Forget-Me-Not: Taste of Freedom

Epilogue

Epilogue

Diwali, 2012

They say Diwali is the triumph of light over dark; of good over bad. It's a new start, a new beginning of better things to come. According to Hindu mythology, Diwali is the day Lord Ram, with his wife Sita and his younger brother Laxman, returned home after an exile of fourteen years.

Perhaps, then, it wasn't so surprising that on this day, Geet finally got her wish fulfilled. That after a long exile of her own, she was reunited with her best friends. And the most surprising thing was, even after staying apart, they'd only strengthened their bonds. Now when they stood together, they couldn't see a difference. They were still a unit. They were still family.

Dia stood in front of the mirror, analyzing herself with a critical eye. Next to her, Vidhi gave her a sly smile. "You look like a girl."

"Shut up," Dia said, frowning. She adjusted her heavy necklace and the twinkling diamond piece over her forehead. Then she regarded herself dubiously. She looked beautiful. They all did.

"I can't believe we're going to celebrate Dhan-teras at Geet's place," she murmured.

"Yeah. After what happened between your mother-in-law and Gautam, we were afraid there wasn't going to be any celebration this time," Vidhi said carefully.

Geet shook her head, smiling. "It was a horrible thing to happen, I know. But... surprisingly, things have become better. Mother apologized to both of us, and this time, she really seemed to mean it."

No one had believed when they found out that it was Mrs. Kapoor who'd deleted the data and record of Geet's missed calls and messages from her son's phone. When confronted about it, she'd told Gautam that she didn't want Geet making him any more miserable. Gautam had been angry; they'd had a terrible fight, and for a day, things had been strained. But then Mrs. Kapoor had apologized, and these days, she didn't allow Geet into the kitchen when the cooks were working. Things had changed, and Geet could notice that. She was no longer treated like a guest in her own house, but like a legitimate member of the family.

"Well, apparently so. Since she invited all of us for Diwali; even Abhay!"

"I know. It's a miracle."

"Speaking of," Vidhi said, then she held out her hand. Geet broke into an exclamation—she'd spotted it first.

"What?" Dia frowned. "What happened? Why are you so excited?"

"Look at that big fat ring, you idiot," Geet laughed. "Oh my god. I can't believe this. It's finally happening! You and Abhay are engaged?"

Vidhi blinked, then laughed. "No. This is my mother's ring. I wasn't showing you that."

"Oh," Dia's smile dropped immediately. "Then what?"

"I was just going to say that Abhay and Kaira solved all their differences. She's living with him now, along with their mother, who shifted back to Mumbai yesterday."

Geet stopped smiling, too. "And I thought it was going to be about your wedding."

"Well, who said I wasn't engaged?"

"But you just said..."

"Yeah, this one is my mother's. But Abhay gave me this," she held out her other hand, and all of them looked down at the simple gold band with a diamond on top. It wasn't fancy. It wasn't shouty or attention grabbing, but it was just perfect for Vidhi. Dia looked up at her friend, and saw her smile. That smile, she thought to herself, could have clean bowled any straight man walking on this planet. Both of them engulfed her in a hug, and Vidhi broke out laughing, hugging them back.