This is to compensate for the other story- Bonds for Life, which I haven't been able to update due to a Writer's Block. Do Vote and comment! Mention the lines you like! Looking forward to reading your comments! 

The girls entered the grand hall with open mouths, amazed by the entrance of the wedding venue, which had elaborate sculptures greeting the guests.

"That's for good luck." Badi Maa explained gesturing at the elephants , with trunks pointed upwards.

There were exchanges of gifts and congratulations  shared between the Maheshwaris and the Sharmas, the groom's family. The girls excused themselves and headed to the food counter, "We checked the entire park, the car and our room. If someone has it..." She was cut short as Mishti started speaking. 

"We haven't check CCTV cameras?" Mishti informed Kuhu. 

"Ms. Chashmish, CCTV cameras in Rajkot? I understand India has progressed a lot but requesting to see CCTVs near a random park for a diary?" Mishti glared at Kuhu, who then changed her tone and spoke again, "Who would allow us to check CCTV cameras for a stolen diary in India? I know it means the world to you, but..."

"I don't want to regret in the future that I didn't try." Mishti said matter-of-factly. 

"tomorrow, we will do that too?" Kuhu said, happily taking two plates of Chat Papri, "my mouth is already watering, come on," handing one plate to Mishti, "I missed street food so much," said as she stuffed herself with a spoonful, "Yummmy." She turned to the counter, "Bhaiya, two more spoons of green chutney please."

They were feasting on chole bhature ,when Kuhu nearly choked on her food, "My boss."  She turned her back towards Abir and secretly wishing that he disappear. Mishti tried to see who she was indicating, but didn't make out who Mishti was referring to. 

"Why are you hiding then?" Mishti asked suspiciously. 

Kuhu glanced back and took a large breath of air, "On Thursday, I ruined his painting." Mishti nodded as she knew this incident, but Kuhu defended herself, "Though in turn, I ruined my Michael Kors too." Then Kuhu looked down at her chole bhature plate, realizing she had stuffed a whole bhatura, "Yesterday, I..." she closed her eyes, "Mom made those kachoris, my body couldn't handle it and..." 

"And? " 

"See I was on the second floor of the building and I was feeling very uneasy. I asked one of the Kusum didi where the bathroom is, she told me there is only one on the ground floor. I sped downstairs, the floors are full of either paintings, books and school related materials.  By the time I reached the ground floor, I couldn't stop it, my stomach was in pain, I was breathing heavily and I didn't want to ruin another painting so I sped to the main door, only that he was standing and ..." She sat back down defeated.  "I apologized, but it was too late.  All of it splashed off the floor and landed on his jeans."

"Kuhu! You don't know your limits when it comes to food," Mishti shoved the plate towards herself, "You either only diet or overeat the Indian food. You need a balance." Mishti looked behind Kuhu, "I don't know who your boss is but did you apologize later in the day?"

Kuhu shook her head, "He went home after that, he wasn't there the whole day." She placed the piece of bhatura on the plate and continued, "I thought I'd apologize on Monday with some flowers and a card."

"But he is here?" Mishti asked her, "so you should apologize." 

Kuhu turned to look at the direction she had seen Abir. She shrugged, "What if I do something else?"

"Come on Kuhu, be realistic." Mishti replied, while finishing off the delicious snack. 

Kuhu took a deep breath and nodded at Mishti and went out of look for Abir. And Mishti was researching for her family, when she heard her name being called out from the right. She turned to the voice to see the person, who had a large smile on his face. He wore a black three piece suit with a red tie matching the pocket square.  He waved as her and approached her with a large plate full of desserts.

"Hi Kunal!" Mishti greeted him, checking out the man in front of her. "I like your suits," she blurted out , "I mean to say, you have a good taste." 

"Oh thank you," adjusting his tie piece "I normally wear suits and tuxedos, whether that be office or weddings. It has gotten monotonous. In fact, some people don't recognize me when I'm wearing anything else," he laughed, offering sweets from his plate.

