“Passengers going to
travel from Delhi to Goa are requested to please take note that the flight has
been delayed by 30 minutes, we regret the inconvenience caused” repeated the lady at the
periodic announcement system at Delhi Airport. The place was flooding with
people who had arrived to see off or receive their respective related beings
rather than the travelers! Many, among the people there, were actually
listening to the said matter on the speakers and the rest were passive yet! But
among all these, there were the ears which were inattentive to the speakers and
the respective eyes were looking at the flights display screen constantly with
the eyebrows in a confused state, shoulders shrugged down in despair and lips
sealed up like a little upset kid!!
Rishaan, to whom the above mentioned
organs belonged to, while blankly staring at the display screen failed to
realize that he was standing amidst the flow of the people. Before he could
return back to his senses again, there came an unexpected blow on his bums that
made him loose his balance and fall on the floor with his legs up and his
favourite Ray-Ban glasses part away from him and kicked here and there between
the walking legs! The terrific blow on bums brought Rishaan back to earth. Collecting
his shattered senses back from the ground, he got up and looked back and found
Kiara, eyes big round with her fists tightened and some of his friends laughing
at him. “Kiara?” Rishaan was about to burst out on her when she changed her
guilty expression saying “Sorry nut ball! I didn’t see you standing here in the
way and hit you by my trolley.” and started laughing at him. Seeing her
laughing so loud Rishaan almost forgot his anger and joined her, giggling
embarrassingly.
“Rishaan. Your glasses. They would
have been crushed under legs!” said a lovely, chirpy female voice at the back!
Rishaan turned around and a cute baby smile slowly got spread over his face.
Looking at her Rishaan felt his heart travelled all the way up to his mouth
almost falling out there. She was in a very simple attire of a simple but long
t-shirt and denims with pair of Nike floaters in feet yet looked breathtakingly
beautiful. Rishaan was smiling like a nerd at her and took his glasses from her
saying “My sunnies. They escaped a cruel death. Thank you, Diya.” Diya smiled
expressing pleasure, for helping him, without using any sort of words, just
through her eyes. Rishaan’s heart was still in his mouth wanting to pour out
all those hidden feelings for Diya but lips were sealed up. “You silly. I swear
I would have killed your little sunnies, whom you have brought up facing too
many struggles, for your stupidity.” commented Kiara to annoy him. “Silly? Holy
shit! And what stupidity?” asked Rishaan visibly annoyed by Kiara’s words. “Standing
in the midst of the flow and lost in your own fantasies.” Said Kiara, pushing
her luggage trolley ahead walked past him, again turned back saying “NUT BALL!”
and chuckled. Rishaan was annoyed yet smiled because he loved the way Kiara
used to tease him every time. He looked for Diya and saw her walking along with
Kiara for security check. “Dear Goa, I’m coming. You are very well aware with
my mess up but do keep the excitement up and the mess down. Yours sincerely,
Devil.” He thought to himself and went ahead in the flow.
Turning few pages back!!
It was the annual function time in
Delhi College of Engineering. Clusters of students as well as faculties were
greatly supportive for the event. The auditions for the cultural events of the
annual night were about to be started. “Is the arrangement of the sound system
done? Where is the co-ordinator? Where are the third year students? Isn’t it
getting late by now?” yelled Prof. Nair. There spread a wave of silence in the
auditorium when one corner started making little voices of falling files and
pens. “Sir every set up is done and tested twice. We must proceed with the
auditions.” Voice came from the same corner. The figure at the corner was the
co-ordinator of the auditions and the whole cultural event but a little messed
up with papers in one hand and his I-pad in another. His legs tangled between
wires of the microphone and those wires further passing round his neck through
his hands. “I....I think you need to sort out with your mess, Youngman!”
chuckled Prof. Nair and asked “your good name please?” The figure replied
embarrassingly “Rishaan Arora, Sir.” The next moment Rishaan found the two
girls standing by his side and giggling over this happening. It is a natural
fact that not a single being on this earth can slip this kind of embarrassment
into his account so did Rishaan. There was a don’t-you-dare expression over his face when those two girls; one
quite hot putting on a skinny denim with a funky spaghetti outfit, eyes lined
up black, wavy brown coloured hair left untied, wrists covered with three
different species of bands and voguish Adidas shoes while the other one was
quite opposite, having dressed herself in a normal kurti, quite formal type of attire, with side bag on the right
shoulder and a black folder in the left hand, pair of ethnic ballet shoes, hair
done tidily and a pair of glasses covering her black eyes; approached him and
started helping him untangle himself from the bunch of those electric wires.
Rishaan still had the disgust well spread over his face. Getting done with it,
the funky figure was arrogant enough to turn back and go on her way while the
indigenous girl said “Pardon, we laughed at your mess. Please don’t mind.”
Rishaan felt an instant liking towards her and said “I will surely mind if you
won’t tell me your name” winking at her. She smiled and said “I’m Diya.
