30th March 2018.

It was the darkest twilight of this year. I was standing on the porch with lots of thoughts running in my mind. I looked at the sky it has no stars or moon left. ‘We are reading the same page’ I felt. I turned on thinking about the future and a teardrop escaped from my eyes.

Summer holidays are appearing, board exams are going to finish off, everyone is happy about their holidays but I’m the one who is waiting to embark on a new world. I don’t know whether that world will recognize me are not. This silence makes me think negative so I went to the hall. My parents were worried about me. It hurts me a lot.

‘When are we leaving for Pondicherry?’ I asked my mother.

‘Tomorrow at 3 a.m.’ she said.

‘Okay then. I’m going to bed early’ I said and left to bed.

I couldn’t sleep but I pretended to sleep when my father came to my room. He sobbed. I’m not in the place to say everything will be alright. I hugged my Teddy Bear and whimpered silently.

We shifted our baggage onto the car. Then I suddenly heard a voice. “I have heard this voice” I turned back to look at them. It’s Fazan and Syed. I was stunned after looking at them.

‘Wow! What a surprise? What made you both getting up here?’ I taunted at them.

Syed caught my ear and clamped it. I screamed. Fazan closed my mouth. ‘How can you leave us here and get on to Pondicherry?’ Syed asked.

My mother rushed outside recklessly hearing my voice. After noticing Fazan and Syed she took a deep breath. ‘You scared me to death.’ She said.

‘None can touch her except us. And I believe that you know the reason.’ Fazan said. She smiled and went inside.

‘So, I’m the only one who doesn’t know about your arrival?’ I asked.

‘Absolutely!’ they shouted together.

‘Thank you!’ I said.

They knocked my head one by one. ‘It’s painful idiots,’ I cried out.

‘It’s time. Can we leave?’ my father asked.

‘Appa shall I drive the car?’ Fazan asked.

‘No worries. I can manage' they both quarreled like children.

Ha... Men I know are grown-up kids. We three looked at them and waiting for their fight to end. Their fight looked like two kittens are fighting each other. I lost my patience.

‘Let me drive the car!’ I confessed.

Everyone wailed “NO!”.

‘As everyone except me not to drive the car, I decided to drive the car. Give me the keys’ I said and sat on the drives seat. My father gave me the keys. I started the car. My father came to sit in front. I blocked him by saying ‘Men are at the back.’

‘But I’m your father. Don’t you love me?’

‘I love you, Mohan. But this is a special ride. So… I guess you got that.’

Mohan is my father. I call him like this from my childhood. As I was the only girl child, my parents gave me lots of love and liberty.

Everyone sat at their places. I rode the car. We started our journey peacefully. ‘Do you know the way to Pondicherry?’ Syed asked.

‘No!’ I said.

‘What?’ Syed and Fazan shouted.

‘What “what?” then why are you guys are for? Did you come to sleep or enjoy the long journey? I let out. 'Be my GPS!!!'

‘Mmm…mmm… We are making a note of this. You will reap after this surgery.’ Fazan warned me.

We enjoyed our path with adorable memories of the past. We five forgot the reason for the voyage and enjoyed the conversation.

‘Do you remember how we traveled to Ooty in our 10th standard summer holidays?’ Fazan asked.

‘Yeah, I asked you to go to the left and you took right. We ended up on the wrong road. That was the most memorable moment of our trip.’ I said.

We reached Pondicherry within 5 hours. We went to our respective rooms. I threw myself on the bed and slept peacefully.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I’m celebrating these moments. Who knows I’m may not exist in the future. If I exist that’s going to be the worst life on going to live.

31 March, 2018.

I slept for hours today. My mother woke me up as we want to visit the hospital.

‘How long you will sleep? Aren’t you in the plan to visit the hospital?’ She pulled my blanket and turned off the fan.

I blabbered something but I don’t know what is that. I almost crawled to the restroom door and stood up with the help of the restroom doorknob. Even after shower sleepiness hugged me. I wore my favorite white with a thin black striped shirt and a long black skirt hoping that it’ll give me luck like it did in the yore.

