Chapter 10

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*Warning: A very emotional Shishir coming up* Hold on to your hearts. As you read, the bold letters are parts of Sumo's letters to Shravan.

Shishir's POV.

What is about a rainbow formation? Rain and Sunshine together make it happen I think. I have a rainbow in my room, spread on my bed.

Yes, my heart is like the Sun right now, I can feel it almost glowing in my chest to know she never let go of our friendship. But why are my eyes raining? I closed them shut wanting to reduce the flow but they just spilled over.

It has been over an hour since I have come back home and cooped myself in my room. All I have been doing is spreading the letters on my bed.

VIBGYOR

Who would have thought that colour code had so much significance outside the classroom?

Trust that crazy girl to do something so silly. Yes right, Silly. She made me cry, and big boys don't cry!

Bad Suvi! You made me cry.

Why do you have to add so much meaning to even the simplest of things in life? Why does everything, no matter how common, become so unique once you have treated it with your magic touch?

Letters are meant to be letters. Just that. Plain simple letters written with boring blue ink. See what have you done? My bed looks like a garden with rainbow in bloom!

Why am I blabbering so much? Because I have not opened even a single damn letter till now!

And I won't. Nope. Not at all.

Why should I? She must have written all crazy stuff.

Shishir! Take a hold of yourself. DO it now. I take deep breath. Then another. And another.

Seriously, this 'take a deep breath to calm yourself' thing is so overrated! All I am getting is a pain in my chest and stomach in knots.

For god's sake. Just some childish letters Shishir. Open the first one. I am sure her spelling and grammar will be all wrong.

I get up from where I have been squatting on the floor. The violet bundle, rather bundles. The biggest of all! So many of them.

I reach out. Somehow all seem to be kept in order.

I tear the first letter open, almost savagely, before my mind starts blabbering again.

One more deep breathe and here goes.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

I frown. That is the beginning of letter??

I read on confused.

'A long, no very long ladder. is missing. Reputed sources say the ladder has been taken to London.'

She is calling me a ladder!? No I will not smile. It is not funny.

I read on, determined not to be effected. Then the last part of the letter comes to my attention.

"Hey best friend, I miss you so much. And vacations are still two months away. How will I pass the time till then?".

What does she mean? Was she expecting to see me then? But I thought she was not here in Delhi and had gone somewhere for holidays.

I reached out for the next, and the next, and next.... Word by word I am transported to our childhood. I am living all those years all over again. I am seeing the incidents in front of my eyes, though I was then miles away in London. But Suvi is making those days come alive for me.

When I had left, a huge chunk of my heart had been clawed out. These letters were filling it in. piece by piece my childhood was coming back to me. They were like a balm to my pain, my loneliness of being away from home.

I have lost count of how many letters I have read, but I am still on the colour violet. The next one is quite a bulky envelope. I feel excitement course through me in anticipation of what could have made it so nice an thick letter?

I overturned the envelope impatiently spilling the contents into the floor in front of me. There are not one, but multiple letters in it. And each letter is attached to some sheets of printed paper. My brows bunch together as I glance at one such paper.

Who is known as Napoleon of India? I read out. This does not make any sense! I glanced at the rest of the paper.

I turn over another letter from that envelope and see various questions in maths. Each such paper is full of some or other questions!

I glance closer to the details on top of one sheet.

And then I know what they are. Question papers! From the first exams after I had left for London. And that too from my class, not hers.

And the letter right on top of the first letter in the envelope starts with:-

See what you missed! I am sure your exams in London are not half as eventful.

I burst out laughing. Never before had any exam paper generated such joyful laughter from within me. Only Suvi can think of collecting my exam papers, or rather what would have been my exam papers had I not gone to London.

The regret of not appearing for an exam is a feeling so alien that my heart does not know how to deal with it.

I leaned back till my back hit the side of my bed. This girl is giving me drops of life that had been snatched away from me. Everything that I had missed or missed out on was just here, waiting for me to claim them. These moments would have been mine long long ago. But then someone stole them away. I push away those thoughts for now and read on.

I smile, I laugh I frowned as I read her experience of those exams

Shishir, did you know Australia is not in New York? I mean come on they are nearby right? Everyone knows Sydmey harbour and Statue of Liberty are in the same neighbourhood!

'In any case I don't see any need for calling my guardians for my answer! Old Mrs Batra is really getting old and senile. But don't worry I already have a can of earthworms in my bag. If she gets me into trouble with Nanu with her never ending complaints she will have those worms for company while watching T.V tonight.'

Oh shit! Did she really do that? I am disappointed she has not written about that. I flip over to the next one.

