~ Mubarakein tumhe ki tum, kisi k noor ho gye,
Kisi k itne paas ho, ki sabse door ho gye~
The club was blasting with loud music, and yet, people found a tone suitable for conversing. Anurag stood silent, with a beer in his hand, his peers surrounding him as the other guys animatedly discussed the success of the project Anurag was heading for the past few months. They had finally signed the deal today, and were celebrating, the entire team. They cheered for him as he gave them an awkward smile before moving away, unable to bear the loud chit-chat.
How cursed his life was, he thought, as he gulped his beer down. Complete strangers and his colleagues were being so melodramtically happy about his success, and he, the one everyone was so proud of at office, had no one to share his joy back at home. He had felt alone before but this was an entirely new territory, the feeling of being unwanted. Unloved.
He gulped down a few more beers, before switching to Vodka. Neat. Anurag had never had a liking for alcohol, though he did drink socially, at parties or get togethers. But today, he wanted to get drunk. Totally out so that he could forget everything clawing his heart and he could feel the euphoria that made people drink regularly.
The ringing of his cell phone irritated him, and he saw the name on the screen with a chuckle. Mannat was calling him? For what? To ask if she should sleep with the main gate open? To demean his some more? In that moment, Anurag didn't care. That would be a first in life, that he didn't care about Mannat, and that he was so drunk he could see two bar tendors instead of one. But there is a first for everything, so be it.
The clock striked twelve, and Anurag's reminder went off. With shivering hands, he unlocked the phone and surfed through the call log. One of his good habits was also remembering every one's birthday. He loved wishing people at 12, and this was special. It was one of his closest friend's birthday.
"Aditya bro! Happy birthday!!", Anurag exclaimed into the phone, and Aditya laughed, thanking him.
Aditya was one of the other friends from their school. Him, Shaan, Mannat, Adi and a few more were close knit friends and after school, while Mannat and Shaan chose the same college, Aditya had sticked to him and they had done their MBA together.
Aditya talked to Anurag for a few more minutes and it took him less than a few seconds to decipher he was dead drunk. That was shocking, because Aditya knew Anurag always stayed within his limits.
"Anu, you are not okay, are you? Do you want me to come over?", hearing Aditya's concerned filled voice, Anurag felt a lump in his throat. He hadn't heard that tone in what seemed like ages.
"I am feeling terribly alone Adi. Take me away, please", he choked, as he felt the burden in his heart. Whoever said love was synonymous to pain, was absolutely right.
Aditya felt terrible, to hear Anurag's voice break down. This was why he didn't want him to marry Mannat, but Anu was stubborn, he was ready to live in pain if that meant Mannat would be fine. Well he didn't know about Mannat anymore but Anurag wasn't fine for sure, and Aditya could not have felt more helpless as heard the sound of the call disconnecting because with a plaster in his left leg and left arm, there was no way he could go to his friend.
Anurag walked out of the club, his feet staggering to find his car. He could not. Dejected, he sat down on the side of the road, watching the night sky. His eyes were dry, his body numb from the cold outside. He sat and thought about Mannat, and her words, and her actions. If she really did hate him, why did her actions proved otherwise? He had never wanted her to love him back anyway, he was fine with his unrequited love for years, but all he had wanted was to respect their friendship. She had failed to do exactly that.
A soft touch on his shoulder made him jerk his head to his left. Anurag smiled at the face, and as she settled down beside him, he rested his head on her shoulder.
"I can't find my car. Take me home Seher".
-----
Mannat was walking around the living room to and fro, biting her nails in apprehension. She couldn't help but fret and worry. It was almost 2 in the morning and Anurag wasn't home. And he wasn't the person who would do this for fun. Something was wrong but she couldn't understand what. Moreover the lad wasn't picking up her calls.
She could feel tears hitting her eyelids as she blinked rapidly. What if something happens to him? What if another accident snatches away everything from her? What if-
The creak of the dood made her still as she slowly moved her head towards the door, ready to lash out at him at his negligence but the sight in front dried her blood in her veins.
A girl was holding Anurag from his waist, balancing his weight and helping him into the house.
A girl??????
There are side effects of being best friends for long, you know them like the back of your hand. And Mannat knew what kind of girls Anurag liked. The innocent, simple, Indian girls. And right now this witch was cald in a simple salwar suit, her long hairs cascading down very back and a few locks were out of place and her face screamed beauty.
She walked in like she owned the house, ignoring Mannat who was standing in the middle like a statue, glaring at the girl. Mannat's eyes were fire, she had balled her hands into fists as she tried to calm down the intense rage she felt. How dare anyone else, touch her husband like that? And why wasn't Anurag protesting?
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?", Mannat blocked the way as she saw the girl she wanted to strangle in the moment. If eyes could kill, she would have been dead by the way Mannat was constantly glaring at her.
"I am Seher. Now if you excuse me Mrs. Mannat Anurag Basu, I would like to help Onu to his room. He needs to lie down", Seher ignored Mannat brutally, taking her by surprise as how she knew her name and how she called Anurag 'Onu' with so much fondness. Leaving no room for reply, Seher helped Anurag to upstairs.
Mannat followed and stood at the door, watching Seher remove his shoes and watch before draping the covers over him. Adjusting the AC to his liking, she sat beside him, running nimble fingers through his hairs while he mumbled something incoherently in his sleep. All this while Seher was aware of a fuming Mannat drilling holes in the back of her head.
Seher stood up and turned to stare right back at Mannat. Without faltering, she walked right past her into the kitchen, and started making lime water to keep in his room for morning.
"What do you think you are doing?", Mannat spat, crossing her arms.
"Well I am not sure Anurag will have something to help him with his headache in the morning, so precautions", she shrugged casually, without looking at Mannat, who was stupified to hear that.
"He is my husband!", she retorted immediately, her voice an octave higher.
"The husband you hate. The husband you don't care about. And the best friend you have completely forgotten to treat like a human!", Seher replied back sharply, her voice louder than Mannat as she snapped and pressed her palms on the kitchen platform.
Leaving a completely still Mannat behind, Seher walked up and placed the lime water beside his bed. Switching off the lights, she walked down and found Mannat standing like a statue where she left her, tears running down her eyes like streams.
Honestly all Seher felt for this girl was pity. She took a deep breath, telling herself repeatedly to be nice because this was the girl her Onu loved.
"Mannat, I am not your enemy. But I am Onu's friend. He matters to me. And you aren't even aware how you are slowly killing him from inside. Can you believe I found him on the road, drunk out of his mind? I am not asking you to love him back, but treat him like a human, like a friend Atleast. Don't punish him for loving you, he had been punished enough anyway! He doesn't even demand any love from you, but you are treating him like he is trash. Don't push him too far away Mannat, because one day you would want him back only to realise he is gone. Forever!", Mannat's eyes snapped upto Seher, and she saw sincerity in her eyes. Seher lightly patted her shoulders before leaving, without turning back for even a glimpse. That was enough for her to tolerate Mannat's presence because all their other friends had been common friends to both Anurag and Mannat but Seher was just Onu's friend. And she wanted him to be happy.
Mannat didn't go back to her room. She walked to where Anurag was sleeping. She sat beside him, and kept her hand on his head.
She was confused about a lot of things. She didn't know a lot of things. But if there was one thing she was sure about, she didn't want to loose Anurag. She couldn't.
~ Kisi ka pyaar leke tum, naya Jahan basaoge,
Ki yaad jab bhi aayegi, humko paas paoge!~