Daksh Chauhan

I walked up where Jai Naveen and Veer stood talking about. The party was in full swing, there were many faces which were known, Jai's family and mine had always shared most of the common friends but I had to agree Geeta aunty had a great taste at throwing parties.

Her parties always had those glamour and traditional touch that would make you feel connected to the family, it never felt out of the box or over the top. I had been too many parties where there would always be those fake smiles, invitations against invitations and rather than get together, flaunting of money.

It never suited me, or Jai, and maybe that's what made us good friends till now.

"Hey", I greeted the lot as soon as I reached their hearing distance.

"Daksh, hey man where have you been?" Veer asked as he gave me a hug and then stood back as the others greeted me.

"I just shifted back to my place and Naveen your sister surely is good at decorating houses, she helped me a lot." I complemented and took hold of the drink from a waiter who was passing by.

"Speaking of this sister of yours...where is she?" veer asked and though his words were for Naveen his eyes were trained on Jai, I felt my forehead furrowing about at this weird happening. It seemed my lack of presence had left me on a lot of things out here.

"She is with dadi; she must have shown her, her collection of amar Chitra katha." Jai said, to which I head a groan from Naveen as he shook his head and said,

"I don't believe this, Jai you could have come up with something better don't you think; now those two ladies won't get up from their place for an hour or so."

I surely wanted to let out a laugh. Dadi was a huge fan of Amar chitra kathas and as much as I had known from Naveen and Mitali, the girl was crazy for them. She would always say, 'it's the best to imagine things, when I had first came across them those pictures and the dialogues written in clouds would make me so happy.'

And as much as I had seen those small comics they surely did, every kids life in our generation was filled with them, I had seen my fair amount of girls with them whereas the boys hung about with tin-tins in their hand.

Such golden days they were.

"Umm Naveen, it's already been more than an hour when I saw them already immersed in those books." As we all guffawed at the horrified look of the poor brother of Mitali, my eyes landed on the said person hovering about the eateries. I quickly excused myself and sneaked behind her.

"Hi Mitali." I whispered in her ears as she shrieked out loudly and turned around with her one hand resting on her chest that was heaving loudly as she tried to catch her breath.

"Daksh!!! Don't you dare do that again?" She said and went back on trying to do what she was doing about.

"Need any help?" I asked. This girl surely had a thing or two with being clumsy, yet it seemed so cute. How she would struggle to keep her tissue from slipping off her hands or the way she tried to lift about right amount of purees and make them land in her plate.

Mitali was surely one kind of entertainment.

"yep, usually when I go on any of these parties Shakti or my brother is always there and since I don't really like to have my food all alone... but now-"

"Mind if I join you then?" the way her eyes lit up in excitement made me laugh. Quickly picking up the plates we as got into the line and filled our plates with the food and quickly took a far away table to get settled at.

"I haven't seen you much after the coffee shop." Mitali said as she broke a piece of her bread and dipped it into the veg kolhapuri.

"I was busy with the remodeling of my house, and then I had a few meetings, there isn't much to know about my schedule it's always filled with files." I said as Mitali began to shake her head in denial and she swallowed the morsel and drank a few sips of water and then pointed her forefinger at me and said,

"That's where you are wrong, what we do is in our hand not in someone else, so when you say you don't have much to talk about your schedule that's because you do not have guts to do something that you wish to, or out of your laid down schedule."

She then narrowed her eyes at me and said, "And do I need to remind you the schedule that you are talking about is also made by you."

"Actually my secretary prepares it for me." I smiled at the way she got irritated with my poor attempt to clear the tension. It was very well understood, the naïve Mitali was easier to handle than the sensible and a bit mature Mitali.

But that also made her so different, she wasn't just innocent for her own good and bad, but as well knew the best of the worlds, and surely it was difficult to find something in one now a day.

People would always be filled with ulterior motives, may somewhat like me, I was no different, or maybe even she; but I liked it how she would reprimand the people whom she thought were important to her, she would never back off, may be again that's one thing that made Mitali who she was. Though filled with numerous flaws yet her one good character forgave for all those flaws.

"Let's leave my schedule where it is, you tell me anything new that I must know?" Mitali's hands halted their action as her eyes landed on something behind me.

"My life is in a mess right now." As she frowned at the plate filled with variety of delicacies it made me wonder what it could really be.

"Is it so worrisome to not even enjoy your food?" and the question lingered there around us for a moment. What could really be that severe to have Mitali restrain herself from the food? She never did that, she wasn't that.

"No, not that worrisome... but as much as I know my brother and Veer are aware of it... ohh wait, you don't know?" she asked as she leaned in a bit ahead, and laughed.

"Gosh this is my own mess and I am sounding like those gossip aunties.'

"Mitali I am waiting, what is it that I don't know and the rest do?" I asked, my heart was beating in a very different frenzy. Never had this happened that something was kept off from me.

