"Come on Swayum! Please? I really want you to come with me!" Rey said pleading for the last time.
Swayum Shekawat was having the hardest time ignoring his best friend's request, especially with the pleading look he was giving him. He raised his eyebrows at Rey, "Are you seriously trying that look on me? It may work on girls, but not me boss." He shook his head with a smile. Over the years, they have grown real close. It was a bond greater than friendship. It was a bond of mutual brotherhood. Their bond had especially grown after that incident. He shook himself again, this time trying to get the thoughts of that specific event from invading his mind. He heard Rey's stubborn decision.
"Fine! If you don't go, then I won't either! I mean, so what if the guy who invited me really helped me out when I was damn lost in a very unfamiliar territory? So what if the guy really wanted me at his engagement? It doesn't matter. I will just call and cancel because my best friend, the great shekawat, doesn't feel like it today!" he ended his sarcastic statement with a frustrated sigh.
He had been trying to convince Swayum to come to a friend's engagement party. Rey met the guy when he went to France to do a dance show but got lost instead. That guy had really helped him there. Not only did he show Rey the direction, but made sure that he had a comfortable stay in France. They had become fast friend and he had told Rey about his life. He had told Rey about his engagement party and had invited him to be there as well.
Of course, he could bring anyone he wanted. However, everyone was busy in their lives and Rey had thought that Swayum would be the only one who would be able to spare some time. It was not that Swayum wasn't busy with his newfound dance school, but Rey just knew that Swayum wouldn't say 'no' to him. However, that judgment seemed to be flawed as Swayum's decision wasn't budging. No matter what, he had to take Swayum to this wedding. Swayum had taken far too effort to isolate himself from the group, which wasn't saying much especially since everyone separated to pursue their own interest after college. So, the point was that Swayum had completely detached himself from everyone for far too long and Rey took it upon himself to re-introduce Swayum to his previous life. He wanted Swayum to enter the world, surrounded by people, again. To interact and feel emotions. He just couldn't be shut off from the world like this.
Swayum chuckled at his friend's childish act. He had forgotten how stubborn Rey could be when he needs to be. He sighed. "Fine! I give up. We will go. But you have to promise me that I can come back whenever I want. I mean real soon. We will only go to say congrats and then leave!"
Rey looked at him weirdly, "how can we leave without waiting till the ceremony?"
Swayum rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean! We will only stay till the ceremony and then we will leave. And if you want to stay after that, then I will leave!" He placed the special emphasis on the last statement to make his point. Rey grinned and nodded.
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He abruptly stopped his car. He didn't want to honk the driver in front of him for abruptly entering his lane since it would only create noise pollution. He sighed in frustration. There was just soo much damned traffic. They have been stuck in traffic for over an hour and finally they were at the gate. It looked like a beautiful mansion. Whoever Rey had met that day, was surely a prince of some sort. There were cars lined up to get into the parking lot in front of the mansion, reserved for the guests especially. They came to a halt, when they saw a security guard, to ask for further parking directions.
After parking the car, they entered in a lavishly decorated hall. It was adorned with lighting and flowers of different colors. Swayum scanned the room which was in bustling with people. Something caught his eye, as a slow smile graced his lip. The wedding board read "Engagement of Sharanjeet and Karan." That name had come up couple of times in his life. Each time, he would jump at the chance to go meet the person who the name belonged to, hoping that it would be her. However, each time he ended up disappointed. The feeling left him numb. It wasn't like he didn't want to run and see the person who the name belonged to. He really wanted to, but he stopped himself from making his past mistakes. He couldn't run after his past anymore. She was gone, without ever planning to come back. The time he had seen her during the dance camp being the last he had seen of her.
He remembered all the things she made him promise. He remembered the oath that he took of never leaving dance in his life. He had kept that promise even now. No matter how much he had wanted to separate himself, this was the only thing he could get lost in. This was the only time he let himself wander in his dream world. There were times that he had wanted to leave St. Louis to go search for her, but he didn't because he feared that she may come back and he would miss her. He had stayed, hoping, and praying, that she would come back to him. However, nothing. She never called or contacted him. He tried to call many times. Her friends (Rey, Simmi and Rinny) tried to get in touch with her but nothing. No one could get a hold of her. It was as if she had just disappeared from the face of earth. Despite all this, he had waited patiently. He came to college with the same enthusiasm every single day, and prompted his friends to do the same as well. However, that one note had changed everything.
