"Fasting,
eh?" Piyush asked, rhetorically, as he sat down at Kangana's
table.
She smiled and
nodded at him. It was around 11 in the morning and they were in the
college library.
"Are you
allowed to eat anything?"
"I had a
sammich before sunrise. Can't eat or drink
till the moon comes." she grinned.
"Aw.
I didn't eat anything." he frowned.
"You WHAT?"
she gasped, incredulous.
"Shhhh! Keep
it down!" he warned her, as many people glared at them.
"You are
fasting?"
"Yeah. You're
just embarrassing me now." he tried to hide his face behind a
particularly thick book.
"You're just
scaring me now!" she exclaimed, disbelief writ large in her
face.
"Aren't you
fasting?" he accused.
"Oh, come
on!" she rolled her eyes, "I fast every year."
"Ah, yes."
"For whom are you fasting?"
she smacked him with his thick book.
"Ow!" he
rubbed his arm, "Um, I don't know if I should tell you."
"Okay, your
wish." she pouted.
"I thought
you'd know." he smiled, "Will tell you tonight, as we
look at the moon."
Kangana's
heart pounded against her ribs. Far-fetched thoughts raced in her
mind. Suddenly, her entire system had gone haywire. She blushed as
she thought about their flirtations, his seemingly frivolous
suggestions of dating each other. She always knew they had some sort
of a connection, but neither was bold enough to make the first move.
Until now, that is. He was apparently ready to take their
flirtationship to a meaningful level.
"Helloooooo!"
she heard him say.
He
was waving his hand right before her face while she was lost in her
reverie.
"Back
to earth?" he smirked.
"Yeah."
she smiled happily.
"For
whom are you fasting?" he chuckled.
"I
don't know if I should tell you." she winked at him.
"Touche!"
he grinned back, his eyes lingering on her face longer than it was
necessary.
She
wasn't hungry or thirsty anymore as her stomach was full of
butterflies. But, she was earnestly waiting for the moon to show up
soon.
~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey! What's
up?" she heard his warm voice over the phone.
"Moon's
up! I am on the rooftop terrace, come quickly."
"Awesome!"
It was twenty
minutes to nine. The moon looked hazy and a little red thanks to
pollution, clouds and the advent of winter.
She was dressed
traditionally, in a red lehenga with a golden blouse and a red
dupatta. Her impeccable straight hair cascaded down her slender back,
the beautiful henna on her hands visible in the general light from
everywhere, her eyes twinkled and her face, pretty and bright as
ever.
"Kangana?"
she heard him call out.
She turned around
and found him standing twenty feet away from her, near the door of
the stairway. He was dressed casually in a black tee and a pair of
blue jeans.
"Hi!"
she couldn't help smiling.
"My God!"
he said, as he walked towards her, "You look ethereal!"
"Ethereal?"
she asked, amused.
"Yeah,
I've learnt new words to impress you." he chuckled. "But,
it's true. You look like an angel. There can be Indian angels in
heaven, right?"
"With
the number of Gods and Goddesses we have, I guess we must be having a
separate Indian heaven." she laughed.
"You're
funny." he commented.
"And,
you're digressing."
"You
distracted me." he said, now standing close to her.
"Oh,
shut up!" she shoved him, playfully, "So, who's your secret
girl?"
"You
don't give up, do you?" he sighed, "I was with her on the phone right now,"
He is going to
divulge his feelings, after all. Kangana
nearly got a heart attack.
"You
mean?"
"Yeah.
I had called up Nidhi. She didn't seem very excited, though." he
shrugged.
She
nearly got another heart attack, for an entirely different reason
now.
"Nidhi? Your ex?"
"Yeah.
The fast was for her. Her happiness, her health. I didn't tell anyone
because I didn't want pity or sympathy."
It
took her a lot of effort to prevent her tears from falling down, to
prevent herself from fainting.
"Are
you okay? You don't look so good." his voice was full of concern, "I'm
sorry I'm keeping you from drinking and eating with my drama."
"No,
no. It's okay." she gave a broken smile.
"No,
you look ill. Here, drink this." he said, picking up
her little pitcher of water.
"Don't!"
she said, sternly, "Only husbands or the ones for whom we are
fasting can feed us." she explained.
"Oh, okay. I am sorry." he said slowly, "So, for whom were you fasting?" he teased.
"Nobody."
"Nobody?"
"Yeah,
nobody. I fast each
year because I like to. But, it's for nobody
in particular. I have nobody
to fast for and no one who'd fast for me." she tried to smile.
"Aw!
One day." he caressed her face.
"Sure."
After
worshipping the moon like she did, he gulped down a glass of water
and ate the sweets that she had brought.
"Shall
we go down, now?" he asked.
"You
go ahead. I'm gonna enjoy the weather for a bit."
"Are you sure? You'll catch a cold in that dress."
"Yeah."
she smiled.
"Okay, then. But, don't be long." he smiled, "And, thank you, for everything. Happy Karva Chauth." he hugged her before
leaving.
Tears
blinding her, she made sure his footsteps had faded away before she
crumbled down, unable to stand any longer.
