You're My Serendipity

Heavy Hearts and Empty Souls

What the fuck was I supposed to do?
To tell her would hurt me and break me into pieces and to not do so would be unfair to her. Making decisions was never something I was good at. And when in trouble, a best friend is always to the rescue. I called up Krish. No answer. Another call placed, and yet no answer. 

I waited for 20 minutes in case he called back, and without another thought I climbed the stairs up to his apartment and rang the bell. 
Ding-dong
1, 2, 3, 4... And his mom opened the door. 

'Hello Aunty, Is Krish at home?

'Yes, come in, Jay!'
'He's in his room.'

I hurriedly took my shoes off and walked inside.. Opened the door to his room and said 'hi' with a smile and closed the door behind me. I jumped on the bed and to the topic without any beating around the bush. 
'So you know I've been in love with Jiya for the past 4 years.'

'I thought you were over it. Or at least you burried those feelings, right?' 

'I thought I did. Turns out, not. Anyway, she likes me too and...'

'I know she likes you', he casually said as he interrupted me. 

'Wait, no. WHAT? You knew? And you didn't tell me?'

'She's a good friend, and she told me not to tell you. Anyways, you were saying..?'

'Just because I need you right now, I'm ignoring this. So, she confessed. And last night I was going to tell her the truth about my feelings too.'

'But?'

'I received the acceptance letter from SIT. I'm joining in 2 months.'

'OH. Okay, first of all! Thats great news! You're gonna treat us! And secondly, it depends. After what happened in your last relationship, you understood that your career is more important.'

'So, do I tell her about this?'

'I'll let you decide that part. But don't regret putting yourself first.'

'You're right. I'll meet you in the evening. I asked mom for 20 minutes. My time's up. Bye!', I said getting up, now. 

'Yup,  Bye Cinderella.'

'Shut up, dude!', I said, throwing a pillow in his face and opening the door to leave. 

That night, I lay in bed, looking at Jiya's pictures and smiling. At least I knew that she reciprocated my feelings. And as usual, to ruin the mood, barged in Rhea (in case you forgot, she's my sister). I rapidly switched my phone off and acted to be asleep. 
'Stop acting, Jay. I know you're up and I know Jiya likes you and that you left her hanging.'

I practically jumped out from under the blanket and frowned at her, 'Will you shut up? Mom will hear you!'

'Relax!' she said as she pointed towards the closed door. 

'I was about to tell her the truth but it doesn't matter anymore. The truth is, I've liked her for the past 3 years.'

'Woah, okay, spare me the details. But why it not matter?'

'Think it through. I'm joining SIT in 2 months. I don't even feel like telling her that I got accepted.'

'About that... I already told her. I mean, I told everyone.'

'What the fuck is wrong with you?!!', I was practically screaming now. 

'Will you fucking shut up? Mom and dad will hear you!', she said out loud enugh for her voice to pass through the door. 

'You shut up! I'm an adult legally, you're not.' 

'Yeah, right.'

I fell silent at this. I would honestly prefer not telling Jiya than leaving her. And to top that fight, I recieved a text....
"You're leaving?"

'Here  comes the news of the splendid work you did today!', I mocked Rhea. But that wouldn't help my situation. What was I supposed to tell Jiya?

"Yeah, I was about to tell you. I'm sorry."
Sorry guys, but that was all I could come up with. I couldn't tell her that I planned on never telling her and disappearing suddenly for the next 4 years.

"Are you kidding me? You got in at SIT? That's frickin amazing! I send you all my best wishes.... and love."

Hmm, I knew her, well enough to know that she was pretending. She was happy I got in, but not about the fact that I would be leaving.

"So, when are you leaving?", I received her text. 

"I'm supposed to be there on May 10th. So I'll leave by 5th I'm guessing. There's a lot to figure out."

"I'm leaving for my summer vacation in a month. Will return in June. So, I won't be there when you go. My best wishes."

"Thank you, have a nice trip."

":)" 
Yes, that Emoticon. That emoticon was the last text Jay Mehta received from Jiya Shekhawat.