REWRITING THE SCRIPT

THE FIRST CONFLICT

Scene: Verma House — Late Afternoon

The living room felt too quiet.
Raj was sitting on the couch, arms crossed, his jaw tight. The envelope sat beside him like a ticking bomb.

Phone: 9 missed calls from Gunjan, 5 from Dhruv, 3 from Mayur — he hadn’t answered a single one.

Mrs. Verma was in the kitchen, worried.
Mayur pacing upstairs.
Dhruv checking his phone again and again.

Suddenly—

Door slam.
Gunjan entered like a thunderstorm in human form.

“Where the hell were you?” she shouted, eyes furious, hands fisting her dupatta.
Raj looked at her, startled, but said nothing.
“Do you know how worried I was?! Everyone’s calling you, and here you are—sitting like a statue. What’s wrong with you, Raj?” Her voice broke slightly toward the end.

Mayur, Dhruv, and Mrs. Verma silently stepped back, letting them talk.

Raj stood up quietly and started walking away.

“Raj! I’m talking to you!” she shouted again, following him into his room.

Scene: Raj’s Room

He didn’t speak.
He walked straight to his drawer, opened it, and silently handed her the envelope.

Gunjan’s brows furrowed. She opened it.

Oxford University — Semester Resumption Letter. Return to London in 30 days.

The words swam on the paper. Her legs gave up. She sat on the edge of the bed.

“I…” she tried, but her throat closed.

Raj knelt in front of her, eyes red already. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t ask for this timing, Gunjan. I swear I didn’t.”

Tears streamed down her face. Raj reached out instinctively to hold her.

“I thought…” she whispered. “I thought we had time.”

He broke. He cried, face buried in her lap.

“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave this—us.”
“But…” she lifted his chin up, wiping his tears. “You have to go. It’s one year, Raj. Just one. And then—forever. We’ll have forever.”

“But I’ll miss everything—your first internship, your family events, random late-night calls…”
She smiled through tears. “We’ll build new firsts. And video calls exist, idiot.”

He let out a weak laugh.
She pulled him into a hug.

“One month. Let’s live it like a movie. Then you go and shine. Then you come back, and never leave again.”

---

Scene Shift: Shopping Date

Next day, Gunjan dragged him out.

“Today, we pretend there’s no clock ticking.”

They went shopping. Raj tried on a dozen shirts. She picked one and called it “hers.”

Then came the Arcade Zone.

Gunjan beat him in air hockey.
He won at bowling.
They tied in dance battle.
Both wore silly sunglasses, clicked polaroids, and laughed like they didn’t cry yesterday.

At the juice counter, Gunjan sipped from his straw. “This is mine now.”
He smiled, “Take everything.”

They stood near the exit, sunset pouring golden over them. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“We’ll make it through, Raj.”

He looked at her like she hung the stars in the sky.
“With you? I can do anything.”

---

Chapter ends with Gunjan’s diary entry:

"Love isn’t about never facing storms.
It’s about holding each other tighter when they come."

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(End of Chp 24)

What,,now ???

Do share your views

HAPPY READING

~byCuckoo@20