It’s Not Right…but It’s Okay

by Anuj Tiwari

  ‘How can Iona do this to Ved?’ Angira is emotional and hurt.

  She feels sorry for him now and has started hating Iona. She is able to connect all the dots and is trying to recall if Iona gave her Ved’s number intentionally at the party in Delhi. If yes, then why? She tells Arjun whatever she remembers and then he tells her that Iona and Ved have the same series of number. It was a craze in college for couples to have the same sequence of numbers. So they had similar numbers. Iona’s was 90XXXXXX68 and Ved’s ended with a 7 instead of an 8. So maybe that night when Iona gave her number to Angira, she mistyped it and her message went to Ved, which is how everything began.

  ‘Shit, what the hell! She is such a bitch for trying to ruin me,’ Angira says in a fit of rage. She continues, ‘That’s why when I told her about Ved over the call and showed her his picture, she didn’t respond. I didn’t know that she was such a devil. Should I call her and question her? I am not like the girls who just suffer and forget. I’ll show her what I am and what I can do,’ she says.

  ‘Angira, calm down. Everything is fine now. Don’t take stress,’ Arjun tells her to take care of herself.

  Angira is on medication and if she takes stress she will go into depression again.

  ‘Did you tell Anushka about this?’ Arjun asks her.

  Anushka should know about them. It’s high time. Angira needs her sister with whom she can share things and take this relationship ahead.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then call her and tell her everything. Meanwhile, I will talk to Ved about his return,’ Arjun says.

  ‘Okay, but what about the email I received from Ved? Who sent it? And how?’ Angira asks, still full of doubts and questions.

  Though Angira is not prepared to face her sister, she decides to tell Anushka everything that happened on garba night. She calls her and tells her the whole story. Anushka is completely shocked after finding out that they had been in a relationship for over three months. She is afraid because she knows everything about Ved and his past. While Anushka is happy for her and thinks that his past should not hamper their relationship, she isn’t fully convinced yet. Angira takes time to convince her and succeeds. Anushka finally understands that Ved is the right match for her. Now she has to help Angira in convincing their family, which is not an easy task. Before that, she has to talk to Ved about why Iona is still after him despite the fact that he has moved on.

  ‘Okay, I’ll call you later in the evening,’ Angira tells Anushka over the call.

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Don’t tell mamma anything about it as of now,’ Angira emphasizes on her last sentence before she disconnects the call.

  ‘Okay.’

  Angira unblocks his number and starts receiving the numerous messages on WhatsApp that Ved had sent to her.

  It’s all about our perception of things. She reads all the messages and wells up with tears. She realizes how grossly misunderstood Ved is.

  She couldn’t be happier and calls Arjun. Anushka has also assured her that Ved couldn’t have done this to anyone as she has known him for years.

  ‘What happened?’ Arjun asks eagerly.

  ‘I want to meet him,’ Angira says excitedly over the call.

  ‘What?’ he asks.

  ‘I want to meet him,’ she repeats herself.

  ‘But he is coming tomorrow, I just chatted with him,’ Arjun smiles.

  ‘No, tomorrow is far away, I want to surprise him. Please give me the address of the place he is staying at in Kolkata. I want to go there directly as I haven’t called him yet.’

  ‘At least call him once and inform him. And are you sure you want to go there? Have you visited Kolkata before?’ Arjun asks, taken aback by Angira’s impulsiveness. Then he smiles remembering the days when he used to do the same thing—travelling by trains for hours to meet his love.

  In love, even a meeting of a few minutes can give one all the happiness in the world.

  ‘No, I won’t call. I will go and meet him. And I have been there before, so I won’t face any problems. I have checked the flights as well and I am booking a ticket. Please don’t tell him that I am coming to meet him.’

  She quickly books a ticket for Kolkata. It’s an early morning flight the next day.

  ‘I am happy for you,’ Arjun says.

  ‘Thanks for everything, Arjun,’ Angira says with a tone of gratitude.

  ‘Okay, I’ll text you the address where he is staying. Have a good time with him,’ Arjun says with a smile.

