He dropped the coffee cups on the floor and
ran behind her in the parking lot. By the time he got there, she had already
left. Where was she? Was it his imagination or was she really there? No, his
mind could not trick him like that, she was here. She really was here. He'd
find her and ask her what had happened more than a decade ago. Why was their
relationship this fragile? He would clear all misunderstandings with her and
bring her in her life; if she wasn't already married.
He cursed at his bad luck and went to the
cafeteria again for some coffee. He took it to the room where his mother lay.
He gave a cup to Aaliya and kept one with himself. She looked at him with
questioning eyes, what talk him so long?
'Aaliya, I saw Kripa here. You do know where she
is right? You have to tell me! I won't hurt her. I promise. I need to ask her
something. Please Aaliya, do this for your brother.' Angad pleaded.
She looked at his eyes and saw the need to see
Kripa. But she didn't want to see him. What was she supposed to do? Lie to her
brother or betray her best friend? She took the most sensible route out,
'Angad, I know where she is. But I'm not going to tell you.' She told him
quickly because she saw the flare of hope in her brother's eyes. Why did this
have to be so complicated? 'I'll ask her first. I'll ask her if she wants to
see you. If she agrees then I'll tell you. If not, I have no right to force you
on her.'
He realized completely that his sister was a grown
woman. She had to make difficult choices and she made them well. 'By the way
Angad, Sonia's here. She came to see Mom and she said she wants to talk to you.
She's in the waiting room. She looked really nervous. Did you guys have a
fight?'
He looked puzzled. 'Not as far as I can remember.
I'll just go see her. I'm glad Mom's doing well.' He kissed his mother's
forehead and headed towards the waiting room. There he saw his friend cuddled
up in a ball staring into space. He went to her and gave her a hug.
She looked at him with a jolt. She was just
imagining what she was going to tell him and he had appeared out of thin air.
'Hey, Angad. I was really sorry to hear about aunty so I had to come and ensure
that she was fine. You look tired, are you OK?'
'Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a hectic day.
Thanks for coming here. You look ready to cry, is everything OK with you?'
She took a deep sigh. This would probably be their
last conversation ever. 'I don't want to do this but I realize that I have to.
Angad, I'm sorry for everything. It was all my fault.' With that, tears started
spilling down her cheeks. He sat down beside her to comfort her and was very
puzzled. 'I'm the reason things went wrong between you and Kripa. I know you'll
never want to talk to me again but I have to tell you this,' she explained when
Angad went still.
'I was in love with you. I was so much in love
with you. All I could think of was you. Day and night. You wouldn't even look
my way. I tried so many things so that you would notice me, but all in vain. I
dropped my books whenever you were around and did all the silly things imaginable.
But you were smitten by Kripa. You wouldn't even look at me. All you saw was
Kripa. It was her day and night. And then we became friends. I knew I had to
have you. So I made her look like the bad guy. I always dropped hints that
there was something going on between her and Josh but you never believed me. I
was furious. I had to make you notice me. Then I started creating circumstances
that you would suspect her and I won. You pretended to her that you were
cheating on her just to get back at her. Then I waited for you. I waited for a
decade. You still didn't notice me. As much as you claimed to hate her, you
still didn't notice me. Although we were always together as friends, I always
saw more in you. I always loved you and I always will. But I was so selfish!
I'm not even going to ask you to forgive me. Because I know what I did was
unforgivable.'
She looked at Angad who had fury in his eyes. She
winced. She deserved it. What she had done, she deserved any punishment he
would give her. 'So you were the one who did all this? I thought you were my
friend! I suspected Josh, my best friend, and Kripa, the woman I love, because
of you? I'm glad you straightened that out with me. I'm so glad you did. But
you see, I had already started disbelieving that Kripa had cheated on me so
you're a trifle bit late. Now get out of my sight before I kill you with my
bare hands. I don't hit women and I don't want to make this time an exception.
I never want to see you again. Thank you so much for everything.'
He walked out of the waiting room and went to the
parking lot. He was furious; more with himself than her. He didn't trust his
best friend and his love. He trusted somebody who wanted to break them. The
person had succeeded. He had been such a fool. How could he have let that
happen? And now he had lost her forever. Was he too late? Did he stand a
chance?
He'd find out. He'd find her and confront her. He
would beg if he had to. He wouldn't let her go. What if she was married? She
must have kids by now. Oh God, the pain was unbearable. He had screwed up his
own destiny. Destiny had presented him with a rose and he removed the petals
keeping the thorns. He was a fool. Would destiny give him another chance?
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