The Matchmaker

24. Mahi

Wednesday, 22nd, November

The weird interview with the Matchmaker had ruined my already depressed mood. It had been a really stressful week, since I had learned of Kartikeya's misfortune. There had been so many deaths in the center itself that it took me a lot of willpower to visit it everyday. Thankfully, my psychiatrist would suggest me techniques which proved to be really helpful. But the trauma wasn't something to be gone in a day.

Whenever I found time to slack, my mind would automatically wander to the memories I had with my friends. I would even sometimes mistake a random passerby for Aruna or SK. It wasn't like I was all alone now that they were gone. There still were other friends. Vrushali and Kshitija always kept me company, but still, best friends were best friends.

They were those whom you could share things you'd never tell anyone. They were the ones who you did every single adventure with. They were those who were always around when no one else was. They were the ones who you snubbed off everyday just to cry to see them the next day. The difference was that now I would cry on forever.

"Dhayari Phata!!" the conductor shouted.

It was then I realised that I had missed my stop. I hurriedly got off and had to walk all the way to my home. By the time I reached, I was panting like a horse. After I had freshened up, I found my mother glaring at me with a silent scowl. Sometimes I wished she didn't have to work from home so that I could get at least some break after the tedious lectures that I hardly understood anymore.

"What is this?" she asked, displaying her mobile screen to me.

I squinted my eyes to focus, and the sight threw the fuck out of me all the way to Mars. That was a photo of me and the Matchmaker, sitting in the classroom alone sometime ago. And as far as I could remember, my mom slapped me the last time she learnt of my boyfriend, and almost starved me when she once saw the chats with Varun that I had forgotten to delete.

"That... is just.... studying," I mumbled.

"Studying? But why do you need to do that with another human being? Isn't that something to do by oneself?"

"He was just helping me with my doubts."

"Haven't you got any of your girl friends for that?!"

"They all died!!" I yelled, water filling up my orbits.

"Then can't you make new ones!! How many times should I tell you to stay away from boys!"

"It was not as if we were kissing!!"

"You definitely would one day if you didn't stop this!! Have you already forgotten the last time you were 'just friends' with that guy? You would have definitely failed 10th grade had not Kavya reported it to me. Don't you still understand how important these years are for you?"

"That was exactly what I was trying to get better at!! Should I always check gender for that too!"

"I can never trust you. I want you to stop all this now onwards and consult other girls. Or, what the hell is the faculty there for? You don't have any need to hang around boys like that. Teachers will explain you better."

"I can't," I whimpered, fearing of my fate if I did otherwise.

"What do you mean by 'can't'?!" her tone rose.

"I just can't!! If I stop meeting him... I'll suffer a great loss!!"

"What fucking 'great thing' you have got to lose, huh?! I can already sense it... these are the signs that you are up to something. I am warning you, or else, I will even change your classes."