RANTARA-THIS IS NOT THE END (FF)EPILOGUE PAGE 47 - Page 6

PART 9:

Nd rest of d words left unsaid wen she saw d person standing in front of her. Her eyes widened in both shock nd surprise wen she saw him nd a smile formed on her face wen he spoke to him

Person: Hey Kiddo!

Antara (happily): ARMAN!!!!

She said happily nd instantly hugged him

Antara: OMG I cant believe dis. tu achanak nd tu US se kab aaya? Aur itni der se tu hi mujhe pareshan kar raha than na?

Arman: Hold on! Hold on! Itne sare questions? Antara Let me come inside first

Antara slapped her head wid her hand nd smiles

Antara: So stupid of me. Come inside

He came inside nd looked around himself. Arman was Antara's Childhood friend infact a friend on whom she can rely on. Arman's Dad nd Antara's Dad were best friends. Though Arman was 4 years elder den Antara yet dey consider demselves as d Bestest Buddies. Arman always use to call her Kiddo nd dere families has very good terms wid each other. After d Death of Antara's Father also dere relationship didn't changed. Arman's parents consider Antara nd Misha as dere own daughter infact dey Love Antara more den Misha. 5 yrs back dey have been shifted to US for their business but still dey were in touch wid each other

Arman:hhmmm not bad Kiddo nothing much has changed in dese 5 yrs.

Antara: Tu bhi kaha badla hai. 5 yrs back also u use to irritate me nd nw also

Arman: ya I knw dat. Wat to do I love to tease u.

Antara: Arman...

Arman: Anyways, baki sab log kaha hai. Mere welcome ki khushi me Garlands lene gaye hai

Antara: Ha ha So funny Mr. Arman Malik but if u remember den it's a weekday so Mom has gone to Office nd Misha to her college

Arman: o ya. I forgot. But wait a sec. wat u r doing at home today

Antara (dramatic): I was waiting eagerly for u by staying at home afterall u had came after so many years den hw can I go to sumwhere else

Arman: Really! Hw sweet

Antara: Shut up!

Arman: Teri ye Tag Line abhi tak change nahi hui. Antara ab to kuch naya seekh lo

Antara: Arman...

Arman:I knw I knw m very adorable nd girls use to take my name nd sigh but dat doesn't mean dat u'll take my name again nd again like dis

Antara: Shut up Arman

Arman: ok ok let it be. But seriously wat u r doing at home today. Kahi tune college se bunk marna to shuru nahi kar diya?

Antara: Shut up nothing like dat. I had my presentation next week so had taken off from college for 1 week to prepare for dat. Anyways meri chodo u tell wen did u came from US nd all of a sudden

Arman: I came last evening only nd...

Antara:u r here yesterday evening nd u r coming nw to meet me. Nd u even told me dat u r cuming

Arman: arey, I wanted to cum yesterday only but got stuck up in accommodation etc. datsy couldn't able to cum moreover I would have told u about my Arrival den hw can would I able to see dat surprising expression of urs

Antara: but all of a sudden

Arman: wat to do, ab tu Facebook pe itne Dangerous - Dangerous Status update karegi to mujhe to aana hi padega na. itna pucha Wats Wrong wats wrong but nahi madam k paas tym hi nahi reply karne ka

Antara (sadly): wo, I hardly cum online nw a days, derefore couldn't able to reply

Arman: ya I can see dat. But seriously Kiddo tell na wats wrong?

Antara:Nothing Arman. Bola tha na k apne fav novel me ye line padhi thi to wahi daal di

Arman: ok ok dis was d statement u gave to others nw tell the truth to me

Antara: Arman, seriously yaar. I read dis line in one of d novel only.

Arman: o really? Which novel?

Antara: Arman u r here to take my interview or wat?

Arman: ok fine u dnt want to tell me den dnt tell. Take ur tym. Chal abhi leave all dis nd lets go

Antara: where?

