♪♫ Dhalti raat ka ek musafir,
Subah alvida keh chala,
Jeete jee tera ho saka na,
Mar ke haq adaa kar chala,
Na hamara hua,
Na tumhara hua,
Ishq ka ye sitam,
Na gawara hua...♪♫
_____________________
Present
Age – 29
It was the night when all her friends would come to her house for dinner and movies.
It has become a ritual now. On the second Saturday of every month, everyone goes out for dinner, and the fourth Saturday is spent at one of their houses with dinner and movies.
It was the only two days when everyone was spending time together under one roof and anyone rarely missed the occasion. On these two days, they catch up with each other's lives and spend time reminiscing about their old times.
Today, Sameera was early—like three hours early. She said Karan—who's now her Husband—would be here at the decided time.
Everything was done and they were now sitting in the living room waiting for everyone to arrive.
"What is that sound?" Sameera asked referring to the sounds that have been coming from the hallway of the building.
"Someone is moving into the apartment adjacent to mine." That's all the answer that Evara gave as she didn't know anything else either.
There were only two apartments on her floor. The other one was unoccupied for quite some time.
"Do you know who is moving in?"
"Nope."
"You should go and meet them once they are settled in. Who knows, maybe you'll find your prince charming." Sameera sighed dreamily.
"You, Miss. Hopeless romantic, hold your horses. I don't want any prince charming. I don't want anyone."
"But, you need someone in your life. Don't you think how nice it would be to have someone you could lean on?"
"I have you." Evara bumped her shoulder with Sameera's in a playful manner and Sameera rolled her eyes.
"Not me, idiot. Like a life partner."
"Who wants a life partner when I have best friends who can die for me?" she said with a smile.
"And what about companionship?"
Evara smiled while thinking something and sighed. "Maybe someday, but that day wouldn't be coming anytime soon."
They both fell silent for a few minutes, lost with their own thoughts. Evara could see something was bothering Sameera so she decided to ease her.
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" she asked.
"Why are you like this? How are you like this?" Sameera asked with a sigh.
"Like what?" Evara asked, confused.
"How can you smile like that after all that happened with you, Eva? Aren't you angry with the god? Don't you feel rage for everyone around you?" she asked, concern shining in her eyes.
"Why would I be angry with anyone, Sam?"
"Aman was supposed to be there for you! You loved him, he loved you but you guys couldn't be together. How is that fair?"
Evara took Sameera's hand in hers. "Life is never fair and Aman did what was expected of him. It was his dad's last wish. Besides, his dad didn't know we were together. Aman is all Nisha has got now, and I'm happy for her—for them. It wasn't anyone's fault. Everything happens for a reason, Sam. You just have to believe that what happened was for the best."
"And Viren? He abused you—almost killed you! What kind of lesson was the universe trying to teach you? Everything happens for a reason?" Sameera scoffed as if the mere thought was incredibly stupid to her and Evara understood why. "What reason could it possibly be?"
Evara tugged at the sleeve of her dress. "Viren is in jail, serving his punishment for what he did. Everything is okay now."
After two weeks of Evara calling off the engagement, Viren came to her place, unannounced. He first talked very calmly with her but he was blinded by rage when she refused to take him back. It was like something snapped in him. He got very violent, very fast. He caused a lot of damage to Evara—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Evara was lucky that it was the night when all her friends were coming to her house for dinner and movies.
Aman and Yuvraj along with Nisha and Ashita were the first to come. They were just in time because if they had been a minute late, then, Viren would have killed her. They also handled the whole situation.
"You're not okay!"
"I am, Sam!"
"No, you're not. Stop pretending like you aren't hurt, Eva. You can drop the act. You've been strong your whole life and I won't judge you if you let yourself feel vulnerable for a moment. You've been there for me—for all of us, let me be there for you, please." Sameera tried to make Evara understand in a very calm tone.
"I know you think I'm not okay but that's not true. And if I ever feel the need for a shoulder to lean or cry on, then, I'll seek for you right away. I promise." It wasn't a complete lie.
