The girl next door - Ch 103 - pg 108; note pg 109 - Page 4

When she was sure he had fallen asleep while watching TV, she got up from the couch to go further towards the window to feast her eyes on him. Ever since she realized he is not wearing a shirt, she was curious to know what he looked like. He was wearing a black track pant and a black and grey gym vest that sat broad on his shoulders which is perhaps why she didn't notice at first that he had come without his shirt. The darkness of his clothes contrasted significantly against his fair complexion and brightened his face even more. She couldn't measure the tautness of his body but his biceps were a delightful treat. His arms were not loaded with big giant boulders but at the same time, he was not lanky or appeared to be struggling to build his body either. He was perfectly athletic and she liked that. She came closer to him to take in his facial features when another round of thundering occurred and she ran out the room before he woke up to catch her gawking at him.

She woke up in the morning earlier than usual hoping to get her fill of him before he woke up. As soon as she stepped out of her room she heard some noise from the kitchen. She got there to find him making tea for everyone. He looked at her apologetically for waking her up with the noise and she faked her anger and pointed a finger to him when she said with narrowing eyes "Make sure you don't do it again. Else you are in trouble!" He thought she was serious, he had never seen her or talked to her early morning and for a moment he thought she may not be a morning person but she wronged him by smiling before walking out the kitchen and into the bathroom. He thought he was going to faint due to all the surprises she had been showering on him since last night. But he couldn't deny the fact that he totally liked it.

They were done with tea and breakfast and Simran was still not up. They checked on her from time to time to make sure she was not crying under the pretense of being asleep. She had been really emotionally drained and was in fact still sleeping...although longer than usual.

"I'll have to go. I have a meeting at 10 which I can't miss. I'll try to come in the afternoon if my professor permits. Will you be able to handle her?" he said as he made to get up.

"Do I have a choice?" he looked at her shock written all over his face. It was not what she said shocked him but her behavior. It appeared to him that someone had cast a magic on her that made her so relaxed and at ease...and funny too at times. He wondered what brought on the sudden change.

"Yeah. Just ask me not to go" he said with a wink as he reached the bottom of the stairs hoping she won't go back to her awkward self like a few days ago. He didn't expect that she would reply in kind but she did "Please don't leave me alone with her..please don't go." she clenched her hands to appear as if begging.

"I'm not known to break a girl's heart but I will have to...this one time. Try not to miss me too much" he said in his usual flirty tone and this time she simply smiled at him. It was warm and came right from her heart and needless to say, it touched his heart. He reciprocated in kind and just like that, his whole day was spent smiling at everyone he came across.

"What are you looking at? she asked as she came closer to sit near Keerti's legs on the ground.

"The moon...and it's reflection. It is such a beautiful sight, isn't it?" she replied not turning to look at her. Simran placed her arms on Keerti's lap and rested her chin on them looking in the same direction.

"Yeah it is beautiful. But you know why it is beautiful? Because you can see the reflection clearly." She said without even waiting for her answer. This time Keerti did turn in her direction with a confused look and she continued "The water is relatively still compared to the ocean. If you see, it is moving only so much. So you can say the water is still...and it is clean too. That's why you can see the reflection so well. If it was a running river or muddy water, you won't be able to see the reflection clearly. Even though the object is crystal clear, its reflection depends on the reflecting surface."

This was the first time Simran was talking with such depth and she didn't have to guess that she was emotional, the change in behavior clearly showed that. And so, she didn't say or ask anything. She turned back to look at the sea to contemplate what Simran had just said.

"This is my mom" she stretched out an old photo that looked beaten up from the edges.

"She looks beautiful. Do you miss her?" Keerti asked as she took the picture from Simran to look at it closely.

"Yes...so very much. She died five years ago after fighting terminal cancer for a year and a half." she said with no emotion and Keerti looked at her. She didn't know what to say...she was afraid Simran might break into a cry if she said something.

"Twelve days after my mom's death, on the thirteenth day, my father came home after marrying a woman nearly half his age...and only a few years older than me." Keerti gasped loudly not able to control the surprise.

"That's how I had reacted too. He said he needed a companion and that in no way she was going to replace my mother. It would only add another person to the family but not replace anyone. Everything will be as it was before. But he didn't realize when she slowly took over mom's place...in his life."

