From Howrah to Brooklyn

Chapter 4

A lot of time had passed, it was May - June already and Neil had been really busy over the past few months not just dating with Raina but also applying for the universities.

He wanted to pursue chemical engineering and after applying in lot of universities, he finally secured his place in Loughborough University.

Neil was about to leave in the next couple of days and he couldn't believe how fast this year had gone by. Suddenly Neil came across a picture of him and Alia together during the Durga Puja festival and he realised that in these past few months he had seen very little of Alia, as she was busy with her school but somewhere Neil knew it had to do something with his closeness with Raina. He felt that he had ignored Alia all this while. But he was going to do nothing about it. Neil was one of people who was afraid of confrontations. He didn't  like things to get awkward, hence he sometimes got lazy and let things get sort out at their own pace which was not handy every time.

Alia came home from her tuition classes and she saw her mother working frantically working in the kitchen. She was preparing some snacks and packing and then double packing them in Zip lock bags.

'Maa.. Eta Ki? What's all this?' Alia asked.

'Aloo... You don't remember Neil is leaving in two days, so I am preparing all this for him to take back.' Tapur told Alia.

Alia was shocked when she heard this. She didn't realise that she had distanced herself so much that she forgot that it was time for Neil to head back to UK.

'Aloo babu, please do me a favour. Please take these snacks upstairs to Neil and help him pack. I have to go to the temple now.' Tapur requested her daughter.

Alia took all these snacks upstairs and while climbing each stairs she was just praying that she should not have to meet Raina.

She reached upstairs and straightaway went into Neil's room, who surprisingly was packing alone in his room. Alia heaved a sigh of relief and she progressed her way into the room.

'Neil... Ma sent these for you to keep in your suitcase', Alia handed over the snacks to him.

Neil was shocked to see Alia in his room. He noticed that she had lost a bit of weight and had some dark circles. He assumed that it must be due to the work pressure as she entered her 12th grade.

Alia sat down where Neil's suitcase was and she started organising his bag and made space for the snacks. The whole time she helped Neil in packing his suitcase, she didn't utter a word to him. It was evident that she was sad but the fact that she hadn't spent anytime with him, bugged her even more.

Finally Neil broke the silence, 'Aloo.. everything okay with you in school? You seem to have lost some weight and you have developed under eyes. Are you not sleeping properly at night? Please do not take so much pressure of work. You will do very well in your board exams.'

Alia didn't meet her eyes with Neil still  as she didn't know how to face him and she just nodded her head.

Neil further continued, 'I am sorry Aloo... I am bad friend ... I ignored you so much in the past few days. But why didn't you come and fight with me? Why did you disappear?'

'I didn't want to be the third wheel between you and Raina.' Alia replied.

Neil wasn't expecting such a blunt reply from Alia and it further confirmed that she was upset from him for ignoring her so much.

Alia realised that she might have been a bit harsh with her answer, hence she mustered courage and asked, 'Neil.. Do you want to go for one last round of some egg rolls and KC Das's Rosugullas?'

At that moment itself Neil's phone buzzed and it was Raina who was calling. Alia saw her name flashing on his phone. Neil picked up the call and put it on speaker and said, 'Hi Raina.. What's up?'

'Hey Baby! What are you doing?' Raina asked.

'I'm just busy packing.' Neil replied.

'Baby, why don't you come over to my house and then we can chill till late night as tomorrow you are leaving for the UK.'

Alia heard Raina's plan and she felt disappointed and she got up from the bed and was about to leave, when suddenly Neil grabbed her wrist. Alia looked at him with a confused look on her face.

'Raina, I don't think it's a good idea. I have plans with Alia already and I want to call it an early night today. I shall see you tomorrow before leaving. Alright.' Neil said no to Raina while still clutching onto Alia's hand.

'Oh .. I would have preferred if it was us two but I guess you have made up your mind. Anyways say hi to Alia. It's been a while since I have seen her. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye. Love you.' Raina hung up the phone.

Neil shook his head and gave a faint smile. He knew Raina wasn't happy with his plan but he cannot afford to neglect Alia once again. He looked at Alia, still clutching her hand and asked,

'Why were you getting up to leave? You thought I would ignore you again? It's been ages since we have chilled together and I would not let go of that opportunity for anyone.'

Alia was very happy that she got an opportunity to spend some time with Neil. Both of them finished the packing quickly and then headed their way to explore the market.

Their first stop was their favourite egg roll stall in Chowrangee Lane. Both of them ate two rolls each and then progressed to KC Das's sweet shop for some bengali sweets. They both were experiencing food coma by eating all those delicious rosugullas and sandesh.

'Wow ...I think I am going to explode after all that eating. I am officially in food coma.' Neil exclaimed.

He looked at Alia and she looked very happy and he was gutted with himself that how come he ignored his best friend all these days. Neil was staring at her when Alia noticed him and said, 'What? Why are you looking at me like that?'

Neil smiled and said, 'What's your favourite place in Calcutta? As in your go to place when you are not feeling your 100% or you are upset about something. A place which helps you lift your mood.'

'Erm... Neil do you really want to see my favourite place in Calcutta?' Alia asked Neil.

'Yeah sure. Take me.' Neil said.

Alia and Neil started walking towards her favourite place in the city. After walking for a few minutes, Neil realised that they are heading towards Howrah Bridge.

'Aloo... Why are you taking me to Howrah?'

'Coz that's my favourite place.' Alia replied.

'Really.. the bridge is your favourite place? How come?'

'I know it's unusual but I don't know I just feel so peaceful here. Whenever I am feeling sad or lonely or tensed I just come here and forget all my problems. It's so contrasting, the busy roads together with the tranquil waters of the Hoogly river. The bridge witnesses both - the bustling noise on the roads as well the silence of the waters. I feel it's personifying our lives. We have many situations which causes restlessness but we only find inner peace by looking for it in our hearts. I don't know it's hard to explain and it probably doesn't make any sense to you but I just look out at it in this way.' Alia said.

Neil smiled. Alia said something very deep to him. They continued to walk on the bridge. They did not speak much but the silence was peaceful.