A Loan Of Five Rupees

s n i p p e t

This is a chapter from the story- Not A Simple Engineer Boy!

As many of you have requested me for years now to show a bit of the future of the crazy love story of "Samiksha and Krishna", I thought to share this particular snippet. This is not entirely about the couple, but more about Samiksha and her best friend- Xavier. Hope you guys like it!

P. S. Thanks for being a bunch of supportive readers. I sometimes get overwhelmed with the kind of love this story has received in Wattpad. Love you all!

Also, do read my current story- "Not A Simple Engineer Boy!"

-Suganthi

--

Year 2023

Samiksha's eyes widened in surprise as if it was unreal to see her best friend standing outside her home. She thought it was a dream, but it vanished in thin air when Xavier tugged her into his arms to embrace her in a bear hug.

"Xav!" she cried, her hands shaking and trying to hug him back, "I missed you. I missed you so much!"

Yes, she had missed him, for years, as her mind had been filled with the displeasure of his divorce and it had soured every beautiful memory of him. She had missed not being able to smile at his stupid jokes and his goofy grin, his absolute craziness for engineering, and his love for her mother's Puran Poli. It all came rushing to her mind.

And Xavier had missed her, equally. He had missed her small hand trying to pat his head, her eyes sparkling at his humor, her adorably cute face that had scrunched whenever he or Alisha had tried to tease her about her bronze man. Everything, he had missed everything about his lovely Iksha.

He grinned when he felt her hot tears wash over his shirt. His little doll hadn't changed at all, always a crybaby, always emotional.

"Hey! And here I thought I was the only one whom my darling loved the most.", Krishna mischievously commented standing beside him.

Almost a week back, Xavier had received his call. He had requested him to help surprise Samiksha for her birthday. Xavier had been more than happy to agree. After all, they were living in the same city and it would have been a shame to decline such an offer.

Samiksha had been angry at him but he also had made no effort to reconcile. He never tried to reconnect and this was the best he could do. His mind had nagged with doubts, that maybe she would avoid him, but it evaporated the moment when he saw her eyes. Those always held the truth and in a fraction of a second, he recognized unparalleled love for him in them.

Ignoring her husband's flirtatious remark she glared at Xavier, "You brute, you never missed me, did you?"

He stared at her tiny friend whose scowl made her face cuter than before- how was that even possible?

"Well, Ali and this husband of yours...", he pointed at Krishna, "...updated about your life to me regularly.", he shrugged as she pulled him inside, "I don't think I missed you."

Samiksha slapped him lightly on his cheeks, "You stubborn stupid!", she chided, "I expected you to talk, after our fight about--", she stopped herself and Xavier noticed her hesitation.

"My divorce.", he helpfully supplied, "It's not a taboo topic, and don't treat it like one."

Krishna's body shifted behind them, and Xavier noticed he was trying to walk past them. After all, it was his sister who they were talking about. He weighed his words before continuing, "Subhadra is my past not my enemy."

Yes, not my enemy, only the devil who pained me extraordinarily.

He coughed, trying to change the topic, "Well, enough of your time.", his eyes scanned the room, "Where is my little angel?"

"Oh! Dhriti is sleeping.", Samiksha replied, "It's tough to have a toddler.", she sighed with exhaustion.

Xavier admired the lady standing in front of him. She was his little girl, always protected and pampered by him and Alisha, and now she was managing womanhood so gracefully- a successful surgery resident, the wife of a righteous IPS officer, and the mother of a baby girl. It was unbelievable for him to see her grow from a cute little kid to this extraordinary woman.

Life does unimaginable things.

--

After chatting for an hour or two Krishna excused himself, "I'll go and start preparing for the dinner.", he continued, "I have planned something special for my darling, and it needs some time and love to cook."

"Try not to burn the kitchen.", Samiksha called after him. He turned to smirk at her and fled away.

"Come on, let's go outside.", she stood straight from the sofa and beckoned Xavier to follow her.

They both walked in silence. Xavier noticed red dripping from the horizon as the sun started to hide itself below it. It indeed looked mesmerizing as orange and red tinted the sky.

Why haven't I ever noticed them like this before?

"I thought it was you."

Xavier's head snapped towards Samiksha, "Pardon?"

A frown was plastered on her face, she looked anxious. Gripping the end of her saree's pallu she swallowed, "I still don't know about what happened between you and Subhadra.", she looked at him, her doe eyes a picture of honesty, "But recently she told me that it was her who wanted to leave you and not the other way around."

Her words made his heart ache as he stared at her, "And...and you were angry because you thought I was hurting Subhadra?", he asked.

He knew that Samiksha had opposed their decision to divorce, he knew the reason for her being distant but hearing it out loud made the back of his eyes burn. Sadly chuckling, he continued, "Do you think I am capable of hurting anyone? You know me, Iksha."

"Sorry.", she muttered, "Xav, it had happened so fast and she..she had distanced herself from everyone. I saw her--"

"Crying?"

"Daily."

Pain shot through every nerve in his body. It shouldn't after what his lovely darling had done to him, after these many years, yet every fiber of his body wanted to scream, wanted to cry.

Clutching the balcony railing, he scoffed, "Probably that's what you get for being loved.", he tried to hide his pain behind sarcasm.

Silence and darkness enveloped them like it had happened in his life, vanishing beautiful colors to pitch black.

"Xav, do you...do you still love her?", she asked, her eyes filled with concern for him.

"I don't know.", he shook his head and turned his face away from her. His eyes were full of tears, "I fucking don't know.", he whispered, his voice breaking in misery.

She didn't utter a word, no advice or prying questions. The sound of her anklets made him aware of her movement. He felt her hand gently caressing the back of his head, lulling him to comfort, "It's okay, it's not important anymore.",

A few tears trickled down from his eyes.

I fucking don't know.

--fin--