Cupid never had a chance in their messy, parental-restricted love story
Karishma Jha, a twenty-one-year-old recent graduate with the world at her feet if only she chose to face it. Plagued with the worries of the future and yet healing from the scar...
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I was picking up the milk packets from our doorsteps when Rishabh's door opened.
"Hey! Someone woke up early today."
Someone also was a grump as he grunted at me. The words good morning were hidden somewhere there. I felt my lips lift up in my smile. I found this sleepy version of his, reluctant to face the world yet.
My eyes followed him as he passed me and stood in front of the lift.
"What's the special occasion?" I teased.
He did not answer me, choosing to stare hard at the numbers changing on the display. A strong floral smell had me turn my head and I saw a woman trailing him. She walked to him on her high heels and wrapped herself around his arm.
A boy and a girl. Nothing to look at twice, if this was not India. But it was. Her short red dress and bleached hair would have received wide stares and gaping mouths if it was not half past six in the morning.
Oh, that was why he was awake. Was this his girlfriend?
I shook off the green monster trying to crawl into my mind. She could be a sister, a cousin, or just a friend. I should not jump to a conclusion.
Feeling too confused to be intimidated I chose to remain at my doorway. Some more information would not hurt. One look into the house told me that my mom was still taking a bath while my dad slept. I had some time to do recon.
I walked a few steps out of my house to reach the newspaper that was lying closer to them. Though his friend's head was resting on his shoulder, her eyes were on me. My conviction of their relationship being non-romantic waned a little.
I smiled at her.
Besides that night of his party, this was the first time I was seeing him with someone who was not me. No one knocked on his door, his phone never rang. It was as if he had no life outside our friendship. And that thought worried me at times. If this was someone important to him, I did not want it to sour whatever we had. I had started to value it too much over the past few days.
"Where are you off to so early in the morning?"
He turned his head halfway and then rubbed the back of his neck as if uncomfortable. He was not expecting me to make a conversation.
"Breakfast," he grumbled avoiding my eyes. Was an introduction too much to ask for? Hoping to have turned to his companion.
"Hi!" I greeted her with a limp wave. My introvertness kicked in and I felt a frog in my throat. "I am Karishma. His neighbor slash friend."
She raised an eyebrow at the word friend. Understood as Rishabh was avoiding me as if I had the plague. I furrowed my eyebrows. Did I misconstrue? Were we not friends?
She gave me a sleepy smile, her head still tilted. If she was going for cute, she failed. Big time. With the red lipstick and too much make-up on she looked a bit possessed.
