"Sab pack kar liya?" Cabir came to my room.

My flight is scheduled for 1:00 AM tonight.

I finished all the packing, awaiting Navya's homemade sweets and snacks. I told her it's okay, but she won't listen to any of us.

Jab tak you can identify a proper place to eat, tumhaare paas kuch toh rehna chahiye na khaane ke liye" that's what she said.

She put two pans, a small cooker and a few groceries.

She taught me how to make dal, biryani, rotis although I never ended up making atleast one proper round roti.

She showed me the trick to cut it with a round plate to get a proper round.

She also gave me a small cookbook. Typical navya.

Alya got me a nice designer suit.

"MBA students need a proper suit," she said.

Dhruv got me my most favourite pair of sneakers, that I have been longing to have for a while.

Stupid Cabir didn't give anything.

"Haan ho gaya"

"Check your passport and documents, baaki sab toh you can manage"

"Yeah woh sab rakh liya"

He was talking looking at his phone. He never does that. He never uses his phone when he's with me.

"Oye" I called him.

"Haan"

Still not looking at me.

"Abey"

"Kya hain?" he asked.

"Kya hua?"

"Kya? Kuch bhi toh nai. Aisa kyu pooch ra hain?" he said.

"Meri taraf dhekh" I said.

He didn't.

"Cabir" I said in a serious voice.

"Kya hain Manik? Irritate kyu kar raha hain?" he asked looking at me.

Wow!

He was sitting on my bed, legs folded, while I was checking the flight status on my laptop.

I shut my laptop and walked upto him.

"Oyr girlfriend" I said.

"Mein jaa ra hoon apne room mein. Bye" he said getting up from the bed.

I held his hand and stopped him.

Haha! It feels so funny.

He turned around.

"Tujhe ronaa hain toh role. Mere saamne kya sharma ji beta ban re ho" I said.

"Mein nai ro raha hoon" he said.

He wasn't looking at me at all.

"Toh tu mujhe dhekh kyu nai raha hain?" I asked.

"Forget it manik" he jerked his hand off and walked out of my room, banging the door shut.

I gave him ten minutes before I went to his room.

He was snuggled up on his bed, in the comforter.

Oh my god!

This calls for a red flag!!!!

I closed the door behind me.

"Cabir" I said.

"Tu yaha pe bhi aa gaya? Akela nai chod sakta kya?" he yelled.

"Yaar tu mujhe hurt kar raha hain" I said.

I was really hurt.

I know he is mad, and sad. But this is not how I want him to see me off.

I asked him not to come to the airport. I can handle the rest of them but not him.

He is my magnet.

"Sorry" I said and was about to go back.

"Ruk" he said getting up.

"Sorry" he said, sitting upright.

"I can understand"

"I feel like a fool" he said.

"Not at all," I said.

"I do realize tujhe jaana hain, par mann hi nai maan ra" he said.

I sat down next to him.

I was trying hard not to cry.

There are only a few people in life for whom you can shed tears, that's what i think.

Tears are valuable.

"Can I cry?" he asked.

That broke my heart.

Both of us started crying together like 5 year olds.

"Yaar mat jaa" he said.

His voice was breaking.

"Theek hai" I said. Same situation.

"Nai jaa" he said again.

"Give me one option," I said.

"Just go. But come back soon" he said.

"Okay" I said nodding in yes.

Tears were unstoppable.

I hugged him tight.

And we cried more.

"I can't take the fact that you're leaving. Pata nai kitna bhi try karoon, nahi ho raha hain yaar" he said.

"Same"

"Aata rahega na?" he asked.

"Haan, paise toh tujhe hi deni hain" I said.

"I am going to keep an account though"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course" he said..

"Cabir agar tu hi aisa ho gaya toh mein kaise jaunga yaar"

"Sorry. I have been trying dho din se. Soch raha tha ki emotional nai hona hai. Saala feelings pe control hi nahi rehta"

"Tu akele plane mein pehli baar ja raha hain uss ke baad. You'll be fine right?" he asked.

After that incident, I had panic attacks. I used to have nightmares, planes crashing or often kept hearing the sounds and cries.

It was terrible. I had them for almost a year.

Therapy and medicines helped me get out of depression.

"I have learnt to face my fears, Cabir," I said.

"Good to know"

"Cabir, chalo lunch ready hain" Navya came opening the door.

"Manik tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?"

Before I answered, "Ek minute tum dono ki eyes aise kyun hain? Have you been crying?" she asked, walking to us worriedly.

"Thoda sa" I said.

"Tum dono itne sweet ho" she said, pulling our cheeks.

"Chalo neeche lunch ready hain"

We had lunch and settled in the living room, just talking to each other.

Soon it was time to leave for the airport.

Cabir ended up coming to the airport, although I insisted he don't.

The driver drove the other car with luggage while the five of us were in one car, Dhruv driving.

We soon reached the airport.

And it was time.

For the final goodbye.

I put all my luggage in the stroller.

"Okay guys! Time to leave" I said.

After hugging all of them for what like eternity, I was going inside.

Cabir quickly sneaked in an envelope into my hand without no one noticing.

We cried again, Cabir crying the most of everyone.

I walked inside, without looking back.

The entire process took me a couple of hours and finally I was in the waiting lounge for the business class.

I got some wine and settled on one of the recliners.

I took out the envelope Cabir gave me. There was a handwritten letter inside.

Dear Manik,

I have no idea about what I am feeling right now. It is really difficult for me to imagine living in the house without you. Not just for me, but for all of us. Par kya karein. We have no choice.

