Blooming Flower ✔️

Chapter 6: Heaven

Punch. One. Punch. Two. I counted, one by one, as I punched the bag repeatedly. I needed to relieve myself. I needed to brush what was weighing down on my chest. One by one, I hit the bag, counting each individual punch as if it was a little kid counting each and every penny in their piggy bank for the ice cream truck.

I needed to relieve the weight that was on my mind. To me, the only way that could work was punching an even bigger weight than the ones that were tied to my body. I kept on hitting it until I could feel the sweat on my forehead and body. Cool, damp, yet a sign that I should move onto the next thing.

The bench press was next. I counted each time I pushed the bar above my head. Each rep, I counted, while managing to pace my mental speed as well. It was just the first set, but I had felt like I'd been doing this for ages.

But, lifting the weights was one of the many ways that I could get other weights off of my body and into lands that were unknown. It wasn't the most conventional way of getting rid of stress, but to me, it was the best way. After finishing up the first set, I put the bar back to where it was, and then sat up. I eyed the dumbbells, and proceeded to make my way to them.

********

After finishing my workout for that day, I grabbed my bag and went back to the car so that I could go home. The last thing that Indian parents needed or wanted was the thought that their kids had been kidnapped. I just needed to get home so that I could start cleaning out all the old things that I didn't need. Such as the courses that I took that had absolutely no relation to my major whatsoever.

But also, I had to make plans with Jen, because we had to go shopping with Manish for some last minute things for attending Irfan's wedding reception. Jewelry, some more clothes, and some ice cream, because the summers here are enough to start a barbecue without any flames.

As I drove home, I just thought about everything that was to happen. I thought that since I wasn't going anywhere far, and if Manish were to stay here, then our friendship wouldn't suffer the unfortunate incident of being strained due to distance. And yet, here we were. When the feeling of dread came across my mind, I just shook my head.

No. No, Ashwini, it's not gonna suffer. You're still gonna be able to talk to him, and be his best friend. Just a few miles won't change that, I thought to myself.

I wasn't ready to let my guard down when it came to Manish. I was so keen on the fact that our friendship was never gonna change due to distance. And I stayed bent on that fact for a while to distract me from the possible truth.

*****

"Yes, Jannat, I'm in the store right now. I have money. I didn't forget it like last time," I said into the phone, as I waited patiently in the store. I was looking through some nice jewelry, with many different jewels embedded into it to add a little layer of shimmer to it.

"Thank goodness. I refuse to pay again, Jaya. You still owe me. I was gonna save that money for ice cream. Thanks a lot."

I rolled my eyes, as I opened a little box that had golden earrings in it. Thinking about how nicely these would look on Jen, I replied with, "It wasn't even that much! Give me a break!"

I heard Jen let out a slight scoff on the other end of the line. We both knew that was a lie. "It was $27 dollars, Jaya. $27. Keep a reminder that I'm not paying for you again so that you don't forget your wallet."

I ignored her, yet again, as I went over to the necklace area so that I could find a new one. I looked at the many pendants that were attached to the little chain hanging in the box. I was just thinking about how good these would end up going with certain colors of outfits that I would end up picking out.

I kept on looking, until I felt a finger tap me on my shoulder. I turned around, to see Jen's beaming smile greet me. She had her purse slung over her shoulder, and her hair was thrown into a messy braid, like she had done it at an intersection's red light.

I gave her a smile, and said, "Took you long enough. I thought the New Years had come. Everyone's getting ready to see the ball drop."

Jen gave me a slight smile, and said, "That's what she said."

I rolled my eyes, as she came closer to check out the necklaces in greater detail. "So, anyways, Manish had to go to the bank to deal with some shit. Don't ask me what. I'm not a banker. But, he'll join us at Cold Stone in an hour."

I eyed Jen through the corner of my eye. "Did he promise-"

"Yes, he promised that he'd get you your Coffee Lovers Only from there. He also promised that he'd get me my Cake Batter Batter Batter, while he gets his Chocolate Devotion."

I smiled, thinking about the hundreds of other times that Manish has bought me ice cream, whether it be for my birthday, when I'm sad, or when he sees a Cold Stone within a mile radius of where we are at that moment. It's my favorite, and yet Manish always treated it like it was his bank account PIN number.

As I took one of the necklaces to test on Jen, she cocked an eyebrow at my mellow attitude. "You seem off today. What's wrong? Did Ananth scratch your bike again?"

I rolled my eyes at her. I would've killed Ananth if he got anywhere near my bike, and we both knew that. "No. He knows not to get within a foot radius of my bike otherwise the devil will come and haunt him in his dreams."

Jen studied me for a little bit, and then her eyes widened. It was almost like a siren going off in her mind. "Oh. It's about Manish, huh?"

I honestly felt like getting a bell, along with a microphone, and saying, "CONGRATULATIONS, JENNIFER. YOU WON THE PRIZE, ALONG WITH A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CASH." However, my sass was completely drained for the day, so I just gave her a simple nod.

"Jaya, come on, you know you can tell me anything. What's on your mind? Are you upset that he's leaving?"

I just gave her a slightly solemn look, and said, "Yes. Kind of. Is that selfish?"

Jen turned the little stand that had a display of earrings, and said, "No, of course not. To be honest, I'm not very keen about the idea of Manish leaving, either. But, I've gotten used to it. Tell me. What's going on with you? Why aren't you happy about this?"

I let out a huge sigh. Jen, being one of my closest friends, is one of the best people to rant to when it comes to these things. Yet, I just found it hard to tell her exactly what I was feeling. I knew I had to try, because Jen was like a police dog on cocaine when it came to the truth.

 I let out a sigh, and said, "It's simple. He's my best friend. I don't want him to leave. You know how much I love him - platonically - so this isn't the easiest thing that I've had to deal with."

Jen gave me a sympathetic nod, as she placed a set of earrings in the little shopping basket. "Ashwini, let me tell you this. You and Manish have been very honest with each other about everything. Whether it be his naivety or your bluntness, you guys are honest. This is one of those things that you just have to be honest about to him. Because if you don't tell him how you feel, then he's never going to know."

I let out another sigh. "That's the problem, Jen. I don't want him to not pursue his dreams. He's always wanted to go work in a big company, by himself, making a living for himself. He's always encouraged my dreams, especially when it came to me being an ICU doctor. Why should I discourage his?"

Jen's eyes widened when she realized what exactly I was talking about. I stood there, with a curious look on my face, as Jen let out another sigh. This had more exasperation wrapped around it than the last. She looked at me one more time, and said, "Ashwini, the short answer to this is.... You shouldn't. If you really feel like you don't want to discourage his dreams, then don't. I definitely want the best for Manish. Don't you, too?"

I nodded. "Of course I do."

"Then let him go to Seattle. You guys can still talk over the phone and text. Skype exists for a good reason."

Despite that, I knew that it was never going to be the same. With Jen and I going to medical school, and with Manish going across the country, I knew that this was going to be like eating ramen with hay.