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Now, my best friend Vindhya and I are off to Hyderabad for the wedding of our other best friend, Nandini. I'm going to meet him after three long years. My best friend and my first love, Atharv, and I saw him for the first time on the same train seven years ago, which was the start of our friendship.
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Flashback:
I and Vindhya are sitting in our compartment along with our fathers. We are going to join one of the most reputed universities in India, the department of interior design in Hyderabad. And our fathers are accompanying us. They would return after joining us at the hostel. We started our journey at night, as it would take around twelve hours to reach Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam.
It was around 4 o'clock in the morning when I heard some noises. I opened my eyes and saw a boy of our age arranging his luggage in his seat, which is in front of us. His parents are accompanying him, and his mother was scolding him as he left one of his bags at home. He is none other than Atharv and his parents.
"Offo, Amma. There is nothing important in that bag. I'll take that when I come to the house next time," said Atharv.
He and his mother were arguing, but it looked cute to me. His mother sat down, turning her face aside. He kept his head in her lap and placed her hand in his hair. Her mother smiled at him and started caressing his hair. His father laughed, looking at his antics. And for the first time, I yearned for my mother's warmth.
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I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Vindhya saying, "Bhumi, we are nearing the station; get your bags."
I looked at the album in my hand. It's a handmade album, which he gifted me on my 21st birthday. It has all our memories of us during our graduation.
I placed my diary and album in my handbag and got my bags. I looked around as we stepped out of the train. It feels good to be here again. We moved out of the station and booked a cab from the station to her house. Actually, she does not know that we are coming today. It's a surprise for her. It took us an hour to reach her house, all thanks to the Hyderabad traffic. We paid for the cab and moved inside. It's a simple two-storey building with a small garden attached. The house is beautifully decorated with flowers and mango leaves.
We have been to her house many times during our college days. I and Vindhya made our way inside the house and saw Nandu arguing with her younger sister, Megha, over something. This girl will never change. She didn't notice us, as she was busy shouting at her sister. We asked everyone to be silent, and I hugged her from the back while Vindhya closed her eyes.
She stood silent for a minute and then mumbled, "Bhumi, Vindhu."
"Surprise, Nandu!" We shouted and hugged her tightly.