Manik tu mere liye kya hain yeh mein nai jaanta. Bas itna jaanta hoon ki you are the reason for my existence. I know it sounds too cliche. After the incident, I didn't feel like I had a reason to live. I loved dad the most, shaayad tum se bhi zyaada. Unke aage mere liye kuch bhi nai tha. It may be due to the fact that he gave me life or something else. I don't know. I was completely shattered. But then I saw you. I saw you crying in the hospital, holding their picture. I saw you crying at home, sitting on their bed. I saw you crying wearing dad's shirt, holding mom's saree, Mukti's guitar.

Mein un ke khud ka beta nai tha. Phir bhi mujhe itna buraa lagaa. Jab meine socha ki you lost your own family, I saw myself in you. They were your mother, your father and your sister. Hum sab baad mein aaye.

I know how difficult it is to live without a family, I have been there. I didn't want you to suffer that. It's a dark trap, you cannot get out of it easily. Unfortunately, you were trapped in darkness before I could you. But I am glad you helped yourself. You fought it. And you came out of it. I cannot tell how happy that made me.

Now that you are going to start a new phase of life, Manik leave all the darkness. You have a long way to go. And I sincerely hope you find a partner who walks with you all the way. Trust me, having someone by your side is the best thing that can happen to you. My life changed after navya happened to me. You know that.

You deserve all the love Manik. Keep your heart open. You said no one would want a broken person like you. But like navya said, maybe someone somewhere is as broken as you are. I am sure, uss ke liye na tu apne aap ko change kar lega. Because Manik, only love can mend your soul.

Acha enough of emotional baatein. Manik you are going to spend a bomb for this, so yes, I need return on investment. Velapanti mat kar aur achhe se padhaai kar. Make friends. Don't roam around like a loner.

Will miss you so much!

Love,

Cabir!

This boy is irreplaceable. Sometimes God creates unique pieces. There's nothing like it. And Cabir is that.

I put the letter in my bag.

An hour later, they called for boarding.

I was given another glass of wine after settling down.

Not a big fan of wine. I am more of a beer person.

I could see flashes of my parents and Mukti when the flight took off. I chugged the entire glass of wine in one shot, closed my eyes tight, trying to get rid of them.

I cannot fall weak.

The rest of the journey went fine.

I ate, slept, read and watched a movie.

Finally, the flight landed in Madison. I had to catch a new flight from Chicago that connects to Madison.

It was 8 in the morning by the time I landed. I booked a hotel close to the university. I took a cab and went to the hotel.

I have an appointment with the Director at the Office of International Education at 10:30 AM tomorrow. So today is pretty much going to be a rest day. I thought I could explore the university a little, find some nice places to eat.

After checking into the hotel I called up Cabir and spoke to them for a while.

I had breakfast and went to bed.

It was around 3 PM by the time I got up.

I watched a movie, had some coffee and decided to go around the place.

I walked around downtown. There are a couple of Chinese eateries, a subway, Dominos and an ice cream store.

There is also a small movie theater, an art center and a library.

After coming back to the hotel, I checked all the documents I needed to carry tomorrow and put them in a bag.

Navya already ordered me about what I am going to wear on day 1.

A blue denim, white T-shirt and a light blue blazer.

It didn't take me too long to go to sleep.

--------------

I was waiting for Judy at her office right at 10:20 AM.

And there she was.

She was extremely friendly and a very talkative person.

She looked through my documents.

"I am just going to make a call" she said, picking up her phone.

"Hello Sweetie," she said.

Sweetie? Is that a name?

She spoke for a few minutes and asked her to be there in thirty minutes.

"So, you are Manik right? I hope I got your name right. It is so nice to have you here Manik. I have called Nandini. She is the only Indian student here till now and is one of the student ambassadors. She will be here in a while, give you a school tour and you can take her help to find an apartment as you said you don't want to live in the dorms"

I didn't want to live in the dorms. I wanted to find an apartment somewhere close to the campus.

"She is mad at me. It's saturday, meaning no class day and I woke her up" Judy said smiling.

"I could have met her on monday"

"Oh that's not a problem. She's sweet" Judy said.

Wow, looks like Judy really likes this girl.

We talked for a while until the girl she was mentioning came in.

Nandini.

Different name.

Okay. She looks so beautiful.

Literally.

She is tiny, well that's the first thing I noticed.

"Hello Judy. So I am here. Tell me what I can do for you?" she asked.

She had a proper American accent.

"Nandu, this is Manik. He is from India and is here for his Master starting this semester. I want you to walk him through the induction program and get him accommodated here. I know no one can do this better than you. So here are his forms. Help him to fill these out and then you guys can just roam around. You should see Brendan as well, as Manik is a basketball player. Brendan would like to add him to the team. I believe you can do this for me" she finished and handed over the forms to Nandini.

That's when she looked at me.

"Hi Manik! Pleasure meeting you" she said extending her hand for a hand shake.

"Hi Nandini. Thanks for helping me out. I am sorry I occupied your weekend"

"Oh that's okay!" she said smiling.

Beautiful smile.

"Shall we?" she asked, opening the door.

She had a small black backpack that had butterflies hanging from the zipper.

Before we left the room, she grabbed a handful of chocolates that were on Judy's table.

"You owe me woman!" she said to her and quickly walked out of the room.

Looks like they are really close.

We were walking in silence.

The more I look at her, the More I feel like I have seen her somewhere.

When I asked her that, she thought I was flirting. She is something.

Let's see what this country has in store for me!!

Starting with Nandini!!