"No thanks. It is hard to imagine." Mishti said, "The past three times we have met, you have had a three piece suit on." 

Kunal recalled the first time he had met her, "The first time, you wore a blue dress. In the interview, you wore shirt and pants with a blazer and today a yellow lehenga." 

Mishti, was pleased by his memory, chuckled lightly. "You are a good observer."   She looked around ,"So you know the bride's family or the groom's?"

"The bride's family, they are Nanu's family friends." 

"So Rajvansh Sir is here too?" Mishti said, getting a little extra aware that her internship boss was somewhere around. 

He laughed a little looking at her nervous face, "He is with the rest of my family. Did you come with your family?" 

"Yes, all of them, we know the groom's family." Then rethinking what she said, "I don't know him personally, but it is the first wedding in a long time so I came along." 

"The Indian weddings versus the Christian weddings, such a drastic difference." Kunal reminisced the one he had attended a year ago before returning to India. "My girlfriend's brother married in Edinburgh, it was a lovely close- knit affair, just two families and their friends." And then he gestured at the guests around him, "The whole city seems to be in this one," he grinned.  

"That's true. I met you. My sister saw her boss here."   They smiled and in unison exclaimed, "Small World." 

Just then Kunal's phone buzzed and he frowned at the message he had received, "Well Mishti, I  need to go urgently," he waved his phone and then extended his hand for a handshake, "it was really nice meeting you once again." 

"Is everything okay?" Mishti asked politely and shook his hand.

"Yes," then he shook his head, "No, actually some business paper wasn't signed so I need to go back to the office." Just as he took two steps towards the other direction, he turned and retraced his steps back to her, "Your number, can I have your number?" He asked cautiously, though Mishti knew Kunal was a good man, she hesitated a bit and then finally recited her number to him and he quickly tapped it on his phone. "Let's catch up sometime soon," he said and sped out of the gates. 

Just as she saw him leave, she saw another familiar face,  a face that she never thought she would see in her whole life again. Anger and anxiety mixed in her head and she quickly took steps to reach out to the face, hoping it to be her hallucination. The person sped out of the venue and Mishti ran after it, only to be stopped by the numerous guests all heading to meet the bride, who had just entered the hall.  

When Mishti finally found some space to move past the drummers, she saw the figure standing by a car, and then holding her breath, she saw someone hug the figure. She crept in closer to hear the conversation, hiding behind the bush in complete darkness.

"Karishma! I'm so happy to see you after nearly..."

"I didn't know the Maheshwaris will be here." She said and then gulped thinking of someone, "Is she also?" 

"Mishti! She is back from London, she is studying there."

"She is in college already?" The woman gasped. "She goes to college?"

"Yes, Kuhu and Mishti live with my Nannu. Nannu has his own business." 

"Really Jasmeet! Our kids are that old now?" Karishma exclaimed, unable to fathom what she had just heard. 

Behind the bush, Mishti controlled her sobs, after all these years, her mom appeared before her and she didn't even realize how many years had gone by since she abandoned her daughter, the teenage girl she left was now in her early twenties.

"She has grown to be such a beautiful girl," Jasmeet took out her phone to show her a picture, "Look." Karishma  held the phone in her hands and her eyes watered with the look of her daughter. "My little girl," she caressed the screen with her fingers.

Just then a young girl, in a pink lehenga came running towards them, "Mummy!" She stood in front of the two ladies, "Papa is looking for you!" She grabbed Karishma's hand. 

"Pooja, you go inside and, I'll be coming in a minute, okay sweety?" 

Jasmeet looked at the child and then at Karishma, "you have moved on in your life."

Karishma handed back her phone, "I have. My daught....." 

"She is our daughter!" Jasmeet looked at the photo on her screen and smiled, "The Maheshwaris will always take care of their kids, always have and always will." Stopping herself from crying, she looked at her once best friend, who had become a heartless human being.  