**Flashback**
Swayum smiled as he felt his wallet in his hand. He opened it to see her picture. He still remembered that picture. She didn't want him to take pictures of her in that purple dress. However, he had secretly snapped it while she did a study group with the whole group at Rey's place. She had been busy explaining Calculus problem to Simmi and Rinny. It was the moment when she tugged her loose strands of hair behind her ears. There was a winning smile on her face. She had successfully explained the whole problem to her friends without confusing them even once.
He walked into the rehearsal hall with a smile. Everyone turned to him. Rey's eyes fell on him, and he looked shocked. Swayum was confused at what was going on. He looked around to see the reason behind the pin-drop silence. He noticed Simmi holding a piece of paper in her hands. Did they get into another trouble with the VP? He walked towards her, and gestured to take the letter. However Rey intervened and tried to take him away from the scene. Swayum grew more suspicious and freed himself from Rey's grip to get a look at the paper.
At first, he wondered what was wrong with everyone and then he realized the reason. It was Sharon's letter. She had written to them to let them know that she is fine so they would stop worrying about her. She had mentioned that her dad was facing some issues and didn't want anyone to know where they were. She had asked how everyone was doing. By that, he meant that there had been mentions of Rey, Simmi, Rinny, Bharat, Nil, Vishaka, Neha, and Vicky. Except for him. He understood why. She had an undertone of asking about him, even though it was very subtle. Then again, knowing her for so long, he knew how to read between her lines to find the real meaning. He was glad she was fine. He was really happy that she had contacted them because that meant that one day, she may return to them.
He smiled at everyone, "Guys, she will be back for sure! I just know it!"
With that, he had exited the rehearsal hall to get the news to sink in. it was true that he was happy but he wished that she had contacted him. He knew why she hadn't. At this point, she probably won't have any answer to the questions he wanted to ask so she had decided to wait until the whole fiasco was over. He was glad that she was doing fine. He went to his locker to take out the 'good luck charm' she gave him for the footloose finals. Yes, he had still kept it safely. Whenever he faced any sort of doubt, he held it close to his heart to calm himself. It had her calming effect on him.
As soon as he opened the locker, a note fluttered out and fell. He kneeled down to take a better look. At first glance, it seemed to be empty but there was some writing inside the folds of the paper. Did he keep it there? He wondered. He opened the letter to reveal her writing. His heart skipped a beat in anticipation, as he took her smell in. The time seemed to be jealous of his happiness and positivity, however, because what he read crushed his heart.
The note simply read: "I am sorry. I don't think we were meant to be after all." There was no name from the sender. However he knew.
If it were some other day, he would have thought it as a joke but he knew it wasn't. He could smell her smell in it. He knew that writing so well that he could recognize it anywhere. He didn't understand what it meant. Why? Things were going smoothly with them. She had wanted this relationship. Then why had she decided to suddenly end it? Did he do something wrong? Did she have a change of heart since she had time to put things in perspective? He had so many questions and yet no answers. He so wanted to talk to her but that wasn't possible. He tried tracking down the letter sent to Rey, but that wasn't possible either. He had tried every measure possible until his only option was to wait.
Little by little, his heart realized that she wasn't going to return. He wanted to give up so badly but he just couldn't.
It had been their graduation day. He had waited until late. After everyone was gone, he had gone to the girls' locker room and stood by her locker.
The locker seemed faded with years. The polish from the edges was coming off, and it creaked when someone tried to open it. So he tried his best to open it as quietly as possible. It was empty. There was nothing there. He felt himself tracing the inside of the cold surface. It felt so familiar. He could imagine her coming here every day and keeping her valuables here. He closed his eyes as he felt her presence overwhelming him. The feeling of anguish overtaking him, as he supported his body with a nearby seat.
He sat and reminisced, probably for the last time, of the wonderful moments they had shared. A slow smile spread on his lips as he remembered the first time she had danced with him. Wasn't that the beginning of everything? It was a roller coaster ride but he never gave up on her. He always thought his love would reach her. So was he wrong to think that? Why had she decided to leave him? He shut his eyes only to realize that he has been crying. He gritted his teeth in an attempt to stop the tears but he couldn't. He really missed her. More than that, he wanted her to answer one, if not all, question. Was he really a wrong in her life? Had he ruin her happiness? This thought haunted him every night since he got her letter. The pain of being a burden or a nuisance to her was too unbearable for him. So Swayum Shekawat let those tears fall freely. It would probably be the last anyways.
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Alright folks, here is part one. Please Read and review if you like me to continue. Any criticism is also welcome. Also, I tried to fit in the appropriate events in the flashback but I wrote it in a hurry so I know that there may be some errors. I would like to apologize for that since I didn't get a chance to proofread. Thank you so much for taking your time and reading it 😳
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My other work on SwaRon:
The Confession (OS): http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2955628
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