**Replies begin from page 106.Excuse me for the creative liberty taken in the next couple of chapters.25. Nostalgia
By Monday noon, we all gathered on the port to begin our four-day holiday on the cruise. Vyan was already there and waiting with his friend who he introduced to all of us as a manager of one of the departments on the cruise. I, in turn, introduced Vyan to the rest of the people.
Raya and Anaya were almost jumping with excitement even though the latter had Yana in her arms. Ayush was holding a continuously babbling Shay who called for his father's attention again and again as he chatted with Raunaq while we waited for the Khuranas to arrive.
We did not need to wait very long, for they walked up to us just a few minutes later. Zara and Mrs. Khurana were talking about something as they walked towards us while Ameerah was in her father's arms. I was seeing Ranbir, the elder Khurana, for the first time since I was back and he was very formal when he greeted all of us. He had gained a little weight, I noticed as he indulged in his daughter's chatter even as the rest of the crowd discussed various issues. Now that I was seeing the whole family in front of me, I observed that Ameerah had taken after her father's facial features, except for the long beautiful eyes, which she had inherited from her mother.
The last person to arrive was Maan. I could see him walking towards us at a leisurely pace, dressed in casual jeans and a tee, a hand holding a weekender over his shoulder. His face was turned a little to the right and only then did I notice the girl walking beside him. She was not any of the girls I had seen him with. She was short, and a little chubby. Dressed in a flowery sundress, she looked pretty. After greeting all of us with in cheerful voice, Maan introduced the girl as his friend, Sasha.
I rolled my eyes and turned away. This was the friend he was bringing with him? My eyes caught Raya and Anaya looking at me intently. I figured they were both searching for any signs of awkwardness I might feel with Maan's presence. Smiling at them, I held my arms out for Yana to climb in. She was shy but soon warmed up to me as I cuddled her while we were led to the cruise and shown the cabins we were to stay in.
The cabin which I was going to stay in was moderately sized. It was furnished lavishly yet comfortably. The wooden four-poster bed was screwed to the floor, just like the set of a coffee table with two cushioned seats. A television set was fixed to a stand across the bed and a small built-in cupboard was in a corner. The combination of ivory and pink colours made the cabin appear larger than it was, a fact which the interior designer in me had not missed. The heavy curtains were pulled over and I walked to them to pull them away and let some light in.
The view from the window was of the deck, where two swimming pools were present. At the moment, I could see a few people scattered around the deck. A knock on the door made me turn around.
"Come in."
"Geet." A smiling Vyan walked in and came to stand beside me in front of the window. "So how do you like it?"
"It's nice." I smiled at him.
"So what do you want to do now?" I shrugged in response. "How about we just roam around the cruise and see everything?"
"Sounds good."
"The cruise is leaving the port in half an hour. We'll get out of the rooms after that." With this said, he waved at me and walked out while I went to sit on the seats and pulled open the magazine which detailed the facilities available in the cruise.
It was only after an hour that we all set out to explore the cruise in a group which soon dispersed. Ranbir and Zara were off to shops with Ameerah. Maan was already out of sight with the girl he had brought along. Ayush and Anaya were walking with us but they were entertaining their children, pointing out things to them. Mrs. Khurana was talking with Vyan, asking him about himself. Raya and Raunaq, whose arms were linked together, kept up a string of comments for everything we passed by, keeping me engrossed. We surveyed a few shops but did not buy anything yet. Shopping was scheduled for the last day of the trip, as per Raya and Anaya's wish.
When we gathered for lunch in the classy restaurant, multiple conversations began. Everyone was talking where they had been to and what plans they had for the rest of the day. Caught as I was in a light conversation with Mrs. Khurana, I had not realised what Ayush, Anaya and Maan were talking about until Anaya nudged me, forcing me to look their way.
"Geet, there's a basketball court over here." Anaya's voice had a subdued excitement which I did not understand.
"I know that. So?" I looked at Ayush and then a fleeting glance at Maan. Both of them were looking at me.
"So we are going to go there. Just the four of us; you, me, Anaya and Maan."
"I don't play ball, remember?" At my remark, Ayush slapped his forehead, Anaya snorted and Maan chuckled. "What?"
"We aren't asking you to play. We're just going to enjoy our time. Just the four of us. For old times' sake. Get it now, dumbo?" Anaya lightly slapped the side of my head.
"Oh. Sure, why not! That'll be great."
The idea seemed very appealing to me and the time was decided. We would be meeting in the basketball court an hour later, as it would give Anaya enough time to put her twins to sleep. Mrs. Khurana volunteered to take care of Yana and Shay while we all would be gone. I looked at Vyan, who was a silent spectator to all of this. He smiled slightly when I raised my eyebrows to ask what he was thinking about. He was going to spend time with his friend, I already knew that, so I did not talk to him about our plan.
An hour and a half later, Anaya and I walked into the basketball court together to find Maan and Ayush already there, dressed in vests and tracks. There was nobody else apart from them and they had been playing for some time, it seemed from the sweat glistening on their bodies. We took seats at a corner of the court as nostalgia hit me with force. Just the four of us again; Ayush and Maan playing basketball while Anaya and I sat and cheered for them, Anaya for Maan and I for Ayush. It was the right decision to come here, I realised when I felt the seven years of separation, pain and longing dispersing into thin air, even if just for a little while. I felt myself pulled back into my seven-years-younger form as I heard Ayush and Maan laugh in a carefree manner while trying to snatch the ball.
In the midst of all the cheering Anaya and I did, I noticed my eyes drawn to Maan's strong arms and broad shoulders visible through the black vest, glistening with beads of sweat. I mentally slapped myself and concentrated on the game.
"Okay, okay, time out!" Anaya called nearly an hour into the game. Ayush started walking towards us right away while Maan shot another basket before turning to us.
"That was damn fun, man!" Ayush sighed. All four of us were now sitting cross-legged on the floor, studiously ignoring the rows of empty benches behind us.
"No doubt! I don't even remember when I played the last time!" Maan wiped his face with the small towel Anaya passed to him.
"That explains why you weren't in form at the start!" Ayush laughed.
"When did you last play, Ayush, that you believe you were in form?" Anaya cut in Ayush's laughter and he grimaced. "You don't even like to workout on a regular basis like Maan, you lazy bum!"
Maan and I laughed as Anaya and Ayush got into a playful verbal fight, just the way they had always been.
"Are they ever going to stop fighting like two-year-olds?" The question was directed at me so I looked at Maan and grinned.
"I really doubt it!"
"Peace!" Maan said in a loud voice which distracted the husband and wife from their tiff. "Grow up, you two! You have two children! Anybody can mistake you for the same college lovebirds that you were seven years ago."
It was from his words that one by one, memories began to flow in the minds and out of the mouths as we shared and laughed over the times Ayush and Anaya had fought, the times when they had done silly things like drinking slush in an extremely cold temperature when we had gone for the trip.
"And, and, do you remember when we went out for a walk late night?" Maan pulled out another memory after we had laughed over another funny habit of Ayush.
"Oh yes! And then there were some sounds and we thought it was some animal or something." I completed his sentence.
"And you know what, Anaya," Maan turned to her, "we took off from there so fast that we only stopped when we were in the hotel!" Maan chuckled.
"Whew! That was one run I can never forget! I've never run so fast in my life! After all, the thought of becoming dinner to a mountain lion puts wheels to your feet!"
All of us laughed again and I wiped the water which had just escaped my eye from excessive laughter. We sat there for a long time, remembering old days. Nothing mattered to us at that moment. We were just four college friends taking a nostalgic walk down the memory lane together.
Edited by mayyo - 10 years ago
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