Darkhaast

~ 34 ~

On the insistence of Siddharth, Jai, and Shalini, Mahi went on a few dates three years after Hamza's passing. Everyone felt the time was right for her to move past the grief. So, she tried. But at every touch, she envisioned Hamza. At every dance, she was transported back in time to their story. It was like he ruined her for everyone else. Soon, the men they sent her on dates noticed it and stepped away.

Abhimanyu didn't back away. At first, she regarded his feelings as a whim. That he'd mistaken and confused their friendship for love. When the passion in his eyes didn't waver, she wondered if the challenge enticed him; an ordinary girl's rejection hurt the ego of a state topper. She was the one who needed to be corrected.

Abhimanyu dived head-first into every decision based on his gut, which never left him astray. He'd been gaslit and heartbroken by Akshara's rejection years ago, but the truth remained. She had felt for him what he felt for her. Abhimanyu was confident the same was real with Mahi.

When Mahi thought of their two months together in a faux relationship. Things hadn't changed between them. He hadn't taken her on extravagant dinners or bought her flowers like in the movies.

Mahi argued the stagnancy was in her favour, evidence of a nonexistent romantic relationship.

"You're not seeing things right," Abhimanyu countered, not looking up from his case file.

"Hmph." Mahi crossed her arms against her chest and leaned against his desk. The hospital was bustling with cases and injuries, yet the two were in their little bubble. Often, they'd find each other in their offices and spend some small moments together. Mahi's snark would make him laugh, while his dialogue baazi and devilish grin would send her heart racing.

"Friday night, wear that rose sari you have, okay? I'll pick you up at 7."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" His words sent the ground rumbling, and she jerked up in surprise. Her reaction got his attention, and his eyebrows quirked up.

"Yes. What's the big deal? We've been on so many already?"

"Lagta hai umar se pehle hi tumhari yaadash kamzor par rahi hai kyunki Dr. Birla, hum dono koi date pe nahi gaye hai." Thousands of possibilities ran through her head - did he have a concussion? Early onset dementia or Alzheimer's? Or was he having hallucinations? His steady hand brought her back. Abhimanyu cleared room for her on his desk and sat her down.

"Last Sunday when we watched Dil Se or the picnic the week before on the hill? Does any of that ring a bell?"

"Friends watch movies all the time together; it's not a big deal." Her voice got smaller and squeaked as it did when she lied.

"True, but dinner and a movie, then falling asleep together, sounds like a date to me." Mahi's eyes widened and replayed their time together with a new overtone. "Actually, it sounds like a marriage, but I can wait." She despised his habit of whispering such seductive things in her ear and then walking away before she revelled in the feeling.

'He was right,' she realized as she spent the night before their challenge ended in the Gurudwara. She couldn't lie in front of her Rab. When listening to the Gurbani, she reflected. When Abhimanyu was near, Mahi felt like she was walking on clouds. Her safe spaces felt brighter, and she missed him when he wasn't there.

Before Abhimanyu, Mahi never saw someone else as a complete person, just as a filler for Hamza. Now, she couldn't see anyone besides him. She had never been so happy to lose a challenge.