Is love blind? .......Oh yes it is!! - Episode 10

Sweet dreams come true!!!

Anjali leaves her friends behind and runs behind Sid and catches up with him….

Anjali: Sid….wait up!!

[Sid is shocked when he hears her voice but can’t say that he is pleasantly shocked….He doesn’t want to turn back….The fact that she made a fool of him remains fresh in his mind…His self esteem doesn’t allow him to lower himself before a girl…..but when that girl is the girl of his dreams, he has no other option but give up…..….He badly wanted to listen to what she was going to say….He turned back….. but he didn’t allow his face to show that longing of his…..He put up a stern serious look……]

Sid: [looking at her attentively with a tinge of anger in his eyes] Now what??

Anjali: [mellowing down her voice showing off that she felt really sorry for what she did] Sorry Sid….I know that I have hurt you….I kind of used you for my plan….

Sid: plz Anjali…why are you repeating it??It hurts me more….

Anjali: [holding her ears with her hand and tilting her face a little to the left] Sorry yaar…I realize my mistake….

[That look of hers did wonders to my depressed mind….She looked sooo cute…..moreover i felt a slight change in her attitude towards me.....She was getting closer for sure!!]

Sid: [yet replying sternly] ok ok….aage se yeh sab math karna…

Anjali: Kabhi nahi…...I couldn’t think of a better way to solve our differences….sorry about it once again…..

Sid: hmmmm……

Anjali: toh main chalthi hoom…mere friends wait kar rahe hain…..

[Sid looks at the direction pointed by her....and sees her friends staring at them]

Sid: [low voice: aur main??…..main tumaare kuch nahi lagta, huh?]

Anjali: what did you say?? I didn’t hear you…..

Sid: mmmmm… [Hesitates……]....nothing…..

Anjali: kuch toh kaha tumne….kaho na…..kya baat hai??

[Sid doesn’t know what to say to her…..He wants to continue telling about his liking but doesn’t have the courage to do so……he is not brave enough to take that risk….It might end up in a much more intense situation….she might get angry and their relationship might break up even before starting…..So he put a brake to his feelings….He felt that it wasn’t the right time to talk about that….He should give some time and work on improving their relationship before that….His thoughts were interrupted by her…]

Anjali: kya soch rahe ho??batao kya baat kehni hai??You wanted to tell me something, right?? Tell me!!

Sid: kuch nahi…sirf sorry kehna thaa…dil se sorry…..

Anjali: sorry…kisliye?

Sid: ab thak jo kuch bhi hamare beech hua, un sab ke liye…..kaas kar ke library waala incident keliye!!!

Anjali: oh….its ok Sid…. [That was followed by a question which Sid least expected….Sid wanted to ask it too but Anjali took the lead] [She looked at him and held out her hand] FRIENDS????

[Sid was taken aback by this…..but his mind was jumping in joy….This was the best opportunity to make the situation better…..So he was more than happy…..He held her hand…..]

Sid: [holds and shakes her hand] yeah Friends……….[He didn’t feel like leaving her hand….His mind was longing to hug her….but he said to himself..”Not yet dude…just control yourself”]

Anjali: [feels odd since he keeps holding on to her hand....she also notices Aashu staring] SID…..[he is lost in his thoughts and doesn’t hear her…so she calls again…] SID….haath chodo….

Sid: [leaves it all of a sudden] Oh sorry….

Anjali: kiski kayalon mein koye ho?? [Grins]

Sid: [mind voice: tumaari….sirf tumaari….] kuch nahi... [After a moment’s pause]….hamaari nayi dhosti keliye ek treat hojaaye…coffee ke liye chalen….

[Anjali looks at him and then Aashu who is at a distance...Aashu was calling her back…Aashu’s face sure shows that she is angry and has reserved some advice for her…She was sure to get Aashu’s piece of mind shortly]

Anjali: phir kabhi….abhi mujhe unke saath holi khelna hai……. [Points to Aashu….Aashu is calling her back]…..bye….

[She sprints back to Aashu without waiting for his reply]

Sid: [disappointed by her denial…] hmmmm…ok….bye

[Sid hated her friends for being the reason the second time….he lost out another opportunity]

Sid’s POV
I became her friend…..I loved the feeling…… and I was so happy….I called up my friends…I wanted to give them a treat…… main iss baat ke liye itna khush hoom, agar woh mera pyar accept karthi, toh mera kya haal hoga?....I smiled at the thought!!!

I walked to my friends to tell them this news and also about treat…….I stopped just before I reached my friends……

I had a second thought about it….

“Treat!!...for what??? “That would be the first question from Sam….

What would I say?? “Anjali is my friend now and that’s the reason for the treat”. It was silly…atleast they would think that as silly…..

