining. And if this was true, she knew she didn't want to live long but just live enough and happy. And now, it was her time to be happy, fight herself ad at last put this game of music to the end.

 She pulled up her bag and made her way to the unknown address. This time the pup was her responsibility again. He had taken care of it till now, but it was her responsibility yet again.   

----

"So you bought what all the pundit ji suggested?"

"Yep, it's all in the back and more." Aryaman smiled back and wiggled his filled bag as they walked down the street back towards Murthy House.

"More?" Abhimanyu questioned.

"Yep, he forgot the some of the stuff."

"Impossible, he said he checked thrice before we set out to buy stuff. He confirmed we didnt need more. Its a South indian pooja, you know! We may not need.." Abhimanyu reasoned until his voice trailed off seeing Aryaman being ignorant to his talk.

"One." Aryaman counted out of the blue.

"Two?" Abhimanyu questioned queerly.

"Three." Aryaman nodded his head.