Boomerang

It was the year 2012. Rio had completed his 12th board exam with flying colors. He wished to get an engineering degree from one of the top colleges and the wish came true. He was satisfied as he got to join a college in his hometown that too at a distance of 10 KM from his home. Rio was excited to see what this college has to offer. Though he was studious, he was a casual, cool, and confident teenager. He wondered whether he would meet the love of his life just like the movies. Yes, he was a movie buff too.

On the other part was Neha, who also got an engineering seat in her hometown which was 200 KM away from Rio. She wished that her best friend Dhanvi would get placed in the same college. But as they say, God disposed of her wish and got Dhanvi placed in Rio's college.

The semester began in respective colleges. The first semester was a roller coaster for most of them. It was also the time that Facebook's growth began in India. College students created an account in their first week, and Rio was no exception to this. He got an internet connection and he would be online most of the time while he is at home.

The first semester was never like the ones that they showed in movies. The students had no idea how did they even faced and passed it. But everything went well. The second semester began and Rio was made as Representative of the class. Dhanvi was the representative for her class. Soon they met over Teacher Student meeting. They became friends or as one could say they became siblings. Dhanvi never had a younger brother and Rio always wished for an elder sister. They felt happy being siblings than being friends.

As the days passed, soon a chaotic protest happened across the state. College students from all over the state participated in it. Rio's college announced closure for 15 days as they shouldn't get involved in these protests. As most of the students were from different districts, the entire college got vacated that evening. Students fled to their respective hometowns. Rio had a hard time as most of his school buddies weren't available. He spent most of his time on Facebook. He even uploaded a new display picture. It gave good comments from his friends' circle.

Neha and Dhanvi met after a month. They spoke to their heart's content. This was the time that Dhanvi introduced Rio to Neha on Facebook. As soon as she saw Rio's picture she got awestruck. Rio wasn't a model or gym freak but he looked good in that picture. Neha had an instant crush at that moment. Neha sent a friend request to Rio.

They both never knew that their relationship would be much more than being friends. They became friends, started to chat and numbers were exchanged. It brought them closer. The girl who never stayed awake at 10 p.m. was awake till 1 a.m. Their friendship was true and pure. Eventually, both didn't realize when they fell for each other. A year and a half later, Rio proposed Neha and she said 'Yes'.

It was Aug 30th, 2014. Rio's alarm went at 4 a.m. Every time the alarm goes on it would irritate him. But today, he was overjoyed, felt energetic, and not at all sleepy even though he slept at midnight bidding goodbye to his sweetie. Both were curious about the next day. Neha always felt tensed not because she is about to meet her sweetheart after 3 months. But what if, the circumstances didn't let them. She was way more tensed as their meet got canceled 2 months before. Rio was upset for a whole week after the meet got canceled.

Rio got ready and left his house around 5 a.m. He took the bus to Neha's place which was about 200 km away. The four-hour journey was the longest he ever felt. He didn't take a nap during the travel nor was he tensed about the meet. Instead, he was dreaming about the moment to meet his darling. He was blushing which he never felt in 20 years of his life. Imaging his sweetie's reaction, he smiled to himself. Wondering how would she react? Will she blush? Will she smile? Will she be quiet on meeting him? How long are they going to spend time together? These questions kept bugging him as he moved towards his destination.