  ‘Thanks Arjun!’ she says.

  ‘You are lucky to have me,’ Arjun laughs.

  ‘Haha, so true! Bye, take care.’

  ‘Bye.’

  Angira disconnects the call and checks her phone for the ticket. She takes a grey jacket and rushes out of her home. She turns back to her room and takes out a bottle from her drawer. It’s not a bottle of wine or vodka. It has hundreds of small colourful thermocol balls, with a message on a scroll tied-up with a red ribbon. It is capped with a golden fabric and tied-up with the same red ribbon. There is a small note hanging from the neck of the bottle. She smiles and puts it in her handbag.

  ‘Where are you going so late? Are you okay?’ Charu comes from her room. She has woken up from the hullabaloo in the hall for the past few hours.

  ‘Going to Kolkata!’ she jumps on Charu and hugs her.

  ‘What happened?’ Charu asks, though she figures she is going to meet Ved.

  ‘I have troubled you a lot. Now I’ll leave you in peace for some time,’ Angira laughs.

  ‘That you have done so many times,’ Charu says sarcastically.

  ‘If Anushka calls you, don’t tell her that I am not home. For more information, call Arjun. I love you. Bye!’ Angira takes her backpack and handbag and walks out the door.

  She reaches the airport at the nick of time. She moves quick to get her boarding card and then walks towards the boarding gate. She realizes that Ved always hoped for some romantic gestures from her and now was her chance to give it her best shot. However, plans don’t always go according to our will.

  Arjun wakes up to Ved’s messages early in the morning. He misses going for a jog or for a swim with him.

  Good morning. Sorry buddy, I shouted at you.

  I was frustrated…hope you forgive me and allow me to enter the house :P

  Arjun finds it hard to believe that Ved has texted him so early in the morning. He smiles reading his message on WhatsApp. It is not the first time that they have exchanged unkind words but this time, Ved was a little insensitive.

  Chill dude, that’s okay.

  You had your reasons…

  By the way, your dude is selected to play his next match for Kolkata :D

  That’s awesome!

  Now, we’ll have party!

  Yes, we will all catch up over some drinks.

  That you do anyway. This time something more ;)

  By the way, I’m happy for you

  Arjun is happy for him and feels like they never fought. He calls Ved.

  ‘What’s up, my love?’

  ‘All well, my player, finally you rocked. I am proud of my son,’ Arjun says with a smile. ‘By the way, is that the reason you are up so early? Where are you?’ Arjun hears some noise coming from the background and asks him. ‘Enjoying a party with bong girls?’

  Ved giggles.

  ‘That I did last night.’ He laughs and says, ‘I am just going to catch my flight to Mumbai. Let’s go out for lunch.’

  ‘Weren’t you supposed to come tomorrow?’ Arjun asks. He is worried about Angira as she must have left for Kolkata by now.

  ‘How could I wait until tomorrow to meet Angira? Anyway, it’s today not tomorrow. I told you.’

  ‘Angira has left for Kolkata to meet you and you are coming back to Mumbai! Call her and talk to her right now,’ Arjun says.

  ‘What?’ Ved just stepped onto the flight.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Oh shit, let me call her,’ Ved disconnects th
e call and calls Angira the next moment. He gets the automated response: the number you have dialled is not reachable at this moment, please try again later.

  He calls again and gets the same response. He calls Arjun.

  ‘Her phone is not reachable. I don’t know what to do. I am on the flight and I can’t de-board now.’

  ‘Your flight goes via Bangalore, right?’ Arjun asks him. He can hear the hostess asking Ved to switch off his phone.

  ‘Yes. Is she coming via Bangalore too?’ Ved asks him, and hiding himself from the hostess, he continues the conversation. ‘What should I do now?’

  ‘No, she is not coming via Bangalore,’ Arjun says

  Ved is panicking.

  ‘Don’t worry. Just call me once you reach Bangalore.’

  ‘Tell me now,’ Ved asks him impatiently.

