What is the question? │✔

- 9 -

"Veer do you know where that brat is? I've been searching for hours!"

Gulping down the glass of warm water, he pointed at a secluded corner of the cafe. His friend lent him a cry of frustration. Moments ago he was in a similar position. And now he had come to terms with it.

Amidst the bustling streets and raining snow, a small cafe took its own silent place. The cafe which was usually empty was now crowded, clearly, college tours meant good business for them. He watched a lump of snowfall from the hoarding which said, 'Tiger Woods Cafe'. Turning back to his desperate mate, he patted his shoulder providing some comfort.

One might wonder what made the duo go furious like this.

However, getting ditched is not something that would be appreciated by anyone. And Sujoy Chatterjee had done the same.

"When did 'that' happen?!"

And Veer could empathize with the poor fellow. Two people who did not even know each other, sitting cozily in that corner, dining, whining and god knows what! That single-line paints the picture of how they were ditched.

At least the girl was kind enough to extend an invitation to him, unlike his own friend who forgot his existence altogether.

"Oye let's head out of this 'coupley' place! I feel sick. Meanwhile, I'll tell you how our innocent boy betrayed us, his guardians."

Walking in and out of the shops, leaping and jumping in the middle of the streets, Veer explained to his clueless friend how all of it was the fault of that stupid Pepsi bottle. Yes. If it were not for Pepsi then they would not have played that 'twisting and turning the bottle' game. And that game was what led to his Chatterjee's betrayal.

"So we spun that bottle. It stopped pointing at him. You know how lucky he is, right? We gave him a dare. And true to his word, he had got on his knees to complete the dare."

"Why did you ask him to do that?"

"I asked him to ask out Riya, not her! 'Cause, that would be too mortifying and I did not want my boy to go through hell a lot of embarrassment!"

"But?"

Sighing and crying at the same time, tears of laughter leaked out of his eyes. He moved on to narrate how the girl sitting next to Riya, the one who caught his friend's eyes, was quick to pounce on. For before his Chatterjee could have the chance of completing his dare, the girl, Arhana her name, shot out her acceptance. Veer mimicked her for a better understanding of his listener.

"Yes! I like you!"

"God! She really did that? What did our kid say? I hope we raised him right!"

"Obviously! That opportunistic bastard! He laughed and soon enough recovered and replied back with a cheesy, 'I like you too. But the dare was meant for Riya'. And the rest was history! Right now they must be cuddling up in that corner, forgetting both of us!"

They entered a gift shop and were greeted with a jingle. Their laugh supplemented the already merry atmosphere. Eyes drifting through the racks, he searched for a perfect gift for his Neel Ba. Pacing up and down the store, he could find nothing which was worth to be gifted to his Ba.

"You might not find a gift for Masterji here. Let's go to the bookstore?"

Approving the idea, he was about to set his foot out of the shop but that's when he noticed the corner-most rack. With each step towards it, he could feel his abnormal heart thuds. His fingers brushed over the delicate material.

It was a white and red traditional sari. Nothing exceptional.

Perhaps the fact that he knew a person who owned the exact same set rattled him more than he could imagine. A person who could identify the whole origin and details of a sari just by the touch or feel of it. A person who could grumble on and on about the deteriorating quality of the textiles. A person who could make the shopkeepers bow down in shame.

Yes, when it came to saris, Devi Mandal was an aesthete.

A quiver could be heard before he spoke out.

"I'll take this."

Grabbing the parcel, he rushed out. He had joined the tour to forget everything, not the other way round. Furious with himself, he stamped and tromped on the thick snow, marching towards the wood cabins.

Flying round and round the sunken footsteps, she stared at the voiceless snow and then at the immature boy. 'Easy there'  whistled out the blue-crowned Flycatcher, not pleased with the habits of Sapiens.