"hey hon!"
Reva said.

"Hey!"
Karthik replied.

"It's been five years right?!"

"We recently celebrated our aluminium Jubilee. Don't you remember?"

"Stop making fun of it. It's important to me."

"Alright. Okay. As you wish. So you were saying..?"

"Dad wants to meet you."
Reva had lit the bomb and it was about to explode.

"What?!"
Karthik almost threw up.
"We are just 20! I am not getting married okay? I wanna settle down."

"You idiot! What do you think my father is after all?! It's not about marriage and stuff.
We've been together for so long and he thinks we'll end up together which we will won't we?!"
Her eyes seemed stern.
"Anyways.. so he wants to know about your future plans, your family etc. It's just that he wants to meet my boyfriend. Is it too much to ask for?"

"Hey.. what's all the pressure about?! And.. we started dating when we were 15.. not like we were 25! So you know it's not a big deal being five years together. We really enjoy each other's company and friendship and that's all. I mean.. our relationship has never been through anything big yet! God knows what may come up.. things may not turn out as we are supposing them to be."

"So.. you are saying we may not end up together?"
Reva looked furious.

"You are not planning our wedding are you?! God dammit Reva, we are 20!! We have our whole fuckin life lying ahead. This, what we have, is just teenage love. It's just that we couldn't be 'just friends'. Do you even know how modern relationships work out? I mean we haven't even met more people yet."

"I cannot believe this!"

"What?!"

"Two years ago.. you had this amazing picture of me as your wife. And now.. there isn't even a picture anymore. And you know.. this wasn't even going towards the marriage discussion. And you think that.. things are not going to work out? Teenage love? What .. what about the trust, the security, the comfort that we have? Aren't modern relationships about that? Aren't 'mature' relationships about that?
And you think we're gonna meet new people and realise we are not worth each other? Hey.. if you think that I will fall for someone else in my entire lifetime again, you are wrong. I don't know how much more mature or.. or grown up I may become.. but my love has grown enough and I don't think there is anything more about love after the boundaries of my love for you!"
Reva was sobbing. And her voice had pain in it.

"It's not that... I didn't want to hurt you. And I love you too."

"Don't say that ever again. You know what? Yours is the love which is immature and I think you don't love me or you never did! Okay?"

"You are blaming my love now?"

"Honey.. what you call love.. is just the enjoyment of my company, the fact that you were not able to remain just friends with me. If you think this is love.. you need reconsideration."

"Oh yeah?! So.. so.. you wanting me to see your father and tell him how worth 'your choice' is, you wanting to make sure I wasn't slipping out of your hand.. isn't love either!"

"We don't choose the people whom we fall in love with! You are not my choice, but the reflection of myself.. and I am starting to hate myself now!"

Reva said and stormed out. Karthik didn't try to stop her. He sank in his chair furiously.

They didn't talk for four months. Never even looked at each other. Their friends tried hard to convince them but both of them were extremely hurt of each other.

One day, when Karthik was scrolling through his phone aimlessly, he came across a photo of his and Reva's which had gone unnoticed while deleting all their pictures. It was a picture of Reva looking at him while he was smiling at the camera.
He knew at the moment that the picture was completely candid.

His thumbs went numb and he could not scroll through the picture. He could see the beauty in her eyes. He could see how much she loved him by the way she looked at him.

"My love has grown enough and I don't think there is anything more about love after the boundaries of my love for you!"
Her voice echoed in his head. And tears started rolling down his eyes.  Tears that did not make it through for the last four months. Tears that only irked his eyes, killed his sleep and stabbed his heart for the last four months.
He knew how much he missed her. Five years full of memories and such an abrupt end? Not even a good bye? Nothing? He regretted each and every syllable that slid through his mouth that day. And more than his own pain, he could feel her pain. The pain that had reflected her eyes.. her words that day.

He wanted to talk to her.. tell her how sorry he was.
So with trembling fingers he started dialling her number.

Beep.. beep.. beep..
The number you are trying to call is not available. Please try again later.

His heart sank and he sank his head into the pillow and did even realise when he'd dosed off to sleep.

The next day.. he did not find her at the college. Infact he had not seen her since the last three days..
So he approached her friend.

"Umm.. hey Neeti, have you heard anything from Reva? Where is she?"

"Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"She shifted three days ago to another city.. which one, I don't know. But she took a transfer certificate from the principal and went off. Why did she have to.. I have no idea!"