Arman: Lovers Point! Dumbo! I m here after 5 whole yrs nd wont u take me for site seeing

Antara: Arman not today pls. I have to work on dis project

Arman: Kiddo I dnt want to listen anything u r cuming wid me nd dats final

Antara: Arman, pls yaar. Sum other tym see already m very much pissed off in dis design. I dnt know but sumwhere sumthing is getting wrong

Arman: Acha Show me

Antara: but hw will u able to analyze it

Arman: Kiddo tu na hamesha Kiddo hi rahegi. If u remember I too had done Architecture nd handling my Dad's Business

Antara: oh ya! I forgot

Arman: datsy I use to say dat stay in my company so dat u too can gain sum brain

Antara: Arman... Enough first sort it out nd den we'll decide who is more intelligent

Arman: ya ya we'll see.

He said nd looked at d design carefully

(scroll down)

Arman: yes here's d fault. See if u draw dis block over here instead of dis side den dis building would be perfect

Antara: Wow Arman, I didn't noticed it before

Arman: I knw m very genius. No need to compliment me now. Its ok anything for my friend(he said while patting his shoulders)

Antara: Arman... nw dnt take too much Footage ok

Arman: ok, see nw I had helped u so as a reward u r cuming wid me today wid me

Antara: Arman nt today pls. really I had to work a lot today in dis project

Arman: fine Ms. Antara Handa it seems dat nw u dnt have tym for ur own friend .fine I'll go back to US tomorrow. Wen my friend dnt have tym for me so y should I stay over here

Antara: nw stop getting mellow dramatic ok. Nd dnt u dare to blackmail me emotionally. U very well knw I cant refuse u for anything

Arman: So y r u refusing nw?

Antara: Arman pls try nd understand na. see mom is also not at home moreover she dnt knw about ur Arrival also. Acha I'll do one thing I'll go wid u tomorrow

Arman: pakka

Antara: Pakka

Arman: ok but tomorrow no excuse

Antara: ya no excuse

Arman: chalo fir I'll see u tomorrow

Antara: arey y r u going like dis. wait I'll get sumthing for u. hw about urFav. Pasta

Arman: No kiddo u work on ur project otherwise u'll say dat I had wasted ur tym nd u'll get an excuse for not cuming wid me tomorrow

Antara: Arman...

Arman: I knw u like my name very much. Afterall m so much...

Antara: u r so much Adorable.

Arman: Wow Antara, finally u recognize my quality

Antara: Shut up!

Arman: O God! not again. chal enough of my bak-bak. U work on urproject nd if u face any problem den u r free to ask me

Antara: Sure

Arman: chal bye nd dnt forget ur Promise Golebaaz

Antara: Shut up! I never forget my Promise. Ok

Arman: ya ya dat we'll cum to knw tomorrow

Antara: ya Sure. Chal Bye

Arman: bye

He said nd goes from dere nd Antara too gets busy in her work. After so many days she was feeling a bit relax nd actually smiling nd all because of Arman who always knowingly or unknowingly managed to make her smile nd let her forget all her worries.

***********************************

Next day as promised Antara gets ready to meet Arman. He has called her numerous tym to conform her plan making Antara irritated but he didn't care

Mom: Antara by wat tym will u be back?

Antara: I dnt knw mom. U knw Arman na everything is unpredictable wid him, but I'll try to cum soon as I had to work on presentation also.

Mom: Arey its ok take ur tym. Waise bhi u had never been out in dese 3 weeks except ur college so its better u get a break.

Antara: ya

Mom: By the way Antara. Ruksana has again called last nite

Antara: hhmmm

Mom: I really didn't get y r u avoiding her. Since she returned back from training u haven't gone to meet her also nd u dnt talk much to her on call also. Is everything fine

Antara: ya Mom. U knw na dat my presentation is due next week nd rite nw I had to concentrate on dat nd once its been completed I'll spend my whole day wid her

Mom: ok

Suddenly they heard d horn of car from outside nd no point for guessing who it was. She said a good bye to her mom nd gone outside to meet Arman

***********************************

Arman: Arey Kiddo! suno to...

