Destiny...(continued)

It has been over three years since Mr Popular, Rahul, was ditched by the girl he thought was his life, Anjali. With the lesson learned from past incidents and with the blessing from the Almighty God, he concluded that it is senseless to fall in love. The guy, who uses to speak for hours in the favour of love, while in his friend circle, started arguing against it. And for time he was re-gaining his popularity as a flirt of the locality. One thing which he always kept in mind was not to cheat on anyone, because he didn’t want someone else to suffer, what he already did, because of him.

His only aim in life now was business and thus it kept on increasing every day. He asked permission from his mother and moved to another city, to settle in a new locality with new friends. One thing which remained common in the new city too was his behaviour. The company for whom he was trading offered him a grand showroom and provided him with a flat, in the best locality of the city, and a car to meet the standard. Rahul thanked God for all these success he achieved in life. The new showroom was in the biggest mall of the city and that gave him a bigger platform for his time-pass i.e. flirting.

While sitting in his office one day, he heard one of his staff’s arguing with a customer. He intervened it ask the staff for what the matter was. The staff said that the lady wanted to see him for some reason but refused to tell him what it was. Rahul asked the lady to follow him to his chamber and offered her a seat. He asked her if she would like to drink something. He got a chance to flirt, how could he miss that. He asked why she wanted to meet him. The lady replied that she was having some serious trouble with the plasma TV she bought four months back. She asked for a replacement of the product, as it was the third time it had gone bad. Rahul showed her his concern and assured her that the product will be replaced within a week. He asked her to leave her cell number for the purpose to call when to visit her for the issue. But this wasn’t the first time for Rahul to take number for business purpose and then chat with customers whenever he feels like.

In the new locality, he developed a habit of going for an evening walk in the society field with intention of making few new friends. It was June 24^th, he saw a cute looking girl standing in a group with four boys and talking to them, in fact enjoying their company. Girl caught the glimpse of Rahul ogling her. She came towards him, sat beside him on the bench and said ‘Hi. I haven’t seen you around here. Are you new?’ Rahul replied in affirmative and said her that he has just shifted to the locality. She held her hand out and said, ‘I am Savni. And as you are new here so just let me know if you need any help.’ Mr Popular was impressed with her bold behaviour and said, ‘Sure friend. And by the way, the name is Rahul.’ They shook hand and had friendly conversation for about thirty minutes before moving back to their apartments.

This became a daily routine for them; going to the field in the evening and then chatting for hours and then returning back to their respective apartments. She introduced him to the other people of the society. They both liked each-other company a lot, and I must mention it was in a non-lover sense. They found their best friends in each-other and started sharing about their past. Rahul told her about his school days girlfriend and Anjali and the whole story and together with it he didn’t forget to mention that now he don’t believe in love and that he had decided not to love any one again. Savni told him about her past relationships and her family. She invited him on dinner to her house and introduced him to his family.

With time, the bond of trust increased to the extent between them. Savni could be seen easily around the society doing silly things and Rahul helping her out in doing the same. People sometime would even think that there was something going on between Rahul and Savni, and whenever such news was brought in front of them directly, they would burst out laughing.

Few weeks later Savni brought a guy with her and introduced him to Rahul saying he was his boyfriend. She said her parents know it and they are ready for their marriage. Rahul hugged Savni, congratulating her and held his hand out for a handshake with meaning of ‘Hi and Congratulations’ towards the guy. He threw a small pizza party at his house for them, the same night. After party was over, he went out in the balcony and sitting on the arm chair thought how this girl changed his life by removing the sadness through her silly acts. He looked in the sky and conveyed his gratitude towards Him for this friend.

Things went the same way. Seasons passing by. A day in the winter, while sitting on the same bench, where they were sitting and talking since last six months, Rahul saw someone and asked Savni if she knew who the stranger was. Savni replied, ‘She works at some MNC and is here for some project and staying temporarily. But the thing is why you are asking?’ To this Rahul said that the girl looked like Anjali. She said, ‘What Anjali? Wait a second, you mean Anju?’

Rahul replied in positive and at the same time Savni noticed a smile, which she had never seen, on his face. ‘You can’t forget her. Isn’t it so?’ she asked and Rahul replied it with a weird answer that how can he forget someone who taught him not to love anyone. It was like, everything what happened three years back rolled in front of him in a few moments and as a result, it left him completely deserted.

Seeing Rahul sad and to cheer him up Savni tried changing the topic of discussion and asked him that she wants to visit his showroom and he will have to be with her for site-seeing the whole mall. He understood what she was trying to do and to respect her concern for her best friend he smiled and said, ‘Always at your service Mam.’ With this they broke out in laugh once again, after a short Anjali break.