Moreover Sam was not less than BBC and nothing remained in his head for long and in case he opened his mouth to somebody else…. it would unnecessarily add fuel to the gossip column….and at this point of time, I couldn’t take that chance……No matter what I couldn’t afford to anger Anjali….

But still, I decided to celebrate this joy in my own way…..I took my phone out and booked 3 tickets for the evening show of Yeh Jawani hai Deewani…..

Sam had been telling me that this film was a good one…

I imagined me and Anjali, sitting next to each other in the theatre, watching Ranbir's romance on screen, munching from the same popcorn packet, in that pretext, slightly touching her soft fingers, whispering sweet nothings into each others ears……”Wah….Kya scene hai……aur uss scene neh mera chehre par ek halki pulki smile laayi…….”

But I seriously wished that Anjali joins us too but I knew that it would be too much to wish for…”hmmm” I took a deep breath…..”Bohat jald yeh dream bhi sach hoga”

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Aashu’s POV:
I wanted to take Anjali far from that Sid….so I convinced her to celebrate the rest of the day at my place…. Sheetal had other plans…So she quietly withdrew from this…..wonder what is she up to??Got to deal with her differently!!!

Kripa was missing…..She wasn’t seen anywhere near us……I asked Deepak to find her and bring her home….Me and Anjali went to my place first…..A little later, Deepak arrived, alone…

When we enquired about Kripa, he tensed up and his anger was enough to burn us down…

He said “Don’t ask anything”….…When we tried to question him further, he simply refused to speak and walked out of my house….. I was shocked at his behavior…

Aashu: ab isko kya hua?? Paagal hogaya hai!!!

Anjali: hmmm.....kaafi samay se yeh aisa hi ajeeb behave kar raha hai!

Aashu: Damn!….spoiled my mood totally…..

Anjali: then let’s just wind this up dear….i will go home….u take rest too….

Aashu: no way…..we decided to celebrate….and we will….

Anjali: [shrugging] Okay!

We settled down after a round of masti in the terrace….All the kids in the neighborhood assembled near my gate….Me and Anjali invited them to play holi with us…..Mummy had made umpteen number of sweets and savories …Our favorite was gulab jamun…..

Me and Anjali were always figure conscious…. But we gave that resolution a day’s rest and gobbled in many jamuns and rasagullas…..

We were drenched in all the colors possible……We couldn’t recognize each other….thanks to the colors and the tiredness……Kids left for lunch and the masti finally ended……

We took an hour long bath to wash off the colors……but the red, blue, pink, green, yellow powders didn’t fail to leave its mark behind…..

By then, it was 3 in the afternoon and that was too late for lunch…..anyways there was no space left for lunch in our stomach….…..We planned to go shopping after an hour’s sleep….. 

An ad of the new casual wear store in City center seemed quite inviting……So we decided to leave at 4……

Mean while Deepak called me……

Deepak: [apologetic] hello Aashu…..sorry yaar

Aashu: [not convinced though] hmmm…..why did you call now?

Deepak: I said sorry…Aashu…..just forget that….

Aashu: What was that all about??? Why did you behave so rudely??? Tum toh Kripa ko lene gaye teh na???? Kya hua??

Deepak: uski wajhe si hi maine aise behave kiya… [After a moment’s pause]...now forget it…..Shall I come over now???

Aashu: Wait a minute Deepak…..We are going to city center…..tum humme wahi par milo….teek paanch baje….

Deepak: oh……accha chalo….raktha hoom…..see ya….bye…

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Anjali’s POV:
We reached city center by about 4:45 PM……As soon as Deepak joined us, we proceeded to the store…..We were die hard shoppers……..nothing satisfies us easily…..We converted the store into a war zone with dresses spread all over……picked up many dresses, tried some of them……It looked more like a fashion parade…..only difference being that we didn’t dress scantily…….

Bought a few of them…..the ones we liked during the trial session…..

Deepak waited patiently after selecting 2 T-shirts for himself…..He was used to such antics of ours….It was almost six when we finished the purchases…….Aashu had a new plan now…..YJHD was running in the multiplex and she badly wished to see it……The show would start by about 6:30 and end only at 9… That meant that I should inform mom and get permission……

I was scared to tell this to my mom……She hated such things……If I told her that I will come home by 10, she would hang me upside down for the next 2 days……I couldn’t deny Aashu also…..So I told Aashu to speak to my mom…….Mom’s impression about Aashu was too good that there was no question of denying her….

I called up mom and Aashu spoke to her……told her that I will come home late…..As expected, mom gave me the permission…..I breathed a sigh of relief……

Deepak left saying that he will check if there are tickets available for the evening show…..

