Broken Strings...

Chapter 3.

"After the school, I was thinking the whole time about that girl 'Radhika Aggarwal'. Maybe that 12 year old was already in love with her. 'What she would be doing right now?', 'What does she do at her home?', 'Where her home is?', 'May be it is near to my house?', 'May be I could be friends with her? - were the thoughts wandering in my head. But the thing which was clinging over my head with a massive weight was the desperation to see her as I still hadn't seen her face. I was waiting for the next day at school eagerly.

But that day, my father came home and I heard him saying to Ammi that he is going to send me to another school. I was dumbstruck hearing that for obvious reasons.

"No Ammi, I want to be in this school", I started crying.

"Arre jis school mein mai tujhe bhejne wala hun wo isse bhi bahut acha school hai aur wahaan tera friend Karan bhi padhta hai. Uske papa se baat kar ke aaya hun! (The school where I am going to send you now is better than this school. And your friend, Karan is also studying there. I have talked to his dad!)" My father said.

It gave me a new reason to hate him. I didn't want to leave that school. I had to be with Radhika at any cost and wanted to study in that school with her.

"What has happened to you suddenly? Kal to itna ro raha tha ki naya school nahi jaana aur aaj? (You were crying yesterday so much about going to this new school?)" Ammi said.

You see how manipulative parents are? The day before, she was the one who persuaded me to go there. I couldn't answer her question like - "I like a girl at this school and I want to study there only so that I could see her, everyday". Its India, Inspector and even a kid knows how he must not talk about a girl to our parents. If he does, either he will get beaten or teased to death.

"But I have made new friends here already! They are very good, even better than Karan. Karan, sometimes, bullies me, hits me!" I tried convincing at least my Ammi.

"But you never mentioned me about this before? Abhi jhoot maat bolo (Now don't lie to me!). You will also make new friends in this new school. You know why? Because you are my sweet boy who can win anyone's heart."

'Can I win Radhika's heart?' I silently wondered. But that task now seemed impossible when I was moving to another school.

My father got me an admission in the new school, finally. I was sad to my bits. I did not know why I felt that I can meet her again. It only felt that I was destined to meet her. The anticipation that I would see her again kept me stirring inside. My entire mind was, unconsciously, in the look out of her, to hear that voice again. There was a strong feeling that someday, somewhere, I will find her again. There was not even a single day that went without the thought of Radhika cropping up in my mind. But with the spinning of the wheel of time, those thoughts vanished. 'Par jaise Baarish ke khatam hone ke baad bhi uski halki si khushboo reh jaati hai, Mere zehan mein bhi Radhika waise hi bas gayi thi (But the way the rain leaves behind its faint smell even after its completion, Radhika had left behind her unique impressions )'.

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*July, 2001*

It was my first day in college. I entered the college gate and rode my bike straight to the parking. I was late and the parking was almost full. I spotted some place beside a scooty and parked my bike there. Once the engine of my bike stopped, my heart beats started increasing. I was reminded of my first day in my new school, the day I had heard Radhika's voice for the first time, and maybe also for the last time. I shook away Radhika's thoughts as fast as possible. I felt the same nervousness. The fear of having so many eyes fixed at you when you enter the class, the fear of the whole atmosphere changing around you. The only hope was that I and Karan were in the same college. At least, I won't sit like a loner in the class. I quickly peeped into the bike's mirror, ran my fingers through my hair to give them their perfect style, tugged at my shirt and headed towards my class. It took me more five minutes to search and reach my class.