Antara: Shut up Arman! i dnt want to listen anything

Arman: hey kiddo y r u getting so much upset yaar?

Antara: upset nahi hu to kya karu. Poori Movie me tumne apni Commentary kari hai. Maine movie k Dialogues kam aur tumhari baatein zyada suni hai.tumhari hamesha ki Aadat hai neither u urself watch Movie peacefully nor let others watch it. Jab tumhe movie me itne hi comments dene hote hai to Movie dekhte hi kyun ho. Koi Box office join kar lo. m sure dey definately needs ur Valuable Comments.Isiliye main pehle bhi tumhare saath koi movie nahi aati thi. i dnt knw y i got Agreed dis tym.

Arman: because m so charming nd no one can resist my charm

Antara: Shut up!

Arman: o God! D same famous Tag line of urs! Acha baba m Sorry. Next tym I wont do anything like dat

Antara: next tym I'll not go wid u

Arman: Acha baba dnt cum wid me to movie next tym. But abhi to chal sakti ho na

Antara: where?

Arman: Mc Donald's. m damn hungry yaar

Antara: hungry or u want to watch girls over dere?

Arman: whatever u think. Nw lets go

Antara: ok

*******************************************

At Mc Donald's

Arman: u knw dats wat I love about India. Girls in India r so preety. None of d girls from rest of d world can beat their beauty.

Antara: Arman. Tu fir shuru ho gaya? Nw go nd get a Ice-Cream for us. U knw na dat I Love d Ice-cream of Mc Donald's

Arman: Kiddo! Pls u bring na. I want to enjoy d site in front of me (he said while looking at a beautiful girl in front of him)

Antara (unbelievingly): Arman, u'll never change. Fine m going to bring u enjoy ur site.

She said nd goes to bring d Ice-Cream.

Antara: ummm Excuse me. 2 Soft-Serve pls. Chocolate flavour nd in cone

Counter boy: 2 mins mam

She waited nd counter boy gives her order nd she pays for it. As she was about to turn she bumped into someone nd ice-cream dat she was holding gets spilled on his shirt. She didn't sees his face nd started apologizing

Antara: OMG! M so sorry. I didn't saw u nd dis happened. M really very...

Person: Antara...

Nd she paused wen she looked at d person in front of her who was looking back at her wid d look like he has found sumthing precious. He was none other den Raghu who has came dere to meet one of his friend. he couldn't believe it dat Antara is in front of him. He was seeing her after 3 whole weeks. A tint of Happiness has came in his eyes after seeing her. He looked in her eyes trying to read dem. But all he could find over dere was only pain. Not even anger for him, but just pain which was given by him. Antara too couldn't believe dat she was seeing Raghu. She has thought dat she would never able to see him again after dat day nd today he is front of her nd she don't know wat to say. She saw number of expressions on his face wen he sees her. Happiness, pain, guilty, restlessness, and loneliness everything was clearly visible from his face

Antara (slowly): m Sorry.

Raghu: No m sorry. Actually I ...

He couldn't said much as Arman came over dere wen he saw Antara spilling Ice-cream on someone. He decides to go to Antara before any Scene could created over dere

Arman: o god Kiddo! Kya karti ho? Dekh k chala karo na (Den to Raghu)Dude we r really very Sorry. It all has been done by mistake. We can get u a new shirt or if u want we can pay u for dat.

Raghu looked at Arman in a very amused Manner. He couldn't recognize him neother hw couldn't able to figure out wat relation he had wid Antara. He knows dat Antara is not a kind of a girl who got hook-up wid some other guy rite to d next day of her break-up. Den who's dis Guy nd hw cum he's so friendly wid her. All dese thoughts were buzzing in his mind when Raghu waves his fingers in front of his eyes

Arman: Hello! Dude u dere?

Raghu (came out of his thoughts): ummm Ya.

Arman: So I was saying dat if u want we can pay for ur spoil shirt or just get u a new shirt also

Raghu: no. its ok. There is no need of doing any of dese. I understand. It happens

Arman: r u sure?

