Amidst the thousands of cars crawling in the traffic on the highway; Anika felt like she had seen him. No. She knew it was him. Her heart wouldn't beat this fast otherwise. But what was he doing in a taxi? Something didn't add up. Instinctively, she picked up her phone and called his number after months. It was out of service. She blinked. Something was wrong. Maybe he was in trouble. No. She knew he was in trouble. She had been feeling that way for a long time now. She just never mustered the courage to reach out to him. But she couldn't quieten her feelings any longer.
Anika eyed the meter, gave the autorickshaw a few extra bucks to compensate and blindly jumped down on the road. What she was doing was madness. But it was needed.
She rushed towards the other lane and saw the taxi. Anika bent and sighed. There he was, staring into the space.
Life rushed back into her body with a vengeance. Something that had died the day they parted sprang back to life. She smiled her truest one after months. Not able to contain herself any longer, she tapped on the car's window.
Shivaay looked like he woke up from a stupor. When their eyes met, he froze. Literally. Then someone honked.
Anika shook her head, opened the taxi door and sat down next to Shivaay. She breathlessly greeted him, her voice ringing with happiness. "Hi!"
"Hi..." Shivaay managed to whisper. His face was still dumbfounded. Anika had expected it. Her smile only grew.
"How are you? It's been a while!" Anika said and then looked around the taxi cabin. "Why are you in a taxi? Where is your car? Where is Khanna jee? Did your car break down or something?"
Shivaay just smiled. "I am good, Anika. It's so nice to see you."
Anika returned the smile. She noticed that he had skipped the rest of the questions. She didn't mind that. He seldom shared everything with everyone and that was fine.
"How have you been?" he asked, his eyes staying on her face.
"Oh good. I got a few good events. I have now rented a 1 BHK in Malad. It's an upgrade for me and Sahil..."
Shivaay was impressed. But Anika bit her tongue. "Sorry. Sahil and I."
It made Shivaay chuckle. She needed him to know that she remembered his English grammar lessons very well.
And then there was silence. Anika realised that there wasn't anything to talk about. Or there was too much to ask. Because the dip in the conversation gave her time to observe him. He looked haggard. He always had good cheekbones but now they were prominent. So were the eyebags. His suit hung on his shoulder lifelessly. He had lost weight and a lot of his aura. Her heart broke. Was he sick again? He always looked eager to talk with her even when he avoided her. But right now, he had gone back to staring blankly outside the car. Everything about him was different.
Her hands itched to hold his shoulder. She fisted her palm. No, she couldn't cross this line.
"I don't remember us being this awkward," Anika remarked.
He looked down at his hands and smiled wryly. "Well. A lot of things have changed."
Anika noticed his favourite watch missing from his wrist. A bad feeling started to settle in her heart. "Have they? You tell me."
He didn't speak. She took a moment to think about everything. Though her mind remained blank. She turned to look at him and enquired, "How is everyone at home? Om, Ru, Dadi..."
His jaw hardened. Then he just shrugged. "No idea."
Anika was now distraught. She shrieked, "What does that mean?"
