Humari Yaadon ke Shraman

Sumo ka Shravan

By lostinwanderlust

Anokhi and Adhya, this one's for you'll <3

"Sumo ka Shravan. Shravan ki Sumo." She whispered the words with a fond smile playing on her lips at her handiwork. An S was inscribed on her left palm, so beautifully and intricately written along the design drawn by the henna artist earlier that day.

Keeping the cone of henna aside, she sat on the edge of her bed all traces of her smile gone. What she dreamed just now was not merely a distant reality. It was a fragment of her imagination- a dream, an illusion too good to become true. All thanks to that cursed promise.

How she wished she hadn't agreed to Ramnath's condition. How she wished she had the courage to fight against him for the sake of herself. How she wished she could bring the truth out in front of Shravan. But, as usual, destiny was not by her side.

'Sumo', she mentally scoffed. Sumo was a name she earned due to her fiesty personality. Her courageous and undaunting nature. She was no namby-pamby.

Was being the keyword.

If the person who once named her Sumo, was not by her side anymore, how could she live upto her name. She'd become Suman.

Just Suman.

She remembered back to the previous day's sangeet ceremony when Aditya had come up to dance with her. The lights had suddenly gone off and within a minute, she felt his body right behinds hers, his arms protectively wrapping her form in an embrace from the back. It did flicker a flame of hope within her, she won't lie, but it died down the minute he walked off the dance floor after their performance not once acknowledging her. It seemed as if... as if they weren't attending the same event that evening.

Looking out the window at the starry night sky, she gave a sad sigh. These stars, too, had someone to call their own, someone to confide in. Who did she have? Her nanu? Pushkar? Preeti? Shravan?

Hearing what his favourite student was up to, would be an insult to Nanu, that she knew. Pushkar and Preeti were the reason she put up with this hedious condition in the first place itself. And Shravan? Forget not believing her, he'd break every little relation between them. Even if it meant breaking a relation filled with hatred from his side.

'Is this sacrifice worth the effort? Is it so important?'

'Is pain in love so important?', thought Shravan as he stood by his window that overlooked the city lights.

From the time he'd made a resolve to confess his love to Sumo.... Suman, something or the other happened. Mainly due to Suman's ego, or so he thought. She didn't appear in the coffee shop, fine he let go of it. She didn't have the courtesy to ask him why he called her, okay he let that go again. What pricked him was she ignored him like plague. As if.... as if being in his vicinity was infectious for her.

Her ego ruined everything, why then should he run behind her like a lost puppy? He was sick and tired of being used by her. He hated her. He hated the very name of Suman Tiwari, he hated everything related to her.

Sighing in defeat, he slumped on the couch. No, he could never hate her. Despite everything, he still love her and will continue doing so. His mind, his soul, his heart; all had become habituated to loving Suman Tiwari- his Sumo. Loving her had become as important as breathing for him, if not more.