Today is Saturday, 23 April 2016. Almost a year has passed since the day Shagun
and Yami had that conversation. Three of them have not talked to each other
since then though they see each other in College and common parties. Shagun is
going to appear in the entrance exam for a master's in chemistry, which is
tomorrow and Dhruv is preparing for MBA. Yami has not been able to cope with
their break up, she has been performing poorly in college exams and has no plans
for the future until now.
It is 9 in the morning and Shagun was sleeping wearing
a blanket which is mostly covering her face. “ I am going. Lock the door.” says
Simran, her new roommate. She puts effort into opening her eyes as she was
studying till late night, gets out of the bed and locks the door of the
apartment then straight goes to the bathroom. She washes her face, makes a bun
of her hair, and starts brushing her teeth. She comes to her bedroom while
passing through the kitchen and Simran’s bedroom, opens her mobile and just sits
on the bed while surprisingly looking into the mobile. Her face shows mixed
expressions of happiness and nervousness. “ Who the hell left the wet lingerie
in the bathroom?” shouts Aarti, her other roommate, which brings Shagun back
into the room. These three share the two-bedroom apartment in which Shagun
occupies one and the other but a bigger one is occupied by Simran and Aarti.
However, unfortunately, the apartment only has a single bathroom which seldomly
becomes the reason for fights. “What?” says Shagun and goes towards Aarti
leaving her phone on the bed which shows a WhatsApp group called “Yaaro” created
by Dhruv. It has a message “Guys, I am sorry for what I did. We all made
mistakes on our part. But this cannot break our friendship. It is one year since
we met. Shaily and Yami, guys please come to ‘Stars’ today at 5, for the sake of
the good time we have spent together if not for me. I will be waiting for you
both.”
“You have cheated on me. I believed in you, Dhruv Bhatia. What do you
want to prove from this gesture?” yelled Yami. “I did not. You just did not believe in me.
Please give me a chance to explain. You can't cut the link like that.” says Dhruv
while making a scissor sign with his fingers. Both of them are sitting in a
corner table which has names of couples engraved over it and trying to
discuss things which are steadily turning into an argument. Almost 15 minutes
later, Shagun enters with gifts for both, she has a smile on her face and
hope in her heart. They both were so busy in their conversation that they did
not even notice her.
“Hi guys,” Shaguns says to grab attention, put the gifts
in front of both, and bends towards Yami for a hug. “Hi, Shaily. I missed you so
much.” Yami tells with a heaviness in her voice. They both shared a tight and
intimate hug. Meanwhile, Dhruv watched both of them with a smile, and, then he
and Shagun shared a side hug. “Thank you for doing this Dhruv.” “I have been
trying to do this since last year Shaily but could not gather the courage to especially face you . We both have hidden so much from you, you were such a good
friend.” “It is your habit of hiding things not mine. I asked you to tell her,
you said we will tell at the appropriate time. And what a fantastic time it was
when she got to know it.” says Yami in a sarcastic and taunting tone. “Can I get
a chance to explain myself ? Or is it simply going to be a fight.” says Dhruv in
irritation. “ Go on,” says Yami in a careless fashion and puts her left hand
over her forehead meanwhile, Shagun seemed a little serious and was eager to
listen.
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| Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock |
“So it all started on Valentine's day last year. When Yami and Anant..”
“Stop. Why are you bringing all that here.” interrupts Yami again. “It is for
Shaily to get things clear. She doesn’t know how we get that close and how you
and Anant split.” Yami nodes in little embarrassment as she realizes Dhruv has
been behaving gently while she is not able to accept the situation and getting
impatient. “So on Valentine's Day, Yami and Anant were on the college ground
together. I coincidently went there to check Shaily as we were supposed to go
out at Pacific mall. You remember Shaily.” Shaily thinks for a moment rolling
her eyes and says “Ya. I wanted to buy that blue jacket. But you called me and
said no. I then went with Simran.” “Yes. So when I went there I saw Anant was
forcing himself over Yami. She did not seem comfortable to me.” He continued
saying with a little hesitant voice, “ So I went and asked him to let her come
with me, and in all that, we had a little fight and again coincidently Gada Sir
arrived there and I grabbed Yami’s hand and we both ran. After that day we both
became close and we have gone on some dates together.” “So since valentine’s
every time you said you are going with Anant it was with D?” asked Shagun.
