The Midnight Moon

Chapter XXVI

“I missed a fun night,” Himani said with a laugh before she looked to her right. Once sure, they started crossing the road.

“Oh, it was fun,” Ali said proudly. “I enjoyed every minute of it. Even when he got that coke in his eyes.”

Himani narrowed her eyes. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

“No!”

“You want us to believe that?” Kabir asked.

“Yes! Oh God, Kabir! I thought you would believe me. You are my best friend.”

“Which is exactly why I don’t believe you.”

“Hello, everyone.” Shruti, one of their colleagues, said. 

“Hello, Shruti. How are you?” Himani asked cheerfully. ?
“Fine, fine. Everyone’s coming together today.” She said with a smile.

“Looks like that.”

“Where is Anya? She isn’t coming today?”

“Yeah, Where is she?” Kabir asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t talk to her.” Himani replied.

“Did you guys hear what happened with Rohit?” Shruti asked them.

“For a change, someone insulted him?” Ali said.

“Yes!”

“Wow. When was that fortune day?” Himani asked instantly.

“Three days ago. His finance threw a glass of water at him.”

“Why is that not a surprise?” Himani said making her colleagues smile.

“What did he do? Insulted her too?” Ali asked.

“That I don’t know. But she was very angry.”

“You saw them?” Himani asked.

“I did. I was at that restaurant.”

“She did that in a restaurant?” Himani asked in disbelief.

“Yes! They were not many people but it was not empty.”

“He deserves that. The way he insults us all. What the hell does he think of himself?” Himani said with an eye roll.

“I know right. I enjoyed it.”

“I would have enjoyed it too,” Himani said with a smile.

“Women,” Ali whispered which made Kabir smile.

“As if you would have not enjoyed it! You out of all of us would have enjoyed it the most,” Shruti said.

“I did not deny that.”

Himani and Shurti started laughing. “What are you all laughing about?” Anya asked. She was standing at the gate of their office building. “We thought you are late,” Kabir said.

“I was too early today.” 

“Is that why they made you the watchman of the building now?”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Why do you come to the office daily? Please take a leave for a day.”

“I don’t use my leave for no reason. I like to finish my work on time and not keep it pending or get it done early.”

“Just one day.” Anya looked at the sky while saying that. Everyone laughed including Ali.“Ah. There is my boss. I need to reach the office before he does. I will see you guys later. Bye,” Shruti said before running towards the entrance. “Bye, ” Anya and Himani said together.

“I heard about your little adventure yesterday,” Himani said to Anya.

“Ah. What a day it was. I am glad we reached home safely.”

“She gets scared for no reason,” Ali said with a shake of his head.

“How is Dia?” Himani asked ignoring Ali.

“She is fine. I did not expect her to be fine but she is.”

“Good for her.”

“That reminds me. Ali, How much did that dress cost?”

Ali frowned, ”What dress?”

“The one Khadijah forced Dia to buy.”

“I am still lost.”

“Remember when we saw Aman for the first time. You forced them to go back in and buy something.”

“Yeah, and?”

“You gave them your credit card. Didn’t you get the message?”

“Oh, that.”

“So how much did it cost? I remember it was more than 2000 rupees.”

“I don’t know that.”

“Then check your message and tell me. I will repay you now.”

“You don’t have too. Consider it a gift from Khadijah to Dia. Khadijah is a big fan of her for some reason.”

“That’s very sweet of her but I cannot. Let me pay you back.”

“You really don’t have to,” Ali said just before they all entered the lift.

“It's ok. I will pay.”

“Let her pay. She only freeloads on my brother.” Kabir joked.

Anya rolled her eyes.”When did I even do that?”

“He has paid for a lot of stuff for you.”

“Like what!?”

“Don’t get offended.”

“I am! When did I do that? Tell me?”

“Well, you always force him to buy chocolates, you often stole his stationary.” Anya rolled her eyes. “Did he ever let you pay when we went to a store?”

“Anya is a freeloader,” Ali said while laughing.

“I am not! That was years ago! And it was a few rupees! It’s not like he got bankrupted because of that.”

“Do you pay him when you take Dia to his clinic?”Ali frowned. “or whatever it is called.”