Electrical 2nd year.” And she pulled the arrogant funky being
towards her, turned her round facing him and said “That’s my friend Kiara. EC 2nd
year.” “Hey!” said Kiara with an unfriendly expression. “I don’t need to
say as you must have known my name by now.” Said Rishaan and all three of them
burst out laughing.
This was the onset of a different
episode of the lives of these three. Their friendship started from the mess up
of the auditorium and proceeded quite rapidly by meetings in the canteen during
lunch breaks followed by bunking lectures together though belonging to
different classes, further succeeding up to hangouts together at different
places. Within all this, they developed a spectacular bonding for each other.
Rishaan started adoring both the girls a lot. Both of them were at the top of
his chat list in all the online conversational applications, be it Whatsapp,
Hike or Facebook Messenger. Social media is the driving factor of craze now-a-days
in the youth and it rushes in their each and every vein and rules their minds.
Though it keeps you connected to a person miles away but it widens the gaps
with those people who a seated just by your side. Kiara and Diya were too in a
constant touch with Rishaan socially and also felt a little stuff of admiration
rather attraction towards him. Rishaan too kept on flirting and teasing both of
them but somewhere in his heart he felt something different for Diya’s beauty
and was falling for her but his heart used to kick him and start thumping
thinking about Kiara’s cheerfulness and uniqueness. His feelings were
oscillating between the two girls. He was all in sixes and sevens as both the
girls were equally beautiful, sensible, empathetic and sensitive at heart.
One moment when Kiara flashed in his
mind, an aura of romantic feelings would surround him and out of this
helplessness he used to say it out to her and she being a light hearted and
damn cheerful, fun-loving being used to slip those serious talks into jokes.
While at the other face of the coin when thoughts of Diya overcasted his mind,
his heartbeats would again go out of control thinking about her simplicity, her
aura of positivity, her pretty smile and innocent eyes. His heart was everyday
getting over exhausted by constantly thumping upon the names of both the girls.
He felt his feelings being tossed like a tennis ball from one court to the
opposite one and added to that, he was unable to do any other stuff.
It was the end of the semester exams
when there were the finals of a national sports fest, ZEST 2K15, being held at National
Institute of Technology, Goa. For a Delhi-ite,
there is a great fascination for Goa as a hangout spot and its beauty
rather its wine and it was very clear for that three for them were no grounds
to miss this event. Though missing this event was an impossible thing because
Rishaan was the one of the players of the college basketball team, Kiara was
the best gymnast of the college and Diya a fantabulous chess player. DCE needed
them to represent at the nationals and bring glory to its name and these three
beings needed a hangout away from the spying eyes of their Delhi relatives.
The journey times...
Added to Rishaan’s luck, his seat was
again named with both the girls but luckily he grabbed the third outermost seat
making Diya sit at the window and Kiara in between. He was getting so very much
tangled between these two that he started to gamble for seats and search a
corner away from both of them to scrape out sometime to think for himself.
Kiara placed her hand over Rishaan’s and put on her headphone galloping into
her own world of imagination and gradually dozed to sleep. While Diya saw this,
felt disgusted for her but looked away to avoid the further rising questions.
From here situations had taken a turn from pulling each other’s leg up to pulling
each other’s feelings. Things were shredding down instead of building up higher
and this was the matter of concern for Rishaan as he didn’t want to lose any
one of the girls.
When the flight landed at the Dabolim Airport, Rishaan felt uncanny, his excitement seemed to be replaced by an unknown fear that he found very difficult to decipher.
Everyone reached the venue and got busy in their respective ventures for three long days but didn't fail to wish luck and praying for each other's victory. On the fourth day, results were released open and DCE, as has always been the winning horse of the race, was leading this year too. Basketball team from DCE had been selected for the internationals, Kiara as her personality reflected, too won the gymnastic competition but Diya couldn't hit the mark in Chess which made her little bit upset. This night of win out was the night of celebration and rejoices for all the DCEites. Once everyone was done with the valedictory and receipt of their trophies, they made their way straight to the nearest pub. Although Rishaan and Kiara tried, Diya was bit disappointed and felt bit low at the pub. While everyone was drinking and dancing for the overall encompassing victory of their college, Diya sat miserably at a corner of pub with a glass of soft drink in her hand. Rishaan found it difficult to tackle. Because here again it was a double sided play for him; on one side happy and cheerful Kiara who was dancing madly while on other side Diya who was naturally upset. Again there was Rishaan, the tennis ball, tossing from one court having the difficult game of cheering Diya up and getting her back to her lovely smiling blush to another court of Kiara who was happy enough for the evening and drunk enough to act like a retard.
While for Rishaan, his heart was again exhausted running behind both the girls whom he didn't want to lose even as a friend and hoped to resolve the unending chaos soon. But guess what fate has decided to say dibs on it. This night might be the longest night of his life. This might prove to be a turning point in his journey. What happens next will change his life forever. Will his heart find the rightful owner it is looking for or will he continue swinging between both the girls? You will shortly find out. Till then just think about it, Diya or Kiara or both?
To be Continued..............................
P.S- Thanks @Anonymous1109 for starting this amazing story and letting me finish it.
Eagerly waiting for next part...
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