I came out of my room and astonished. I saw two grown-up monkeys without a tail.

‘What are you doing here?’ I hid that I’m scared.

‘To drop you in hospital,’ Fazan said.

‘I saw a fabulous sight of the beach from my room. Don’t you want to enjoy that?’ I tried to put my hand on his shoulder.

‘I have already seen that. Aaannd don’t you know that you can’t reach my height.’ He rested his hand on my shoulder.

‘HA HA HA HA, ’ We three laughed awkwardly.

‘Let me go alone this time,’ I made a puppy face.

‘Yaa… you can go alone but don’t ever show this puppy face. We’re scared’ Syed teased.

I drove the car and went to the hospital with my mother. Everyone comes to Pondicherry to enjoy their holidays but me--- Ugh, I wish I had some mystic abilities to skip my hard days.

‘Maa, don’t you think I’m good at driving?’ I asked to cheer up her.

‘Yeah, you’re good at everything. But I’m always scared to travel with you.’ She mocked at me.

‘Maa, even you’re teasing me.’

We reached the hospital. It was quite nice and it was surrounded by lots of trees. They gave me a strange comfy aura. We went inside the hospital. I enjoyed the comfy aura of the hospital. But... I hate the hospital smell.

‘Where is Dr. Jagadhish from the cancer department?’ my mom asked the receptionist. She guided us to go to the 4th floor.

“Why his name is Jagadhish? He’s going to be old anyway…” I felt.

Because I never met a handsome doctor in my life. Even though my mother is a doctor.

I waited outside and my mother left to see the doctor who’s going to operate me. I sat on the second row and looked around for an interesting thing for passing time. I found a tree grown-up high and tremendous. It provoked my inner emotions which I buried and honored with RIP.

“How am I going to live in this world?”

“Why I’m matured when others aren’t?”

“You should have told me before. I feel like I’m deceived”

“I wanted to fall into your arms but I couldn’t. I love you, Sh…”

‘Excuse me, ’ a boy interrupted my thoughts all of a sudden. I silently thanked him for not letting my tears out.

I looked at him without any expression. He looked young like he was at my age and he’s definitely a crazy person like me.

‘What’s the time now?’ he asked. I pointed the wall clock in the left sidewall.

‘Haa! There’s a clock. I didn’t notice. Sorry and thanks.' he laughed.

I stooped and accepted his sorry and thanks.

‘Is she dumb?’ he muttered.

‘Excuse me brother. I’m not dumb. I didn’t let out words just because I don’t want to’ I cried out of impatience.

‘Don’t call me as a brother. I’m just 18. Haa! Now I’m hurt because of a stranger.’ He acted dramatically.

‘Hello, boss! What do you want?’ I sounded a bit rude.

‘Actually, I have a problem that I can’t keep my mouth shut for more than 10 minutes. Can you share my loneliness?’

‘Why me?’

He looked around and I did the same. There was no one in his age to talk. I could understand the feeling of a teenager.

I sighed. I had no choice.

‘Why did you come here?’ he asked an amused question.

‘Someone I know said that this hospital provides tasty food. So, I thought of buying it' I said sarcastically.

‘Really, I think I should try too.’

I’m pissed off.

I started gazing at the tree again. He was quiet. A bolt from the blue, his silence affected me.

‘You look good when you smile, ’

‘I didn’t smile, ’

‘Yepp, but I’m sure that you look bad when you don’t smile.’

I burst out laughing. The way he said was really funny.

‘Finally, you’re smiling. You know how hard I tried to make you smile.’ He explained.

‘I felt. And yaar, have you done MF? You’re solely good at bringing a smile in stranger’s faces.’ I said in a friendly manner.

‘MF?’ He was confused.

‘Masters in Flirting. You don’t know that.’ I looked at him with a weird look.

‘Yaar, When I saw you, I felt you were about to let your tears out. I thought I could do something to make you smile but you’re teasing me. This is not fair.’

I was stunned for a moment. I looked at his eyes and I saw his pure innocence.

‘You’re good at making people stunned too.’ I kind of complimented him.