All three of them looked at Anya. Anya’s cheeks turned red. “He said we will take care of it later.” The lift opened just as she said that. “I am not a freeloader. What the hell does Samar think of me!” she said before storming out.

“You just ruined my brother’s day,” Kabir said before leaving the lift. Himani laughed as she followed him.

“I don’t even know what I did wrong.”

The first thing Anya did when she reached her desk was to throw her bag on the desk and pull out her phone. She quickly dialled Samar's number. While waiting for Samar to answer she saw Rohit walking towards his desk. She sat on her chair as she did not want to deal with him and wanted to be invisible for some time.

“What do you think of me!?”

“Good morning to you, too,” Samar replied softly.

“I told you to tell me how much your fees was. I told you I will pay you.”

Samar frowned at that. “Why are you talking about that?”

“Why didn’t you take money from me?”

“I really don’t understand what’s happening here, Anya.”

“Then answer me. Why did you not take money from me? Everyone thinks I am a freeloader.”

“Who is everyone?”

“That’s not important.”

“As if you know what is important.”

“What?”

“I did not take money from you because I did not want to.”

“That’s not a good enough answer.”

“That’s the only answer I have. Take it or leave it.”

“How much is your fee? I will pay you everything now.”

“Early in the morning.”

“What?”

“It's early in the morning and you are ruining moods. It’s fine that you ruin my mood. That’s your hobby. But at least don’t ruin your mood. You have to stay with that the whole day.”

Anya crossed her left arm and frowned. She never liked it when Samar was right. Unfortunately or fortunately he was often right. She hated that. “I will make you pay a very big amount.  And you will cry at the end of the day. And that day is coming soon. So, don’t worry. Start saving.”

She rolled her eyes. “How big can the amount be?”

“Oh, it’s very big. I think it’s high time I get what I want.”

“Half of the time I don’t even understand what you say.”

“That’s is what is our problem.”

“I have a lot of work.”

“I am not free either.”

“Then go and work.” Anya disconnected the call after saying that. Her mind was at ease although the problem was not solved. She had not paid him his fees and her friends were not going to quit teasing her. But what changed were a few minutes and a voice in her ear.

“Meeting in fifteen minutes.” Himani reminded Anya.

“Ok.” She said before quickly logging in her computer. She went through her presentation one last time before the meeting starts.

“Anya, I emailed you something. Can you compete it for me?” Rohit asked Anya.

Anya had just logged in her email, so she could quickly check what he had emailed. Soon she shook her head. “OK.”

“Thank you.”

Himani and Ali were looking at them with their eyes wide open. They then looked at each other. Ali motioned toward his phone. Himani did not understand what that meant but when her phone vibrated she understood what he meant.

“What was that? Are they both sick?” – Ali

“None of them tried to start a fight nor did they try to be rude.” -Himani

“Rohit might be upset about his fiance.” – Ali

“But Anya was angry a minute ago!” – Himani

“We have reached the end of the time, Himani.” – Ali

Himani frowned at that text before looking at her friend. She was worried about her. Anya, normally, would have said a straight no. But her agreeing to do something for Rohit was a shock. Himani didn’t know if that was good or bad. Nevertheless, she pushed all the thoughts out of her mind and started preparing for the meeting. As expected the meeting went smoothly without much hassle. The day at work was not normal. Everyone was surprised that Anya was not in a bad mood. After her sudden outburst, they all expected her to be cranky the whole day. But she was not. She and Rohit again had a conversation without an argument. It was not like them. A lot of people were talking about that the whole day.  They all wondered what went wrong.

“Anya, can I ask you a question?” Ali asked just as they were about to leave their office building. It was seven o’clock in the evening and they were all heading to the station.

“Yeah.”

“How come you are in a good mood?”

“I should not be?”

“You should be. But I thought you will be in a bad mood today.”

“Why?”

“I am wondering why.”

Kabir smiled at his reply. Himani shook her head while Anya pressed her lips together. “After a long time we will be going home together,” Himani said.

“Yeah. It has been so long.” Anya said cheerfully.

“I am scared of her,” Ali whispered to Kabir and Himani.

Himani smiled. “Did something happen today?”

“You are asking me?” Anya asked her.

“Yes. Did something good happened today?”

“No.” She said while shaking her head. “Why did you ask?”

