Don't Love Me √

Will You Be There?

A month and a half later

Riha threw the phone on bed with an irritated expression. Rukku watched the process for a long time now, his sister roaming around, dialing, hanging up without a response every time with utter irritation. Finally he spoke. " Let it be Di! " 

" 20th time Rukku! 20th time in seven days! His Whatsapp shows a last seen of six days back. "

Riha broke down on the bed. Her head ached like hell. 

" Maaa!" , Rukku shouted.

Riha now lay on her mother's lap. Maa scribbled fingers down her hair. A strange calm happened to Riha in this process. She slowly closed her eyes.

" Riha, baby, why don't you visit him? " 

Riha stayed silent for a long time. And then slowly uttered, " I .. can't. " 

" If this is bothering you so much, you should, at least once. What I really don't get is, you yourself walked upto his door, befriended him, got to be an important part of each other's life for the past one and a half month! Then why can't you now? " 

Riha turned sideways. Her eyes were watering. 

" What the heck an important part maa?? He still hasn't chosen to talk about his past. How do I know if I matter at all, when he ignores my calls a twentieth time even?" , Riha uttered in a trembling voice while she wiped off the impending tears with her palm. 

Maa kept on cuddling her head. 

" Riha, as much as I have known Vivaan from you, he won't take a step forward. Rather, he will take ten steps backward without much of an explainable reason. It is you who need to initiate darling! Once again! " 

Riha sat up. " Why maa?? I understand he lost his parents, a guardian and maybe a dog too. But does that really give him a right to pass on the pain? Why doesn't he get that I'm not made of steel! It hurts. " 

" Then you should remind yourself, you yourself had walked forward to get hurt maybe. But my daughter isn't this weak. She's the strongest on earth! " 

Riha couldn't speak. She choked. " maa... I... I... don't understand him maa!! He's too good with you constantly for so many days that you'll feel he's the best person on earth! And then once of all he gets so rude that you are bound to overlook all his goodness! Neither does he speak up of his pain which can justify him maybe. ", Riha was sobbing hard. 

Maa pulled her closer, kissed her forehead. 

" Now if you have discarded every other human who wanted to be only good to you, and chosen a mysterious person for life, you have to, you're bound to endure some pain. 

If ego issues start arising, you know you are in love! I know you are in love! But does he? The fact is, maybe he needs you out there! But doesn't say because he's not made up that way. My Riha has always been with those in need. " 

Riha stared at maa with water streaming down her face. 

" Riha, as a mother I would never advice you to walk on the path of pain. But if you have chosen to, not walking on that will hurt you even more. Visit him. Push aside every ego, be the Riha before you met Vivaan, and walk on. " 

Riha kept staring. 

*****

Riha keenly noticed Vivaan's face as they both stood at the window of Vivaan's flat. The sun had just set and left a pink hue in the sky. Vivaan was staring at the sky. And Riha at him. 

Riha's twelve days stay at Surya Enclave had done only this to her that she could stare at him for hours now. Vivaan definitely was the best man she had met, though a living oxymoron, yet the easiest to love. Riha knew she loved him. Like a girl loved a boy, like a friend loved another, like a mother loved a child. A huge much.