#3 The Home We Left!
"So how does it feel to be in your own place after so long Abir Rajvansh?" Abir said to himself with a wide grin. No one can imagine how happy he is right now! He went to Delhi 5 years ago for his studies and today, finally, he is back home. Aah, how eagerly he was looking for the day. But at last... he is in Rajkot, his dear Rajkot...
Abir still wonders, how could Maa never ask him to come back, not even for a break! He remembers, whenever he got a vacation, Maa along with Kunal would fly to Delhi and three of them would spend their time together. It's not like he didn't came to Rajkot even for once. But whenever he would come, it was merely one day stay and not for once he'd get enough time to meet his friends.
But now, he has a plenty of time. He will meet each of his friends from school and college. God! It's been such a long time he hasn't seen those stupid faces, Abir giggled.
And Mishti too...
No wonder he has grown to be more beautiful!
But will he get the chance to meet her?
"Okay, someone is smiling alone! What's the matter Bhai (Elder brother)?" Kunal almost jumped at Abir from behind.
"Nothing Nanko (Younger brother), just thinking, we should plan something, yeah? After all I've returned after 5 years. And I'll meet all my friends here." Abir said happily.
Kunal frowned, "Bhai, since when you were so excited to meet your old friends? For your information, you didn't even return to your own home for a proper stay!"
"No Nanko, don't you start now. And you know right? Maa (mother) thinks I should comeback only when I'm totally done with my studies and stuff. But now I'm back."
"And now that I'm here, I think I should catch up with those whom I left somewhere in the middle." Well, no wonder Abir was keen on meeting Mishti only! Can he ever let his mind not think of her, even after seven year?
"But let me go and meet Nishant first." Abir said while getting ready to go.
Kunal just nodded. He knows it well. Maa would never let Abir stay in Rajkot for more than a day, and even if by any chance he does, she made it sure that he meets none of his old friends. "Nishant... There are things probably you'll never know Bhai!" Kunal murmured, "But then do you even want to know it?"
Abir looked at him, "Kya barbar kar raha hai tu?" Kunal just smiled and left the room. He can't even listen to that stupid name!
~~
Nishant Maheswari.
For everyone, he is Abir's best friend. "But no one, absolutely no one tols me exactly what's wrong with him in all this while!" Abir said in annoyance while driving. No, he wasn't going to meet Nishant. It was a lie. But in all these years, Abir has understood very well that no matter how much people around him pretends like there's nothing, the truth is there was this secret about Nishant that he never knew. Not that Abir didn't try to know, he did, in fact he confronted Nishant many times. Alas! It seems Abir would never know this damned secret, and now, he doesn't even want to know.
Abir tuned into the FM, only to be drown in a pool of memories..
Oh God! He's visiting the lakeside after so long...
Abir's face brightened up with a big smile. This place... This air... So many memories... So many smiles...
Abir stopped the car in the roadside and closed his eyes. His smile has broadened into a grin already!
School life was indeed beautiful..
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Had this been a few years back, Mishti might have struggled between the urge to visit the lakeside and the necessity to not go there; and a wave sadness would have hit her so bad; "but not anymore", a weak smile came to her face.
Time has taught so many things in this span of 7 years. Well to be honest life was never easy for Mishti. After the death of her father, Parul - Mishti's mom, managed her job as well as the family well. And Mishti being the elder child, was introduced to responsibilities at a tender age. No, she was never asked to do so. But sometimes you choose a life for yourself that you could have ignored, and Mishti never regretted her choices.
Choice.
Probably the most powerful tool we have. Everything just boils down to choices. We exist in a field of infinite possibilities, where, every choice we make shuts an infinite number of doors but simultaneously opens an infinite number of doors. And at any point, we can change the direction of our lives by a simple choice. It is all in our hands, our mind and our hearts.
Life is indeed all about these choices only. Maybe no one can realize this simple fact much better than Mishti does. She has been making choices all along, and no matter where it ended up, she won't ever regret her choices. Maybe at times some of them have hurt her, broken her, shattered her into pieces. But then, these are the choices that have made her what she is today.
Mishti Kashyap is proud of her choices. Yes her life has never been an easy journey. But this was her choice. But now she has learnt to accept the after effects of her decisions. Well, this should be the sole reason Mishti could finally get over the toxicity she inhaled at different points in life.
Acceptance is the key, Mishti believes. No matter how much time it takes, in the end you just need to accept some things. If you can, then good for you or else your demons will never stop chasing you. Mishti took hell lot of time, but out of all wrong that happened to her, if not anything then she could at least accept one fact.
Your present doesn't belong to your past.
Mishti closed her eyes to calm her thoughts. Although she says otherwise, could walk out of her past without letting it affect her present? In fact, is she ever be able to do so? Abir - is he just an ex-boyfriend from her teenage? Does she even want to rub him from her life ever, even when they're never going to cross paths again!
Taking a deep breath Mishti attempted to shrug off her thoughts.
No overthinking Mishti!
It doesn't matter anyway, but the last thing she would expect in her life would be to come face to face with her past.
****************
Abir couldn't understand why but he felt the sudden and strange urge to come to this place.
The lakeside.
A place where he left a piece of his soul... A place he probably no longer belongs to...
But there he is, standing in his old heaven where he never returned for last 7 years...
"Everything is changed, Mishti, yet each corner of this place still echoes your name!"
Abir sighed.
~~
Out of every damn thing that can go wrong in this world, Mishti can never share her precious heaven with anyone... And anyone means... ANYONE.
"Where did this stupid appeared from in Rajkot? Hey Mr., what are you doing here?", Mishti almost screamed in anger.
The man in front of her looked back.
Mishti felt as if someone just swept away the rug from under her feet!
No.
The last thing she would expect in her life would be coming face to face with any damn piece of her past...
"Abir..!"
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