The truth was that Evara didn't know how to ask for comfort from anyone, so, she didn't try either. She was used to handling everything silently and that's exactly what she was still doing.
Sameera sighed deeply. "Just, try to give yourself a second chance at love, okay?"
"I did," when Sameera raised an eyebrow, Evara added, "With Viren."
"That's complete bullshit and we both know that." Sameera had a deadpan look on her face.
Evara snickered. "Yup! It is!"
"I'm serious! Give love a second chance." Sameera said sincerely.
Evara gave her best friend a sad smile. "When you lose someone, it stays with you, reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt and left alone. I don't think I want to experience that ever again."
"What if you don't get hurt?"
"Well," a playful smile graced Evara's face. "Getting hurt would come after I have someone in my life, which I don't. So, I suggest you to hold your horses."
"What about Neil?" Sameera grinned. "He's beyond handsome—as you once said, he cooks delicious food and his charming smile is a cherry on top."
Evara rolled her eyes. Since the two years when the coffee-spilling incident happened, Sameera has been trying to set her up with Neil.
Neil Khanna, the restaurant owner who spilled hot coffee on her, blamed it on her and left without giving her a second glance.
"He is also my mortal enemy and I hate him. Now that's, the cherry on top! Don't you think?" Evara smiled sweetly.
"It's been two years! And last time I checked, you weren't this petty."
Evara laughed at her friend's incredulous look. "Well, what can I say? He brings out the worst in me."
"That's so not true! You started writing again after you met him. Why do you hate him anyway?"
"My writing has nothing to do with him and he hates me!"
"So you're returning the favour by hating him back?"
"Yep!"
"You're unbelievable, Eva!"
Before they could say any further, the doorbell rang indicating the arrival of all the people they were waiting for.
Yuvraj, Ashita, Aman, Nisha, and Karan walked into the living room and Evara greeted all of them with smiles and hugs.
All of them chatted for some time before they decided to start with dinner.
After dinner, everyone again found comfortable places for themselves in the living room.
"I never understood how you could afford this luxurious apartment with a data analyst's salary." Yuvraj wondered. He wanted to know the secret behind it ever since she moved into the apartment a year ago.
Sameera chuckled. "I think it's time you tell them."
Sameera had always been Evara's secret keeper. Evara told her everything.
"Well, let's just say I have a side job that pays handsomely," Evara answered vaguely.
"What kind of side job? Maybe I can try it too." Yuvraj grinned.
"The creative kind and everyone knows, you don't have a single creative bone in your body. So, the job is not for you." Evara answered playfully.
Evara used to write poetries and some short stories when she was young. After Aman, she lost her motivation and stopped writing but meeting Neil somehow changed that—not that she'd admit that in front of anyone.
She started writing a novel and a year and a half ago she published it under an alias name. The book got hyped and gained a lot of popularity over the year which in return gave her an extra income.
"Well, Aman has that creative bone," Yuvraj said.
"Aman is an elite lawyer like yourself. Besides, he also has a family business to back him up. I don't think he'd want another job's stress." Evara smiled sarcastically at Yuvraj who rolled his eyes in return.
"Fine, whatever! Tell us when you're ready."
"How understanding! Thanks, Yuvi!" Sameera snickered at Evara's words and got hit in her face by a cushion.
Everyone laughed and enjoyed Sameera and Yuvraj's bickering for some time.
Aman finally cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Before this night ends, we have something to share with you all," Aman said and smiled at Nisha who was sitting next to him.
"Out with it, already! You know how our Evara here feels about suspense." Evara chuckled at Yuvraj's words.
Evara had always hated suspense or when something unpredictable happened. Now, as a data analyst whose job is to predict things, her tolerance to unpredictability was close to none.
Aman nodded at Nisha who smiled and faced everyone.
"I'm pregnant!" Nisha exclaimed excitedly.
Evara saw the wide smiles on Aman and Nisha's faces and waited for hurt to make an appearance, but it never came and that's how she knew that she had finally moved on from Aman. Now, she can be truly happy for them without hiding anything.
A genuine smile finally came to her face. She was happy. For them and for herself.