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Chapter 8
It was the first day of month when everyone at home was out shopping household, picking up monthly ration, and other things, that they’d need for coming month... Khushi was alone at home engulfed in reading the book ‘Veronica Decides to Die.’
Knock! Knock!
Khushi closed the book pissed off at the unknown arrival and stretched her hands and heard the cracks throughout her body. Afterwards, she felt more relaxed, and went to answer doorbell.
“Tia!”
Khushi was surprised to find Tia draped in short plated blue denim skirt and a white top embossed with Powerpuff girls imprint in contrast to her black converse printed with white skulls symbolizing her pure devilry. She accessorized herself with many colorful trendy plastic bangles, perhaps, each signifying a boyfriend she had in past.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” said Khushi moving her eyes from Tia’s coveted converse.
Tia stood placing her hand firmly against the wall.
“Why were you expecting Aarav,” she mocked. “That’s why you forgot to invite me in.” Tia countered tapping her converse against the threshold teasing Khushi. Perhaps, she wanted to make realize Khushi that, she could never have them in her feet.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. Come on in!” Khushi improvised distracting herself from Aarav’s thoughts.
“Actually, I came for my accounts notebook, I need it back,”
“But you told me you didn’t need it till next week. I’m not done yet,”
“Yeah! I know…” Tia began to lie. She was still sore about Khushi’s insolence towards her in the canteen. It pricked her hard. She wanted to thrust vengeance upon Khushi wherever whenever possible and this was her chance. “It’s urgent! Or else, I wouldn’t need it from you.”
Khushi gave the top of her desk a quick visual examination and made frantic searches in her shelf. She rummaged through her books while Tia perched herself comfortably in a blue bean-bag lying in her room.
Tia scrutinized Khushi’s room basting her contagious glance over the light purple- pink plastic paint on the walls adorned with daisy posters of fairy-tales and Selene Gomez posing as rock star, her floral print curtains complimented the array of teddy bears stuffed on the mantel piece epitomizing a perfect girl’s room. Her wardrobe and personal computer occupied a small area of her queen-size room.
“I am not getting your notebook,”
“I don’t care, I require it right now,” groaned Tia. It was a plot to victimized Khushi and humiliating her.
Khushi restarted scanning the desk thoroughly and later opened the drawers returning empty handed but Tia refused to budge an inch.
“I don’t care if you’ve to search whole Godamn house. But, I want it now.”
In a growing disappointment, she opened two of four drawers and found them empty. Then, she looked below the dark, near the second shelf, finally grabbing the lost baby.
“Here it is…” Khushi smiled victoriously accomplished her mission and handed the notebook to Tia.
“Thanks!” Tia said snapping the book harshly. Khushi was aware to Tia ways so she trailed off, so she didn’t notice.
The moment Tia was about to leave; she was fascinated by a colorful poster lying on Khushi’s queen size bed. On closer inspection she found her photograph among hundreds of other passport size photograph printed in perfect rows and column forming a rectangular poster.
“Where did you order this Facebook poster having my profile picture?” Tia enquired, jealousy prodding in her heart.
“You just have to join Social Photoshop application in Facebook. You can order your poster online.” Khushi answered politely.
“It’s superficial, demeaning and shallow to have a poster of Facebook friends. They aren’t your real friends,” said Tia, hypocrisy racing through her veins. “It’s of no use. Not even cool. Poster of Twilight or any other celebrity would have been much better then this facebook related shit.”
“But I love everything related to Facebook.” Khushi moved towards her bed hugging a square pillow with a big ‘f’ written in blue symbolizing logo of Facebook. She continued, “Look, I’ve facebook pillow, pen, pencil, copy, rubber and flip-flop too.” Khushi raised her right toe in air flaunting her facebook merchandise.
“You must visit doctor. You have FAD.”
“What’s that?”
“Facebook Addiction Disorder! Psychologist has recently introduced this diagnosis. Be careful!”
“As if I care…” Khushi shrugged.
“Whatever,” Tia said skeptically, scanning familiar faces in the poster starting from head girl to gatekeeper of the school. To her surprise, class teacher, principal was also in the poster too.” I can’t find Aarav here.”
“I’ve titled his as my best friend in Facebook. He deserves exclusive propriety.” Khushi took pride.
“Hmm, why Aarav was punished that day and what did he say about it?” asked Tia expecting to know the secret.
“I can’t tell you whole story, its matter between best friends. But yeah, someone played a foul game with Aarav,” sighed Khushi.
