MIRA

39. Back in Bangalore🇮🇳

Mira woke up to the sound of utensils clinging and some tamil song playing on some device. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw someone moving around.

''Morning Sleeping beauty!'' Preeti said as she placed a cup of coffee on the bedside table. Mira sat up on her bed and pulled the sheets aside then asked, ''How long have I been asleep?'' before rubbing her face with her palms.

Preeti sat down on a stool with her coffee and her phone. Then she looked up at Mira and said, ''Eh...I don't know, about 14 hours...''

Mira widened her eyes and exclaimed, ''WHAT?!'' She glanced at the alarm clock on the bed-side table which displayed the time as 9:15 a.m.

''Yea dude...you were exhausted when we picked you up at the airport yesterday. You just crashed yesterday evening after eating. You didn't even wake up for dinner.''

''Oh..'' Mira said as she tied her hair back and left for the toilet.

''Some jet lag huh?'' Preeti asked when Mira came out, then pointed to the coffee which she insisted that Mira should drink to get rid of any drowsiness. Mira felt greatful for Preeti's presence and the fact that she didn't have to report to work until next week when the new year starts.

She sat down with her coffee mug and checked her phone for texts. Her parents had replied to the text that she had sent in the car on the way back from the airport, asking her to call. She called and spoke to them. Then she opened Vikranth's chat, whom she had also texted after landing. He had replied with a thumbs up and;

Vikranth: Miss you already Mira :(

She swallowed hard as she reread the text several times and imagined him saying what he wrote.

*****

Mira's connecting flight from Hong Kong was delayed, which explained why she was so exhausted when she landed in Bangalore. Preeti and Harish had come to the airport to fetch her. Preeti greeted Mira with a huge hug and said, ''I missed you bitch!''

''Haha...same here!''

 Then she greeted Harish who had black curly hair, was in casuals, and donned a stubble. Mira was too tired to even make any conversation with them on the way home that she only gave short answers when they asked her questions about Boston and the flight back. She even apologised to Harish for being her fatigue-self, especially when they were meeting after a long time. 

*****

That afternoon, Preeti surprised Mira with her cooking skills by making Fried Rice and Potato fry for lunch. When Mira asked her about this sudden interest for cooking, she coyly replied that she was preparing herself for the married life. Mira teased Preeti and felt happy for her friend. After lunch, Mira gave Preeti the gifts that she had bought for her, including a pack of chocolates for Harish as she didn't know what else to get him. 

''Bro...you didn't have to get him anything.''

''Why not? Poor guy came all the way to the airport to fetch me.''

''He had to come na, he's now family! Anyway, I'll keep these chocolates, what's his is mine now...haa!''

''Woah...slow down girl! And don't worry, I bought chocolates for you too, give these to Harish.''

Mira then turned to Preeti and asked her if she had spoken to her parents about Harish's proposal. Preeti's smile faded as she sighed and narrated the drama that broke when she went to Chennai a few days after Harish proposed. Apparently, she had already told her mom (Smita) about this before going home. Smitha had bluntly said that Preeti's father (Rajesh) would never approve of this proposal and asked her to forget him.