Crossroads | ✓

t w e n t y o n e

"Pfft."

"An unicorn vomited rainbows on you?"

I rolled my eyes. "What's with all the pooping and puking scenarios?"

My dad nodded. "You don't look colourful either. Wait, you just realised that your imaginary friend from when you were five doesn't exist, didn't you?"

"Matt wasn't my imaginary friend," I pointed out defensively.

This time, my father rolled his eyes. I smiled internally, a feat I couldn't achieve from Kiranya's birthday till now. What can I say? I had to give it to the man. Because, he was the best father anyone could ask for. Or the lamest person on the face of the world. Lamer than me. And that's saying a lot.

"Kiranya rejected you?" he said suddenly and I winced.

"How the heck do you know I confessed to her? Oh wait! Of course. Yuvan is so going to get it the next time I see him..." my voice started fading when I noticed the quizzical expression on his face which soon turned into laughs.

"Oh my god, you really confessed to her? And she rejected you?" He asked, or more like sneezed out in between coughed up laughs.

"Technically she didn't," I said, "she just decided to ignore me."

"Doesn't that stand for rejection?"

"Gee, thanks," I said, my voice dripping scorn.

He laughed before sobering up. "Really Varun, I know you enough to know that a rejection wouldn't make you do yoga. What happened?"

And though I wanted to give a piece of my mind on how I was very much capable of doing yoga, I kicked the urge to a corner and told him everything. Everything.

From how I thought Kiranya was a wattpad writer, who was initially an enigmatic stranger but later turned out to be my childhood playmate, about confined mothers and family problems.

"Why didn't you ever inform your mother and me about this?" and scarily for the first time, he sounded like a parent.

I didn't have a good excuse so I went with the truth. "It wasn't my story to say," I muttered.

A small smile broke on his face and I knew I still have my parents to have my back.

"Go talk to Kiranya," he said, tossing my phone at me. I caught it (which was one of the very few things I can do effortlessly).

"She's just doing the thing girls do," my father said grimly, "pushing you farther only to yearn for you to adhere closer." He suddenly winked and I laughed.

"Who knew the day when my lame father gives valuable tips for chicks would come?" I grinned.

He mock glared before exiting the room. Not before reminding me to call her. And knowing that this had been put off too many times, I gripped the phone tighter.

*

*

*

Kiranya picked up when I had lost all hopes of her attending the call.

Though I made a big show of gripping my phone, I did not call her for quite some time until my father poked in his head and asked if I had called her yet.