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SHREYA

“So buddy, you have come home finally!” I exclaim when Abhimanyu opens the door of Arjun’s flat.

I could not wait to meet him, so the moment I came home, I freshened up and rushed to see him. I knew I should have probably given him some time to settle now, since he just moved in today. But I could not wait for one more day.

“Hi Didi!” He says. There is something different about him already. He looks composed and settled. Last time, when I had met him at the orphanage, there was a restless energy in him.

“Liked your new home?” I ask him and he beams in happiness. “I love it! I have already made many new friends and played with them in the evening for some time.” A sad look crosses over his face and I think he is thinking about his friends at the orphanage. I have the perfect distraction for him.

“Here, this is a welcome-home gift for you.” I offer him the gift I had brought for him. His eyes widen as he removes the wrapping and sees the set of pencil-shading books I have brought for him.

“Thank you Didi!” He exclaims happily, unable to avert his eyes from the beautiful images that the books have. On one side, there is a pre-shaded picture and on the other side of the book, there is blank space to draw and attempt the same.

“Kiddo! When did you come!?” Arjun comes out of the kitchen, smiling broadly.

The look on his face takes my breath away. Today he looks like he has achieved everything he ever wanted to. He looks – complete, there is no other word to describe him.

He looks at the books in Abhimanyu’s hands and shakes his head in amusement. “Already spoiling the kid, are we?”

“Says the one who has brought an entire new wardrobe just for his clothes!” I revert back with a smile.

Ever since that disastrous dinner in the hotel, something has changed for me. When he himself told me to move on, it was the final blow. That night I felt angry with myself for hanging on to something for so long with no thought for my own good or my future. So I decided to ‘move on’ as Arjun said, and I accepted the offer for New Zealand. In the gap of the two months, my visa got processed. And today, I am here to tell him that I would be leaving next week.

“Arjun, are you free now? Care to join me for a walk around the complex?” I ask him, feeling a bit nervous about his reaction to my news.

“Sure. Just give me five minutes.” He says and goes into his room. I watch Abhimanyu in the meanwhile, his expressions of pure joy as he watches the pictures in the books, filling my heart with satisfaction.

‘Okay I am ready. Abhimanyu, I will be back in some time okay.” Arjun says to the kid and we leave.

It is a cool night and people have come out to enjoy it. As we walk, we see many of the members in the complex doing the same and enjoying the nice weather.

“Is everything all right?” He asks me.

I nod my head and take a deep breath. Here goes nothing! “So, I accepted the offer for New Zealand.” I blurt it out. “Actually, I accepted it long time ago, after that dinner in the hotel…” I try not to cringe, thinking about the disaster. “My visa got processed today and I am leaving next week.”

He stays silent for a while. Then he clears his throat. “Wow! Next week!? That is too soon…” He says. For a while we walk in awkward silence, his reaction both disappointing and gladdening me alternatively. Is he startled by my decision to leave so soon? And is he not happy about the opportunity for me to work abroad?

Finally I cannot take his silence anymore. “What is the matter?” I ask him.

He looks at me and then chuckles, shaking his head. “Look at me. Here you are, about to embark on a wonderful opportunity to work abroad and I am feeling all emotional, thinking that this is the first time you and I are going to have such a long distance between us. I am happy for you, Kiddo. I am really happy.”

I nod my head, now feeling a strange sense of disappointment. Then I remind myself of my decision to move on. The stay in New Zealand will be both a professional growth for me as well as a personal refuge from the heartbreaker walking beside me pensively. I look up at him and feel bad. The happy expression with which he greeted me just few minutes before has been replaced by a wistful look.

He suddenly turns to me and ruffles my hair. “When did you grow up, Kiddo! Just feels like yesterday when you were crying for having gotten lost in the temple on your 9^th birthday and now you are all set to travel to a foreign land, that too on your own!” He looks at the sky and mutters. “When and how did the years fly by!?”

I soak in his features greedily. I need to gather every memory of him that will help me when I am away from him.

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