तुम मेरी प्रीत समझ न सके
हम तुम्हारी रीत समझ न सके
बिछड़े दिल की पीड़ा
रुदन गीत तुम समझ न सके.
[you couldn't understand my love
we couldn't understand your style
the pain of a separated heart
You couldn't understand the crying song.]
- written by me
"Haan mumma, I have landed safely. "
Ipshita Kumari, now 25 year old, worked as an Junior Technician at MicroMakers, one of the top companies in India.
She had just landed at Pune International Airport to meet her college friend, Sia.
Sia worked at MegaTech at Pune. She worked in the design department as a Assistant Manager due to her having a minor degree in management too.
After collecting her luggage from the baggage counter, Ipshita booked a cab and waited at the exit.
Sia had offered her to stay at her house, which was a surprising considering Sia's introvert nature and her love for privacy and personal space.
.
.
.
Devasthali Apartments
The board read.
It was a posh society. The name of the apartments was engraved on a gold plated board and on the right side of the entrance, stood a huge stone statue of Airavat, the royal elephant of the King of Gods, Devraj Indra. The buildings were colorful and some beautifully depicted murals of ancient folklore.
She searched for her friend's apartment number. Since it was large society, it took her half an hour and a lot of asking around before she finally reached Sia's house.
Ipshita rang the bell.
"Hello." Sia greeted opening the door, "Come in, come in."
Ipshita carried her suitcase inside.
Her house was quiet simple for someone who lived in such a lavish society, but that was how Sia always was - simple. It reminded Ipshita of her hostel room. Sia kept very few things in her room, which always made everyone wonder how she managed in so few things.
Ipshita was not much different, but since she preferred physical copies of books over pdfs, her desk was filled with the course books she had gotten from her seniors.
Sia showed Ipshita to the guest room. Ipshita excused herself as she freshened up and changed into comfortable clothes - a purple oversized t-shirt with black lowers.
She came outside to find Sia had prepared snacks for her. She sat down at the sofa as Sia set everything on the table.
"Need help? " Ipshita offered, which Sia kindly declined.
"Naah, it's done."
[Naah = Nope]
Sia poured the sherbet for both of them, handed one glass to Ipshita and sat down beside her.
"You've got quiet a pretty apartment." Ipshita started, "Seems like the company is paying well, huh? " She nudged Sia's shoulder, slightly teasing her.
"Arre, don't be fooled. It's actually a lot cheaper than it looks. "
"Really? How much ? "
"Why? Jealous? " Sia teased back.
"At least I get to live near my parents." Ipshita countered.
This was how their friendship was- constant teasing and banter. Their banter used to get so extreme sometimes, that others would have to separate them.
But they never crossed the limits. They both knew what the boundaries were and never hurt each other with their teasing.
I felt so much better after talking to Sia. It reminded me of the college days.
After a bit of teasing, we sat in comfortable silence, both of us sipping our drinks.
The initial awkwardness faded away and it was peaceful now.
"You don't live with your parents?" Sia asked.
She must've caught on the 'near' part.
"All employees are provided living quarters, and I wanted my own space. So, I moved there. "
She nodded.
"And what about Kabir? "
My mood soured. Sia did not know about him yet, I did not tell her. In fact, I have not told anyone except my parents about it yet.
It was not intentional. I just did not know how to bring it up, and I did not wish to remember that again.
But now that the topic has arose, I decided to tell her.
So, I told her everything. How the calls reduced, then the messages too, and finally how after a month of no response from him, I decided to block him everywhere and cut all ties.
"Is that why you changed your contact?"
Yes, I changed my contact too around the same time after graduation. But that was not because of him. Coincidently, around the same time when I was busy cutting off ties and working on myself, our manager decided to take us trainees on a trek. I was talking to my parents at night, when one of my colleagues, Prem Mathur decided to scare me.
He succeeded, but in the attempt, my phone slipped out of my hand and fell on the other side of the fence, down the hill.
Prem immediately apologized and offered me his phone, as I wished to inform my parents. My sudden scream and the sudden ending of call must've scared them too.
And I was right. They were scared, but relieved when I explained the situation. Though I did get a good one hour scolding for losing my phone.
Sia laughed while listening to my story. I laughed along with her. Soon, we got tired of all that talking and laughing, and we both retired to our rooms for the night.
It's been 18 months, 18 months since I lost her. I know it is my fault. I did not contact her, I did not give her enough love and care.
But I had to.
I couldn't let him know about her, I couldn't let him target her.
In the process of protecting her, I ended up losing her.
And now, I couldn't get in touch with her. She had blocked me from all her social media accounts, which was expected, and just recently I learned that she had changed her phone number too!
Did she hate me that much now?
The thought made me sad, par koi nhi, mana lunga. She is my girl, she will understand, like she always did.
[par koi na, mana lunga = But no problem, I will convince her.]
I turned my attention to my right hand man and friend, Advaik. He has helped me build The Nexsite Technologies, been with me since the start. When I lost Ipshita, I ended up spending days locked up in my room. He pulled me out and helped me find her again.
Though, our efforts have bore no fruit yet.
"What made you come here? " I asked Advaik.
" I have some pretty good news for you."
I straightened myself, "What is it?"
"We have found her."
(1077 words)
(So, it begins now - the real story.)