Stars | completed

50. A Wish Upon The Stars

The smile vanished from my lips as I turn to him with horror stricken eyes. "You promised me we wouldn't talk this way. You promised me we this was our break and everything would be fine..."

His expression softened. "It would be," he assured, "But just in case, I don't want us to think we spent our last hour together trying to ignore the inevitable from coming."

"Manik..." Tears were already gazing my eyes.

"Hey," he said, looking at me and taking a step closer. "I'm sorry, you know... you're right. This is our break. Let's just forget everything that's going on. This is you and me– our time. I'm sorry."

I take a deep breath, trying to remove all the thoughts that had filled into my head just now.

Something shines in his eyes as I take the fourth glass bottle from his hand and take a small sip. It's weird how we shared four bottles together through the hours but not for once did he give me my own bottle and take his own, neither did I suggest the same. There was an unknown comfort between us tonight, and we easily conversed about anything and everything since the past few hours. I had almost forgotten the danger that lurked on our heads and neither of us even brought it up until now. It was almost as if we had forgotten all our troubles for just this one night in an unspoken rule. Perhaps it was the effect of the 4% alcoholic drink in our systems or the intoxicating night sky overhead, but either ways, there was some strange magic in the air tonight that I wanted to make the most of.

"Despite whatever tomorrow brings, what do you think will happen ahead?" I ask, keeping my head on his shoulder, leaning on him as I wrap my hands around his biceps.

"What do you mean?"

"We reache Mukti and Aliya, and say... it all goes well. What after that, Manik? We'll have to give Mukti the help she needs, and Zubin will tend to that. Aliya will return to Paris eventually, and Aryamman to Boston. Cabir and Navya to Mumbai. You realise this is the last time we are all together for a long time, right?" I say, and something sinks in my heart.

With pursed lips, he nods. "Zubin says there's this psychiatry ward at New York where we should shift Mukti once we have her. They're good, and if things are just the way he thinks they are with Mukti... a few months there should make her fine. Well, not fine, 'cause some damage is irreversible but as fine as you could want her to be after everything."

"After everything." I repeat in a low voice.

"I have to go to New York soon too," he looks at me. "I was supposed to go this month, but with so much happening... that was the last thing in my head."

"I remember," I tell him. "Zubin had told me y'all are starting a New York branch of Ivory Stars when I first joined... which also reminds me, I have two more months of internship with Ivory Stars left."

"You do," he nods. "And Cabir and Navya are getting married."

I chuckle under my breath, light tears gazing my eyes. "With everything that's changed, I'm so happy that they haven't."

"In fact, they're planning to prepone the wedding."

"They are?" My eyes widen in surprise.

"Navya's a little insistent she doesn't want to wear a wedding dress with a baby bump, and her parents wouldn't like if the baby is born before a wedding... being conservative and all. So instead of getting married after three months, they might pull the date a little closer."