PCB = Printed Circuit Board , used in electronics 

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The trio decided to wake up early to beat traffic to the caves they had decided to see today, however Kiran couldn't be bothered to get off the bed. Arya and Shruti let her be and took turns showering and packing their bags, and they packed Kiran's things as well. 

Shruti came out of the shower and saw Kiran still sleeping, her face buried in the pillow.

"Ae Kiran, go get up, we need to leave before nine," she said nudging her. 

Arya decided to pull Kiran away from her pillow. She climbed the bed on one knee, and pulled Kiran's shoulders gently. 

"Kiran, you can sleep in the car... but you need to freshen up right now. Aren't you hungry?"

"Don't you wanna eat breakfast? Come, let's get up," Shruti added, patting her head gently. 

They both were quiet for a moment, and heard soft sniffles coming from the pillow. They looked at each other shocked. 

Did they mishear? 

Shruti pulled Kiran's shoulders with force now, while Arya tried to make her turn and pull away from the pillow. 

"Kiran, are you crying?"
"Kiran, look at us..."
"Kiran, why are you crying, did you have a nightmare..."
"Bache (kid), look at us."

They were finally able to pull her away from the pillow and saw her cheeks red and wet, her eyes moist, and her hands wiping the remainder of tears away. 

"Kiran...." Arya cooed as she pulled her up and into a hug. Shruti kept on patting her head, and rubbing her back. Shruti was just about to ask Kiran why she was crying, but before she could open her mouth, it was as if Arya knew what she was about to say, and shook her head. 

Shruti nodded in understanding. Kiran didn't talk much of her feelings and emotions about her wedding day when they helped her run away, but she will one day, and they would rather wait till that day and time than to force her to talk about what hurts. 

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After filling their stomachs with the delicious breakfast their hotel offered, and packing the cars with their bags, the three were on the road again. 

"What's this blanket for" Kiran asked picking up the cloth beside her. 

"Ah, that. I placed it there. For you to use it in case you wanna go to sleep," Arya said as she turned back to focus on the road as she was the driver for this leg of the journey. 

A small smiled played on Kiran's lips as she mumbled a thank you. 

"We also got you your favourite snack, check it," Shruti said as she pointed to the bag kept on the other side of where Kiran was sitting. 

Kiran excitedly opened the bag and a squeal was heard as they drove across the NH52 highway. 

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Ellora - 

They walked behind the group of tourists that were being led in by a guide, explaining the history behind the caves and their importance. As much as they would have wanted to tag along for the history lesson, they had a bunch of information pamphlets to read the history themselves, so they decided to walk much slower so that they could be away from big groups of people with guides. 

Passing by the magnificent caves of this UNESCO World Heritage Site made them feel so small, and yet, somehow, a part of something great. 

They soon arrived near Cave 16, the largest monolithic rock excavation in the world. When they had seen the previous caves, a series of awes and surprised sounds could be heard from them, but once they stood in front of this monument, they were left speechless. In admiration of the architecture, thinking about the amount of time it must have taken to carve out this monument.

They decided to sit for a few moments, tired from all the walking, but mostly from the overflow of emotions they felt when they were able to see the magnificence of these caves. 

"I'm glad we decided to take this trip..." Shruti said softly, "I, of course, in no way, am glad of the events that led to it..." she explained quickly to Kiran , who just shrugged her shoulders, "but , I think, we needed to witness this..." she said opening her arms pointing to the caves.

"How did they do it?" Kiran asked. 

"Do what?" Arya quizzed. 

"You know, carve everything. Like how? That dedication? That hard work? I, I just can't understand? Like, if I can work even half as dedicatedly as they did, maybe I would be more successful? Maybe my boss wouldn't be hating me?"

"Your boss doesn't hate you cuz of your lack of dedication, he hates you cuz he's a jerk. And you are not any less talented or dedicated or hard-working as them. We are just in different times, our deeds are just different than them...." Arya explained. 

"But like, I don't think I can concentrate for so long..." Shruti added. 

"Says the one who once spent 14 hours designing her PCB for her first year project..." Kiran chipped. 

"The way I see it," Arya chirps with a smile on her face, "We all are as magnificent as them, we are just in different times and spaces. For all we know, one of us might have been the among the people who built these structures. And in this lifetime, we are admiring them."

There was a moment of silence amongst them. With Arya admiring the work in front of her, and Shruti and Kiran admiring her. 

"How-how does she get these thoughts? Why are her thoughts always so different?" Kiran asked Shruti, nudging her knees.

"Tsk, it's the organic food she eats," Shruti teases, earning a smack on her shoulder and laughters erupted amongst them. 

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"You sure you can drive more?" Shruti asked as they got in the car.

"Yeah, of course?" Arya answered.

"No, I mean you drove to here as well na, are you sure, like, um, is your back okay?"

A small smile played on Arya's lips as she stopped in the middle of putting her seat belt on as she looked up to see Shruti, locking her eyes with her concerned ones. 

