Destiny's Game

Ch. 9 Abhimanyu Khurrana

Naina's POV: 

Watching my best friend leave for another city was nothing short of a heartbreak. I missed her already and wanted to run to her and tell to never leave me but we had all grown up now and had different priorities and expectations from life and ourselves. To achieve those stupid dreams, we have to separate, limit our contacts so we could focus on what we wanted, and rarely meet each other because we have other important things to sort through. Honestly, I can imagine my friendship form now on: at the start we would talk, perhaps everyday, and then slowly those number of calls would decrease and we would become distant like my dad and his friend's friendship. It would end like that and if God wanted to unite us, he would but if he didn't, then all we would have is some memories to chuckle at and tell our kids about. 

I turned my eyes towards Aryan once Aditi had disappeared into the airport after waving at us for one last time. Aryan had tears in his eyes although he tried not to show it. "You miss her?" I asked him. He nodded and opened his car door for me, so he can drop be off. "I will miss her too." I stated, wiping the tears off my eyes and gazing at the road in front of me. He was quiet and hummed to agree with me. "Did you find anything about Jiya?" To break the silence, I had to say something and the first thing I thought about was my other friend whose whereabouts were still unknown to me. 

Aryan inhaled deeply and steered the wheel to the right. "No." He paused for a moment. "I think Aditi was right." 

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled by what he'd said. He stopped outside a shop and took off his seatbelt. "Where are you going?" I asked as he stepped out of the car and walked into the sweet shop. Following him, I tugged at his arm. "What do you mean?" I repeated. 

"My mom needs some sweets from here, we have guests coming over." My companion said, ignoring my question that I had asked him twice. "Wait here." He went in and came out with a couple of boxes and placed them at the back of the car. I sat inside and he too took his seat. "I think Aditi was right about Jiya running away with that boyfriend of hers." 

"Aryan-" 

"No, listen. It makes sense: her parents are mad at her, she hasn't called any of us yet and even her boyfriend isn't around. They must've eloped and I am sure of it." 

"How are you so sure?" 

He exhaled shakily. "Jiya and Kabir are neighbours. I just had to go next door to check in if he was there and his mother said he has gone away to another city." 

"Which city?" 

"Mumbai." 

My eyes widened in shock. Mumbai? Well, maybe Aditi could-

"Aditi shouldn't." Aryan stated and I snapped my eyes at him. "What? Why?" 

"Adi has gone there to conquer her dreams, Naina. I don't want her to worry about Jiya and maybe Jiya is happy with him, so why bother her? I mean, she hasn't even called us once after she left." His voice broke ever so slightly but he masked it pretty well. He loved her, I could tell but she had never saw his feelings that he so perfectly hid behind those brown orbs. They had been best friends before I and Aditi met them in college. We got closer over the years, but Jiya had always remained a little distant with us but with Aryan, she was completely open. I remember as clear as day, when I saw signs of Aryan being in love with her. It had been almost 2 and half years now since Aditi made him confess about his emotions. However, he was never able to tell Jiya. His thoughts about making it awkward between them if he confessed and then him thinking that he would lose her as a friend. All these things stopped him, stopped from taking a step closer to where his heart was set at. 

I placed my hand on his shoulder to show that I was always there for him, no matter what. "Aryan, I think you should move on." My advice came out a whisper, as I was scared of his reaction. I wanted nothing but happiness for him. He was like a brother to me and he had always considered me as his little sister as he had none. "I know you are heart broken but do you think you can spend the rest of your life with her thoughts. Jiya is my friend but you are like my brother. Whatever happened with her, only God knows and he is taking care of her. And you, you should look after yourself. Jiya was your first love and it will take time to forget her but trust me, maybe there is someone else written in your life. Someone better, perhaps."