invisible string ✓

twenty three

• ADVIKA •

AN HOUR LATER…

As the movie ended with a group picture of Arjun, Laila, Imraan, Nuria, Kabir, and Natasha at Arjun-Laila’s wedding, I went back to the home screen of Netflix and looked back at Ishaan, who was looking up at the ceiling with that iconic “I feel good watching a feel-good movie” grin on his face.

“Hey! Did you like the movie?” I asked the customary question, though I knew he loved it. His face said it.

“Do you think you need answers for that?” He looked at me and asked, guessing exactly that I asked while knowing the answer beforehand. He straightened his posture and exclaimed, “Oh, shit! I just forgot something!”

I pointed my chin at him as if to ask what was that while he leaned closer to the handle of the couch and took out a paper bag out of the air like magic. He extended the bag towards me and pointed his chin at it, replying to my raised eyebrows.

I accepted the bag and opened it, only to see a familiar bunch of four white-coloured books with tints of blue, yellow, red, and green. Trying not to show off my surprised gasp that may seem dramatic, I took the bunch out and read the title of the book that was the first of the stack: Twisted Love. The books were exactly the same as I had in my bookshelf, except that it was heavier than the ones I have. I knocked on the face of the bunch. It sounded too loud for a normal paperback book's cover. And, that was when it hit me.

“Hardcovers!” I squealed like a rat who spotted a slice of cheddar cheese and covered my mouth— which revealed the gasp of my surprise— with my hands and exhaled through it to suppress my recurrent fits of laughter. “Ishaan! How did you manage to get that?”

“At the bookstore,” he replied as if it was so obvious, but no, it wasn't. Anyhow, this guy wouldn't understand the worth of universes like his which are framed in hard-bound covers. I looked down to see another familiar book inside the bag. It was olive green with words printed in golden ink. Though I knew them at an instant, I took it out and showed the front cover to him, sighing, “Meet your universe. You Belong With Me: written by Aadya Chatterjee.”

“Oh!” His eyes widened as though realisation dawned on him and grabbed the book from me. “This is for me.” He placed the book at the centre of his chest and hugged it. “Now… On a scale of 1 to 10, how complete do you feel?”

“Hmmm… One less than infinity,” I reply after pondering over my mind for a best answer.

“Then, what can make it to infinity?”

“This.” No words escaped my mouth as I had already sealed it with his, preventing words from flowing off mine. Though I wished to settle him with a hot smooch, all I could manage was to give off a delicate peck that may deceive one's eyes to tell whether our lips touched or not. But, our first kiss was the Pharaoh's Secret: only those involved would know what exactly was that. And, being the one involved, I knew that it was a kiss indeed.

Breaking the touch between us, I looked at his face as white as a sheet of real snow with his eyes that may roll out of his sockets anytime soon. And, that made me laugh at him. I mean, with that iconic expression, he looked like a meme template. “This makes it an infinitely complete night for me. Thanks for making my special day even more special.”

Realising that he had been sitting frozen for too long to react, he retrieved himself from the surprise and sighed as if it was last, “I don't think I would have a good sleep tonight.”