“Yes,” said Yami with a little shy smile. “It was all so perfect between us
until he tried to prove his masculinity as he could not score more than me and
felt insecure. Since that day, I feel scared even if I get his site.” she
continued and Shagun held her hand to show concern. “ But then why were you with
Raima on that day.” asks Shagun. Yami takes a breath and looks toward Dhruv in
anticipation for answers to her unsaid questions which have been rolling through
her mind for a year.
“You remember Shaily we both were in the library and saw
Raima with Anant. I was worried that he might do wrong with her too. That is why
I messaged him to stay away from her, and we had a verbal fight over WhatsApp.
But he was not ready to back off and started blackmailing me, of getting beaten
up by his goon gang or something, I don’t know.” Dhruv drinks some water and
continues, “So I thought to get help from Gada Sir to keep me and Raima safe. As
he knew what happened” Both the girls were listening in excitement and shock.
“Let me continue,” says Shaily in a childish manner. “So the boy who left the
tuition and got failed was Anant.” says Shagun. “Oh boy. This Gada Sir is a
thing, man,” says Yami laughing. “Yes. Now can I continue if you both are done
praising Gada Sir?”
“After all that, Anant was out of the scene. However Raima
was not able to accept all that, so she messaged me to know everything. She
sounded very grieved and vulnerable so I asked her to meet after college that
day. We both went shopping and I explained everything to her. And since then she
is like a sister to me.” said Dhruv emphasizing more the word “sister”.
“Now
everything is clear to me. But you both should have shared it with me. What have
I done to not deserve to know that? At least you could have told me Yami.” says
Shagun. “I am sorry Shaily. But I could not gather the courage to tell you. We
three were so close, that me and D coming into a relationship would have made
you feel left out and betrayed.” explains Yami. Shagun nodes, feeling a little
awkward. “However, I also didn’t know about many things, like the whole Gada Sir
episode, Raima and Anisha... “ continued Yami. “What about Anisha? Don’t bring
her in between us. “ “Okay. We will not. Let me also clarify to you Yami I also
did not know anything. I was in the library and saw Anant and Raima together.
Also, you know that I was unaware that Anant failed.” “Yes. I know Shaily. I was
the one who hid things with you, for those you did not even deserve that. I am
sorry for that.” “What do you mean by that? I have always been loyal to you.
After listening to all that I explained, you are still saying this.” Dhruv says
in anger. “ You have hidden things from me.” “I wanted to save you Yami.”
The
trio talked for almost two hours and everything was cleared between them. “It is
7, I need to go. I have my exam tomorrow. Wish me luck.” “All the best, Shaily.
Kill it. I know you will.” says Dhruv and waved a hand for goodbye. “Rock it. I
will call you.” Yami said while hugging Shagun. Shagun went in a little hurry,
she was happier about getting her friends back than tensed for her exam. “So,
you and Anisha are still good friends,” asked Yami to Dhruv while they both are
standing at the door of the restaurant to depart in opposite directions for
their PGs. “More than friends. We are in a relationship, Yami. She supported me
when no one did.” “Ya. I get it. Good luck to you both. See you soon D.” said
Yami with a little disappointment in her voice. “Goodbye. I am so relaxed we
three got back together.” “Ya. Bye,” Yami starts walking while waving her hand.
Although there were a few disappointments, some bitter revelations but more than
that the three of them were content that day. They were happy as their hearts
were free from many burdens; the burden of hiding, the burden of disbelief and
the burden of letting each other go. They would have slept in peace with a
thought that their friends are back.
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