Raghu: ya.

Arman: ok den as u wish. Chale Kiddo waise bhi dat site has gone

Antara nods in yes nd goes wid him giving a last look to Raghu. Wen she reached at Door she looked back once again only to find him looking back at her. She looks at front nd disappears from his sight leaving him dumbfounded.

**********************************************

Antara was silent on all d way. No matter she tried hard to forget him but Everytym somehow sumwhere he came in front of her. Sometimes in memories nd sumtymes in real like today. Arman was not liking her silence at all. He loves to see her Kiddo gets irritated nd angry but Dis Silent kiddo was not at all bearable to him. He knows dat sumthing has gone wrong since she had spilled dat Ice-Cream on dat person but he didn't asked her dat tym. Den suddenly he remembers sumthing nd he turned his car to other way. Antara was so lost in her thoughts dat she didn't noticed where dey were heading to until Arman puts a break.

Arman: chal!

Antara: where?

Arman: Chal na! dnt worry tujhe kidnap nahi karunga. Nw c'mon get out of d car.

He said nd opens d Door for her. Antara gets down nd he takes her near a lake. Antara found dis place familiar den she remembers wat special connection dey had wid dis place

Arman: u remember dis place

Antara: ofcourse hw can I forget dis place. Dis was use to be ur hide out place. Wenever u had a fight wid ur GFs or u feel low or u get scolded by uncle,u come over here only nd den I come here while searching of u nd no one knows about dis Hide out place of urs

Arman: u always knw me so well na Kiddo (he said while sitting)

Antara (while sitting): Ofcourse Arman afterall u r my Best Buddy

Arman: ya Best buddy on whom u had a Crush

Antara (blushes): Arman Stop teasing me nw. I still feel so embarrassed whenever I think of dat moment. I mean hw stupid I was.

Arman: Wo to tu hamesha se hi thi. U remember u propose me near dis lake only

Antara: ya. Nd after dat u Expressions were worth watching. I mean u look all shocked nd surprised.

Arman: Shock nd Surprised? I was like wat d hell is Happening?

Antara: But thank God u make me realize dat it was not Love but just an infactuation due to my Teenage. I mean I thought d attachment dat I had wid u is love. So stupid of me na

Arman: Ya I remember hw much I had to make u understand d Difference between Love nd Attraction.

Antara: I was so stupid na Arman, Couldn't able to differentiate between Love nd infactuation. Thank God u make me realize nd mere baat samajh me aa gayi

Arman: Aur 5^th Devdas bante bante reh gayi

Antara: wat?

Arman: Arey I mean ab agar main tumhe us waqt nahi samjhata to tum yahi samajhti dat I had rejected u aur bas ek aur Devdas ban jati dis tym Female version.

Antara: Arman...

Arman: just imagine Antara' u sitting near dis lake wid a Bottle in ur hand nd wat was dat Dialogue ya " Kaun Kambakht Bardaasht karne ko peeta hai"

Antara (laughs): Arman stop it nw ok I told na dat was just due to my Teenage. Main us waqt bacchi thi moreover I was influenced by Ruksana who always use to say dat d thing between us was Love wenever I used to told her about d warmth of our relationship. Itna bhaav khane ki zarurat nahi hai ok.

Arman: ok. Ah by the way Devdas se yaad Aaya. Hws Chandramukhi?

Antara (amuzed): Chandramukhi?

Arman: arey see nw since u r Devdas, me Paro so ultimately Raghu will become Chandramukhi only na. hws Raghu? Aur tune use mujhse abhi tak milvaya bhi nahi?

Antara frowned after listening Raghu's name. She has not hide anything from him till nw not even Rahul's Matter but dis tym she dnt knw y she dnt want to tell Arman wat all has happened between her nd Raghu. Her change of expression was not remain unnoticed by Arman. He very well understands dat things r not going fine between her nd Raghu.

Arman: Antara, dat Guy at d Mc. Donald's was Raghu Na

Antara (surprised): Hw do u knw?

