"Happiness is contagious,

It spreads like the flu,

Someone smiled at me today,

And I started smiling too"

~*~

The next morning Blake got out of the bed to freshen up. He picked a bouquet of fresh red and pink flowers and drove to the cemetery. After a few moments of silence, and several moments of re-living the memories, he got up and drove the university.

There, he sat down in silence. Chlara was already there , staring at the girls who were giggling and blushing behind Blake.

"They do this everyday. What's with them?," he inquired, frowning.

Chlara smiled at him, sadly. "They know you're single now. You have been popular ever since you entered the university," she said.

Blake sighed and shook his head in disbelief.  "For some people , looks was all that mattered" he thought. "And for others it was my heart. But she's gone... Gone. "
They didn't know. Blake's heart was now just a hollow dead brush, not that bright red flower that had bloomed in Lucy's presence. He wasn't that happy Blake anymore, who lived each moment as it came, laughed uncontrollably and  loved unconditionally.

  He was now just a broken petal of that flower. Sad, decayed and dark.

During lunch, Eros and Kristine ate with him, exchanging a few words. But just as the bell rang, and Blake was about to leave, he was stopped.

"You aren't going back to class, Blake," Eros apprised him.

"What? But why?," Blake asked, confused.

"Because we're going somewhere," he informed.

"No, I can't bunk my class-"

"Oh, shut up now," Kristine said, dragging him outside.

~*~

Blake looked out of the window of the car.

"Just where are we going?," he asked, for the millionth time.

"Asking again and again won't be of any help," Eros said.

"Yeah," Kristine agreed. "Just wait".

"Why can't you just tell me? It's not like I'll escape. I don't have a choice anyway,"Blake said.

"God, you're stubborn. We're going for a picnic. By the stream," Kristine said.

"Why are we going there all of a sudden? Is everyone just out of their mind? Why can't you understand ? I don't want to go anywhere! I want to stay here. I want to stay here because I want to stay near her. Why don't you understand goddamit?!"

"Stop it Blake. Please stop ," Kristine pleaded, crying. "We need to... Need to get over it. We need to find happiness. Why can't you understand ?"

"Because he's a potato," Eros blurted.
Kristine looked at him. This isn't funny.
Blake stared.

A smirk crept across Eros' face.

"What's so funny?", Kristine asked.

"Nothing"
"Stop joking all the time"
"You just talked about finding happiness "
"Potatoes don't bring me happiness"
"Ironic"
Kristine forced a smile. "Yeah, because I'm in love with a potato"
"I'm sorry?"
"Pity you didn't understand"
"Potato"
"What did you say?"
"I'm sure your heard"
"Not that I wanted to"

And admist their silly and irrevocably stupid jokes and banter, Blake's muffled giggles made their day.

~*~

They reached there in about an hour. The cold breeze brushed past them , the soothing sound of the water and the chirping of the birds serving as music to their ears. There were trees all around, forming a protective green Barrier against the black people of the word. They laid the mat and sat down, the green friendly grass around them.

"It has been a while a while since the four of us have been here,"Eros said, feeling nostalgic.

"Three. We're three now, Eros," Blake informed, pain instantly attacking his face.
"Three,"Eros repeated. They didn't say anything, just stared at the mat beneath them, a sea of despondency immediately sinking their boat.

"Let's take a dip in the water," Kristine said, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit. They nodded.  Blake walked slowly behind the two of them, again wishing to see Lucy. He stopped and stood for a while, looking up at the sky.

"Blake?," he heard Kristine's voice after some time. "You okay?"

He nodded and walked towards them .

"Mind if I just move around?,"Blake said." I mean. I feel her around. "
They nodded. "No problem"

Blake walked around, looking at the trees, their barks, the leaves, the water. They are so full of life .Paradox. That's what everything around him was.
Just then , he heard something behind the trees. He moved tip toeing, his blue eyes filling with curiosity. He took small steps and moved the branch.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"Jesus, Chlara," Blake said, moving back. "What are you doing here?"

Chlara looked at him and heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank God, it's you. I thought I was lost"

"What are you doing here anyway?," he asked.

"I followed you, I'm sorry. I thought something was wrong and so um.. I followed the three of you and when I came here I liked the place and I starting walking around and-"

"Okay, calm down.  I get it," Blake said, amused.

Kristine and Eros came towards them. "We heard someone shouting," Kristine said.

"It was just Chlara," Blake said.

"Hi," Chlara said, embarrassed. Kristine smiled. "Hey, come, join us".

They walked back towards the stream. They sat on the rocks, pulling up their pants and dipping their legs in the cool, moving water.They didn't say anything. They just heard the sweet chirping of birds.
Silence seemed to be their master then. It is weird how someone, so full of zeal and life can be engulfed by sadness in a matter of few days. How life once so jovial and amusing can turn into something so painful. How the loss of one life can affect thousands. How the death of one heart can result in so many losing their lives.
How everything, all at once, can change so drastically that the eyes once filled with tears of laughter were now filled with nothing but tears of sadness and pain.
Lucy was the rain to Blake's barren land. She was the dew to his early morning flower and the warmth to his fire. She was everything but just Lucy. She was more than just a girlfriend. She was his life line.
The sky to his star.
And now, the cause of his scar.

"So what are you all doing here?", Chlara asked, breaking the silence.

"Planned for a picnic,"Eros said, sighing.

"Oh! It was planned? Sorry, I thought there was some problem"

"No . It wasn't exactly planned. Kristine and Eros dragged me out of college. Like kidnapped me,"Blake whispered.

"Yeah, right. We were just trying to find happiness," Kristine said, shooting Blake a look.

"Yeah , right," he replied.

Chlara looked at them, smiling.
Perhaps they were unaware. Perhaps they didn't know that after all this, after all they had lost, there was something left.
They had each other. They had a treasure of happiness buried deep beneath the soils of their friendship. They had beating hearts and each beat was the music to the other. They were the nourishment to each other's plant.
Chlara looked at Blake. Pained as he was, his eyes were filled with hope.
Perhaps a hope that Lucy was alive somewhere and would return.
Perhaps it was this hope he was living on, since everything else seemed blurred in this once perfect camera life. Everything.

Kristine and Eros looked at one another. And then at Blake.
He gazed at the water, his eyes and the water a perfect blend , and their content too.
Tears. And the river.
Pain.
And a slow , rippling movement.

~*~

"It was fun , today. Thank you," Chlara said, smiling.

"Yeah, no problem," Kristine said, hugging her.

"I'll leave you both home," Eros offered.

"No, I need to go to university. My car is there," Blake said.

"Me too,if you don't mind. I left my books," Chlara added.

"Sure, I'll leave you there, then,"Eros said.

They drove to the university in silence.

"Thank you," Blake and Chlara said in unison after they got out of the car.

They went up the class and collected their books.

"I'll drop you", Blake said. "It's already very late"

"No, it's fine. I'll go, thank you,"Chlara denied.

"It's no problem, really," he insisted.

They sat down in the car as Chlara directed the ways to her house.

"Thank you so much. Blake," she said, getting out.
He nodded, smiled at her and looked at her as she went.
But just then, Lucy's face crossed his mind. And he immediately felt guilty. He felt like he was deceiving her, as if someone had slapped across his face. He had only dropped a friend, but his heart didn't understand that. He slammed the steering wheel and ran his hand through his thick blonde hair. No.. this isn't going to happen anymore.

But only if he knew. There was so much to happen in the days to come, it was change his life again.

~*~ ~*~

Okay, here's a spoiler. Next few Chapters have something to do with Lucy. Now, that's all I'll say !