"My back is fine, don't worry," Arya said with a chuckle.

"No, but didn't you say that the doctor said not to drive for longer periods of time? This is almost 3 hours long drive, even longer maybe." Shruti voiced her concern. 

She hadn't forgotten when Arya had called them saying how she hurt her back falling down when playing volleyball with her friends at her university abroad, how the physical therapy was too expensive, and how her back had ached every now and then for almost a year. Years ago.

"That was almost 7 years ago. You remember?" Arya asked as she started the car. A crisp sound was heard from the backseat when Kiran opened the bag of bhakharwadis her friends had gotten her as she intently listened to their conversation.

Shruti almost pouted hearing Arya ask if she remembers. How can she forget that she googled what her condition was, found some exercises on YouTube and sent the links to Arya, and kept asking her everyday if she did them cuz Arya was a lazy dumbhead about exercising? 

She scoffed, "Of course I do! Now let me know when you want to switch in between , okay? Or if you want to take a stop and get out of the car to stretch legs, let's do that too, okay?"

Arya smiled shaking her head at the concern as she starts driving again, with the sound of their hungry  friend munching bhakharvadis in the back, offering it to them every now and them. 

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Ajanta - 

Everytime they saw another monument, they were dumbfounded. The Ajanta caves were another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightfully so, their breathes were taken away the moment the stepped in the midst of the ancient monasteries.

Looking at ancient art and architecture had always been a favourite part of any travel experience for Arya, but this one, with her friends turns out to be more beautiful and cherishing. They are reading the pamphlets, and Arya is telling them all about the different periods of times when the monuments were made, how they were rediscovered and then how they are being preserved. 

Looking at ancient rock carved monuments had never been on any itinerary of Shruti's , but seeing Arya's eyes shine wide, her face glow as she explained the importance and the meaning of the carvings, the monuments, the monasteries and the paintings, she can maybe include seeing ancient rock carved monuments in her itinerary without hesitation.

Looking at ancient paintings and monuments reminds Kiran of the rich past of her ancestors, and she cant help but think if they would be ever proud of her, especially after what she did on her supposed wedding day. 

After touring the place for more than an hour, they decided to sit down, once again, on some stairs, silent, still marvelling at the beauty in front of them. 

Kiran had been lost in deep thought for a couple of minutes, before she decided to speak. Her voice came out almost like a murmur, like she didn't want to let the ancient monastries to know about her pain.

"Last year, I was thinking of joining the bike expedition of my cousin and his friends, from Manali to Leh."

Arya and Shruti's necks snapped in her direction, Kiran kept staring at the ground, her hand clasping her right knee tightly.

"I had been practising with my cousin for almost 6 months for that; they didn't like it, Karan and his mom. I had started driving motorbike to commute to work and everywhere else as well, to get used to my bike as much as possible. They didn't like that either. 

Karan would say, 'Oh, its too heavy for you, if you fall, you will hurt a lot', while his mom would say, 'What's the need to learn how to ride a bike, you have Karan na?'

And they would say it in a very sweet and caring voice, so if I would even get frustrated at it, people would think that I am the bad one , that I am wrong.

But always, all the time, it was like this. 

My cousin would say, 'If you practice well, it will all go well' and I would tell him what Karan would say, and my cousin would say, 'Well, that's why we are practising , so you won't fall. And what if you fall, what even if you fall? You will get up and not do that mistake, it's okay.'

I think when I told my cousin about Karan and his mom always telling me this, I think he didn't like Karan since then. 

And when Karan came to meet my cousin, it was their first time meeting, like 5 days before our trip, and Karan told him, "Oh, you know what? I can join you guys, I know how to ride a bike!"  

And my cousin got so so mad, he had been planning this trip for like a whole year, and Karan knew that, and yet there he was, suddenly saying that he would join us. I don't know whether Karan was joking or not, but when my cousin said that they had been preparing for the trip for more than a year, Karan scoffed it saying that he didn't need any preparation. 

And that's when I saw it. 

This was our exact conversation on a lot of things. 

And this time, I was seeing it as a 3rd person, rather than the person it was happening to. 

And I just got shocked, how much different it felt witnessing this conversation from a 3rd person view. 

And then, I replayed all our past conversations when I had felt weird in my guts about our relationship, I would try to see it from a 3rd person view, and I would think to myself, 'Why? What is happening? We were so happy? Karan wasn't like this before. Or was he, and I just never saw it?'

And then after I came back from that trip, I spent a few days with him again, just going on dates , and movies, and he treated me so so well, and I thought that all was well.

Then it began again, when we were doing the wedding preparations. 

I had to always explain why I wanted things a certain way. Just a simple, 'I like this , so I wanna wear this'  would be met with a "Why?"

"Why marigolds and not roses?"

"Why blue lehenga and not red?"

"Why this?"

"Why that?"

