The heart wants what it wants

Chapter - 7

Karthik 

Karthik woke up at 12 p.m. in the morning with a raging headache. Jet lag was messing with him. He needed coffee and he needed it ASAP. He walked into the living room and saw his father fussing with his phone and his mother already cooking lunch while humming a saw along with Spotify on TV. 

Wow. My parents have become tech-savvy. He thought. He had sent gadgets from the US to his parents in the last five years. Although they were hesitant to use them initially, the pandemic forced them to accept technology. His dad had finally given up on his Nokia phone and his mom had Facebook and Instagram accounts. He smiled thinking about his mom's attempts of sending IG profiles of potential matches and finding them private. 

He went to the kitchen and hugged his mom from behind. 

"Karthik, oof. Leave me. Go brush your teeth and take a shower. It is already 12 o'clock." his mom admonished him. 

"Let me have some coffee, please. I'll bath later" he begged. 

"No" she replied firmly. "Bath now." She turned to her dad and complained. "Harish, ask him to take a bath first."

Since his dad was wearing headphones, he was not aware of the conversation in the kitchen. 

"Harish..." she shouted again. But there was no answer. 

Finally, his mom gave up her attempts to reason with her son and get her husband's attention. She handed Karthik a mug of hot coffee and he grinned like a little boy. She shook her head and went back to her humming. 

Karthik sat on the couch and stared at the song playing on TV. A line from the song caught his attention and he could not get it out of his head. 

Kanase haari hoda mele, lokave sere - When dreams die, the world is your prison

She really did a number on me. He thought. But the lines were true though. He was 18 when he started imagining a life with her. Every dream, every opportunity, every success and failure were somehow linked to her. He had planned a life around her and she shattered them all in a second. And now he felt hollow inside without the ability to just feel. 

But he did feel though. Every time he thought about her. His treacherous heart skipped a beat. Damnit, stop messing with my life, Sheryl. I need a closure once and for all. 

Yes. He needed a closure. He decided meeting her one last time and putting a full stop to this thing was the only solution. He was sure she was married by now and maybe even had a kid or two. 

Seeing her happy and moved on would either fracture his heart permanently or finally heal him. He had to take a chance. He could not live like this. Meaningless affairs. Stuck in the past. Disappointing his parents again and again. 

Karthik finished his coffee and went back to his room to call the only person who could help him out. 

*************

Karthik wanted Shashwat to pass on Sheryl's phone number so he could contact her directly. But his idiot friend asked him to meet him in a cafe instead. He tried to reason with Shahswat. 

"Isn't your wife heavily pregnant and due any day now? Shouldn't you be with her?"

"My wife is so done with my hovering. The doctors have asked her to get admitted the day after tomorrow regardless of the pain. In the meantime, I am too nervous to sit and twiddle my thumbs anticipating her to go into labor. My sister literally asked me to get lost. So yes. I want to go out, have a cup of coffee, and talk to my good old friend for a couple of hours."

"Alright let's meet. Send me the location of the place."

Karthik was back in Bangalore for a week now but was still getting used to driving in the city. The traffic was intimidating and people hardly followed the rules. Taking his old bike was out of the question since that thing needed a thorough over-oil or better yet sold off. His dad had not bothered to touch it in the last 5 years. He drove his dad's car and wasted 10 minutes looking for a parking spot.   

He followed the maps and walked a kilometer to reach his destination. When he looked up at the cafe's board, he felt a sense of uneasiness. He knew this name. Knew it very well. 

Memories flashed in front of his eyes. 

"I'm gonna call it Drips and Sips." She was explaining while he nuzzled her neck and nibbled on her earlobe. "Are you even listening to me?" She pushed away from him and started walking towards the kitchen. "Yes. I am. What does it mean anyway? It kinda sounds dirty" he replied. She made a face. "Everything sounds dirty to you because your mind is always in the gutter......"

Shashwat, I will kill you. He wanted to meet Sheryl on his own terms. He did not like to be blindsided. He was definitely not ready to see her today. 

Shashwat came from the opposite direction and greeted him. "Hey, man. Finally. It's so good to see you." 

"Me too," he replied.  

Karthik was overwhelmed with emotions. It was really good to see Shashwat. His curly black hair fell over his forehead and his eyes twinkled through the black-rimmed glasses. 

They hugged and Karthik punched Shashwat on his back. 

"Aaahhh.. I am meeting you after five years and you are already assaulting me?" Shashwat asked. 

"You know what you did. Who owns this place?" Karthik asked sternly. 

"Umm. Not sure. Never have been here before." Shashwat looked anywhere but at Karthik. 

Karthik was about to call him out on his bullshit when a man walked out of the cafe with bags in his hand and greeted Shashwat. 

"Shashwat Bhaiyya. Why are you standing here? Go in. Madam Ji is in there. Thank you for this job Bhaiyya. I was so scared that I would be sent back to my village. But Madam Ji pays well and even lets me take leftovers home. I am so grateful to you."

"Hey, Avinash" Shahswat greeted the young man awkwardly. "I'm glad that you like this job. I'll see you around."

"Ok, Bhaiyya. I need to bring some stuff from Madam's car. I'll come back. You go inside." Avinash moved away. 

"Still don't know who owns the place?" Karthik gave a look. 

Without answering his question, Shahswat entered the cafe. Karthik could not do anything but follow him. 

And there she was. Her hair piled up on her head in a messy bun, an apron over her grey T-shirt and light blue jeans, dainty earrings dangling in her ears as she animatedly spoke to a customer. 

Karthik could not tear his eyes away from the scene. She seemed so passionate and genuine explaining some idea to the girl and the lady sitting in front of her. "I can do a seven-layered rainbow cake with purple frosting on the outside. Does it sound okay?"

"Yes, totally" the girl replied. 

Karthik, you are so fucked. The song from the afternoon played in his head. 

Kanmareya kaade neenu, kaadiruva haade naanu - You are the forest who disappeared and I am the song who is waiting