"Agar tumhe paiso ki jarurat ho toh tum mujhse maang sakti ho. Mujhse kya sharmana" Vidushi says for the 10th time in the last hour. I sigh. I have told her that doing a part-time job was on my mind for a while but she is not ready to believe. Okay so here goes the real reason.

"Vidushi mai sach me part-time job karna chahti hu. Kuch paise milenge jo mai books aur baaki college necessities ke liye use kar sakti hu aur.... Randhir.. mujhe Randhir se thoda distance maintain karna hai.. college ke baad kisi aur chiz me mann laga rahega toh.. you know.." I explain.

Her eyes soften and she gives me a small smile. "Are you sure? Bahot stress ho jaayega Sanyukta. College and job saath me" she says.

"Jyada stress hua toh I will leave it Vids. Now stop worrying and chalo meri help karo" I say and she finally gives up.

We spend the next hour locked up in Vidushi's room searching on the internet for jobs in Panchgani. Tanya is spending time with Vishaad. After the incident yesterday I have mostly avoided Randhir. I sigh and flop back on Vidushi's bed. I just need some space. Just a small job is what am asking for.

"Heyyy" Vidushi squeals looking up from her laptop. "Yaha dekho you will love it" she says clapping her hands. I yawn and look at the screen and my eyes light up.

______

So here I am standing in front of the boutique named 'Fashion Factory'. It's not a very huge one but is not very small too. As I read on the internet, it is in the market near the Panchgani depot which is a 20 minutes walk from our college. They needed a sales person and a very proper description was not given. So I just made a small resume and brought the necessary documents.

I push open the door and enter inside. All the walls inside are white with wooden flooring. To the left and right are clothes neatly arranged and also accessories. In the front is a huge mirror and on the left corner is a staircase.

A woman clears her throat from beside me in the counter and I look at her. She is in her early 40s and gives me a warm smile. "Hi I am Arikta. How may I help you?" she asks. "Hello. I read your ad on the internet. Is the job for a saleswoman still available?" I cross my fingers.

"Oh yes please come this way" she says and nods towards a girl about my age to take her place. She is looking at me with a frown and is chewing gum noisily.

I follow her and go upstairs. Here too the interiors are same but all the clothes are for men. We enter a small cabin like room where there is a small table and 2 chairs. It is a bit messy as many files and boxes are placed everywhere. She sits on a chair and motions me to sit in front of her. I hand her my small resume file and she scans it taking her time. I am being really restless but I don't let it show.

She looks up and gives me a bright smile. "Interesting Sanyukta. You go to FITE so it seems you will be working here part time after college. But you will have to work on holidays too. Is that ok?" she asks.

"Yes sure. I have no complains about that." I say happily and she gives me a bright smile.

_____

I am walking back to college with a smile on my face. Me and Arikta ma'am instantly clicked and she is such a wonderful woman. She told me her husband used to run this shop which was once a sarees shop. After his death four months ago she and her son converted the whole shop into a boutique as the shop before was not doing well. The girl downstairs mostly took many holidays and was not at all good at her work. I guess then today will be her last day. The boutique is not very popular so the salary is not very high. But for me '5000' is enough.

I rush to Vidushi's room and tell her everything. She is very happy (mostly for the discounts she will get). I along with Vidushi and Tanya put on the pamphlets of the boutique on the student's board in the whole college. At dinner I tell all my friends about my new job and they are all happy for me. Randhir and Sanaya are not present and my mood goes a bit downhill. I will be going to the job from tomorrow. It's 11pm and Randhir is still not back.

I lay on the bed thinking about Randhir. All our beautiful moments. I used to be so happy spending time with him. Will I ever be able to be happy like before. I put in my earphones and shuffle the playlist. The song that plays exactly describes the situation of my heart. It hurts listening to the lyrics but I listen to it anyhow absorbing the painful voice of the singer.

Rabba mere.. Ishq kisiko aise naa tadpaaye.. haaye.
Dil ki baat rahe iss dil me.. hothon tak naa aaye.. naa aaye...

"I miss you Randhir. I miss you so badly. I love you" I whisper to myself and close my eyes.

__________

I know you guys are waiting desperately for "Sandhir moments". Thoda sa intezaar please.. kyuki dooriyaan bhi hai jaruri.. jaruri hai yeh dooriyaaan