"You remember when we had met at my dad's farmhouse..." and with that she began telling me those things that had been happening in my absence. Jai's confession, her confrontation, Vansh and Vanshika arrival, her mother's words, her confusion, her fear and then finally the question that had broken the final chord in that heart of mine.

"Jai is a very nice guy, so is his family, but what if I am not worth them and yet I fall in love with him? tell me what am I to do then?"

As I kept on looking at her, and kept on observing her features, my skin began to tingle, I so wanted to scratch at the different place, but I stopped myself from doing so, I couldn't ... not here in front of her.

"For the time I have known Jai, he isn't someone to be involved with and to talk about and pursue that person or thing until and unless he is sure about it more than his life. If I would have been you, I would accept his feelings, I would take up that chance of whatever small feeling that I have for him."

Leaving out a small chuckle I ate yet another piece of food and said, "And yes he surely is rich as hell, but even if he would have been a salary man, there won't be any perfect guy for you."

Not even me. I thought with my smile still intact on my lips and stuffed the food inside my mouth to stop the small sob that would have come out.

But throughout the dinner, my eyes were strained on Mitali's face as she talked about the time she had spent with Jai, how scared she was when she first came here, and how she was happy to have a friend like me.

And my heart sat there with me nursing yet another pain. Who was I to blame for this, though I had met her first, it seemed I was to be the friend that she never had, I was that special friend who may be had a place way above anyone else.

Once we were done with the dinner and had had our desert we walked out into the gazebo for a walk. As we stopped in front of the fountain staring at the impression of the stars in eh water I asked,

"so Mitali, can I bet on it that even though you and Jai would be sharing a relation which might be way important and special, I can rely on you anytime of the day and night? At any moment?"

"Daksh I had told you earlier itself, you were someone who fit perfectly into that confused self of mine, so I believe it is stupid to even ask if I would be there for that other sane part of me... don't you think?"

I nodded my head, as we two went back at gazing the stars.

How did we become so close? I was her brother's friend but we never had the conversations that I have with her, we met for countable times, yet I feel I had more rights to be reliable on her than anyone else.

And even though, this evening I had taken the first step towards pursuing my first love and even if I had lost it to its first love I was happy.

Who said, to be with the one you love is all about pursuing your love? Sometimes, letting your love pursue their love could as well be your pursual.

"Mitali, Daksh... what are you guys doing here?" we turned around to see Jai walking towards us.

"I might or might not have had a bit too much so we came here for a walk." Mitali said, as she fiddled with her fingers, her eyes were strained on Jai with a small twinkle in them. Anyone could say that she liked him.

And if she did like him, then I was happy to let her go every time until that guy was Jai.

Taking a few steps back from them, I began to walk away from there, to let the two have a few minutes alone. They needed that, for Jai to make a few moves on her, and for Mitali to finally understand what her heart had to say about this whole ordeal.

*****

The dark room seemed comfortable to be able to deal with the dizzy memories of mine and Mitali. The slight creek of the door made me look up from my folded hands, as the soft tinkling of the anklets fell on my ears.

"Daksh, are you okay son?" mom asked as she walked closer to me. She was close yet again she felt as if she was far away.

"Mom I couldn't hold on to her." I said, and though I wanted to let out a huge cry, my tears wouldn't spill; it hurt more than to be let out through the tears.

"Daksh... what happened?" she asked, but never did she came closer to me.

"Jai loves Mitali maa."

"And what about Mitali... did she say that she loves him as well?" she asked.

I thought about it, and remembered the way she behaved and talked about Jai, and even though I had known her for some time I knew something very well.

"Maa, she is so innocent that she doesn't even realize that all this while the feeling that had made her restless and has sleepless nights was her love for Jai... I can bet my whole life on this fact that Mitali was in love with jai when the first time he had confessed his love for her without any hesitance."

As I looked up once again at her she smiled at me and said,

"But you are happy for her right?"

"I am." And as I sat there in the darkness, she was gone again, but this time I knew she was happy of what I have become... but that was somewhat a question that had been ringing in my mind again and again...

'You are happy with what I have become, right mom?'

A/N

Hii, I so eagerly wanted to update this story, but somehow college didn't permit me. 

that brings me to a question... who all are starting with their college this year?? what stream, degree post graduate... do share with us, and all the best, its one of the best time. 

coming back to the story, I feel so sorry for Daksh, my heart cries out for him. 

any ways, I was as well thinking about giving a playlist for this story, and need your suggestions, do let me know what song do you think would be perfect for the chapters till now. I have a perfect song for the whole story as in a title track, its in korean though, but it suits best... i will add it in the next chapter with its lyrics and translation. do listen to it and let me know what you think. 

till then, please share the book around with your friends, and help me promote it? and yes do click on that star button to show some love and leave your feedbacks. 

love you all. 

Thank you for reading 

Happy reading 

Yadni Bagwe.