  The hostess requests him to switch off his phone, this time more sternly and with sharp words.

  ‘You reach Bangalore and call me.’

  As Angira can’t take calls, Arjun drops her a message on WhatsApp requesting her to call him when she reaches Bangalore.

  Arjun gets a call from Angira after an hour. ‘Hey, Arjun! How are you? I got your message just now, what happened?’

  ‘I hope you are not travelling with heavy bags,’ Arjun asks her.

  ‘No, but why, what happened?’ Angira asks in confusion.

  ‘Ved has left for Mumbai and you have left for Kolkata,’ Arjun says, going into the kitchen and taking out a water bottle from the refrigerator.

  ‘Oh fuck! I should have called him before leaving,’ Angira says regretfully.

  ‘I had suggested that but you wanted to give him a surprise,’ says Arjun.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell him about it before he left?’

  ‘He had already boarded the flight by the time we spoke. Besides, you told me not to tell him that you are going to surprise him. You are lucky that you have a flight via Bangalore’

  ‘What do I do now?’

  She decides that once she reaches Kolkata, she can take the next flight back to Mumbai.

  Arjun says, ‘You can de-board at Bangalore.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I didn’t tell him that your flight is also via Bangalore. He doesn’t know you have a stoppage there, so you could totally surprise him in your way.’

  ‘That’s just great! Now I understand why people love you. You are the best at giving suggestions on romance,’ she laughs, now turning towards the exit gate.

  ‘Thanks a lot, Arjun! I must say, it’s rare to find a friend like you.’

  He laughs, saying, ‘You’re welcome!’

  ‘Thanks a lot for being there for Ved and me,’ Angira thanks him.

  ‘Now call Ved once he reaches Bangalore,’ Arjun says and goes back in his room, opens his diary and writes a few illegible lines.

  Via–via

  The weather is pleasant in Bangalore; it’s almost as if nature is setting up the perfect ambience for a date for Angira and Ved. Sometimes the unexpected brings with it a lot of joy. Angira constantly tries Ved’s number. It is unreachable. His flight hasn’t landed in Bangalore yet. Time seems to be running slow. Angira has exited the airport.

  She wonders, ‘What if Ved doesn’t switch on his phone and directly reaches Mumbai?’

  Her own thoughts trouble her, but for obvious reasons. She tries calling him again, but his phone is still unreachable. She calls Arjun, but he seems to be busy as well.

  ‘Why the hell is nobody picking up my calls?’ Angira murmurs.

  She now thinks of taking a flight to Mumbai. Her flight to Kolkata is about to leave. She is worried that she might not get a ticket to Mumbai. Finally, she decides to go to Kolkata. She knows she has a place to stay; her uncle’s home. Once she reaches the security gate, the official asks her to hurry up.

  ‘Ma’am, the flight is about to take off, hurry up!’ says the person scanning the bag.

  Saying thanks to him, Angira scampers to catch her flight. Breathing fast, she reaches the gate to board the flight. The final announcement is made for flight SE786. Angira is worried about the questions her parents will ask her about her trip to Kolkata. Her phone rings. She feigns illness and the security in-charge allows her to go out of the line.

  ‘Hello Angira!’

  ‘Hello, who is this?’ she asks him.

  ‘May I talk to Angira? I hope she remembers me,’ Ved says.

  ‘No, she does not want to…’ Angira says, though she is feeling like she is the happiest person on earth right now.

  Love doesn’t demand preparation; it demands attention and purity of thoughts. In the same way, a girl never demands that one buys her precious gifts, except at some rare moments; she dreams of having a precious person in her life who can make any moment special for her.

  ‘Okay, I’ll remain on call. Once she is free, she can speak up,’ says Ved.

  Sniffing over the phone, she says, ‘Shut up, where are you? Do you even care for me? At least you should’ve called me when things were going wrong. Arjun told me everything.’

  ‘So, do you have any more doubts?’ Ved asks her.

  ‘No, now I know everything about you—from your past to your future,’ Angira tells him, sounding joyous.

