Epilogue
:
2 weeks
later :
It was the day of the State
championships. Nisha was nervous as she would be called to perform in the Semi
Finals in a few minutes. Viraj stood next to her and talked to her in a soft
voice. He encouraged her, motivated her. Soft word of faith and confidence that
made all the difference. The Ganghwal cousins, Ramesh, Laxmi and Dadaji were
all watching from the stands. They could see Viraj whispering in Nisha'e ear
and Nisha nodding softly. Ramesh did feel a slight irritation, but looking at
the change in Nisha's demeanor after Viraj began talking to her he kept silent.
Whatever she wanted...
Finally her name was called out. Nisha
walked up to her shooting gear and took her stance. The excitement was
palpable. On the command, she fired. And where else would the bullet go, if not
right on target? A huge cheer rose up in the air, mainly from her cousins. Nisha
went on firing and hit the bull's eye every time. Viraj, who had also cheered
loudly when she hit her first bull's eye, knew that he couldn't expect anything
less from his best student. The competition went on and Nisha propelled herself
in the Finals, with a score higher than that of any other participant.
When it was Viraj's turn to shoot, he was
confident. Deja vu flooding his senses, he picked up the rifle with a slight
smile playing on his lips. No one but Nisha could decipher the meaning of his
enigmatic smile. They had discussed the joy that shooting gave them, when Viraj
told her that he felt on top of the world when he stood in front of the target
with a rifle on his shoulder. His single minded focus was seen in the frown
lines on his temple and his squinting eyes. Nisha loved to watch him shoot. It
gave her immense inspiration. In the past 2 weeks, after all the
misunderstandings were cleared, Nisha and Viraj had begun to enjoy each other's
company evermore. The stolen moments of staring in each other's eyes, the
slight smiles when lost in thoughts, the new energy and enthusiasm towards life
were noted by the world. Nisha had sensed the change. She needed a conformation
though. What if he doesn't love me? Once burnt, twice shy, she wouldn't dare
to believe now, except without solid proof.
Viraj glided through the Semifinals and
Finals with ease. His name alone made the other participants nervous. His
confident presence made them loose all confidence. It was Nisha's Final round
going on, when Saurav sneaked behind Viraj in the participant stand with a
tetrapack of an energy drink. The complete focus with which Viraj looked at
Nisha delighted Saurav. He said slowly, "She is waiting for you to accept your
feelings, you know."
Viraj was startled. He hadn't noticed Saurav
coming up to him. He knew what Saurav was talking about, but felt embarrassed
to discuss his love life with him. Saurav tried again. "Girls are weird that
way. They need to be told that you love them ten times a day. Around hundred
times a week." Saurav made a face. Viraj
couldn't help but grin. "So Ms.
Maheshwari keeps you on your toes?"
Saurav blushed at that. He turned the
conversation to Viraj again. "Forget Sneha. You'll need to be even more careful
with Nisha. You guys have a past history -"
Saurav was interrupted by another cheer,
which came from the whole stadium. All the cousins were running towards the
ground, shouting with joy. Nisha had won the gold. Two golds meant the academy
could function again.
Nisha felt as if the seventh cloud wouldn't
be able accommodate her happiness that day. She had proven herself, she had
achieved what she wanted for now. Her cousins rushed towards her, hugged her,
but her eyes searched for someone else...
Viraj met Nisha's eyes and he they felt the
world disappear. Saurav had provided the necessary stimulus. Ms. Nisha still loves me...He resolved
to ask her out whenever he got the chance. But for now,
All was
well.
Edited by Aditi_28 - 9 years ago
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