My Best Friend

Disclaimer : All the characters in the story are fictional and born out of writer's creativity. This story is a pure work of fiction, though there would be many who may find a resemblance to it.

"Get up quickly now, you will get late for school!" Riya shouted to her 10 year old daughter which was a usual part of her routine. She packed her daughter's lunch box, put it inside her bag and then dropped her daughter to the school bus stand. She came back quickly and straightaway went into the kitchen to prepare lunch for her husband who was still asleep. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and babbled to herself that she has to prepare lunch fast lest Ajay will wake up and will be ready in maximum half an hour. Saying this, Riya increased her speed. In the process, a glass and a bowl fell off from the shelf and made clatter loud enough to wake up Ajay. "What are you doing?", Ajay asked Riya petulantly. Riya passed a tense smile and continued with her work. Before the faster needle of the clock could make a complete round, Ajay had left for work.

Riya was in her late 30's and had been married for twelve years now. It was a traditional 'arrange marriage' where before the bride and the groom, the families marry each other. Riya was an artist both by passion and profession. Many awards and accolades were just an icing on the cake where the cake was her love and passion for painting. Riya and Ajay could see the spark in each other's eyes right on the day when they met for the first time. After two years of marriage, their daughter was born and they named her Angel. Riya had found a new love in her daughter and gradually she forgot all about her first love! Riya's days and nights were spent in taking care of her daughter and her husband. Ajay was climbing the success ladder fast and could hardly devote any time for the family. The days and years passed by... Angel got busy with her school and after school activities, and Ajay's life revolved around his work and office. On most of the days, Riya yearned for his attention and a place over his shoulders to keep her head on. But the only time they came together was when the heat of passion was too intense and bodily needs took over other needs.

That day, Riya went to the mall to buy some essentials and her attention was caught by one of the jazzy showroom where the clothes were stacked according to the shades of different colours. And why not, there was a time when 'colours' were her life and these colours were all it took to make her life colourful. She did not even realize that she had stepped in the showroom while admiring the vibrant hues scattered all over the store. Unlike others in the shop, she picked up a top cautiously so as not to spoil the beautifully done stack of clothes. She pulled up fuchsia coloured top to her shoulders looking in the mirror, trying to think if such bright colour would suit her. Suddenly, a familiar voice broke into her thoughts.

"Hi Riya! Oh my God! How are you? It's been such a long time?" There was an awkward silence for a moment as it was a familiar voice with an unfamiliar face. Riya was trying hard to search through her memories to find about this person. "It seems you didn't recognize me!" There was sudden rush of blood to Riya's brain and she recalled everything. How could she forget, the voice was of her best friend! Someone who knew Riya better than herself, someone who has been her best companion ever. It was after Riya's marriage that they had grown distant and now when they were meeting after such a long time, there was so much to cherish and talk about.

Their chit chat began from their childhood and progressed in chronological order till Riya's marriage as both of them had lost touch after that. Riya's eyes gleamed when she told her friend about Angel and Ajay, and how they are not an important part of her life but her life itself. The gleam in Riya's eyes transformed into gloom when the course of conversation shifted, her friend asked her, "Why do you look so dull? I mean, it seems you don't take enough care of yourself. And look at your clothes..." Her friend could see the discomfort on Riya's face when she asked that. To probe further, her friend asked, "What about your paintings? Do you remember how people were fan of your artistic work? How you used be completely lost in a different world while painting? " Riya began to feel uneasy and was at the verge of shedding tears when her friend continued, "I hope you are still making paintings." Riya's long silence was enough to make her friend understand that she has become aloof to her passion. The conversation continued for some time and her friend spoke some comforting, encouraging  words which ran like current in Riya's body. Positive energy had found it's way into her body. She was ecstatic after meeting her friend. After all, it was after ages that she spoke her heart out to anyone.

Riya prepared dinner while humming her favourite song. At night, she tried few times to talk to Ajay who was busy with his favourites – laptop and phone. She said to Ajay, "You know what, I met my best friend today... " Ajay stopped her in middle as his phone rang. After he finished one of his usual long official conversation, Riya again said excitedly, "You know what happened today..." She stopped as she saw a disinterest on Ajay's face and finally closed her eyes for a good night sleep thinking about her encounter with her friend.

Next day, she went to the market and bought different colours, brushes, palette and all that which could be a painter's friend. She made a painting of a ten or twelve year old girl in a fairy land with a pair of wings, wearing a white beautiful gown and a beautiful smile. The girl looked like an 'Angel'. She presented it to her daughter who was thrilled to see that it was her mother who made such a magnificent painting. Gradually, the weather of mood was changing, shifting from autumn to spring which meant spread of colours and only beautiful colours everywhere.

She spoke to her friend often and thanked her for reminding herself that she has a life too. Few days passed, and there was a dramatic change in Riya. Now, there were three important parts of her life – Angel, Ajay and 'Herself'. She took care of everyone but gave complete attention to herself too. She took time out for things that she enjoyed like dancing, singing and of course painting. She grew more confident of herself now and loved herself again. She gave space to vibrant colours once again in her closet. The life was full of life again!

It was Saturday evening and the family decided to go for dinner in one of the nearby premium restaurant. Riya wore the fuchsia coloured top that she had picked from the store with a black pencil skirt. Ajay called out, "Riya, how much time you will take?" to which she replied, "Just 5 more minutes!" It had been ages that she took time to get ready. Ajay and Angel waited patiently. Riya came out adjusting her skirt and for a moment Ajay eyes froze over Riya. She looked stunning. Fuchsia colour suited her peach complexion and the new haircut complemented her oval face with few of the curls falling on her face. Happiness and contentment on her face completed her look. As they were about to exit, Ajay noticed a remarkable painting above the door and asked Riya, "Oh! I didn't notice. Where did you buy that from?" Riya smiled and Angel excitedly said, "Dad, mamma made this painting." Ajay did not reply but had a look of pride on his face.

After the wonderful but tiring evening and a sumptuous dinner, it was time to bid goodbye to the weekend. Angel kissed her parents and went to sleep. For a change, Ajay kept his favourites away from him. He could sense positive changes in Riya and asked her about it. Riya was lying next to him and was humming a song simply smiled in reply. He suddenly got reminded about Riya telling him the other day that she met her best friend. Ajay asked curiously (also adding the curiousness which was missing the other day), "Riya, you were saying something that you met your best friend. Which best friend you were talking about? You never spoke about one."

This time Riya fixed her gaze on Ajay and answered, "I met my reflection, my soul. My best friend is Myself..." (to be contd.)