Panting, she collapsed on him, breathing close to his mouth. With one hand, she removed his blindfold. Her hair veiled his face. Prisha unlocked the handcuffs. He immediately put his arms around her.
‘Happy birthday, love,’ she smiled.
‘Thanks. But you scared me at first,’ he whispered. Their eyes were fixed on each other.
‘I’m sorry but I had to do this,’ she whispered back.
‘I never thought I will have a normal birthday, ever.’
‘From now onwards you will.’
‘Do you think he will come back?’
‘No, he won’t.’
Saveer was surprised at her confidence.
‘How do you know?’ he asked.
‘If he had to return, he wouldn’t have left,’ she said.
‘Hmm. I wonder what made him change his mind. Why did he leave you and spare me after so many years?’
You can be a slave to your own demons for years but to be free, you need just a moment, Prisha thought.
‘By the way, how did you get the keys?’
For a moment, Prisha averted her eyes.
‘I was planning this for some time. Made a duplicate one,’ she lied. She had secured the duplicate key from the boat after the real Saveer had left. In her heart, however, Prisha knew this lie would save someone. Someone who had suffered enough. Someone who deserved to be free. She’d promised her it would be their secret. And she would keep her promise till her last breath.
‘Hmm,’ Saveer looked deeply into her eyes. Their lips were barely apart from each other. For some time, neither spoke a word.
‘I lo . . .’ Saveer started but she put her hand over his mouth. ‘Don’t say it. Someone had once told me that if you say everything you lose the magic.’
‘Really?’ he smiled, ‘Who’s that someone?’
This time Prisha looked deeply into his eyes.
‘He is my soul-tattoo . . . my forever,’ Prisha said and placing her ear on his chest, listened to his heartbeats. They were telling her their story—the past, the present and the future.
Epilogue
Place: A budget hotel
Date: 9 November
Time: 11.30 p.m.
She drew all the curtains in the room and switched off all the unnecessary lights, letting only an old lamp burn in a corner.
In the warm glow of the lamp, she saw the reflection of her body in the mirror. She could see a woman; it made her feel at peace with herself.
She opened her bag and took out the things she had bought from a nearby store. Mostly essentials except for one thing. She took it out and kept it on the not-very-clean glass top of a discoloured centre table. She had bought it for the first time in her life. A birthday cake. Nothing fancy. And yet it filled her with an unprecedented joy. She carefully stuck a small candle in it and lit it with a matchstick.
‘Happy birthday,’ she wished herself, not remembering the last time she had heard herself say so. Prisha was right, she thought. That obsession which yields nothing but hatred destroys oneself in the end. True, it isn’t a perfect world. Perfect things are only there in our hearts. And the moment we move out of our comfort zones, we expose ourselves to the risk of being altered by situations. And people. There are moments when we can’t do much and become victims and then there are instances when we fight back. But rarely do we appreciate the power of our minds. It can heal us if we allow it to. And burn us if we let it. Had it not been for Prisha, she wouldn’t have known that she could still smile without a reason. Just by looking at a small birthday cake. And if one can do that, one can be rest assured of living life just for oneself.
She took a deep breath. Suddenly the purpose of seeking her happiness seemed way bigger than screwing her brother’s. In the end, all of us will turn into ashes or be buried deep inside the earth. Then why not make the journey till then as fulfilling as possible?
She smiled looking at the candle on top of the cake. After a long time, it was the moment to celebrate life, she thought, and blew out the candle in one breath. With that several other lights lit up in her. And in those lights she finally knew who she was.
Acknowledgments
My heartfelt thanks and deep gratitude to Milee Ashwarya for her continuous faith in my storytelling prowess and fruitful support as a publisher.
My editor Indrani, publicist Shruti, Peter and the entire digital and sales team at Penguin Random House for working hard and helping my vision reach the readers smoothly every time.
Deeply grateful to my family for their continuous support and understanding which allows me to do what I love doing the most.
Anmol and Likhith: thanks for all your help, support and love.
Special thanks: Ranisa, Whoosh.
R—always, in all ways.
Also by the Same Author
Forever Is a Lie
The best thing happened to her, but in the worst way possible . . .
Eighteen-year-old Prisha Srivastav is a student of mass communication in Bengaluru. She meets a mysterious man, almost double her age, known as the ‘Mean Monster’ in the city’s party circuit. Intrigued, she falls for him and pursues him. However, there is one problem. Prisha doesn’t know that whoever the Monster loves, dies.
From the master of twists, Novoneel Chakraborty, comes yet another beguiling tale of dark romance and thrill that won’t let you put the book down.
THE BEGINNING
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EBURY PRESS
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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
This collection published 2017
Copyright © Novoneel Chakraborty 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Jacket images © Meena Rajasekaran
ISBN: 978-0-143-42750-6
This digital edition published in 2017.
e-ISBN: 978-9-386-81591-0
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Forever Is True Page 16