“Laal laal gaal jese tamatar sonu kagussa char gaya sar par Kaise manau use lagta hein darr kahu kuch to royegi vo balti var var….tch,tch,tch look who’s crying? our very own sona’…came those lyrics from a famous voice of their college…sona turned around to see a smiling dev staring at her.Had it been any other person she would have reacted instantly,she never cried just because of someone’s taunt…atleast not infront of anyone,she would always wear the facade of a strong girl but deep down she knew things were going out of her hands.Death of her parents did give her a big blow but she never knelt before anyone.However paying her bills and living life alone in a rented apartment was giving her a tough time…that day is not very far when she might starve for days to meet her needs-she thought.
‘Kaha kho gayi miss bose’ ,said dev clicking his fingers infront of her.
She immediately looked away.
Now she realised that she was staring him since he taunted her with that parody.’I know that I m too handsome but that does not mean you keep checking me out’said dev with his famous smirk.’ Such a self obsessed person’ muttered sona under her breath.
Dev : i heard that.
Sona:Good for u then.
Dev : fine .Are we gonna argue standing over here or u have taken the job of being the caretaker of college?
Sona:Now u are not getting late?Let’s go.
Dev:Mujhe koi shauk nehihai..vo to anjali ne bola islie varna I have absolutely no interest to drop u home,samjhi.Ahh!anjali ..how can she forget her…pehle she did everything to bring her to the fairwell party but the moment she saw drinks,she forgot herself,Aur next morning feeling wasted daurke aegi apne sona ke pass to get her lime water,Opposite flats mein rehneke fayde.
The journey to sona’sapartment was quiet……………….sona was looking outside through the window of the car while dev was stealing glances of her. He wanted to absorb all her tensions,wanted to lend his shoulder for her to cry but he himself was fighting a battle between his heart and mind. Dev was noticing her facial expressions,the frowns in her forehead was giving him a tough time.He was trying his best not to ask her anything.It was because of his request that anjali brought her along to the party forcefully.He wanted to see her in that red dress that he handed over to anjali to give sona.He himself wanted to gift that to her but he knew she will never agree.Everyone in the college knew about the sudden mis haps going on in sona’s life and keeping that in mind he did not find that wise. Dev could never express in words, what he felt for her. He had a disturbed childhood ,thanks to his mother and did not want to drag sona in his already messed up life.At a very young age he witnessed the harsh realities of life- watching his mother indulging in extra-marital affairs just to extract money while his father was deeply involved in his business.When his father came to know about the truth he distanced himself from everyone and moved onto pune declaring his 8years old son to be the heir after he turns 21.Since then dev has maintained the give and take relationship with his mother. Adi, alkali were his only family,he thought but sona’s entry as a scholarship student did make a difference.He started smiling ..even laughing to his heart’s content. Anjali was the first one to notice this change and was bugging dev since then to propose her but he was adamant.He made her promise not to reveal it to others but unknown to dev others were aware of it when anjali accidentlly spilled the beans one day after party.All were genuinely happy hearing this news..especially adi who thought atlast dev got someone to express his emotions too.All of them had a troubled childhood and dev was the binding force of them…every evil has to pass through him before touching them.The car halted near the apartment and dev had to press the horn to make sona realise that.’Thanks’ she said before leaving. Save this thank u for someone else’came his reply and this was enough to make her fire …. Her life was already in a mess and unable to bear his taunts further she hurried back towards the car.
Sona :step out of the car right now. Dev was about to gear up when he heard her voice.He looked at her only to see that her eyes were spitting fire at him. Dev : why should i?ek to tumhe drop kiya and now u are ordering me. Sona could never win against him in arguments.Though they were never friends, but he was capable of bringing the worst in her…unaware of her feelings herself,she always got teary eyed whenever Dev taunted her.And tonight it just flared up.
Sona: dev.. why u have to behave like that with me always?Kya bigara hainmaine tumhara.I was thanking u for dropping me safely but tum humesha hi apne monster mode pe rehte ho…Bullying others is ur habit but atleast aj to u can behave properly….tomorrow after the university results get published we will never meet again…par aj ke din bhi u haveto behave coldly . As reality hit him, he felt a sharp pang in his chest,he was feeling suffocated…all the moments of him bullying her flashed infront of his eyes,he felt nauseatic….the thought that entire 3 years he could never talk to her properly made him feel dizzy except from the part when he would watch her secretely , follow her till she reaches home safely and spending almost all his nights sitting inside his car parked opposite to her apartment.
Sona :ab bolona chup kyo ho,ab bolti kyo bandh ho gayi…o u look so sad ab to kabhi mujhe bully nehi kar paoge .I annoy u a lot hai na? Don’t worry from tomorrow u even don’t have to see my face…. And then All her moments with him flashed infront of her eyes.Inspite of getting bulled from him almost everyday she always had a soft corner for him.She could never thank him enough for what he did…be it recommending her name for the part time job of research assistant in their college or saving her from failing in the exam that was held right after her parents’ death.She couldnot even imagine that dev actually studied and literally forced her to copy his answers.She always had admired him for being a friend who could turn the world upside down if any harm even approach adi and anjali.She always longed for such a friend but never had that priviledge .She even approached him with a friendship band on FRIENDSHIP’S DAY but he rewarded her not only with harsh words but also popped eggs on her. Sona had no idea why she was behaving like a maniac infront of him today.She had managed to keep her calm all throughout but it seems like she could not suppress anymore.She could not bear that despite her continuous rantings , he stood therequiet,listening to whatever she was saying.That’s so not dev. On the other hand he was trying to absorb her presence as much as he could,maybe after tomorrow he won’t get to meet her.Staring at her from a distance won’t be enough for him.
Sona: dev I m talking to u.Are u even listening? I promise i will never appear infront of u,ever again.’
Sona,will you miss me?’, Came dev’s reply.