  ‘Oh, the future too, huh? Where are you? And your voice has changed in just a week,’ Ved tries to mock her, though he knows how important she is in his life.

  ‘You have changed, not me. Now, come down to the lobby, I am waiting here,’ Angira says, taking a few steps back to check if Ved is coming towards her.

  She calls back and asks in anticipation, ‘Where are you? I can’t see you.’

  ‘Right next to you,’ Ved says, tapping on her shoulder from behind. ‘Thanks to Arjun,’ he adds.

  ‘Oh really,’ she says over the call.

  Angira turns. The man standing in front of her has intense black eyes and is wearing blue denims with a white cotton shirt, which fits perfectly on his muscular body. The same shirt he wore when they first met at Juhu beach.

  Ved sees her oval face, long eyelashes and her brown eyes glistening in the bright sunlight. Her hair, dark brown, falls messily over her shoulders. She looks even prettier as a light gust of wind makes some loose strands of hair fall across her cheeks. He had gifted her a pair of fish-shaped earrings that she is wearing right now and they really suit her face.

  She jumps on Ved and hugs him tightly. He takes her in his arms. People walking by are looking at them. Madly in love, he ignores the commotion around them and kisses her passionately. They are lost in each other for a few minutes.

  ‘I think people are staring at us now,’ Ved says.

  ‘Ignore them…I missed you a lot,’ she sniffs.

  ‘I missed you too.’

  ‘I hate you,’ Angira remembers whatever happened in the last few days.

  ‘Well, I don’t,’ Ved hugs her more tightly and whispers into her ears.

  ‘You are such a bad boy,’ Angira says, her head resting on his shoulder.

  ‘Maybe, but I know I am “the one” for you.’

  ‘Shut up, people are staring at us,’ Angira says, but they are still hugging each other.

  ‘Ignore them.’ Ved replies.

  ‘You haven’t changed a bit, even the fragrance of your body is the same,’ Ved says, after which he is quiet for a while.

  ‘What is it?’ Angira asks and holds his hand.

  ‘Nothing…let’s not think of whatever happened in the last few days. We love each other and that’s what’s important,’ Ved says.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Angira says, holding him as they walk towards the exit of the lobby.

  ‘But where are we going?’ Ved slows down and looks at her for an answer.

  ‘I don’t want to go back to Mumbai so soon,’ Angira replies, still unsure of where to go.

  ‘Do you have any work to finish in Mumbai?’ he asks.

  ‘Not really. Let’s stay here today and then we will go back tomorrow,’ Angir
a says.

  ‘That’s what I was about to tell you,’ Ved says, with a broad smile.

  The foggy weather is followed by sunshine, and then comes the rain. Ved and Angira keep walking through it all and enjoy the beautiful Bangalore weather, which is just as pleasant throughout the year.

  ‘I like this place, as always,’ Ved says, walking in the light drizzle.

  He remembers the first time when they met at Juhu beach and it was drizzling them too. Angira looks beautiful as she tucks her wet hair behind her ears.

  ‘What are you staring at?’ she waves her hand in front of his eyes.

  ‘Nothing…is this a dream?’ he beams.

  ‘It’s not a dream. It’s raining and you’re looking good,’ she grins.

  ‘Remember when we met at Juhu beach?’ Angira brings exactly what Ved was thinking about just a moment ago.

  ‘I do. Oh and I have some good news,’ says Ved.

  ‘What’s that?’ she asks curiously.

  ‘I.’

  ‘Am.’

  ‘Selected for the Kolkata team!’ Ved shares his most beautiful moment with her.

  ‘I am in seventh heaven right now,’ Angira jumps with happiness. Everything is just perfect.

  The rain has made everything romantic for them, and looking into each other’s eyes they kiss again. Holding each other by the road side, they forget the world around them, ignoring all the passers-by. Their eyes say what words cannot. Angira has questions that need to be answered, but today is not the day. Tomorrow they celebrate Ved’s success with Arjun and the others, the rest will be taken care of later. For now, they cherish each other’s company.