Forget-Me-Not : Bound by Secrets

Forget-Me-Not

Prologue

The world is ours, she thought as she raised her face to the sunlight, challenging the sun to prove her wrong. Everything is ours. We belong here, and the place belongs with us. There was nothing she couldn't do. I could capture it all, she thought. The huge expanse of the sea, the limitless sky... she could make them all hers. Beside her, Dia dangled her legs in space and chewed on her gum, while on the other side Vidhi stared straight ahead at the sea. Waves crashed against the boulders below them, spraying water in the air, and sea gulls circled in the sky. It was an afternoon just like the others, but her spirits were free and running wild with fancies.

Sitting farther away, on Vidhi's other side, Geet sighed in satisfaction. "This is so marvelous," she said quietly, and a little smile played on her lips. She had never spent a more tranquil afternoon, watching the sun set, and enjoying the beauty of the sea. She could stay here for a lifetime. "Just the perfect place to be."

"I would rather be at home, studying for the exams," Vidhi commented. "Not that this place is any less beautiful, but still."

"Don't even start about exams," Dia warned. "I'll feel like throwing up."

"You feel like throwing up about almost everything," Vidhi retorted. "Except for perhaps skydiving."

"Obviously. Skydiving is cool. It's the ultimate experience," Dia said. Ever since she'd gone for a vacation to Spain, her view of the world had changed. Looking at the ground from the air, experiencing for one moment the pure amazement and awe of seeing the earth below her, was the best experience of her life. She'd never done anything more exhilarating than that. She wished she could do something like that again.

Vidhi snorted.

"But obviously you wouldn't care. You'd prefer watching stocks rather than skydiving," her friend jabbed.

"Oh, shut up, you guys," Geet said good naturedly. She rarely got into arguments with her friends. Most of the times, she was the one to break them up after a fight. It happened quite often, but she was adept at such situations. She couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon-watching the Mumbai skyline and the sea, and spending time with her three best friends. Out of which one seemed to be deep in thoughts.

"Look, Ananya's silent," she said to the other two, and they watched Ananya daydream in broad daylight.

"I bet she's thinking of the higher order of the world. High tech salons, exotic spa centers, larger than life shopping malls. And of course, yummy looking guys waiting at every corner," Dia said, and Vidhi snorted again.

"Nonsense," Ananya said, startling them all as she spoke, still looking out at the sea. "I'm thinking about conquering the sea and the sky. Thinking how the world is all ours."

At her words, all of them became just a little quiet... and a little thoughtful. It was usual for Ananya to have such bold thoughts. And most of the times, they drove her friends to reflection, whether they wanted it or not. Particularly irritated by this, Vidhi frowned. She didn't want to think about things which Ananya told them. She was practical, whereas Ananya was... Ananya. She was the bold, confident, and impulsive one. She was the dreamer, not her. She was practical, straightforward and clear headed about her goals. She couldn't afford to spend time thinking about changing the world, or owning the world, or whatever. She already had a lot of burdens to shoulder.

Ananya looked longingly at the boulders below, at the water splashing against them, and got up. "Come on guys, let's go down there."

"You're crazy," Vidhi said immediately. "I'm not going down there."

For a moment, Ananya looked at her friend as if she couldn't understand her. For a moment, it was only the two of them, battling out their unspoken conflicting thoughts. Then Geet intervened, and said, "Vidhi's right. We shouldn't be going down there. It's dangerous."

"Screw dangerous; it's beautiful," Dia said, sounding a bit lost, and Ananya grinned.

"We're going down. Would you at least click pictures while you're here?" she asked Geet, and Geet looked doubtful.

"Don't go," she said. "It isn't worth it."

"Everything in life is worth it, my friend. Everything."

Saying that, Ananya went to Dia, and they both held hands, exchanging smiles. Vidhi watched them as they found a spot from where they could descend without much trouble, and felt concerned and angry at the same time. It wasn't that she didn't like fun. But there was a limit to which a person could do some things. Going down to the bottom of the embankment, for instance, and standing precariously close to the sea on those uneven and dangerous boulders was not fun. It was suicide.

However, her friends made it to the edge easily, and then they turned back and grinned, waving.

"Take pictures!" Ananya yelled. "Take good ones!"

Geet sighed, shook her head, and took out the camera she carried in her bag. She was smiling, and Vidhi couldn't understand why. They were being childish. She just stood there, poker faced, hoping they wouldn't lose their balance and fall into the water. Or maybe they really should. She didn't know which was better-having her life plagued by her friends or not having her friends at all.

The latter thought made her catch her breath. Don't even think of it, she warned herself. She couldn't even imagine her life without her three best friends. It was too painful to think. However they were, however much they annoyed her, however much they got on her nerves, she couldn't live without them. Sure she got angry with them, but they kept her going. They kept her sane, prevented her from burdening herself with anymore responsibilities and helped her through difficult times. It was worth all the irritation in the world.

"We could have gone, too," Geet said softly, clicking pictures as Ananya and Dia posed. "But who would take the pictures then?" she smiled.

She looked at Vidhi, and was surprised. Vidhi looked so thoughtful... "Is anything wrong?" she asked instantly, and her friend shook her head.

"I just realized that I love those idiots. How pathetic is that?" Vidhi smiled.

Geet grinned. "Just pathetic," she shook her head. "Go ahead; join them. I'll take the photos."

Vidhi took one step, and then hesitated. "No, you go. I'll do this. I'm good with cameras."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure."

Geet took the same route as her friends, going down slowly, cautiously as she avoided the sharp corners of the boulders, and Vidhi watched her join the other two. Then they all posed for her, and she clicked a photo. And marveled at how free and happy her friends looked. Unconsciously, her lips pulled up in a smile, and she took some more photos before they got tired of posing and began coming up again.

Evening settled in, and the sun began its lazy journey towards the sea. Ananya was grinning as she came back with her arms looped around the other two's shoulders. "It was amazing," she announced. "You missed it."

"I clicked pictures," Vidhi said in return. "And believe me; I saw more from here than from there."

It seemed as if their difference in opinion had never happened. The four friends held hands and looked out together at the sea, watching the sun set, their hairs whipped back by the wind, their faces raised to the sky, and each of them smiling and feeling luckier than anyone else in the world.

Friendship is a great thing, Vidhi thought. And lost herself in the beauty of the present.