Qainaat

17

Entering her room, she casually tossed her tablet onto the couch that she kept on the dressing table in hurry. After a deep breath, her gaze briefly lingered on the couch, but she opted for the bed. She sprawled out on it, her limbs casually stretched, and her hair scattered loosely around her.

She let out a sigh before rolling over and lying on her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. 'Arrrghhh...' she muttered, turning her face to the left. As she looked toward the window, she noticed the absence of the moon.

'I think it's a new moon today,' she remarked to herself.

'What should i do? Haa kardu kya..........yaar ye sab kitna difficult hai.'

Dhara always had clear goals set for her future.From the specific field of study she intended to pursue to the university she would choose and the projects she aspired to work on—every detail was thoughtfully considered.But she never thought about marriage. In her current frame of mind, marriage was the last consideration; her sole focus rested on dedicatedly advancing her professional pursuits and the ambitious goal of establishing a second branch for her company.

Once again, she buried her face in the pillow when her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she noticed it was a video call from Purvi.

Accepting the call, she positioned the phone in front of her with the assistance of the bed rest. She continued lying on her stomach, her chin nestled on the soft cotton pillow, and her hand tenderly embracing it for comfort while participating in the video call with Purvi.

On the screen, she spotted her two best friends, Srishti and Purvi, lounging on the sofa in their pyjamas, each holding a bowl and seemingly relaxed.

'Hey !! guys akele akele hi ice cream kha rahe ho.' She pouted.

'Tu bhi aaja phir saath mein khayenge.' Srishti said, stuffing her mouth with a handful of ice cream.

'hmm.......Yaar kya tasty ice cream hai.' Purvi moaned at the sweet taste of it.

'Tum dono mil ke mujhe jala rahe ho na.' Dhara narrowed her eyes on her friends.

'Haan......tu jaldi wapas aaja na yaar. Diwali kab ki ho gayi, tu aayi hi nahi abhi tak. '

'Areee main aane to wali thi kuch din pehle hi, par papa ne kaha ki kuch din aur ruk jate hain so. Aur covid ki meherbani se work from home karne ki practice to hain hi, toh company ka bahana bhi nahi laga sakti.'

'Par hamara kya ,we miss you, aur pata hai ek naya restaurant khula hai yahan kya mast view hai yaar aur maine suna hai wahan ka paneer lababdar to oyee hoyee hoyee................ Jaldi aaja saath main chalenge.'

'Come fast. Ye zayda din nahi rukegi, aur phir akeli hi chali jayegi kisi din.' Purvi said.

The best friends chuckled at this. Srishti, always a big foodie, had a phone filled with numbers of various restaurants, including street vendors. Mention a new restaurant to her, and you could count on finding her there the very next day.

'Vaise kab aa rahi hai tu ?'

'Pata nahi yaar.' she sighed.

'Kyu ab kya hua?'

She lifted her chin from the pillow and positioned her elbow for support and sat attentively, 'Sristi Purvi,papa got an alliance for me. Unke friend ka beta hai.'

'What?' Both the girls over the call stopped eating, the spoon still in Purvi's mouth, while Sristhi's spoon hung in the air. Their eyes widened with the new information, very calmly they kept the bowl at the table. And suddenly, they started yelling out loud and hugged each other, swaying left and right, making weird "wo ho" sounds.