Safarnaama

Two✨

1st January 2022
New Delhi

Waking up with a never-ending hangover is the worst way of welcoming a new year.

Life was still the same but on new year's eve, people were more focused on glitzy parties with lots of alcohol and loud music.

Now that new year's eve was over, people were back to their oh-so-boring lives. Some were struggling with the hangover of last night. While some were struggling with their lost spirits.

But one thing was common. The crowd. Markets were brimming to the point of bursting. All sorts of people were hurrying about to sell or buy something.

There were offers of all kinds. And a human mind is a human mind after all. No matter how much disinterested a person is, the second he hears about the 50% off or buy one get one free, his interest arises out of nowhere.

And more than half of the market was surrounded by girls who were busy checking things out.

"kisne kaha tha itna talli hone ko tujhe?", a girl asked her friend, who was busy pressing her forehead.

"yaar naye saal par daaru nahi peeti to pura saal sukha sukha jaata", she replied, getting irritated with the headache.

"gadhi hai tu aur baaki sab bhi, matlab I don't understand why people get so excited about earth completing a full orbit around the sun. It is such an ordinary day, which can be spent like any other day, but no, it has to be spent drinking and dancing",the girl spoke dramatically, trying one of the sneakers from the store.

"Chup kar jaa, mein gadhi nahi hu, tujhe kya pata Shehnaaz Kaur ke baare mein... huh!", she spoke flipping her hair with an attitude.

"Abe maine itna kuch bola tune bas gadhi hi suna! chal ab jaldi kar fir teri packing bhi karni hai", the girl spoke hastily.

" Han.. Haan.. Bhaiya ye black wala pack kar do aur saste me niptao.. mein to har baar yaha se hi le jaati hu.. apki permanent customer hun.. thoda bhaav kam khao yaar! Aur tu jaldi se gaadi chalu kar yaar Shruti!" Shehnaaz hurried out with the shopping bags.

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"Haye mein kitni hot lag rahi hu, ahaan mein ladka hoti to bhi mera dil mere pe hi aa jata!" Shehnaaz praised herself looking at the mirror and passed a flying kiss to herself.

Well, this was her coping mechanism. To praise herself when no one did. Not that she was not beautiful. She was a rare beauty. Not the usual girl you would stumble upon. She had this charm which made people drawn toward her. She had a figure to die for. And the chubbiness only added more to her beauty. She was as beautiful as a blooming flower bud, which fills the fragrance of happiness in one's life.

All in all, she was one of a kind. Her eyes displayed her childlike innocence. One can see a hint of pain in her sparkling eyes, which would disappear as suddenly as it emerged.

"Waise tune kuch socha hai ki kya kaam wagera karegi wahaan?", Shruti asked, chuckling at the girl in front of her who was admiring herself in the mirror. They were friends, best friends to be precise, for the past 16 years. Shruti knew Shehnaaz and her ways with life. She just prayed to God to keep her friend safe and happy.

"Sochna kya hai.. school mein job mil hi jaaegi mujhe!" she spoke with a pout.

"Abe fir bhi, nahi mili to kya karegi gadhi?"

"Yaar mil jaegi, mein sports captain rahi hu mere school mein.. kuch nahi mila to sports teacher hi ban jaungi!", Shehnaaz replied making Shruti sigh.

"Acha.. thik hai.. par tu khud bata aur sachi batana.. are you sure about your decision of taking this flight? I mean tu air hostess.. vo sab.. you know what I mean right?!" Shruti asked after a while.

"H..haan.. Haan bilkul.. Mein thik hun! Ab karegi jaldi?!" Shehnaaz spoke in a hurry. She wanted to avoid this conversation. And she knew once Shruti will start, the conversation would take her to the alleys of the past that she never wanted to look back upon again.

She then started packing her stuff to avoid getting involved in further conversation. Her eyes suddenly went on a frame that was kept on the side table. It was a photograph of her with her parents. Their smiling faces in it were narrating a whole different story than the one she had lived.

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They were now standing at the airport. Shruti was emotional. But she was somewhere happy for Shehnaaz. Being a friend for so long, she knew the way life had treated her friend. Shehnaaz always said that she was God's favourite but the way God had tested her time and again was something Shruti despised.

And now was the time. To bid goodbye to her friend. Shehnaaz knew that Shruti was keeping a hold on her emotions. So she tried to light up the situation.

"Oye aaj to tu bed pe akeli soyegi.. kahin tujhe meri aatma na sataaye raat ko udhar aa kar!", Shehnaaz spoke, her eyes wide with the thought.

"Chal chal.. aaj to main aaram se soungi saalon baad!" Shruti spoke teasing her.

"kitni kamini hai na tu! Chal ab bye announcement ho gayi hai" Shehnaaz spoke holding her bags.

And with that, they hugged. There were tears in their eyes. But they knew that whatever was happening was for their good.

"Oye yeh le.. maine tere liye kharidi thi ye book! Mujhe pata hai tujhe books padhni nahi pasand par rakh le. It will help you pass your time on the flight. Mere favourite writer ki hai.. ek bhi gaali mat dena ise!", Shruti warned giving her the book.

"la de, tu bhi kya yaad rakhegi!" Shehnaaz said taking the book with a smile and bidding her friend a final goodbye.

And she started stepping ahead with a smile. That smile was for the world to see. But only Shehnaaz knew the nervousness that was engulfing her soul with every step she took.

We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still

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PS- Your writer turned 20 yesterday. Well, birthdays are so overrated.