The Midnight Moon

Epilogue

It was a Wednesday afternoon in a busy city. There were not many people on the road and the street was calm. The weather was pleasant that day, appealing to everyone. Dia smiled as a cool breeze touched her face. It was an amiable start that increased her enthusiasm.

She looked to her right and then to her left to avoid any craziness before crossing the road. Despite being a working afternoon the roads were busy, just how it was in the city all the time. She smiled when she caught a familiar face. She walked faster to catch up with her.

"Hi!" She could not hide her happiness.

"Hello, Dia," Himani said with a smile." How are you? When did you come back?"

"A week ago. Is this the restaurant?"

"It looks like that. Let's go and sit, if we are wrong then they will inform. Come."

As their table was reserved they did not have to wait, like some people, to get their table. They were the first ones to come and the rest where in transit.

"Are you going to move back to Mumbai or you plan to stay in Panchgani?" Himani asked, starting a conversation.

"I am coming back definitely, but for now I am there."

"How many months has it been?"

"Ten months. I went there in January. It is such a beautiful place." 

"I have been there once. It is beautiful. You are staying with your aunt, right?"

"Dad's cousin. So yeah, aunt."

"I never understood why you left the city suddenly. Everything was going fine, right?"

"It was, technically. I was having a smooth divorce and I had my family with me. But the way people saw, questioned, advised me, I will be honest, I was freaked out. Many also suggest suitable husbands for me. My mother was keen to get me married again. After she made me meet someone for the second time, I knew I had to get out of there. I was with Anya di and she still made me do all that. It had to be far from her, where she could not reach me on a daily basis. So, I went five hours away. But that wasn't much effective. She often comes to visit."

"Aw. I hope she is easy on you."

"She is not. But it's fine. I like it there. I get time to cook and experiment with food, also I help my aunt who has a small cafe there. She pays me and I get to do what I like, so it all worked out well."

"If it's working well then you should stay there. It's not that far from Mumbai, the weather is nice and you seem to have a good time there. If something is making you happy keep doing it. I would say from my own experience. I left a job I loved and even after ten years, I am regretting. Life just gets busier with time so better do something you like."

Dia nodded her head. "I will keep that in mind. How are your kids? How is Leena? Why didn't you bring her?"

They talked for ten minutes before slowly everyone else started to arrive. The first one was Anya to arrive, then came Ali and his sister, Khadijah and the last were Samar and his brother. It was chaotic at first with everyone's high spirit and enthusiasm. It was only after eighteen minutes and after ordering their food that they became a group.

"You guys are really loud," Anya said covering her ears.

"You are the loudest, Anya," Kabir said narrowing his eyes.

"I am not loud now."

"You are always loud."

"Why are we here? I mean, why are we meeting today?" Ali interrupted them.