Lovable Love

“I can’t believe it! I mean I’ve called you about twenty times but you didn’t pick it up. I mean, this is crazy. You don’t care about me. Actually, you don’t give a damn about me. I should hate you.”

For the one hundredth or may be more, we were fighting. He is Anir, by the way.

“Just try to listen, I have my reasons.”

“Shut up! You always have your reasons. You and your perfect little world. I can’t believe you can’t spend two hours for me. It’s SHAHID’s movieeeeeee! Do you get that?”

“I know. I know. But let me tell you–”

“I am not talking to you. You don’t love me, Good bye!”

I cut my phone, have thrown it on the bed. I made my way to the refrigerator. I drank half-a-bottle. I was shouting a lot that day. I looked up from the bottle to see my sister, staring at me with her arms crossed.

“Fighting again?” she enquired.

“This time, It’s Final. I mean, FINAL,” I quoted with my hands at the last word.

“Let me guess! This would last for an hour or may be a minute more.”

“Not this time. I am going to bed,” I was moving away when she said,

“Just remember that you are going to marry this guy in a month and also that he has been doing everything he can to make you happy for about – what’s your age? – twenty one years.”

Butterflies filled my stomach at the mention of marriage. Other than that, she was true. He has been a very good friend since my birth, I mean, from the time we had known each other. But I wasn’t going to give in this time. I’ve grown tired of fighting with him about his stupid gang. I was angry again,

“That also means that he had been irritating me to death for twenty years.”

My sister didn’t react to that. She probably thought of talking to me in the morning. I was packed up for the day. So, I sealed my thoughts and made my way to bed.

* * * *

I opened my eyes. I was in a room. Now, don’t expect me to describe the room. Because I can’t tell you how untidy and dirty and messy it was. There was a big bed with white thick sheets. Sleeping on it, was Anir. Okay, this is weird. How did I get here? What am I doing in his bedroom? I moved one step ahead and Crap! I fell on the floor. Hey! Did I just fell on the floor because of the carpet? Yes, I did. I helped myself get up and reached the bed carefully.

“Anir! Wake up!” I shouted.

“Anir! Wake up, you lousy bag!” I know that’s a weird thing to call somebody. But if you knew me, you wouldn’t be surprised. Despite me calling him that, he didn’t move an inch.

Then he opened his eyes, picked up something under the pillow. It was his phone. He looked at it and sighed.

“Stubborn girl! She didn’t call,” he complained.

I realised that he was talking about me. I also felt pleased that he remembered me as soon as he woke up. But that wasn’t enough to wear off my anger.

“God! I love her,” he moaned. No, that wasn’t enough too.

He rose from his bed and walked right through me. You read correct! He walked right through me. It was like, I was a ghost or invisible. Then I thought it could be a dream but I wasn’t complaining. I needed something like this opportunity to know about him.

He was taller than me, ofcourse. He was wearing a loose t-shirt over night pants. His hair was freaking mad, not that it can look anymore tidy. His eyes were red, deprived of sleep. I felt the need to punch him. He wasn’t having enough sleep, he wasn’t even spending time with me. What the hell? I checked the time. He should be in gym. So, he was bunking that too. I really have to find about this.

He picked up his journal from the table. He started writing. I couldn’t resist see to look at it. He was writing,

“Dear diary, I am sorry I fought with her again. I didn’t want to but I was too tired and she was angry. I can’t blame her. Because I keep on breaking my promises. I promised to take her to Shahid’s movie, but I couldn’t. I was busy. I know that she is more important. That is why I have been busy. Looks like I shouldn’t keep the surprise anymore. Before this fight gets any more far than it is now, I have to tell her or show her probably. I hate to do this but I have to. It’s worth that.”

“Anirudh!” somebody called, might be my gonna-be-mother-in-law. I was frightened for no reason, her voice did that to me sometimes. Anir says she is cool but she is his mother not mother-in-law. It depends, you know, on the relationship. You can’t expect any mother-in-law to be like your mother. So Mr.Anir shut his journal and was off to meet her.

As soon as he left, the room was shaking. I tried to hold on to the table in front of me but I just couldn’t. I fell and was being dragged away in circles like falling off from a twister.

* * * *

I woke with a start. Somebody was dragging my blanket.

“Wake up!” my sister was literally screaming.

“What?” I looked around. I was in my room, sleeping. That must be a dream then. That better be a dream. But I was disappointed a bit, I wanted it to be real.

“Anirudh called. He will be here in an hour,”she said dragging my blanket away.

“Who cares? I am not–” followed by a big yawn “talking to him,” I said.

She laughed but hit me with a pillow.

“Get up! And make yourself ready. He said he wants to take you somewhere,” she said having finished her job successfully, which is taking off my blanket and my drowsiness.

“But where?”

“It’s a surprise he says,” she laughed.

* * * *

“Anir! I told you I am not talking to you,” I said. I was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, with my arms folded. If you didn’t understand, I am angry.

“You told that to me about 10 times in 10 minutes. Doesn’t that mean that you are talking?” he asked.

“No. Where are you taking me?” I asked. He smiled because I talked. So, here is the thing, may be I could just be angry with him for a night, but I can’t control myself from talking with him.

“You will see,” he stopped the car and pointed towards the big house in front of us.

“Anir! Where are we?”

“Home! Sweet Home!”

“It isn’t my home nor is it yours. What are you talking about?”

“It’s OUR home, silly.”

“What?” was all I could say. I gaped at the beautiful building in front of me. My mouth fell open.

“You are kidding?” I asked.

“No, love! I am not.”

“Pinch me!”

“What?”

“Pinch me!” I ordered and when he did as told, “Aw! Not that hard!”

I jumped out of the car and was running. The big black front gate opened into a beautiful garden that split into two because of the cement tiles making way to the doors. I followed the tiles and reached the door. The wooden carvings of deities and flowers on the doors gave them a royal-look. I opened them to see a vast beautiful hall. There wasn’t furniture but was dust and wood-powder. Clearly, the work wasn’t finished. There was a kitchen and a bedroom. There was also a small temple with the belled doors. As I took in the fact that it was our home, it was overwhelming. I couldn’t say any words. There was too much to take in. I thought, if that was a dream, there wasn’t a better dream or if it was real, then there wasn’t a better life.

“How is it?” he enquired.

“Amazing! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It would’ve ruined the surprise that I see in your eyes now.”

“You are amazing!”

“So– now you are talking?”

“What do you think I was doing in the car? Chirping?”

“I love you,” he said with such emotion that I would’ve melted like chocolate.

“I love you too, little-tall-stupid-brat!”

He laughed out loud. But suddenly, he was checking in his pockets,

“Hey! I found this in my room, I think it’s yours,” he asked showing me an anklet that was exactly like mine. No, it was mine. I checked my feet. My left anklet was missing. Wait! What? I didn’t fell in a month except if you count the one fall in the dream. Yes, that was it. I fell in his room. But that was supposed to be a dream. Obviously, it wasn’t.

Dream or no dream, what I am trying to tell you is relationships can be broken in a month or in a week or in a day or in an hour. Okay! That’s enough, what I am saying is when you fight, as sure as hell you want to break up the relation. But just hold on for a day or a week or even a month. But hold on. Don’t try to break relations for some stupid movie, even if it is Shahid’s, just hold on and you will see what you would’ve missed if you didn’t.