Rishbala SS: Dil, Dosti, etc...Last Chap & Epi Pg65 - Page 10

"Damn, where did I keep my passport?" said Rishabh in frustration while rummaging through the drawers of the study table in his room. "Here it is," said RK while pulling his passport out of one the drawers and suddenly his eyes fell on an old scrap book below it. He pulled it out along the passport. On the cover it had a picture of Amit and him, making faces at each other. Rishabh smiled faintly seeing the picture, then sat on his bed, turning the pages of the scrapbook. It was a scrapbook they had maintained from their schooldays. It had a collection of all the weirdest pictures they had taken together. Rishabh's eyes moistened, but his smile grew with every picture he went through. Then he saw one picture, which was taken at Sultan's haldi ceremony at his wedding. Sultan in the middle, his face dolloped with haldi with a Bakra (goat) cap on his head, while Rishabh and Amit having laughing out like crazy.

In the evening, they prepared for the baraati. Meera, Sultan's mother hurried to the room where Sultan was getting ready with his friends. "Rishabh, Amit, what are you doing here? Please go and check if the ghodi has arrived. We are getting late," said Meera. "Aunty, don't worry. The ghodi is waiting at the backyard. Sultan, put on your sehra, and come with us," instructed Rishabh and winked at Amit, who smiled in response. They helped Sultan get down the stairs with his sehra on his head. "Nikhil, Pranshu, call all the other friends at the backyard. We will have a group photograph with dulheraja," called out Amit while leading Sultan towards the backyard. "Can I take out my sehra for a moment while getting on the horse?" asked Sultan. "Don't you bother haddi, we will help you get on. Now hold my hand and put up your leg on this," instructed Rishabh. "Where is the stirrup? And why is the horse so small?" asked Sultan, trying to make out through the veil of flowers covering his face. "Arrey, get on first," said Amit and pushed him on the back of the animal. By that time all the other friends had gathered around and started laughing out loud. "Arrey gadhe pe baith ke shaadi karne jayega kya?" shouted Nikhil from the back. "Gadha?" blurted Sultan, shocked. The ass brayed out loudly "hee-haw" in response.

Rishu,

How are you dost? It has been over 4 months since you are gone. I never thought distance could part us so far away from each other. I do not know why I am writing this letter to you. I do not know what I intend to say you in this letter, because I never had to convey myself to you in a letter...

Do you remember Rishu, when we were little, we used to fight with anyone who would try to get between our friendship? None but haddi was only let to be a part of our yaariyan, only because we could entertain ourselves at the cost of his innocence and blind trust on us. Then what happened that we had to hide ourselves from each other and keep our pain inside? Was I such a failure as your best friend that you could not let me know your true feelings about Madhu? Did you think she had become so important in my life that I would give up our friendship for her? Whenever I look at her, she reminds me what a blind I had been in letting you go away from me. You are my life Rishu, everything comes later. People used to make fun of us in college, but trust me, I breathe in this friendship, because it has made me what I am today.

I miss you Rishu, I miss you terribly. I must have hurt you tremendously, otherwise you would never walk away from me before my wedding. I am losing it every day. Sultan keeps on saying that everything will be just as before and I should just wait for you to come back. But would you be the same friend and brother who would hug me and put an end to all my miseries? I must be sounding irrational, isn't it? But was I not irrational in letting a girl become a reason to create this rift between us?

I am waiting for you Rishu, please come back and pull me out of this trench. I am suffocating here, dying a little every moment. I wish I could speak my heart to you before this letter reaches your hand...

- Amit

"No Amit, no. Why didn't you wait for me? I was stupid to let that girl come between our dosti, not you Amit, not you," cried Rishabh as he collapsed on the floor with the letter in his hand.

"Hey look at that girl, she looks awesome," said Rishabh while pointing towards a beautiful girl running around the marriage hall with errands. "Mahshallah," exclaimed Amit. "Oye, bhabi hai teri. Don't ogle her like that," replied Rishabh. "Bhabi hogi teri. I am definitely going to get her as my own," smirked Amit and headed towards her. Madhu was holding a tray of rose petals and handing them over to the people around the mandap. It was the time Sultan and Trishna were to take the saat phere. Both Rishabh and Amit approached her with a nice smile on their face. "You two must be Sultan's friends," said Madhu while handing them over the rose petals. "Yes we are, his best friends from college," replied Rishabh. "And you must be Trishna's friend," asked Amit. "Yes I am," replied Madhu with a shy smile. "This must be very heavy for you, let me help you with the tray," said Rishabh and took the tray from her. When the saat phere started people began showering the var-badhu with the rose petals. Madhu was also excitedly showering the petals when she realised petals were being showered on her. She looked back to find both Rishabh and Amit aiming their petals on her and giving her the most flirtatious smile. She was overwhelmed to get so much attention from the two most good looking men in the wedding hall. "What are you two doing?" whispered Madhu, a bit flustered at their open flirting. "Showering rose on a rose," replied Rishabh cheekily. "Oh god!!" exclaimed Madhu and ran away from there.

By the time wedding was over, Rishabh and Amit caught Sultan. "Duur raho tum dono mere se. I don't trust you buggers anymore," said Sultan agitatedly. "Arrey, Sultan. Gussa kyun karta hai? We love you sooo much," said Rishabh and both he and Amit kissed Sultan's cheeks on either side sloppily. Right then, Madhu was passing by, and seeing these three behaving so weirdly made a puke face and ran off. "Leave me, you buggers. Now Madhu will think I am a gay with you two," exclaimed Sultan while pushing them away. "Hey, setting kar dena bhai," said Amit. "As his bhabi and my girlfriend," added Rishabh quickly. "Bhabi hogi teri," retorted Amit. "I am not going to do anything for either of you. Get off me. I am going to find out where Trishna is," said Sultan and started walking away.

Rest of that evening both Rishabh and Amit openly flirted with Madhu to the extent that at the end she got exhausted and told Trishna, "I am never going to come to your house if those two casanovas are there." On the other hand Amit and Rishabh were laughing their heart out in front of Sultan. "Are you two serious about her?" asked Sultan surprised. "Nay, she is not my type," replied Rishabh. "Neither mine," said Amit and high-fived with Rishabh.

After two days, Rishabh was going offshore again on a voyage. Before leaving he had asked Sultan to give him some of the wedding pictures printed so that in his leisure time in the ship he would have a good time reminiscing the fun moments of the wedding. After reaching the ship, Rishabh had found that in the lot of the photographs there were two exclusive photographs of Madhu, must have got in by mistake. She looked like an angel in the photographs and very soon caught Rishabh's attention. Soon he was looking at those two pictures all of his leisure time. After 6 months when he was coming back onshore, those pictures had become a permanent belonging of his wallet.

P.S.: Both RK and Amit had met Madhu for the first time at Sultan's wedding...the mistletoe incident had happened when RK was on his voyage, hope this clears your doubts...I intended to give the flashbacks not necessarily in chronological order, so that you can put together the parts of the jigsaw puzzle...