“You look in a good mood, that’s why.”

“I woke up with a good mood today.”

“You were not in a good mood when you left the lift this morning “ Kabir reminded her.

“That’s because Ali is an idiot “

Ali looked at Kabir. “I still don’t know what I did wrong.”

“That’s good,” Himani said with a smile. Anya smiled at her.  “Hey, by the way.” Anya suddenly said. “You guys remember the girl who helped Aman get in the car and then drove him? what if she is his girlfriend.”

“Why his girlfriend?” Himani asked.

“I am praying for that. I saw them together a few weeks ago, too.”

“Why are you praying that?” Ali asked.

“Because then it would be easy for Dia. Till now she was patient because she was in love, but once she knows he is cheating she has more than one reason to leave him.”


“That should not be the main reason to leave. The main reason should be that he didn’t treat her like a human.” Himani said.

“I guess, but I really hope for that.”

“If she can be patient for that and I am sure she can be patient for this, as well,” Himani said.

“Why? That is no reason to be patient.”

“But a person in love cannot understand that.”

“A person in love is stupid.”

Himani smiled. “I wish I could disagree.”

“She loves him.” Kabir hesitated as he said that “Still?”

“I don’t know. I mean. “ Anya through for a moment “I really don’t know.”

“Love or not, there is no reason to be quiet about that,” Himani said.

“I agree. I cannot believe she stayed with him for so long. It’s not like her.”

“Love Anya, love.”

“Oh, God you are making it sound like you are suffering. You have a very nice husband lady.” Ali was quick to change the topic.

“When did I say no?”

“Then stop sighing. “

“When did I do that?”

“ Oh, come on.”

Anya smiled at their silliness. Her eyes then fell on Kabir who looked lost. “What wrong?” She whispered.

“Nothing. Tired.”

“You look tired all the time these days. You should go on vacation for a few days.”

“Bhai was saying the same thing.”

“Then go! You have a lot of paid leaves pending, anyway.”

“I guess I should “

“You should what?” Ali asked.

“Go on a holiday,” Anya replied.

“You mean to a place for a few days?”

“No, to my imaginary cruise,” Anya said with an eye roll.

“I am going next week,” Ali said.

“Where?”

“Ooty.”

“Really?” Anya said with a frown.

“When did that happen?” Himani asked.

“Mom made the plan.”

“And you are informing us now?” Kabir asked. “Did you apply for the leave?”

“I did and it got approved. “

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kabir said was frowning now.

“Didn’t get a chance.”

“Yeah, because we don’t get time to spend together,” Anya replied.

“I did not think it was that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, right,“ Kabir said before he started walking faster.

“Wow,” Ali said. “What’s happening today? I did not see that coming.”

“You should have,” Anya said.

“It just happened too fast. Moreover, I really thought this trip will get cancelled like always. This is our first trip after Abba died. We have made many plans over the years but it never worked. This time Khadijah was adamant. She had never been on a trip that she remembers.”

“Aw. I hope you guys enjoy it.” Himani said with a smile.

“I hope she enjoys,” Ali said with a smile too.

“How about that cry baby there?” Anya pointed at Kabir who was walking fast.

“I will check on him. You girls will go in the ladies compartment, right?”

“Yes.” Anya and Himani said together.

“Ok. See you tomorrow, Himani. Unfortunately, I will see this one at the station again.”

“Its unfortunate for me,” Anya said as Ali started walking towards Kabir.

“Hey, are you fine?” Ali asked.

“Yeah. I just wanted to stay alone. It has nothing to do with you.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. How about Dia?”

Kabir looked at him and Ali raised his eyebrows high. “I need to explain?” Kabir asked him.

“No. But that will satisfy my curiosity.” Kabir smiled. “So, when did it happen?”

“I have known Anya all my life. Dia used to come to her house every summer holiday for at least one day.”

“And you waited for that day.”

“Not really. I mean, I used to enjoy that day but I did not wait for that day. School and everything kept me busy, so I hardly thought about her.

“That’s good I guess.”

“It wasn’t until I was a teenager though. I had known her since we were kids.”

“OK.”

