chapter 6 - The Crush of My Life

CHAPTER 6

RIA'S BIRTHDAY

Just a few days before our mid-semester exams, Ria's birthday had come. It was 25th August. I wanted to be the first person to wish her Happy Birthday. I don't know when but I started liking her company. I always wanted to talk to her whether online or offline.

'May be she likes me too', I thought.

For the very first time inspite of texting her I called her to wish her happy birthday. Yes, she was awake as she picked up my call in the first attempt. I started singing happy birthday song though my voice is not so good but for her I did that. I can feel the happiness of her on the phone.

After I completed my song, she said, ‘Thank you very much Hittuuu’.

This is not the first time when she spoke my word for so long. She often used to say my name like that.

"Pleasure is all mine" I replied.

And we talked till 4:00 a.m.

It was not first time when we talked to each other this late. We used to text each other till now, but this was special. Everything I heard from her melodious voice sounded so beautiful.

When I was going to end the call she ordered me to reach the school an hour early as she wanted to say something to me.

I nodded.

I reached as per her order. On the way to class, I plucked a flower from the school garden to gift her. As soon as I reached the class I saw that she was already in the class.

I wished her happy birthday again and gave her the beautiful flower that I brought for her and said sorry for making her to wait for me.

‘Chill, I arrived a minute ago just before you’, she said.

We talked to each other till the first lecture began. In our talk she mentioned that she likes my company and wants me to make a promise that I will be there every time whenever she wants me.

I promised her that I will be there whenever she wants me as we were more than friends. We shared all things between each other from our past to present and what will we do in our future. But the thing that I hide from her was about my best friend Varun. Though, I told her about my job.

Vishal was absent on that day as he was not in the city while Sanjana was there to join us.

Everytime I see Sanjana I try to find out reasons to run away from her as her intentions were not good.

Ria invited both of us for her birthday party at her place. I was very happy as I was going to her place for the first time and was also meeting her family.

 She gave her address to both of us and mentioned the time for the party. She also warned us not to get late for the party.

My boss called me as soon as I reached home. He said he is going for one his best friend sister's birthday party and wants me to company him.

I was in a big trouble as I cannot deny my boss and I also don't want to miss Ria's party.

But I have to take the decision on the spot so I decided to say no to my boss and gave him reason for not accompany him. He happily allowed without saying anything to me.

Then I started thinking about the present,

What should I gift her?

I wanted to give her something unique, something different, something that she would always remember.

So, I decided to dedicate a poem to her as a sign of our friendship which will be written by me as a writer inside me was always ready to do such things.

Within 4 hours I completed my task of the poem.

I got ready for the party. I was wearing a dark blue shirt and black denim jeans.

I went to her place early as Ria wanted me to meet her family and help them in some arrangements for the party.

There was hustle everywhere and everyone was doing their task for the party. There I saw Ria in her lower and round neck t-shirt. She noticed me and started adjusting her clothes. She was feeling shy but she has enough guts to face me in those as I am her best friend.

She came near me and said, "Well before time as usual."

"Yeah. My terms you know, na!" I exclaimed.

She then introduced me to her family. I touched the feet of her parents and shook my hand from her brother Aayan. Her father hugged me and I was shocked. Her family was not so much eccentric as she told me in our night chats.

I helped them in some easy stuff like blowing up balloons. Some balloons got burst while some came out to be defective.

Till then she had gone to get ready for the party.

Meanwhile Sanjana had arrived.

I put all my attention to have a look on the hall. The living room has been converted into a party hall. There was an arrangement of DJ along with dance floor and lighting as well. A kitchen is there in the corner of the hall where all the females were preparing food for all the guests, I guess. A balcony is also there where there was arrangement of sitting of two persons. I asked the waiter standing nearby to bring some soft drinks for me and Sanjana as I was feeling thirsty.

I took the soft drink and walked towards the balcony. The weather was lovely on that day. Cool breeze were flowing and strike my face very often.

I was missing my virtual brother Varun because it has been almost 6 months when he left for Kota and from there he didn’t call me. My eyelashes became wet as I was felling all alone.

After sometime, Sanjana joined me but I neglected her presence. She was about to ask me something but before that I left that place.

As I went into the hall I saw that my boss was also there. I went closer to him. He was shocked to see me so do I? He told me that Aayan was his best friend and all about the things they did when they were together.