Mishti saw her mother enter the car and leave without once wanting to meet her, hug her and look at her.  Her mother had left her once again, leaving Mishti with so many questions and betrayal. The wounds became real once again.  As she wiped her tears off her cheeks, she heard the sound of twigs crack as someone stepped closer to her, she put her phone in her lehenga's  pocket and got in her karate defense position. 

"I caught you, Chor!" A male voice exclaimed as he turned her around, but then a swift blow hit his chest.

" Aaaah," he uttered a yelp. Though he lost his balance, he stopped himself from falling.

 The blow was targeted for his throat, but it had hit his chest.  In the darkness, Mishti couldn't make out the person in front of her, but she knew he was taller than she had anticipated. "Step away or I'll hit you again!" Mishti warned.  

"A chor can be this violent !" He groaned in pain, rubbing his chest.   And then it registered to him, "a chorni!" He switched on the flash light to illuminate her face. Then at once, a curious feeling of incredulity swept over him.

"I'm not a Chorni!" Mishti exclaimed at disbelief, facing a young, tall man who was wearing a asymmetric printed blue sherwani  with  a white dhoti. His neck length hair was flying in the breeze. Mishti loosened her karate stance. 

He muttered under his breathe, "You are not the chor I was trying to find," but then directed a question towards her, "but why were you hiding like a chor behind the bush in this pitch darkness?" 

"None of your business." She felt uneasy remembering how just seconds ago her mother was in front of her, who didn't care to once look at her face. She took two steps and tripped on her lehenga, losing her balance, she squeezed her eyes shut as she had done this so many times, she was ready to bounce back like she would do each time she fell in her Karate classes.  But before she landed on her grass, she was held by a firm arm from the back and another arm from the front. She opened her eyes, the brightness of the flash light shining too closely. In the blinding light, she saw two honey brown pupils amusingly staring back at her.  She got on her feet and took two steps away, "Excuse me!" 

"You mean, Thank you?" Then merrily looking at her, "You mean Sorry for the punch on my throat that you missed by a few inches." 

She frowned at the man in front of her and walked right past him, then turned to say, "Forget we ever met!" 

"You have those chorni vibes so I won't forget that you are violent and a chorni!" he replied back, smiling in the darkness. 

"I'm not a chorni!" Mishti responded.

"Then what's your name?"

"Stranger!" Her shout became faded as she was far away him now. 

"Mine is Abir!" He shouted back, laughing at the funny conversation he just had with a girl, he thought of Kuhu and then at this chorni, never knew he would meet such crazy girls within forty-eight hours.   He flipped his hair back and walked towards the wedding venue, looking around for the chor he actually was trying to catch.

The ride back home was a very silent one from Mishti's end. Mishti couldn't believe she saw her mother.  It felt like everyone was very tired from the wedding, except Kuhu, who wouldn't stop chirping about how she met Abir and apologized for ruining his paintings and his jeans. She left out the puking on his pants details and substituted it with water that she had accidentally splashed on him.  She felt so good and less guilty when he asked her to help out sort the paintings instead of informing her that she could no longer be a volunteer. 

Another night, he sat on the floor, his back against the pillar. Picking up the book he had started reading yesterday, he pulled out the bookmark, he was now on entry thirty. The entries were short, to the point and had details that told him something new, something important about the author.  He felt guilty reading someone else's diary, but he had to read it if he was to ever find who the owner was. The first entry was written five years ago when Mishti was fifteen years old. Though the entries were written once in a couple weeks and even months and sometimes only contained a few words. He wondered how Mishti looked like. He had gone Yesterday to the park and sat near the place where he had found the diary, waiting for someone to come looking for it. He had gone today in the afternoon and spent three hours there, avoiding to read more entries in case someone came. He had already checked for numbers, email addresses, but it only had a series of passwords on the last page of the diary. Besides the only name mentioned was of Mishti, anyone else was referred as he or she or given nicknames, maintaining anonymity throughout the entries. He had first read the latest entry hoping to know her recent where about, but all she mentioned was about meeting a Cool Nanu, a Charming Grandson and finally had a Sketch of kids in the park, his kids from his NGO.

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