The Journey

Chapter 15.

Aarav's POV-

After last night, I've come to terms that I've actually started liking Ishitha. Her being my crush once upon a time, is doing nothing, but adding up to the feelings I have for her.

"Dude. This is stupid." Ishitha said, sitting up straight on her seat.

"What happened?" I chuckled.

"Isko jump karna hi nahi aata." She complained, totally annoyed.

Ishitha and I were currently having a Subway Surfers competition on our respective mobile phones.

"You just don't know to play, Ishitha." I stated. I know this would enrage her.

"Excuse me?"

And I was right.

"Excused."

She rolled her eyes at me, murmuring a few profanities under her breath, which caused me to chuckle.

"Cutie." I said, chuckling.

She blushed.

Wait. What.

Ishitha Sahni blushed?

"Are you blushing?" I asked her, amused.

"Uhm, what?" She asked, covering her face with her hair.

"Nothing." I smirked.

"Ugh! To hell with this." She said, throwing her phone on her seat.

"How far are we from Ranchi?" She asked, turning to look at me.

"It's my first time on a train, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I kind of... forgot, but yeah okay."

"I wish I had Doraemon's anywhere door, so I could just skip the journey and reach my destination." She added.

"That's not what matters." I said.

"You know what matters? It's-" I started again, but was cut off by Ishitha.

"It's the journey that matters, not the destination." She said.

"Wrong. It's not the journey or the destination, it's the seatmate that matters." I corrected her.

"True. As with any journey, who you travel with can be more important than your destination." She pointed out.

And I felt, she wasn't talking about the train journey alone.

I felt, she was talking about our life journey too. You obviously can't spend your entire life alone, you do need a partner, and I guess, that's what she meant.

"As in?" I asked. I wanted to know what she exactly meant.

"As in, with any journey, train or whatever, be it your life journey too, you need someone to travel with, someone you can have fun with, someone who's always there for you, no matter what. So yeah, who you travel with can be more important than your destination."

I was right.

"Does that mean, I'm more important than the destination?" I asked her, smiling.

She shook her head slowly, with a smile on her face.

"Maybe, you are." She said, looking at me, before reaching for her phone.

"Maybe?" I asked.

"Don't push it."

"Okay, ma'am."

And that was the last sentence spoken before an almost half an hour of silence took over.

"Aarav."

I turned to looked at Ishitha.

"Day after tomorrow."

"What?"

"Day after tomorrow is when we'd be in Ranchi." She stated.

"Day after tomorrow?" I asked, surprised.

"Wow, time really flies quite quick." I added.

"I know right." She chuckled.

"I think, I'll miss you." She smiled, looking at me.

Smiling back at her, I said, "I wouldn't."

"Oh really?" She gave me a challenging look and marched towards my seat.

"You what?" She asked, now pinching me.

"Ow ow. Okay ow. I'll miss you. Happy? Ow, stop."

"Better." She said, smiling in triumph.

"Don't you have any wishes?" She questioned, sitting back in her seat.

"Like what?"

"Like any."

"Maybe, I'd like to be a power ranger." I said, chuckling.

"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes.

"Why do you ask?" I asked her.

"I don't know. Just felt like it. Like, everyone has wishes, thought you'd have one too."

"I'm lucky enough to have everything in life, so I don't really know. But if given a chance to wish one particular thing, then that would be love." I answered, honestly.

She smiled.

"If I were to grant one of your wishes, which one would that be?" I questioned her.

"To have you in my life till my last breath, maybe."