"I don't know Rahil......Life is long ...what else can I say", she spoke softly walking across the pavement, close to him.
She was to leave tomorrow, 19th February and she would be gone. The two walked past the college street as winds blew off through the dark roads. The half moon hung over the clear sky. The stars twinkled high above.
"What If we never meet again?", he asked the question aloud and she replied with a long silence.
"Ayesha,.....don't go....", he murmured again, knowing he had already lost the battle.
As she kept her mouth sealed, she did not look at him this time and kept walking as she twisted a strand of her hair nervously between her fingers.
"Rahil....sometimes all we have to do in life is to keep walking, never stop, and go wherever the path may lead."
Both of them kept walking ahead silently across the street. It was a pleasant evening. She looked nervous and lost as she kept taking her steps ahead . After couple of minutes , Rahil finally broke the silence between the two.
"Foodstation? For One last time...I guess...what do you say?", he said with a smile stopping himself in front of the restaurant. She gave a wide smile back.
"A soup date for one last time.....", he insisted again. Rahil did not pay much attention to her reply this time and walked inside the restaurant.
"Rahil....you are just impossible", she said as she followed him inside.
The same man in his late thirties with a neat tidy suit on, greeted both of them with a pleasant smile as soon as they entered the restaurant.
"Good Evening sir,"
"Good Evening.."
"Please come, this way", the manager asked both of them to follow him.
Rahil took heavy breaths as both of them followed the manager. His feet grew heavier under soft subdued strokes of light.
"Here you go sir, enjoy the evening", the manager greeted them once again and went away.
Rahil locked his eyes into hers as he made himself comfortable on the sofa. He leaned forward, meeting her blue eyes, his thoughts and words were already in a flutter. He heard the tempo of his heart increase. The clock showed six past six.
The restaurant seemed little busy today. As always it was half filled with couples who were deeply in love with each other. A family was seated just right to them.
"So...should we order.... you will get late or else..", he asked. She nodded her head and kept looking at him, smiling at her crazy, silly, 'almost lover' senior. Rahil , meanwhile called the waiter and placed the order for both of them. He din't even bother to ask her once. Time seemed to be galloping for him. Just few minutes more and she would be gone.
"So....it all started with a soup , so , I guess it should also end with it......", he whispered slowly trying not to look into her eyes.
"...you talk to much Rahil.....", she replied.
"I know that....actually when I am nervous or sad ...I talk a lot and thats a secret, keep that...", he replied instantly.
"Ahem...Ok..So what else secret do you have Mr. Author?", she mumbled, looking interested . Her face was glowing under the dim light.
"I have many secrets....and ,,I guess you won't be knowing them ever, because you are going tomorrow,"
"Okay but we still have today", she mumbled again, biting her lower lip. Rahil gazed at her and realized how till the very last moment he was still falling for her. Both kept their silence as the emotions flowed with the soft music at the background.
The soup arrived. The feelings had been clear on both their faces as if it was spelled out in words across their forehead. I will miss you baby, he said to himself having his part of the soup. This was nothing he had encountered ever before.
"So.....you are going tomorrow", he spoke softly in a husky tone.''
"Yes...I am..but not forever",
"But you are going ...Ayesha..",
"That I am",
"So......can't you stay back?, I mean...you know",
"You know the answer Rahil....",
"Yes, I know, sorry I am being silly, anyway Goenka will miss you", he laughed off.
"Okay.....so why will Goenka miss me?",she replied with a smile.
"I don't know......I just know that I don't want to miss you...I don't want to", emotions flowed through his eyes this time as he started running out of his breaths.
"Rahil.........we will meet someday..I know that much...",
"and what about me? what about my novel?",
"kill the main character....", she smiled as she said this.
"Shut up Ayesha....I don't want to do that", he leaned back at the chair, staring at her eyes and listening to My heart will go on at the background. Oh god what a timing they have, he thought.
"But If you kill someone, your novel will sell", she mumbled.
"I don't care...now leave the novel." he sounded irritated this time.
It was thirty past six now as both of them sat at the Food Station together for the last time, cheering their story, a short one but a wonderful one. The room was filled with strong notations emitted from the piano and strokes of subdued rays. The emotions ran all over as Ayesha moved her hand forward and held his hands for the first time on the last day. Rahil kept looking at her. Millions of emotions flowed inside him as he held Ayesha. His eyes went red . At any cost he wanted the time of freeze at this moment.
"Rahil ...take care, and stay as you are always..", she spoke softly and pretended to be strong.
He kept looking at her.
"Stop staring at me like that Rahil....it scares me...", she murmured again.
A huge well decorated room, dining tables and sofa placed all over, had many people in it, all different people coming from different religions , different class, having totally different world and a totally different stories with them. Rahil ran his eyes through every couple inside the place.
"May they don't have an ending like ours....", he replied with a grin, mixed with shining tears in his eyes.
"Stop it Rahil.....and they won't...and its not an ending Rahil...always be good and now focus on your graduation ...and hope we will meet someday", her voice choked .
"Its not just about meeting someday Ayesha....and yes I will miss you...I don't even know what will I do...probably I will move to Pune after my exams..", he smiled looking at her. She smiled back and her eyelashes fluttered behind her thick glasses.
"Pune?...don't be silly idiot. I want you to complete your novel as soon as possible, so focus on that ",
"Ayesha you are going tomorrow...its hard for me as I won't be able to see you after this...Ayesha....just tell me who am I to you?", This time both of them just smiled and silence prevailed .
"I will answer that someday....and now I am afraid I have to leave Rahil, I have whole packing job to finish today itself,..",
"Okay",
"Rahil.....lets go",
"You can go....you can leave.."
"Rahil whats wrong?....lets go..I have to catch a Taxi", she said as she got up from the sofa and once again moved her hand towards him.
"Ayesha , just go.....Bye bye....", he din't bother to look at her. He kept looking down still sitting down.
"Rahil I am getting late....don't be stubborn...come on", she seemed little irritated now.
"I am not stopping you Ayesha....just leave...",
"Bye bye, take care Rahil. I will miss you."
She started walking off the restaurant. Rahil kept looking at her for one last time. She was leaving. Moving away, taking millions of emotions and billions of memories with her. He kept looking at her until she opened the door and went .
******************
".......Its a cold night....I met her for the last time today. She is going tomorrow, leaving me alone. Today as she walked off i thought she would look back once , but she din't. So, this is my story I guess. This is my half written novel and this was my almost lover. She came into my life for a short period but left a longest dream back for me. My Ayesha, I will miss you, wherever you will be, we will be under the same sky. With every night I will live , I will just watch the stars and will reach my hand to you through their reflections. I will miss you Ayesha, my tormenting friend, and I will wait for you till the day I don't see that star up above....Ayesha I won't give up. You are leaving today but I will bring you back one day...take my word..."
He closed his diary and stood there at the balcony as he took a sip of whisky. His deep eyes ran through the sky following the full moon that hung up above. The winds blew off wildly . He just stood their facing the world with a glass of whisky in his hand. Its funny how people think moving away will make their life trouble and drama free.
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