Arman: u think m stupid. C'mon yaar I have seen his pic at Facebook nd moreover ur Expressions over dere has said everything

Antara said nothing but look at d lake

Arman: Kiddo, I recognize him over dere only nd was about to greet him wen I saw ur face nd clearly understands dat sumthing is wrong so I cover it up over dere nd take u out from dere.

Antara: y does it happen Arman, dat d person whom we love more den us, expect so many things from dem, dey were d only one to break our heart.

Arman: dats because we expect too much from dem even more den required nd wen dat person couldn't able to lived up to our expectation den we feel isolated.

Antara: but wat if dat person says dat he was never in love wid u.

Arman: well in dat case just forget dat person nd move on in ur lyf. I knw its very easy to say but hard to follow because we cant just simply forget d person wid whom we are madly in love. But just continuously reminding of him doesn't give us anything. But still we wish dat someday dat person would recognize our true love but in dat hope we cant spend rest of our lyf nd spoil our present we should have to move on. May be d Dude sitting upwards has something good has stored for us rather den dis (he said while pointing upwards)

Antara said nothing so Arman continues.

Arman: Antara I dnt knw wat has happened between u nd Raghu nd I wont ask also because mujhe kabhi bhi apni Kiddo se kuch poochne ki zarurat nahi padti. Wo khud hi bina pooche mujhe sab kuch bata deti hai nd if u r not telling me anything today den dere must be some reason nd m sure dat one day u'll definitely tell me. I still remember wen Raghu proposed u. u first of all told dis thing to me even before Ruksana. Nd I talked to u for whole 1 hr. on dis matter. Remember

Antara: ya.

Arman: So wat I want to say is dat dnt spoil ur present due to wat all has happened in past. Waise I knw I dnt have to give u all Dis "Gyaan" because my Kiddo is smart enough to understand wat is good for her nd she wont cry over spilt milk. Aur waise bhi kisi ne mujhse kaha hai dat "if everything happens according to our Wish, its good but if it happens against our wish, den its d best because in dat God's Wish is present who always stores best for us." Rite?

Antara: Rite. (She said nd smiled as dis was d same thing she use to say to Arman)

Arman: Ah! Finally u smiled. U r too Good Arman.

Antara: Arman, not again.

Arman: allright. So I think we should leave nw. u have to work on ur project also or else u'll curse me if u didn't do gud in ur presentation.

Antara: I can never curse u for anything.

Arman: OMG m so much obliged. nw lets ok.

She smiles nd dey both leaves from dere

*************************************

Whole 1 week has been passed like dis only. Antara gets herself busy in project nd Arman was dere to help her in any manner. His visits to her house create a positive environment around her. Nd finally d day of her presentation came nd as expected she has done well in her presentation Thanx to Arman who helped her a lot in dis project. Every judge was praising her work nd her friends were happy for her. Even her Design Teacher was very much impressed from her who was usually not impressed by any1. Their friends were celebrating outside College.

Deeps: Wow Antara, I just can't believe it. U did it

Pari: Yes I mean Tune to us Lady Mogambo ko bhi khush kar diya. Wat a Presentation Girl?

Antara: thanx a lot Guys but I think u r praising me too much. I mean u all did well over dere

Preeti: Antara, we must did well but dat was nothing compare to urs. U rock Girl

Pari: ok so guys Dis calls for celebration. Antara u have to give us treat for dis.

Antara: ofcourse, guys anytym.

Deeps: hw about nw?

Antara: Nt nw Guys. M very much tired today.

Preeti: Tired or had a date wid Raghu (she winks)

Antara (frowning) : No guys really very tired

Pari: By the way where is Raghu nw a days. Pehle to Roz tujhse milne aata tha? Nd nw we had not seen him from last 1 month.

Antara: Wo Guys... Actually... Raghu is out of Town for his training

Deeps: Wat? Bt y did he need to go anywhere for training, I mean he had such a well reputed family business. He can easily get trained over dere.