But when Karan or his mom or my mom would suggest something, it would be duly noted down. 

"Oh I think this would suit you better', or ''I brought this for you, mom liked it for you'  but it wasn't anything near what I would like, and I understand they wouldn't know all my likings, but Karan knew, he knew most of my likes and dislikes, and yet, he would side with his mom's opinions. 

My wedding lehenga, which I brought with my own money, wasn't the colour I wanted it to be, cuz his mom, and then him, and then my mom said that red is better. I really dislike red now!

You guys should have seen the blue lehenga, it was gorgeous, it was what I had imagined getting married in!

I tried so hard to see things from their point of view, that till the day before the wedding I thought that everything was okay because they cared about me. I was trying so hard to see things from their point of view, I forgot that it was my wedding, that things should go how Karan and I wanted, not how Karan and his mom and my mom and 10 other people wanted it to be.

And Karan messaged me, a day before the wedding, saying 'See you tomorrow, my wife ' and the first thought that came to my mind was 'I dont wanna? '  and when I read the message out loud, it left a bad taste in my mouth. 

And then I panicked. 

That it was the last time, that if I wanted to back out, this would be it, otherwise it would be a divorce.

And I laid on the bed and thought about everything about the wedding, and I made a list, things that happened my and Karan's way, what we had always imagined our marriage would look like and things that happened his and his mom's ways, and the latter was longer. 

And I told myself, this list is for my wedding, if I don't do anything, it will be for my life. 

This was my wedding and it wasn't anything like I imagined it to be, for the worse. 

And then Arya messaged me saying that she has a meeting but she will try to come on time. 

As I read that message, I thought, "Arya, bhaga ja mujhe!" (Arya, help me run away!)

That was the first time I have done something that I have wanted to do, completely my wish. And no one else's.

And I am so grateful that you both helped me otherwise I don't know what  I would have done. "

Arya wiped Kiran's tears that she didn't know had started falling from her beautiful almond shaped eyes. 

Kiran continued, " I kept on thinking so so much, that what I have done is wrong. I know, I know how much money has been spent on this wedding, I know how happy everyone was. Everyone else. Everyone except me.

I thought, was it selfish of me, to have done this?

I don't even think I can face my parents now.

But like, if I keep on thinking for everyone else, who thinks about me?"

Kiran wiped her teary cheeks as the two engulfed her in a hug.

Arya held her tightly, as Shruti patted her gently, stroking her side to side.

They held her like that, not saying anything till her sniffles became softer.

"It's not selfish, to think about yourself," Arya was the first one to break the silence.

"It was supposed to be your wedding, but it sounds like anything but, Kiran" Shruti said, gently caressing her cheek.

"You did the right thing Kiran. It hurts now, but it was necessary.

It's like a rotten tooth.

You need to pull it out. It hurts a lot, it will be swollen for the next couple of days, you will need to take care and to be cared for.

But it was necessary to take that rotten tooth out, cuz the damage it would have done, the pain it would have caused later on, would be greater than the pain you feel after pulling it out.

It's okay. The rotten tooth is out now, Kiran.

And now you need to care for yourself, and you have us to care for you."

A light breeze brushed their skins as Kiran chuckled a moment later, "My cousin, Mahir, he couldn't make it to the wedding, but he messaged me yesterday ..."

The words trailed off as Kiran took out her cellphone and clicked on the message for her friends to see.

"Ah little one, they told me you ran away.

Good for you, he was not good for you anyways.

Do you want me to come pick you up?

Let's go eat some chaat and celebrate!"

They saw her reply underneath where she had told him that she was with them and travelling away from the city for a while, to which he had responded how it was for the best and to let him know if she ever comes by Nagpur. 

Arya laughs at the message, "I like him! Aha, he seems cool !"

 "Right? Do you wanna meet him?" Kiran asked excitedly.

"I mean our next stop is going to be Nagpur, and it would be disrespectful not to meet him, right Shruti?" Arya asked Shruti, whose heart had dropped to her stomach a moment ago hearing their conversation. Shruti, who didn't understand why she was feeling so jealous right now, hearing Arya and Kiran talk about this cool new dude Mahir. 

"Shruti?" Arya snapped her fingers in front of her, bringing Shruti out of her daze, "Let's meet Kiran's cousin when we go to Nagpur, okay?"

"Hmm... yeah...um, yeah sure, text him! Let's, um, let's meet him. He sounds cool!"

Shruti decided to drive to the hotel they had decided to stay at night, while Kiran kept on talking about what this cool new dude Mahir does, and Arya gave either a bewildered, excited or surprised reaction to all of it, much to the inner annoyance of Shruti. 

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DUN DUN DUNN

HOW WAS THE CHAPTER? 

I hope you enjoyed it. it was a very tiring day when i finished this chapter up so please ignore the red underlines on the social media screenshots. 

Lemme know what you think in the comments. 

Vote, comment and share.

All my love,

Inolas.