Next week Savni went with Rahul to his showroom and had quite a fun and always kept on trying to make sure that he wasn’t stuck with that previous chapter of life. And as promised, Rahul took him to show the mall. She got impressed with the popularity he had in the mall, precisely among the ladies. After having a great time together, he sent Savni home with his driver and went to attend some clients.

In the evening when Rahul reached the park he saw Savni waiting for him at their usual place. They waived each other and he went to sit at the spot. She told Rahul about a girl, Naina, of the locality and told him that she was asking her about him. Later, she introduced her to Rahul and asked her to join the bench and herself left the place intentionally, after few minutes.

While talking to Naina, Rahul felt something was different with the girl. She was not like other girls; her way of talking; explanation of things around; and every single small thing was quite different from what he has seen among girls. It wasn’t that Rahul hasn’t seen any other girl her that, but he was with one of such girls after a long time. With the curious to know her, yet determined not to fall for her, he kept the talk going on.

After few minutes, he told her straight away, ‘I like your attitude towards life and other things.’ To this Naina gave a sweet smile and the conversation started again. Later they wished each other good night and went to their apartments.

Rahul called Savni for why she left him alone in the evening to which she replied she had to meet with her boyfriend and further to tease him she said, ‘I fixed a date for you. Didn’t I?’ Rahul replied quite angrily that now she doesn’t have time for him because of her love life. She said him that he was her best friend and she love him a lot and will always have time for her. Listening to this, Rahul’s face was covered with a sudden smile.

There was some change in the every evening routine of Rahul’s life. Now instead of Savni, Naina would be there on the society bench waiting to give him company. Sometimes Savni would join them for hours and sometime she would just visit to say Hi to her best friend. With time, Rahul realised and accepted the fact that Savni now had her own world and in that world he was an important part, but not the first priority.

Meanwhile, closeness of Rahul with Naina increased as they started spending lots of time together. If not physically then with the help of the technology; they would massage each-other at any point of day, whenever they felt lonely and further they would ping each-other on net. They came to know a lot about each-other and one thing which was common in them was that they both were a well-known flirt in their circle. Rahul used to do it on the face and he used to let the lady, with whom he was flirting, that it was a flirt. While Naina was a crush queen and she always had crush on the every second people she saw, and she would get over them easily and would fall again for another.

Savni told Rahul that Naina is in love with him. Rahul said, ‘I am not supposed to love or to be loved.’ Even other persons of the society told Rahul the same, i.e. the girl admires him a lot and must have been in love with him. Rahul asked them to stop teasing as there was nothing like that.

Once Naina told him that she is having a crush on someone from the society but didn’t tell the name. As a result, after quite a few days Rahul also started feeling that there was something from her side; let it be likeness or love. But something was there in Naina’s heart for Rahul.

Rahul tried avoiding it by keep telling him that he shouldn’t go into any relationship again. But the more he tried the more he was losing control over himself. He started becoming softer and finally decided if she will tell him that she loved him, and then he would think about it. Somewhere, deep down under his heart he believed that

Time flew like a rocket and it had been a year now since he knew Naina. There wasn’t any acceptance from anyone that they love another but there was a constant hope and expectation which could have been noticed easily. People, who knew Rahul, must have guessed it quite well that he had an expectation that she will be his in the coming days. He took her presence in his life quite guaranteed and went on living his life. Not to let anyone know what’s going on in his heart, the cover play of flirting kept happening.

One day while, in his office Rahul gets a call from Naina that she wants to tell something to him. He told that lets meet in the park in the evening and talk as he was with clients at the moment. Sitting on their old spot, the society bench, and waiting for what she had to tell, Rahul asked what about the crush of her from the society. He expected to listen something which could have given a support to his belief that, that someone from the society was him. But I guess it has become a tradition of the society to not let expectations full-filled. She said with a surprising smile that, ‘He is an old story now. These days I am having a crush on a college friend, Aman. And I will be going on date tomorrow evening and thus we will not be able to meet every day. This was the news I had to give you.’

Horrified, terrified, petrified by her statement he looked at her surprisingly and for that Naina replied with a smile and said him goodbye as she had to go for some shopping for tomorrow.

Still sitting on the old bench, from where everything started again, Rahul gave a mysterious smile, looked in the sky and said, ‘The fact is there is no one for me. Isn’t it?’ The school girl, Anjali and now Naina, all the faces came across his mind and once again he thought the same thing which came in his mind few years back; what happens at the end is what’s written in destiny.

(originally published on my Live Journal Blog.)