We wandered into Baskin Robbins…..I could never say no to Icecreams……So both of us ordered our favorite Spanish delight scoop……and waited for Deepak to return…..


Something was bothering my mind for quite sometime now….I couldn’t speak it out with Aashu as it was related to her….

While all this happened, that thought in my mind got stronger and stronger…….I realized that Deepak had got pretty close with Aashu……I mean their interaction with each other, the way they talked with each other, everything about them confirmed that...[my thoughts ceased there]…………For a moment, I felt that Aashu is Deepak’s love…….and that was why he hesitated to express it out…….

To top it all, I found that Deepak’s attention was fully focused on Aashu, around Aashu…..His feelings for her reflected in his face while Aashu was with him….His eyes constantly searched for her when she wasn’t around…..All these were symptoms of love…..

To some extend, the fight, me and Aashu had helped in improving their relationship……It simply meant that if I wasn’t there with them, their bonding strengthened……and that it may also blossom into love……I thought that I should provide them with that space…….I didn’t know if it was right to even think like that…..but I told to myself that I will do it from now on…..Probably that would end Deepak’s agony….and maybe it was good for Aashu too…

My mind was pondering on all these while Aashu was going on listing Sid’s faults and asking me to keep away from him……I remained silent as I couldn’t accept everything she said….but I didn’t want to argue with her…..Though my ears heard what she said, my mind lingered in other thoughts…..

While we were still digging into our cups, Deepak arrived with a bad news…..There were only 2 tickets available……He, being the true friend, said that he will go back home leaving me and Aashu to see the movie…..But my mind was already planning something else…

I instantly told them “Guys, plz listen to me, I have a light head ache….it will worsen if I see the film….So I guess that you guys should carry on…..I will go home and get some sleep”

They refused initially…they were willing to cancel the plan too…..but I convinced them somehow…..Leaving them behind, I walked away.....

I moved towards the escalator…….At that point, I turned back and looked at them and someone chirped in me…..”They make a good pair”. 

They were already busy talking with each other…..They didn’t notice me looking at them……Suddenly, I felt left out….a lonely feeling…..I was happy, very happy for my friends but it surely created a distance between us…….

For a second, I thought “Am I sacrificing my friendship for love?.......Am I losing my best friend??”…….

I turned to the escalator and I heard someone talking to me…..

It was mind’s voice “Tum ek number ka duffer ho Anjali…..Aashu tumaari best friend thi, hai aur hamesha rahegi….tum dono ke dosti ke beech kuch nahi aa saktha….pyar bhi nahi!!!”

I cleared my mind and stepped onto the escalator…..

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Sid’s POV:

I saw her as a lightening on the other side…..I was damn sure that it was her on the other side….She was going down the escalator…..

I was dying to know if its really her or just my imagination…..Sam says that if you are in love, it blinds you and you start seeing your love everywhere….But I need to find out…..else my mind wouldn’t rest……So I took a U-Turn and went to the escalator going downwards…..

Sam and Tushar tried to stop me…..

Sam: [holds Sid’s hand] Where are you going dude???

Tushar: haan, Hume uss escalator se uphar jaana hai…..neeche nahi!!! [Points to the opposite direction]

Sid: I saw someone familiar on the other side…I will be back soon….you guys carry on…..

Sam: hey…film shuru hojaayegi….

Sid: I will come before that…just a matter of 5 minutes…..

Tushar: ok fine….come back soon….we will wait outside the movie hall….

[Sid rushes through the crowd and reaches the downward escalator but she has already reached the next one……He quickly goes to the 1st floor via lift and waits for her……]

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Deepak’s POV

I doubt if Anjali has found out my liking for Aashu…Why else would she leave me and Aashu alone like this? Never before has she done like this…..

She usually fights with all and stays back with Aashu….I hope she hasn’t told Aashu about her doubts……Whenever we went for a film, she usually sits between me and Aashu….

I used to mentally scold her for that…..

Now that she left us all alone, I am feeling odd and strange…….I don’t understand the reason for the uneasiness…..I am finding it difficult to face Aashu…..Have I done some mistake?? Why am I feeling this guilty??

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Inside the hall, Aashu and Deepak sit to the corner of a row down near the screen……
Aashu touches him unknowingly…..He moves away as if hit by a electric shock…….Aashu is startled at his behavior …..

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Sid is waiting for Anjali….. 

[He sees her coming down the escalator….…Anjali is more than surprised when she notices him]

Anjali: [mind voice: What is this guy doing here?? Is he following me or what??What does he want??]

