Intihaa

.| Yours, Always.

Memories never leaves you.

It's like there is a replay button in mind that gets clicked automatically and repeats the most painful memory everytime. In every round her school was always presented in hd quality, intentionally focusing on those moments which has the power to break her more.

And at that time when Nabhya saw the banner of her school canteen, it came rushing down, all at once, squeezing her heart painfully. She hesitantly stepped inside, clutching her bag tightly, the spread of people around was long forgotten when she spotted the familiar table in the corner.

Her steps were shaky, mind meandering with thousand of thoughts. She approached the person sitting on one chair, gasping inaudibly when she saw him.

Flashback:

Hastily running, she got inside the canteen, sunking opposite her best friend and panting softly.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late." She replied, added after gulping few drops of water,"was busy in basketball practice." She sighed when the water cooled down her body.

"But why did you arranged this sudden meet?" There was no response from the other side. Nabhya eyed the boy, furrowing her brows when she realised he was out of his character.

"What happe-"

"I'm sorry." He cut her off, finally lifting his face and tried not to stare too much in her eyes.

"Wh-"

"I can't do this anymore Nabhya. That's it!" Nabhya was clearly confused, her brain was unable figure out what was actually happening.

"I don't want to be friends with you. Our friendship is over." When these words sunk in, Nabhya froze. It didn't felt like the world was on destruction or she was falling in a deep well. No, it was silence, a silence that welcomes the chaos, the chaos of destruction.

"I hope we'll never see again." With this, he left her. Without giving a proper reason, without providing the sound to break this silence, without hearing her out, without letting her utter all the feelings she had buried deep inside her.

Flashback Ends

"Ishaan?" She called out once she was seated, her eyes widened at the moment she saw his lips wounding in a smile.

He was her best friend, she was sure, for she could recognise that smile with that dimple any time.

"Yes," There was a strong urge to cry in her hearing his voice. It's been so long. Eight years, she was hearing it after eight years.

"How are you?" He asked, she tried looking through his goggle rimmed eyes but couldn't. He was fully covered in black, his upper part confined in black shirt while lower in black jeans.

"What do you think Ishaan? That I would be fine after you left me without any reason?" Her reply had him sighing softly with his head bowing down.

"I'm sorry." These words irked her, her urge to cry was mixed with anger. How could he expect her to accept his sorry? She was broken, left alone to feel dejection and his only words after eight years is sorry? Does he know how much her heart cracked that time? How much she had cried to sleep or how much in love she was with him?

"Does this sorry makes for everything you have done?"

Ishaan removed the glasses from his eyes, showing Nabhya his weakness expressly he couldn't show to others.

For her it was nothing important but when she witnessed how his eyes couldn't focus, things was getting finally into the places.

"I'm blind Nabhya."

Silence.

She was stunned.

"The week before our last meet I recieved the news of me being diagnosed with Progressive Keratoconus. At first I was numb, I couldn't digest the fact of becoming blind but then it sunk in. I couldn't stand the pity, sympathy people were throwing towards me. I wanted to start a fresh."

"You could have told me." Her voice wavered.

"No one knew the whirlwind of emotions brewing inside me. You don't usually get diagnosed with a disease that would eventually cause you to lose your vision in few years. But I did Nabhya and it was so hard for me."

The tears she was trying so hard to stop from the beginning started flowing through her eyes. He was going through this much pain and she was blaming him all along of these years. What was his fault to recieve such a brutal punishment?

"I just came to finally give you the reason. I hope you will forgive me someday." He put the curtain of his blindness back on his eyes and after searching for his stick, he stood up, preparing for departure.

"Again Ishaan? Just like eight years ago you left without hearing me out you are doing today as well. But you know what?" Nabhya grabbed her bag, sliding from the seat towards him and to his surprise she took his other hand which was free and intertwined his fingers with her own. "You have to hear me out today. Who gave you right to assume from my side, huh? Don't ever leave my hand Mr. Ishaan. I was away from your life for eight years and I'll not blame you or me, the blame is to go on fate. But now I'm here and I won't let you go because I love you."

Ishaan finally broke down, letting Nabhya to pull him in her embrace.
"I love you too Nabhya and I don't want to be away from you."

Maybe fate has separated them once but the power of their love was enough to reconcile them back.

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