Tu Hai

Chapter 01.

[2016] -

Mumbai was a city that never lacked life, no matter what.

Be it 5 am in the morning, or 11 pm at night – the city would still fascinate you with its rush and liveliness. To almost everyone I knew, the pace at which Mumbai moved fascinated them. But to me...well, I need to honestly admit that it wasn't as 'fascinating' or 'WOW'. Mumbai's a city that doesn't know what it means to take a pause, and living – and earning – in Mumbai always forced you to stand at the tip of your toes. It had been a month since I moved to Mumbai from the US, and I was tired of everything already. It was too soon to be 'done with' the fresh start in my life, but I didn't have any motivation to move forward, or work with passion. Everything was black, white and dull...until one night.

It was the 23rd of March 2016 – and that marked my 26th birthday, but it wasn't a big deal to me. Thankfully, the people at my workplace didn't know anything about it, and I kept my mouth shut; I had lost interest in almost everything in my life, that even birthdays were nothing more than 'just another day'. That night, I worked overtime because I didn't want to carry work back home on a weekend, and whilst working until 10.30 pm, my boss yelled his frustration out at me, a thousand times; it was one perfect birthday.

At around 10.40 p.m., I stood on the bustling roads, searching for a taxi. As I looked around, a faint voice fell into my ears from a distance, but I paid little attention to it, as I desperately wanted to rush back home.

"Nivi!", the voice was still faint, but it caught my attention. Only one person could call me that; the person, who signed a contract when we were 16, where he asked me to promise him that I'd never let anyone share that nickname. Amidst a crowd of thousands, my pounding heart simply knew who stood behind me and as much as I wanted to turn around and look at him, I felt I wasn't prepared for it. As a taxi halted before me, I felt the urge to hop into it and drive away, but something held my heart back. And that something was him.

I turned around, slowly, and as I did, my breaths turned shaky. The emotions within me were the most I'd felt in months.

"Hey?", he breathed and I looked up. Brown eyes. A charming smile. Messy hair. It was him. "Excuse me!", a stranger said, as the two of us stood right in the middle of nowhere, blocking everyone's way, as we stared at each other...with the disbelief that we met after...9 years. "Excuse me!!", the stranger's voice roughened, and I was too startled to move; I looked to my side, wondering where to go. "Come here", he wound his hand around my hand, gently, and tugged me to the side of the road, away from the rush.

It was just the two of us. And, silence.

"How are you?", he asked, looking at me. "Good", I answered, tucking my hair behind my ear. I wasn't prepared for that meeting. I simply wasn't! "Do you work here?", he questioned. "Yes. The World Trade Center building", I pointed somewhere. "My office is somewhere around, too. I just saw you cross the street, thankfully! Such a coincidence", he said. "It's been such a long time. I cannot believe we met this way, but I'm so thankful", he said. "I know. Small world", I smiled and he smiled back, too, before silence captured us, again.

"Do you think it's a coincidence we're meeting on your birthday?", he raised his brow, and his words took me aback with sheer surprise. "You remember?", I whispered, and licked my lower lip. "You think I'll forget, Nivi? I was thinking about it this morning; it never fails to hit me", he tilted his head to the side and I simply smiled, studying my fingers. He was horrible at remembering dates, but when we were almost together – he never forgot mine. He still didn't. "Happy birthday", he wished and took one step forward, before embracing me into a warm hug; it forced chills down my spine and snatched my breath away. "How old are you, now? 56?", he joked. "You wish", I rolled my eyes, smiling.