“Why would someone cheat Aarav?” Who do you think the mastermind is?”
“I don’t know. I was afraid to ask perceiving his mad anger. Probably it’s over head boy-Daivat Marandi. Who knows?”
“I don’t think its Daivat,” Tia protested instantly, changing colors like a chameleon.
“Why would you think your ex-boyfriend would be responsible?” Khushi mocked for the first time during whole conversation.
“It’s nothing like that, I’m not being biased. I’m just expressing my opinion.”
“Unfortunately, you opinion is always on his side.” Khushi countered. “I have never seen Aarav so angry in my life. God knows what he will do.”
“You’re right, at this moment he needs someone’s support, understanding and care. Someone, who can clam him down and take care of him very well. Do you get what I’m saying?” Tia pecked. “I’ve lot of experience with guys. Stuff like these happens with teenagers and they need people who understand them.”
The thought hit Khushi like a glass of water in the face. The light turned on her brain.
“You mean a girlfriend?” Khushi retorted understanding the hidden meaning.
“Yeah, Khushi think about it…I’m sure you know someone around you who can take care of him.” Tia said with a sheepish smile on her face.
Khushi thought that Tia was indirectly hinting at her to be Aarav’s girlfriend since she was he nearest and dearest one to Aarav. On the contrary Tia wanted to be Aarav’s girlfriend while Khushi was carried away with Tia’s words, despite it being laid out so simply.
Tia saw the wheels spinning in Khushi’s mind, and was satisfied that she made her point.
“I have to go shopping, see you later Khushi,” Tia bade her goodbye realizing the thought of having a new boyfriend soon.
Khushi was left alone to listen the music of plucked chords within her heart and began rethinking her relationship with Aarav. Khushi was flushed with emotions as realization of love dawned upon her. She began to feel an emotional upheaval as her old age friendship with Aarav boomed into love.
Khushi picked up a beautifully adorned photo album from her shelf, looking affectionately at her photos with Aarav right from childhood to there adolescent days. The snaps were posted along with captions. Khushi felt nostalgic by a snap where Aarav playfully kissed her on the cheek while she was taken aback.
Khushi was engulfed fantasizing with Aarav when an eerie sensation crept her toes, some furry creature brushed across her feet with its furtive movement. She bent down on her knees and glanced under the bed to discover the strange acquaintance. Two red devil eyes glared back at her in the grim darkness. She crawled under the bed grabbing its long ears to drag rabbit out. Few moments later she was caressing her soft bunny, Bratz, gifted by Aarav on her 16th birthday.
She stroked its back tenderly unburdening her heart divulging her woes as if Bratz would end her miseries.
“Bratz, you know what I am suffering though, I don’t understand all these flickering thoughts within my mind.” Khushi uttered. She laid down, placing rabbit on her stomach staring straight into its red eyes.
“Bratz, is this love?” She gasped falling into some old memories with Aarav.
There was knock on door. Khushi stood unsteadily and walked to the door, nothing that neither her fever nor her measles had improved. She swallowed and winced, “Who’s it?”
“Khushi, open the door, or I swear, I’ll break it,” a voice came from other side of her bedroom door.
She wondered what had happened to the more civilized approach of using the telephone. Unlocking the door, she pulled it open and stared at him.
“I’m not going to school,” insisted Aarav and entered the room pushing her aside.
“I’m okay! You can’t skip today’s test, Aarav” Khushi continued, “By the way, you are not one with measles,”
. “But I’ve to discover so many constellations,” He took pen out of his pocket, “Look here I found Orion.” He said joining measles on her face with his pen.
“What are your doing? It hurts!”
“Me too! When you don’t take medicine properly,”
“Eww! They are so..”
Taking couple of capsules out of his shirt pocket, he said, “Aunty told me, you’re not talking good care of yourself.”
“What about your test?” She jumped back to same old question. She knew, whatever Aarav said, he did. She felt weak. Her head felt light, her knees weakened and she reached to bed and laid down for rest.
“Your?” he blurted, “Instead, say ours, you skipping then me too. No more questions!”
Pushing hair back from her heated forehead, he gazed at her tenderly.
Khushi sat straight up in the bed. “Don’t touch me! It spreads…”
He bought her glass of water and held it to her lips, “Okay, I won’t touch you. But…” Suddenly, he kissed her on forehead. “Chocolate is okay. But how can you have measles alone?”
She gulped down medicine with water, “And you are being very nice.”