‘Is that a compliment? Or you’re trying to make fun of me?’ he boiled.

I laughed.

‘What was cooking in your mind then?' he paused. 'Don’t tell me if you don't want to,'

'Yaa… Don’t act smart. I was just thinking about my past.’

‘Haaann… Your Ex-boyfriend?’

When he asked unexpectedly, my heart started throbbing and started to think of those awful memories.

‘No, I was just thinking about my friend.’ I tried to defend casually but that’s not a lie too. I was thinking about my friend.

All of a sudden his phone rang with a rap song.

He picked up the call casually and started apologizing. He was pathetic now. I couldn't control my laugh. All he said was 'I came here with my mother. I apologize that I couldn't take you here. I'm in the hospital now. I'll explain later' and I could understand it was a girl in the middle of his conversation. Though I shouldn't have done that.

"She fulfilled all my wishes from my birth and it's time to repay it. Though she's my mother, I owe her," he said to the person on the phone. Out of the blue, those words disturbed my mind. Maybe I'm destined to meet him to hear these words before my operation.

'You came here to your mother?' I asked.

'Yeah, due to this hot climate she got a severe headache' he said.

'That's frustrating.' I hung back.

His phone rang again.

"A guy's phone is always busy" I felt.

He asked for an excuse and picked up the call. I looked aside and admired the same tree for a moment.

'Why did you fail to inform her?' He burst out.

'Ahh! You startled me.' I said looking at him. He looked at me, bowed and said sorry.

'That's a girl sitting next to me.' He said to the person on the phone.

"He mentioned me?" I stared at him.

'I'll call you after reaching the resort.' He said and hung up the call.

I raised my eyebrows. 'Don't you know to keep your voice down inside the hospital?'

He showed his 30 teeth and explained what happened.

'How can you let your friend there? Will you be able to enjoy without your friend? This is not fair. If my friends tried to think like this, they'll be doomed by me' I said anxiously.

'Yaar...! I can see the fire in your eyes.' He was a bit scared.

'Shall I burn you with my eyes?' We laughed.

"STOP...! Yaar, when did you get close to him?"

'What happened?' He asked.

'No, I just thought when and how did I get close to you?' I looked at him. 'Strange, isn't it?'

'Maybe we are...' He enlarged his eyes. I did the same. '...those crazy people who destined to meet.'

I laughed and he joined me.

'Haven't, you read those lines crazy people meet at the hospital? But the real hospital is missing.'

'Yaa, are you directly belittling me?'

'Haha, including me,' he said.

'Friends?' I lend my hand. he was a bit surprised. After all our rubbish chats, I shouldn't be like this. He thought for a moment and shook my hand. And now officially we're friends now.

'Can I ask you something?' His face looked fierce all of a sudden.

'Mm, proceed. I'm a genie now. You can ask me three questions and I'll answer you honestly.' I said.

'Why are you here? Here in the sense, why do you come to the hospital? You're alone here, no one is around you.' He hesitated. 'If that's hard to say, I don't want to hear, I'll rest my soul with my own answer.'

But my poor little soul wilted for those words.

'Haha, I'll be undergoing major surgery in the future. I'm not alone, I'm with my mother. She's having a convo with the doctor.'

'I shouldn't have asked that. Sorry, I mean it.'

'I hate sympathy over this. Second question!' I distracted himself and my mind.

'When are you going to take up this operation? I know, I shouldn't be asking this but I wanted to know.'

'After he appears, I would be endured when he's with me.' My heart aches.

'Boyfriend?'

'Everyone asks the same but he's my cousin but a great friend of mine. I miss him. And the questionings ends here.' I said.

'I need a bonus question' he said.

'Mahima!' A nurse called me.

'That's my name.' I said to him.

I stood up. 'You have got a call from Dr. Jagadhish'

'Yup, I'll' I made a step.

'Stunning!' He smiled. I looked back and smiled.

'Like your smile and you' he added.

'Don't flirt. I won't fall for you' I said and moved from that place.

'I'm not flirting' he wailed.

'I'm not listening,' I said and crossed the hall.