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She was walking towards the edge of the cliff. Tears were running down her cheeks; she was crying like hell. Why am I doing this? - she had no answer. She was irritated, inexplicably depressed. Her instinct told her to do this. I'm sure about this, she thought as she stepped to the cliff's extreme edge. She gazed at the rocks far below in awe. Then, without any further thought, she placed her right foot in vacuum, closed her eyes & leaned forward. Gravity yanked her downwards, but a seemingly greater force pulled her back by her right hand. Confused, she turned around & looked. She was staring at the handsome face of the guy whom she loved the most. Holding her hand, he moved two meters back so that she was now a safe distance away from the cliff's edge.He looked into her eyes & flaunted his bewitching smile. "Ab marna chahte ho kya?", he asked. As though influenced by a magic spell, she replied, "Nahin, main tumhare saath hazaar saal jeena chahti hoon".
TING TING TING TING
Navya woke up with a start. The old clock had just chimed to inform that it was 12' O clock - midnight. Oh my God, it's just a dream!!!, she realized with utter disappointment. Dreams are way better nowadays, she thought, as she remembered the awful things happening around her in reality. 12'o clock huh?. That means July 10th has just begun!!. Today is my birthday & nobody wants to do anything for me, not even Ana-...
THUD THUD THUD
This time, the noise was coming from the door. It began to get louder. A quick stream of fear hit her. Who's knocking the door of my room like hell at this hour?. Slowly, she got up from the bed, moved towards the door & opened it. The sight before her was blinding - Harsh was dancing before her wearing a cone-shaped hat. Her mother, grandma & sister were standing side-to-side with soothing smiles. Her father was holding a fabulous cake on which her favorite strawberry-flavored cream formed the sentence "HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAVYA". And a second later, all of them shouted in unison, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR NAVYA".
She was speechless. What? Is this a dream, too?. It was only when Harsh scooped a handful of cream from the cake and painted her face with it that she truly believed it was real. They didn't forget, after all. WOW!!.
"Chalo birthday girl, hall mem jaake cake kaatenge", said Harsh enthusiastically. All of them shouted birthday wishes joyfully as they marched with Navya towards the hall. They were shouting so loudly that none of them, not even Navya, heard Navya's phone ringing on the table beside her bed.
About 50 meters away from Navya's flat, in a McDonald's restaurant, Anant Bajpayee dialed Navya's number again and again but nobody was attending the phone on the other side. Now he dialled Ritika's number, which was instantly answered, "Anant, tum mujhe kyoon phone kar rahe ho?...Navya ko phone karo aur wish karo...Tumne saare arrangements kiya na?"
"Haan Ritz, lekin woh phone nahin uta rahi hain...mem uske ghar jaake dekhta hoon", Anant replied & hung up the phone. Before leaving the restaurant, he called out to the waiter, "Bhaiyya, yeh sab cheezom ko sambhaalna...mem abhi aatha hoon".
Running as fast as he could, he reached just outside Navya's flat and was relieved to see that the main entrance of the flat was still open. He ran to the entrance, ascended the stairs & reached outside Navya's apartment. Deafening noise was coming from inside. He realized after a while that those were cheers & wishes.He peered through the openings on the window in order to find out what was going on inside.
His heart ceased to beat for a moment. Many jubilant people were there. But it was the sight of the girl standing amidst them that caught his attention. NAVYA!. She seemed to be very happy and was cutting a cake with a knife. She sliced a piece and passed it to her mother. She did the same with all others.
He turned around and started walking towards the staircase, tears in his eyes. I dreamt of this moment all along. I took pride for having arranged all those things she liked. I lied to my family members that I would be staying at Ranbir's house tonight for completing a project work. What all did I not do to make this occasion flawless?...All of it for nothing, absolutely nothing.
Seven hours later, dazzling rays of the sun hit Navya's face as she woke up. WOW! What a huge surprise that was! My family made my day!
Very soon, she was all set to go to the college. Her mobile rang - Ritz!. Before she could say anything, Ritz took over, "Happy b'day meri pyaari Navya...kal raath ka surprise kaisa tha?"
Navya was taken aback, 'Tumhe bhi patha tha iss party ke bare mem?"
Ritz replied enthusiastically, "Arey hah baba, maine hi unhe yeh idea diya tha"
"Tum mere family se kab baath ki?"
"Tumhare family se mem kyoon baath karegi?...Mem Anant ki baat kar rahi hoon buddhu..."
"Kya????...Anant ki???"
"Haan, Anant tujhe kal raath 12 baje woh surprise party diya na?...Woh tumhare ghar aane se pehle mujhe phone kiya tha...jab woh phone kiya, tab tum phone kyoon nahin uta rahe the?"
Navya didn't know what to say, "Anant mujhe party diya??...aur mujhe phone kiya???...aur...tumne kya kaha??...woh mere ghar aaya tha??...kab??"
"Arey, Kal raath...tum uske party ke bare mem baath kar rahe hona?"
"Nahin, mujhe kal raath mere family ek surprise party diya...mem uske bare mem baath kar rahi hoon...Anant kahaan party rakha tha??"
"Tumhare ghar ke saamnewaala jo McDonald's restaurant haina?...wahaan par", Ritz said. Hearing these words, Navya hung up the phone & checked her call list. Yes! Anant called me! At 12!
"Maa, mem college jaa rahi hoon"
Her head was whirling as she ran towards the restaurant. Anant arranged a party for me at 12 & I never knew!!!!. She pushed open the restaurant door & saw it.
Anant was sitting on a chair with an empty expression on his face. His eyes were brimming with tears. And around him, she could see all those things which he thought to be her favourites - Big crackers, huge rings and everything. The cake arranged on the table beside him had lost all its freshness & was being consumed by a set of ants.
She felt immensely guilty.What did I do!...He did all these for me & I I broke his heart in return...
Gently, she placed her palm on his shoulder. He gave a start & sprung back to life like a fairytale hero who had been restored to his former prosperity by the touch of an angel. He looked into her eyes. There was pain and disappointment in his wet eyes.
Navya stammered with great difficulty, "Anant, mem...woh...mujh...mujhe patha nahiin tha ki thum...".
She couldn't withhold those three magical words anymore. She said it passionately, "Anant, I LOVE YOU..."
Time froze for a moment. Those three words reverberated in Anant's ears for a long time. He felt like a small child who had eventually found the last piece of his favourite jigsaw puzzle.
Without uttering another word, both of them walked forward and flung their arms around each other. They hugged each other wholeheartedly.
"Happy Birthday Navya...I LOVE YOU", said Anant
"I love you too, Anant", said Navya, not at all reluctant to say it this time.
As they parted, Navya thought, Tumhare muskurathe huve chehre hi mere liye sabse bade birthday gift hain Anant. Aur aaj mem sache dil se dua karthi hoon ki tum hamesha hamesha mere saath rahe...
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I enjoyed writing this one and I hope you did the same reading it...
love,
Danđđ
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