“I developed a crush on her. I don’t know when. But it was not that deep.” He paused for a moment. “ It was not until a few years later when we ended up in the same coaching Centre or tuition classes. She was my junior, but she was quite famous. And even when she was not, she was always famous for me.” He smiled. “ That was for two years and then I went to college. Then again, after two years she was back. She took admission in the same college. We had a very big campus and totally different fields, but she was always somewhere near. Then I didn’t see her after graduation though.”

“Why didn’t you do something about it?” By then they had entered the station and were walking to platform number three where their train would arrive in a few minutes.

“After graduation, I worked for a year and then did my masters. I did not think about her. I was focused on my career. Before I could realise that I must do something I received her wedding invitation.”

“That must have been difficult.”

Kabir shook his head. “Every time she was about to exit my mind she made a reappearance in my life. I was never desperately in love with her, but I missed an opportunity once and I do not want to do that again. I cannot explain what it felt like when I heard about her wedding. Actually, I didn’t know I was in love until that moment. What’s worse than realising something important after it’s too late?” Kabir looked down. They were both quiet for some time. “I was doing fine. I was moving forward. Even if it was alone. I was actually satisfied with my life. And then Anya told us about her being hospitalised. I wanted to hurt Aman so bad that day. If he was in front of me I don’t even know what I would have done.” He sighed before looking up. “Train is here.” The narration halted for some time as they boarded the train. They both had to stand as it was peak hour and there was no place to sit or stand. “I was still recovering from Dia's thoughts when she called you. And now I don’t know what is happening. I know it’s messy. I know it is complicated. But I don’t want to quit.”

Ali raised his eyebrows before sighing. “I don’t know what to advice you in this case. As you said it is complicated. “

“It is. What can we do about it?”

“Nothing. But we will surely find a way out. Don’t you worry.”

Kabir smiled “OK.”

The crowd increased and they could not talk. The train was packed for the next forty minutes. After that, the train was finally empty enough for them to sit. It was just ten minutes before their station but they still sat down. Luckily, they could sit next to each other. “Hey, I was thinking about the time when Dia ran from her house and I realised one thing. Why did you keep telling Anya that Dia was fine and that message that she received was not from her? Technically you should have been the one who forces her to go and check if Dia was fine. But you made her Believe that she was fine.”

“Because I wanted to believe that she was fine. I did not like the idea of her being in trouble. So I convinced myself and also you all that she was. I reacted without thinking. That was stupid. I have not regretted anything more than that in my life.”

“Not even missing a chance with Dia?”

Kabir smiled.  “Not even that.”

Ali smiled while shaking his head. “Wow. I did not know my best friend had a hidden story. I thought only I have an untold story. Looks like everyone is the same.”

“Maybe.”

“Ah. It’s our station next. I don’t want to get down. We just got a seat.”

Kabir smiled. “Go and sit on the bus.”

“I hate the fact that I have to take a bus after this.”

“Buy a house closer to the station.”

“Yeah, I can easily afford that,” Ali said before rolling his eyes. Kabir laughed at that. They both got down at the next station. They waited for Anya to join them and then they started walking towards the bus stop. Anya sighed which made Ali ask her, ”Why are you sighing now?”

“I can never understand the people who go like ‘don’t touch me, don’t touch my stuff’ on the train. I don’t want to touch you or your precious bag but it is too crowded. Why not use your personal vehicle for travelling if you have so many terms and conditions.”

“I hate such people,” Ali said.

“Who can like them? She got down on the same station. I just hope she is not going to take the bus now.”

“I hope she takes.” Ali teased her.

“Then I hope she sits next to you.”

Kabir smiled before saying, “Even at the end of the day you two have their energy to annoy each other. That’s dedication.”

“My bus is here. Bye.” Ali said before he started running towards the bus.

“Bye,” Anya said before she turned to Kabir. “You brought your bike?”

“Yes.”

“OK. Bye-bye then.”

“Bye. Message me when you reach home.”

“You know I won’t “

Kabir smiled. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Anya said before they started walking in different directions. Anya checked how crowded her stop was. As there were few people she decided to walk slowly. But after a moment she looked at her stop again. She frowned deeply when she saw the lady who annoyed her in the train. She looked up at the sky and whispered, “I had a good day and you didn’t like it, did you?” She looked at the lady again and whined, “Don’t worry she won’t sit next to you.” She closed her eyes. “Hopefully.”