Tears were now flowing freely in a stream down her cheeks but she kept talking "First she asked me to call her mom..she said it was necessary so I would not feel like I don't have one. I didn't have it in me...there was no way I was going to call her mom. She thought this was because of all the memories I carried of her. I used to see her photo albums everyday, I used to go through her closet to feel her presence among her clothes. It made me feel closer to her. And so, her next step was to throw away all my mom's possessions - photos, clothes, shoes while I was gone. She threw away everything but her jewelry which she locked 'safe' in her locker." She paused to take a deep breath and control her emotions before she continued again.

"This photo I had used as a bookmark for many years. When I was a kid and was reading a horror book,  I had placed her photo it in. Whenever I used to feel scared, I looked at her in the photo and it would appease me. Sadly this is the only keepsake of my mom that's left" and with this she did break into a sob. Not knowing what to say or do, Keerti came down from her recliner and sat down on the floor next to her. Simran immediately put her arms around Keerti. Keerti's eyes were quickly becoming moist too, from sadness and from helplessness.

"I had forgotten how to smile, how to eat, how to sleep...even how to live. I was doing poorly in my studies and this drove dad even farther away from me. I was miserable...a total trash. And then Aditya came into my life...and it change completely. He showered so much love on me that I forgot all my sorrows. I no longer got nightmares...I no longer cried for my mom. I only laughed and smiled at her memories. But she had a problem with it too. She didn't let us meet after our relationship came out in the open and thence we only met secretly. She insulted him and abused him. But he didn't leave me...he was always there for me whenever I needed him."

Wiping her tears and with a scornful voice she continued  "My dad and his wife are made for each other. He loves her body and she his money. There was no place for me in their life. Dad's love for me had already been replaced by money. I could not see his true reflection anymore...because it was surrounded by dirt. So I decided to come here...it was the best thing to do for all of us. And Aditya supported me at every step. He knew I was going to be away from him for a long time, yet he encouraged me to come to the States. I love him...I love him so much." the last bit she added with a longing in her voice.

"So what happened suddenly?"

"We were arguing over something small which blew out of proportion and he decided to break up with me. It was so silly Keerti..it was so silly. Why did he have to do this to me? He is the only one I have in my life." She sobbed bitterly. It was becoming painful for Keerti too for now she had tears trailing down her cheeks as well.

"No you are not alone...and never will be. You have Rohan...and me. I promise I'll always be there for you...no matter what." They hugged even tighter now.

"How does Rohan know Aditya?" she didn't know if it was the right time to ask but she didn't want to miss this opportunity to ask about him. Rohan had spoken to Aditya briefly and Aditya had clearly told him to lay off. And so she was curious to know how they knew each other for him to talk to Aditya like that and meddle in their affairs.

"Rohan is Aditya's childhood friend. He moved here some four years back with his parents. And so I had never met him. And Rohan happened to be visiting India when we all had met at Barista. That was when I was introduced to him. He is like a brother to Aditya. And so he has taken my responsibility upon himself while I'm here. He's such a sweetheart." Thinking of Rohan had such a calming effect on Simran that she only silently crying now.

That he is she said in her mind but only smiled outside. They looked outside the window again for a long time. And finally Keerti broke the silence "Now I know what you mean. The water really has to be still and clear to see your image in it."

"Hello...uh Rohan?"

"Keerti?"

"Yeah." and then there was a brief pause before she continued. "Actually uh ...can you call me back on this number in exactly two minutes?"

"Sure." although he sounded calm, he wanted to know what is wrong, why she had to hang up. The 120 seconds seemed like 120 hours to him.And when it hit 120 seconds, he called her...he had been counting time.

"Hello"

"Hi. Is everything okay?" Rohan asked in a worried tone.

"Yes yes. Someone came to talk to me. Actually I wanted to let you know this is my number. I finally got a phone" he could hear her smile and it reflected on his face too. He closed his eyes in happiness... it was going to be much easier for him to contact her now.

"That's so awesome."

"Also I also wanted to check if you were around. Simran has finally gone to class today after two days and I'm waiting for her in the library. "

"I'm actually not on campus. I'll be back a little late. Sorry"

"Okay no problem. I'll talk to you later."