Preeti: o God Deeps, have u forgot Raghu is d man of his Morals just like our Antara. Really yaar r Perfect wid each other. i mean dat Made For Each other types. Rite?

Deeps: ya ofcourse.

Suddenly something catches Pari's attention.

Pari: OMG! Look who's here?

Antara turned to look at d direction where all 3 were looking nd got surprised as d person to whom dey were addressing is none other den Raghu. In d mean tym he approaches near all of dem.

****************************************************

He was continuously visiting her College from last 1 week every evening so dat by any chance he could meet her, talk to her but Everytym he saw her friends cuming alone outside d college which indicates dat Antara is not cuming to College nd today he saw her wid her friends. He was so happy to see her but frowned wen he sees her expressions. She was smiling, laughing but just d sake of her friends so dat dey couldn't guess wats happening in her life. Dis was not her real smile because wen she smiles from her heart her eyes shows d tint of happiness which is not present nw. nd after dis he couldn't stopped himself from not going to her.

*******************************************

Raghu: hi Guys! Hi Antara!

Antara (slowly): hi!

Preeti: hey Raghu! Hws u?

Raghu: fine. Hw about u all?

Deeps: we r fine too. But Antara was saying dat u r out of town for ur training.

Raghu looks at Antara who looks other way to think of an excuse

Antara (acts to remind sumthing): Oh Guys! I completely forgot Raghu has to cum to Mumbai for dis Weekend. I dnt knw hw it slips from my mind.

Pari: It slips, or u dnt want us to meet him

Deeps: C'mon Pari stop teasing her nw. I guess we should leave dese Love birds alone. Afterall dey r meeting after 1 month.

Preeti: I Agree.

Antara: no Guys Its ok. Waise bhi Deeps wants to cum to my home so me nd Raghu can continue later

Deeps: dats completely fine Antara. I'll cum some other day. U should spend ur tym wid Raghu. Ok

Antara: But Deeps...

Preeti: C'mon Antara Deeps is rite. I think we all should leave u alone. (den to Raghu) So, bye Raghu. See u some other tym nd u owe a thank u treat to us

Raghu: ya ofcourse. Bye.

Dey all go from dere leaving dem alone. Antara don't know wat to say to him nd neither did Raghu but yet he decides to break d silence.

Raghu: Hws u?

Antara: fine.

Raghu: u didn't told dem about...

Antara: I didn't told dem about whatever happened between us

Raghu: y?

Antara: because I cant see any1 questioning u.

Raghu: u still think so much for me Antara.

Antara: dnt take it otherwise m doing all dis because once'' once u were my friend nd for u d thing between us may be not love but for me it was love nd I cant see anyone pointing fingers on u.

Raghu: Antara, sab kuch pehle jaisa nahi ho sakta?

Antara: Pehle jaisa ab kuch bhi nahi raha Raghu. Na tum aur na hi main (she said while looking at him) Pyaar to humare beech kabhi tha hi nahi, ek Dosti ka Rishta tha that too died few days back.

Antara's word pierced Raghu's Heart like thousand knives r digging in his chest.

Antara: Anyways m getting late. I should leave nw.

She said nd about to go wen Raghu stops her

Raghu: Antara wait... I'll drop u

Antara: Its ok Raghu. M used to of being alone nd going alone too. I dnt want u to bother for a stranger.

Raghu (hurted): Antara we are not strangers.

Antara: Yes u r rite we r not strangers. We r Known strangers. Anyways Bye nd TC. Nd ALL D BEST for ur future.

She said nd started heading towards d road wen again she stops nd turned to look at Raghu.

Antara: Aur haan Raghu. Dis tym u dnt need to follow me till my home like u always did. Because m strong enough to take care of myself nd I don't want anyone's help.

Raghu got confused at her statement. "she knows" he thought nd Antara has very clearly read his expression.

Antara: Yes Raghu I knew it since d first day u followed me but dat tym was different nd dis tym is different. Anyways Gud Bye nd TC of urself.

She said nd leave from dere leaving him behind dumbfounded, lost nd alone