'Sorry Shishir  this letter is going to be shorter. I have a punishment to write. Can you even guess what I am supposed to write five hundred times?'

'Aurangzeb was not Ashoka's son!'

'I mean one can get confused right? Both their names start with same Alphabet and Aurangzeb's daddy and Ashoka both had built many things! That tyre and the lions- Oh no 'Chakra' not tyre. I had to get a lecture on that too!'

'There were so many kings. How does one remember their details and family tree! And how will that help us in future?'

I am almost on the floor holding my stomach as I laughed. There can be no other like Suvi!

By the time I finishd reading her exam woes my sides are aching as a result of laughing so hard.

I tore open the next envelope.

'Hey guess where am I right now? Outside your home! Today is the first day of holidays. When are you coming home? I can hardly contain my excitement. We are going to meet soon. I know you may reach here even before this letter reaches you, but still I cannot help but write it. When I write these letters I feel I am talking to you. Though you never respond! You big mean bad boy. '

I felt my heart break all over again. Suvi outside my home. This very house. Waiting for me to come home. And I never came. I wanted to. I really wanted to.

As I opened the next few letters her disappointment and sadness crushed my heart. My heart feels numb as I remember that she had lost her parents, her family just few years before that. That wound had been so deep. That little girl, Suvi had been putting up a brave face in front of others and not showing weakness even when her heart hurt so much.

And then what happens? Her best friend is taken away from her. Over the ten years, I have always maintained I have been wronged by the person whom I believed to be my best friend. But what do I say to the pain and agony she has faced?

I need to find out why did all this happen? Why was the right of two best friends growing up together taken away from them?

We were supposed to grow up together and create memories together. Instead we have been reduced to sharing our individual experiences with each other.

I think back to the bitterness I have been directing towards her over the years and a heavy feeling of guilt washes over me. Yes I was also manipulated into believing something else, but that did not mean I would get so vindictive towards the one person who has always shared her happiness with me.

How will I ever face her? I got up and reached over to a bag I had brought with me. I took out a bottle from it, one among many I had brought intended as gifts for friends.

I could hardly think straight any more as I shoved one below my clothes and walked out of my room. I need to get away.

I heard Paresh and Kamya chachi call out to me. I know they have even tried to call me before but I had told everyone I was sleeping and did not want to be disturbed. I tell them I am going to meet friends and leave

Suvarna's POV

What does he think of himself? He walked out of the kitchen around noon and has not bothered to call whole day! He is not even answering my calls!

Paresh told me he has locked himself in his room and is sleeping. How much sleep does this guy need?

It has been over seven hours since he left! If he had just wanted to sleep his time away then he could have slept in London, why did he fly all the way to Delhi to sleep.

I jumped out of my skin, startled as I heard a loud crack on my window pane. What the hell is that?

Then it sounded again, as though someone was hitting it from outside.

Shishir!

No it can't be him. I thought as I stared at the closed window. That was our childhood when we did these crazy things.

"Suvi." I heard the soft, muffled but unmistakable voice.

I gasped and rushed to open the window.

"Have you lost your mind? If someone would have seen you?" I hissed at him, in a whisper.

But one look at his blood shot eyes any further words that might have left my mouth dried out.

I helped him in and my nose twitched at the odour from him. "Shishir have you been drinking?" I asked in shock.

He did not reply but pulled me in a hug. "I am sorry Suvi. So so sorry."

Somehow I felt he was not apologising for drinking.

"You know I had also written you letters, but angry ones." My head snapped towards him. "Just never posted them." He said ever so softly and fell heavily on my bed.

I stared at his form, his sleeping form. Too stunned to react right now.

&&&

A glimpse of Suvi's life and Shishir is in a guilt ridden emotional wreck. A serious chapter, I know, but then Shishir is just beginning to realise all was not really like he was made to believe, He lost out on precious time he should have spent with his loved ones, while he spent his life hating the one person who means so much to him.

Next chapter more detail on Suvi's reaction.

Pre cap Chapter 10

Shishir's POV

"What do you mean you need to return to London tomorrow?"

"Suvi, I need to- sort out some things." I run my hand over my hair. I cannot tell her yet, but I have to find out what really happened.

I found the letters in my father's office, but I need to back track if I want the real answers. Who would know better than a lawyer confrontation works only when details are already dug out and relevant people are pushed to a corner.

"Why did you bother to come all this distance if it was for only two days!" Suvi grumbles. I smile. As I see it, how will I come unles I go? Yes, for me to come back I need to make this one trip.

Till the next chapter guys, buh bye.

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