"Later"

Simran had been home last two days since the news of the breakup. She had been calling him incessantly to sort out the issues but he wouldn't answer. And then she found his number unavailable. He had perhaps decided to keep her away in every way. She kept to herself most of the day and talked to Keerti and Rohan only when they asked her something. Keerti had finally managed to convince her to go to class that day. She waited for her class to get over so she wouldn't be alone at any time. When they got close to their apartment building, they saw that the entire porch was lit. The entire periphery was covered with candles and flowers. At some places there were tiny bouquets and at some others there were small glass trays with water lilies all of this interspersed between colorful candles. And then they heard a song play from a distance...it was coming from their apartment.

No sooner the music started, Simran skipped a beat as she realized which one it was. She froze in her steps making Keerti stop as well since they were both now climbing the steps to their apartment.

La lala la la
La la la la

Na jaane Kahan kho gaya hai
Mera yeh dil

The song continued and they quickly climbed up to their apartment. The door was open and the decorations had continued into it..all the way to Simran's room. When they entered her room, they noticed the room was dimly lit and saw Rohan stand by the window with folded hands smiling away. Although Simran was starting to get an inkling of the whole mystery, Keerti looked clueless.

Hua maan beqkaar pheli baar
Mere yaar phela pyaar
Dil mile khile
O ho

As he gestured her to the dresser, the song picked up pitch . There she saw the most beautiful candle in a glass with flower petals scattered all around it. Next to it lay another bouquet of white and pink carnations, a card and an open box that held the most beautiful bracelet. She picked up the card and read it over and over again with tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. It read:


And then she heard his voice singing along the lyrics of the song:
"
Na jaane Kahan kho gaya hai
Mera yeh mann

Jab se hoothon se nikali hai
Pyaar ki agan
Mera dil jane na Maane na
Jaane jaan mein yahan
Tu hai kahan
O ho
"
She turned around so see him leaning at the entrance to her bedroom. She ran and jumped on him to put her arms around him with her feet crossing behind his back...just like the couple in the end of the video. This had been their song ever since they realized their feelings for each other. Every word of this song had been true in their lives. They kissed and they kissed hard. She was overwhelmed with emotion now and showered kisses all over his face. She continued the song with her part of it, still in position but now looking him in the eyes...
"
I wanted to fly you became my wings
You can't imagine the joy that your love brings
You promise me love and I said I do
Darling you became me and I became you

I was my own person I wanted to be
But then you and me become destiny
Now no one can mean what you mean to me
You've love me babe you have set me free
"
And just like that they continued their verses kissing away in between the words. Surprisingly Keerti did not look awkward by this show of love, she was lost looking at their love and looked at them admirably. Rohan elbowed her asking her to leave them alone but she didn't want to. She kept awing at them in that position singing away to each other and lost into each others eyes, completely oblivious of anyone else's presence. Rohan literally had to drag Keerti out because things were going to get a little intimate he was sure.

"How sweet! He has come to patch up with her?" as they walked to the living room.

"Actually no. He faked the break-up so he could take the long flight here. Otherwise she would have thought something suspicious."

When Keerti's mouth was open for too long, he placed his finger under her chin and lifted it so her mouth closes. "And you were in this with him?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well only for a part of it. He was going to come next week but I convinced him to come sooner otherwise she would have messed up her midterms next week."

"And who did the decorations?" to which he simply smiled and she didn't have to keep guessing.

"Anyway I think I better go. I am sure the two are not going to come out of that room until tomorrow" he said in a teasing tone and the very thought of what might happen in that room made her blush. Seeing her blush he couldn't resist adding "That's why I told you that you should get used to guys being around. If you want, you can come with me to my apartment" he said with a wink and she knew he was joking.

"Let's go for a walk?" she tugged on his hand as he made to get up and he turned back in surprise. Seeing her pleading look he smiled and she excitedly got up to go with him. Things were only going to get better from here, they thought to themselves as they climbed down the stairs and walked into the street, away from the apartment.

ROhan's happiness for Keerti's change of behaviour ❤️❤️❤️ Great Story goin Dol !! Keep pm-ing me I'm so waiting for the next chaptersss!!! just can't wait so Hurry Up or u'll b responsible for my death!! 😉