[She looks at him and smiles faintly….He gives back a cute smile too…. He is kind of bound to her cuteness…..He doesn’t take his eyes off her… She was wearing a pink kurta and blue jeans….…Her hair tied neatly as a pony tail with a lock of hair hanging which played on her forehead….her eyes had a tint of kajal...a light shade of pink lipstick adorning her beautiful lips… 

Her long earrings were giggling……She looked absolutely stunning…..

Her faint smile clearly showed that she least expected him there...…..]

Sid: Hi Anjali…..

Anjali: tum yahaan??

Sid: main bhi wahi poochne waala tha!!

Anjali and Sid: [both at the same time] woh main picture dekh ne…..[realizing the overlap….stops together and start laughing]

Sid: oh toh tum picture dekhne aayi ho….par theatre uphar hai….tum neeche kyun jaa rahe ho?? Chalo, uphar chalte hai…..picture start hone waala hai….

Anjali: nahi…woh actually hume dho ticket hi miley…..issliye Deepak aur Aashu kho….[Anjali stops and looks at Sid meaning “Why the hell am I saying all this to you?" Sid gives a curious look….and thinks]

Sid: [mind voice: dude, kya yahi kismat connection hai??Is it some indication?? It can’t be just coincidence…..she coming to the same place…and put in such a situation….This is a chance to spend time with her….I should take this clue and act rightly….but I can’t ask her to come out with me now…she will never agree…moreover she might misunderstand me too….what can I do??? I can’t leave her like this also….kya karoom???Kya karoom? Some brain wave strikes him suddenly]

Anjali: [wondering what he is thinking…..Snaps her fingers in front of his face] Hello Sid….what happ?? Are you ok?

Sid: [snaps out of his thoughts] nothing…ummmm...i was thinking…..[hesitates]…like I have an extra ticket…. [Pauses]….. … you can join if you wish!!

Anjali: [hesitates and in a withdrawal tone] no no Sid…..I will go home….waise bhi I am not interested in seeing that movie….

Sid: [tries convincing and then forces too] I wont believe that….Its Ranbir's movie….and I know girls love him…..Why are you refusing??Are you trying to be formal with me??

Anjali: nahi Sid…..waisi baat nahi hai….[Sid breaks in]

Sid: toh kaisi baat hai? [Anjali hesitates to tell OK…so Sid continues] what yaar?? College mein coffee ke liye poocha toh bhi manaa kiya?? Aur ab bhi….. [Thinks for a sec] wait a min…..kahi tum mere saat akele aane se darthi toh nahi??? [Smiles] agar aisi baat hai toh main akela nahi hoom….mera friend bhi hai…..

Anjali: main kisi se nahi darthi….

Sid: oh….toh phir aavo na

[Anjali is in a dilemma…. She is unable to accept the invite….and she is not able to refuse it sternly as well]

Anjali: [half heartedly] hmmm…..

[She is also scared as to what Aashu and Deepak will think….As if reading her mind, Sid pitches in]

Sid: I think you shouldn’t disturb them now…

Anjali: [puzzled about how he said that] Why??

Sid: Anjali….i know why you left them alone……

Anjali: What do you mean??

Sid: yeh toh koyi rocket science nahi hai jho hume samajh nahi aayega!!!

[Anjali remains silent…she doesn’t want to open up on that issue to Sid]

Sid: accha chodo…..jaldi chalo….Interval ya phir film ke baad unse milte hai….

Anjali: [Since Sid already poses to know everything, she says] Interval mein nahi….film ke baad milenge….

[She knows that Aashu will make Deepak sit with Sid and take her along…..Sid also fears the same but for a different reason….Anjali wants Aashu and Deepak to spend time together without her interference….and Sid wants Anjali to sit with him…….]

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Aashu’s POV:
What the hell happened to this Anjali?? I would have asked Deepak to go….She went off so quickly that I couldn’t stop her…..I know that she lied about a headache….she was looking fine…Something else is happening here….I wonder what it is.. Anjali koh mein maar hi dhalungi!!!

This idiotic Deepak, he never stopped her too…..

The strangest thing is that he is so quiet today….he hasn’t spoken to me since Anjali left….He behaves as if he is seeing me for the first time…..treating me like a stranger…..And for whatever I ask him, he gives a one word reply or just a nod or a “hmmmm”……

Normally, during all our outings including movie outings, silence never prevails for more than a minute….I feel so awkward and bored without all that fun…..Is he scared of me or what??
And the way he moved and sat to the far end was so surprising…..
What is so different today?

Baat bhi teek se nahi kar raha…..nazare bhi nahi milaa raha!!! isse kuch toh hua hai?? Par kya???

Wait till I get out of here, I shall put everything back in place….Woh Anjali ko bhi....aur yeh Deepak ko bhi!
(To be continued.........)