The reasons why I gave Nikhil Chandran my phone number :

1. He was straightforward.

2. It's 7 pm now, and there are no messages from him yet. I would have regretted my decision if he had filled up my phone with 60 sleazy messages by now.

3. I have never personally seen him disrespecting any female in any way.

4. I have seen him around for 4 years. (Just did not know his name. He was always just Adwaith's friend).

5. I have met his parents. We can judge one's character by their upbringing.

6. He is from a somewhat wealthy family. (His Facebook profile has a picture of his large house. His parents came in an Audi when they came to pick him up)

7. Nikhil has a 7.8 GPA and got second prize in the intercollege tech fest's programming competition. (I had seen him getting the prize).

8. Nikhil is not 3 years younger than me. Nor is he too old. He is the right age.

9. He comes from a Hindu family which happens to be the same religion as my parents. (I happen to be an atheist).

10. He is cute. Looks do not matter much, but it's always an added benefit if they are good-looking as well.

11. He is indebted to me for his life. (Vey important)

12. I feel like I can trust him. At least a bit for now. (But have to keep watching for a few more days to say for sure)

Yes, points 6 - 9 are crucial. Very very much so.

My eyes stayed on one particular photo from his Facebook page. It was an Onam day photo. Nikhil, his mom and his dad sat in front of an 'attapookkalam' , the flower arrangement, in front of their two stories house. The Audi was parked in the car garage behind them. His mom was wearing a Kerala saree and had a chandana kuri (sandalwood paste worn on the forehead). Nikhil was in a sandalwood-orange kurta and mundu. And he was smiling widely, with his teeth showing. His eyes narrow a bit when he is smiling. His parents were smiling too. The photo looked perfect. Like in that universe, nothing can be unhappy. And I can see that the 3 loved each other.

That universe seemed like an intangible dream for me.

But his reality is my ultimate life goal. Which still felt like an impossible target to reach. And that is funny because the target was just too simple – happiness.

And giving him my number felt like I got a hold of the end of a rope to climb up to that happy universe. Just the end bit of the rope. And right now, in my reality, that rope seemed like the only practical and conceptually feasible trail towards freedom and happiness.

However, I still have to check if the rope is weak or covered in thorns or too slippery before I grab it strong enough. Time will tell ...

Adi opened the door to his house himself. I hesitated at the door for a bit. I was not yet prepared to face them. "I suspected you would not come," Adi said.

"I...eh..."

"Are you going to keep standing outside?"

No. I walked in. Adwaith's house is cosy. It's a small two-storied house, but the architecture is beautiful. "Where are the guys?" I asked Adi as I could not see Sharan and Asif.

"They went to buy chicken." He showed me the mess in the kitchen. I laughed. Guess we are cooking. I grabbed some water to drink. I felt comfortable enough in this house as I have come here often. Adi's parents are cool, and his house is a usual hangout place.

"You okay?" Adi asked me, a bit cautious. I shrugged. His eyes narrowed at me. I paused for a few seconds and then said, "I don't need your approval to like somebody."

"Of course, you don't, da..." Adi said.

"I want to give it a shot. End of discussion."

"Yeah. Sure." Adi said and patted my shoulder. And the other two came back. Asif was shouting at Sharan, something about the chicken. He paused, awkwardly seeing me. It looked like he was not sure what to say. I smiled at him. "So how are we cooking the chicken?" I asked everyone.

Smile. Pretend. Don't over-complicate the situation.

An hour later, we were seated in a circle around Adi's house's terrace. It was cold at night, but Adi had lit up a tiny bonfire. But even there, there was this kind of uneasiness that followed. Sharan looked between Asif and me.

"I can't stand this anymore. Just forget everything and drink this straight," Sharan poured me a drink. I grabbed it. "And let's all toast for Nikhil's new love." He held his glass up.

"Yeah. Yeah... For Nikhil's new love..." Asif said, holding his cup up. I looked at him. "Well, if you like her so much... I mean, it's your decision." I nodded at him and smiled.

I knew that he did not apologise. But it was just better to forgive him than wait for an 'apology'. What I learned from 20 years of my life is that guys don't exactly apologise for this stuff. He did not even insult me to my face. He just gave me his opinion and was 'worried' about me.

"So that is settled," Sharan said, putting his hand over my shoulder. "You don't worry, da. She will be yours in a few days." This is the time when you should be silent and bear with the state of things. To keep your friends with you.

"Guys, leave him alone."Adi said, "he will deal with it on his own. He is not a kid."

Asif and Sharan looked at him. I swirled my drink in my hand and looked down. "Should we?" Sharan asked Adi. "Yeah. We should." Adi stressed. I smiled, thankful to Adi.

I took a sip of my drink. "Adi..., sing something, na, da..." I looked up.

"Yeah... Yeah." The other two encouraged.

"Eh... Okay," Adi went to get his guitar. I looked up at the sky. There were a lot of stars out tonight and the moon shined so pretty. I set my drink aside and took out my mobile and took a photo of the night sky with the moon.

I got a message. It was just a photo of the night sky and a text that said '- Nikhil'. And something about the simplicity of that was beautiful. I did not feel uncomfortable. I texted him.

Arya: Nice Photo

Nikhil: Thnx, I just took it

Nikhil: I am hanging out with the guys...and then the sky was beautiful

Arya: Hm...with Adwaith and all?

Nikhil: Yeah

Arya: Ok...

Nikhil: We r like compensating 4 the missed Goa trip

Arya: Oh!

Nikhil: U missed it 2. U may hv felt really bad, rit?

Arya: Hm... Honestly, not really.

Nikhil: Y??

Arya: I liked going to that beach with your parents. It was nice.

Nikhil: Ay... That small beach. That would b nothing compared to Goa

Nikhil: Did you really like it?

Arya: Hm...Yeah.

Nikhil: I hv photos of that beach. Shall I send u?

Arya: Yeah

They were beautiful photos. Nikhil was a good photographer. Because that picture of the night sky was also perfect and it is not easy to take a photo of the night sky with a mobile camera.

Arya: Thanks. I wanted photos of that beach. I was regretting not clicking any photos.

Nikhil: Well, now u have them

Adi was singing... The bonfire was warm and nice. The drink was starting to get to me. And I felt nice...

I checked Arya's display picture on WhatsApp. I felt giddy inside. This is actually happening. She and I are texting and all. I really should not mess this up.

I should be careful not to drunk text her.

Nikhil: I wish someday we can watch the stars together...

I was nervous about her reply. Was this too much??

Arya: Hm. Maybe... Goodnight, Nikhil.

Yes! Yes!

Nikhil: Goodnight

And I still had my smile. This was not too bad.