I was talking to him as I saw Ria, the gorgeous birthday girl entering the hall.

It was a wonderful feeling to see her step into the hall. Her presence brought a smile to my lips and left my eyes twinkling with pleasure. I now wanted to hug her.

She was looking tall due to her high heels and her sari made her look graceful. However, not everyone was as excited to see her.

She took her seat within her relatives. My eyes were glued to her. It was my opportunity to watch her for a long time-- something I never got to do earlier. She had a whitish skin. Her hair was tied into a ponytail that ran down her back just like a horse' tail. She was slim, which was another reason why she looked so tall. She was looking taller than me, I guess by a foot. She didn't wear a lot of accessories- just like a wristwatch, a sleek chain around her neck which I gifted her on our first month of friendship. In all aspects, she was simple yet elegant, and a little more attractive than average.

Then she got up from her chair, readjusted her sari and tucked the end of it into her waist. That gave me a glimpse of her slender waist.

Her soft voice was a treat to my ears. She then slipped into the dance floor along with some of her cousin sisters. I followed her movements.

Just then, the power went off. Damn! Everyone sighed. Firstly, DJ had not been able to play, and now this!

However, power cuts were not usual in that area.

"There is not any problem. I can sing song." My boss said as he was a good singer. His voice can give a tough competition to the playback singers as per my thought.

Some guests continued to dance while the rest was waiting for the power to come back, my eyes were stuck on her. I was busy fulfilling my desire to look at her body- every bit of it. I enjoyed observing her body language- every move of hers. She had an amazing back. Time and again she moved on the dance floor, her hair bounced on her back, seductively hiding one part of her back while revealing another. I wanted to smell her hair that this game of hide-and-seek with her back. I liked the way she turned us each time.

One moment, she accelerated my heartbeat when she walked towards me. I felt I wasn't prepared for this moment! One half of my mind didn't want to lose the opportunity to look at her  from up close, and other felt too shy to do so.

A thousand of butterflies flitted around inside my stomach, the moment she stopped right beside me. Oh boy! - I was able to smell her now. The perfume she was wearing struck down the shy half of my mind, which was too embarrassed to look at her. So I stared at her. I breathed the fragrance, imagining how those vapors would have originated from her body and touched her smooth skin. The butterflies in my stomach now seductively flapped their tiny wings. I guess they wanted to break free. I turned my head to gaze fully at her.

From that side, I saw her flat stomach behind the drape of her sari, something that wasn't visible from the front. My eyes joyfully scanned her waist. Her skin looked soft. Tiny sweat drop were forming under the border of her blouse and slipping down to her waist. I wanted to touch her- right there. I wanted to closely smell that sweat infused with the fragrance of her body.

At one instance when she changed her support of her body from one leg to another, I secretly noticed her belly button, an inch above where she had tucked in her sari. There was no point in peeling my eyes away. I wanted to put my finger in her belly button and feel the moisture in it. There was so much for ne to savor in the moment. Her presence next to me was taking away my breath. She had hypnotized me, without any intention to do so.

Meanwhile the power came back. She then pulls me and Sanjana towards dance floor.

I was not in my control. I just follow the order what she was saying. We danced for about half hour. After that I left the dance floor while Ria and Sanjana continued to dance.

After sometime, she cut the cake. The cake was very giant and of 4 layers. Of course, the flavor of the cake was her favorite one, i.e., chocolate!!

As soon as the cake cutting ceremony was over, I asked DJ to pass me mic and order him to dim the light and focus a light on me.

Then it was my time, I start presenting my gift to her in front of all guests and her psycho parents.

“I am truly honored to have you as my friend Ria."

I gave a signal to DJ to focus on her as well.

You have everything you want but still accept this beautiful gift from your friend. Here is a poem for you as a present of your birthday,

 “Within you, I've found the perfect friend

   Someone who I know will be there till the end

   And they're not just thoughts I hope will fulfill

   But thoughts that will stand forever still

   Still as a wind on a hot summer's day

   Still as your friendship I'll never betray

   Still as the characters in a photograph

   Still as you’re breathless, silent laugh

   Within you, I’ve found the perfect friend

   A mind that I comprehend

   A person I see is so much like me

   A mutual relationship so carefree

   Carefree as a child who questions the world

   Carefree as a scream that goes unheard

   Carefree as an adult blessed with a dream

   Carefree as water flowing downstream

   Within you, I’ve found the perfect friend

   With whom I can be real, and never pretend

   You've always been someone unique from the rest

   You hold a piece of me no other can possess

   Within you the life I want is always mine

   Within you, I have the perfect friend

   With you, I see myself till the very end.

   HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY RIA."

I saw her, her eyelashes were moist but somehow she controlled her emotions.

Everyone clapped for me and came to shake their hand with me.

Her father patted on my shoulder and asked me who wrote this?

I was unable to answer then but I muttered,

"m... m... me...  and the writer inside me "

After listening this, her father hugged me.

And everyone burst into laughter including Ria.

Soon we were eating. Her mom had cooked a delicious dinner for all the quests.

The dining table was full of various dishes:

paneer, raita, aaloo gobhi, salad, a rice bowl along with a casserole of chapattis and my favorite rajma. The cutlery appeared new, the kind that was brought out for special occasions.

I was trying to get a serving spoon from the other end of the table, when her mother stopped me and silently

Said, ‘Wait, I will get it.’

She picked up the spoon in one hand and a bowl in the other and served me. Then, she placed some salad on my plate, and asked me, ‘Chapatti or rice?’

But who was hungry then?

Still, I said, ‘A Chapatti.’

With her soft hands she opened the casserole and quickly moved her hand back to avoid the hot steam. Her bangles tinkled. Then, with three fingers she folded two chapattis in half and, very gracefully, placed them on my plate.

Everyone went ahead with the dinner. The moment I had that bite I knew Ria's anxious eyes were expecting a response from me.

I looked up into her charming eyes and said,

‘Aunty, khana to bahut hi tasty banaaya hai aapne!’

And that was a trigger to her mom to offer me more paneer and raita. I refused but my resistance failed as her mother insisted on serving me some more. Ria smiled at my helplessness when she looked at me.

‘Aajkal ke bachchey kuch khaate hi nahi hai,’ is all her mom said.

I was quick to learn that there was no need to say no now.

It was about 9.30 p.m. and we were through with our dinner.

I was all packed with delicious food, pudding and fruits (dessert, for which I struggled to make some space in my tummy).

Luckily, the weather was pleasant outside.

The relatives and quests handed the gift to the birthday girl and wished her happy birthday again.

Sanjana had left that place as she got the phone call from her home.

Everyone was leaving the place. I told Ria that I am leaving as it was too late because I have to go with my boss tomorrow for a meeting that he mentioned me in our talk in the party.

She said wait for a while as she wanted to accompany me to the parking area.

She then asked her mother for permission and got a positive reply from the opposite side.

She then accompanied me to the parking. We were standing against my bike when she gave me a tight hug and whispered,

"Thank you for the gift. It was the best gift I ever had.

Thanks for coming in my life and making it so beautiful."

‘Pleasure is all mine’ that’s all I said.

She waved me a goodbye and I left that place.

Suddenly, she shouted, ‘Aee Writer.’

I pulled over my bike and looked towards her.

She was still waving me a goodbye and then she gave a smile.

#PRESENT

Meanwhile we got disturbed by the security guard at the lake which was on duty.

He asked us, “Don’t you want to go home? It’s already 1:30 a.m.”

His intention was only to check whether we were drunken or not, nothing else. He was just doing his duty.

I checked my phone to verify the time. It was actually 1:30 a.m.

We both were too indulged in my story that we don’t even notice the phone calls and messages from our parents.

There were overall 25 missed calls on my phone. 23 from my parents and 2 from Ria.

I first thought of calling her but the time stopped me to do so.

Then I checked my messages as well.

There was a message from her displaying,

 “Wanna give you good news.

 Come and meet me.

 Tomorrow 5:00 p.m.

 Place- CAFE QUEEN.

 Don’t dare to tell anyone about this.”

  

I was confused by her last statement and whether I should tell about this to Varun or not. But I decided to tell about this to Varun.

He didn’t give me quick response.

After one or two minutes he said, “Go and meet her.”

After that we sat on the shore of the lake silently enjoying the silence beauty of the nature.

It was around 4:00 a.m. when we left our place. From there we went to have something that will make us awake for some more time like tea or coffee.

We found a tea stall after riding 5 km.

We sat there on a plank of wood and I ordered a tea for him and a coffee for myself as I don’t like tea as well like chocolate.

After that we left for our place our house.

On the way back to our home, I continued to tell him my story...