“What are best friends for?” His boyish smile charmed her soul.
Yes, he was her best friend from that moment.
In the months that followed that incident, she soon realized that Aarav was politest, friendliest and most genuinely caring person shed every met- although he had a strange way of showing it. For instance, on her birthday, he rang doorbell, greeted her with a bow and said, “This is for you” and handed her a photograph of a bouquet of flowers rather then real one.
Khushi smiled. Her memories seemed even sharper than ever, as if every detail was being magnified.
There were countless incidents where Aarav always stood by her side strengthening the bond between them. They were with each other though thick and thin making there friendship addictive as heroine.
Khushi was always confused in her life. What were all these thoughts going through her mind? That was new feeling there, or maybe it had always been there but she never accepted it. Now, she’d clue that it was love- the ghost about which most of people talk but rarely see. The word was in her mind, but even in empty room she refused to speak it loud.
In a great dilemma she began to think about the consequences of revealing her undying love erupting as an active volcano. She dug her face in a mountain of pillows wishing a UFO kidnapped her to save this situation.
“There are two ways to deal with this feeling either I suck up my emotions and act like nothing happened though out my entire life or gently make my feelings known and risk humiliating myself till eternity.” Khushi mumbled to herself in a trance of thoughts. “However I wish there was an anti-love spray to keep oneself from loving someone.
She could not bear the roller coaster of emotions busting through while she dived in the ocean of love. The intense desire of unrelenting love sparked in heart, the more she tried to curb it. Thoughts of Aarav tornadoed her mind and she wanted instant relief from the passion burning her heart.
Khushi stared into the darkness outside while her mind busily considered Aarav’s memories. It was raning heavily. Putting his both palms on the glass window, she dropped her head and closed her eyes o shut out the sight of her own face. What were memories doing to her?
A sudden crash of thunder outside brought Khushi back to present.
It was still drizzling outside the window when Khushi decided to take a plunge and acting on the spur of the moment came up with the perfect solution to call Aarav.
The black cordless receiver laid on the nightstand by her bed. She flopped immediately and pressed the winning combination that connected to Aarav’s heart.
The phone rang on the other end continuously. She twitched her fingers nervously as the ring buzzed endlessly prolonging her agony. Finally a voice picked up from the IVR machine, ‘The customer you have called is out of coverage area. If you want to leave a voice message please press star.’
Khushi sighed. There was nothing she could do to settle the nauseating feeling that felt like a dead weight in her stomach. She pressed star button.
IVR machine continued with instructions, ‘Please press nine when your message is complete. Start recording after beep.’
A shrill beep sounded, and Khushi flatered and stumbled over the words that came out awkwardly, “Hi Aarav, Khushi here. I want to talk with you. Its something very important. Call me back!”
Then she pressed nine realizing there was no turning back.
****
Khushi had developed a strange habit since her childhood. Whenever a turn moil of emotions and pressure built up in her, she let it go with a sharp cut in her hand. First time it was an accident when she was paring an apple that the knife slipped and she cut herself at the base thumb. It hurt a little, but as her blood pumped out, a rivulet glossy bright crimson, Khushi hadn’t felt panic or fear.
She’d felt fascination. She’d felt an incredible sort of peace afterward.
A few months after that surprising discovery, Khushi cut herself again; She did it deliberately, secretly, never with the intent to harm herself. Over time, she did it frequently- whenever she needed to feel that same profound sense of peace. This was her private demon- something she had never openly shared with anyone, not even with Aarav, her dearest friend.
No one would understand because he hardly understood it herself. She needed it now. She needed a little peace from everything. A spare few minutes of calm.
She slid out a razor tucked at the back of her diary. It had been thirsty for her blood for more then a year since the last time she had World war III with Aarav. Khushi pressed the tip of the blade into the fleshy part of her forearm.
Was she really going to cut herself?
Instantly, with a thought she pulled it slightly. Khushi’s love for her best friend was manifesting itself in the form of oozing blood drops that fell on the floor easing her out of congestion in heart and soul. This adventure was an elixir to her Aarav’s craving saving her from sinking into black hole of depression. Finally, there was RIP.
Khushi hugged her teddy bear and embraced it tightly as she dozed off to sleep delving into her childhood memories with Aarav. All her past experience floated just within her vision as she curled into a little ball on gigantic bed.
It is strange how people get emotionally attached to non-living things scarred by the indifference and fake show of ignorance put up by living beings.
Gender:
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