"Will we meet again?"

THE car roared through the highway to reach the Vidyasagar Setu. Nikhil looked outside the window and saw few eagles fly by. Yellow-coloured ambassadors ran past his car, the black ink above yellow plate writing the numbers almost fading by as grim covered the corners of the plate. The smell of clay after fresh rain filled him and he inhaled sharply to get a better smell of it. Sunlight tickled his cheek, and he looked ahead, the road, still wet from the fresh rain. Two sparrows splashed in the water of the pit of the road, and he got rid of the spectacles, focusing on the blurred vision of the road ahead. It was going to take long before he come back to Kolkata. His city. City of Joy. His city of love. His driver Ramu looked at him and grinned.

"I'll take care of maa, Nikhil babu. Don't worry." He said.

Nikhil could not speak. He felt his throat closing around his windpipe by the mention of his mother. He had not left the city yet, let alone country; and he was already desperate to complete his studies quickly there, so that he could come back here very soon. He opened the zip of his bag and caressed the tiffin box his mother packed for him to eat in flight. He could very well order something in the plane, but he could not help himself to refuse something that has his mother's touch. So, despite of knowing she has a backpain, he became a little selfish and accepted her proposal.

Mothers are just unsung heroes, in his opinion. Sometimes, we do not understand the values of precious things until they slip out of hand. And mothers... they are the most precious jewels of all. He remembered every petty fight he had brought up and regretted shouting at her, he wanted to just reverse the car and go back to her. He was missing her already. Was she feeling the same?

Nikhil straightened himself up. Surely his mother was thinking the same. The car turned around and Nikhil put on his glasses to find that they had already reached Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. This is where he had to say goodbye to his motherland, he teared up like a baby, removing the tears by the corner of his handkerchief he handed Ramu a five hundred rupees note.

"But babu. . ."

"It is for Puja." Nikhil declared, his voice breaking.

"But Puja is far away. . ." Ramu saw the figure becoming clouded with each passing second and he himself felt himself tearing up. "How you have grown up, Nikhil Babu. There was a time when I used to give you 10 rupees from my salary so that you can have your own pocket money. You. . . were so small, and now you are so big. How time fly away. . ."

"Arey Nikhil bro, don't think too much! I'll be there to receive you at the airport." A male cheerful voice declared over phone.

Nikhil shook his head at his friend's childness.

"No Abhik." He said and felt nothing unusual about it. The line felt like dead for a few seconds before he heard the reply.

"Bro, this you?" Abhik said, confusion was clear in his voice. "Like Nikhil Mitra, is that you?"

"Yes. . .?" Nikhil replied again furrowing his eyebrows, "It's me."

"Bro. . ." He heard something which felt like a slap on the forehead, he always knew his friend was one of the drama kings from his senior secondary school where they first met, but he could not believe he had not changed a bit. "Nikhil? Bro, I knew you were kind of the serious guy, but what the fuck happened to your voice?"

"Abhik, language." He snapped.

"Oh fuck, fine- I mean, just fine." He paused again after speaking again, "But. . . I know it's been 3 years since I heard your voice. But I can't digest the change, like so deep and husky? You sound like an alligator, bro."

And this time, first time, since the morning, Nikhil felt a small laugh erupting from within him. He smiled and Abhik also laughed and continued bellowing which made Nikhil laugh occasionally. He looked outside the glass window of the airport to see the flights taking off and arriving. Looked like, Abhik was going to make the living in Russia easy for him. He swiped through the phone to find the photos of him and his mother, which were taken recently and smiled. Sunlight peeked through the melancholic clouds and the announcement of airlines Indigo alerted him. 

He went to the men's restroom one last time to check if everything was fine, then he gave his luggage for checking and claimed his boarding pass. It was going to be long flight of minimum of 18 hours. He took out a book and placed it in his handbag so that he can find it out sooner, later.

After getting on the flight, raindrops started pouring again wetting the windows of the plane. He pushed his handbag in the cabin before taking the book out.

He sighed deeply and looked outside one last time. The houses, the cars and the road and the smell of his city.

He was going to leave it all, if not for maximum two years.

He could not wait to come back soon. . .

A short update, but I want to know about your pov's!

How was it? Any thoughts? :)

Thanks for reading! ♡