Last Day

It is the last day of her college. Rhea, has been always good at studies and with a score like hers, anyone should have been on the top of the world.Today is the day, she will be stepping into a new world. World of more opportunities, challenges, successes.

But she is not so happy. Although, she wants a prosperous future and she is looking forward to it eagerly, something somewhere is just not right today. What is it that is troubling her so much today.

All her friends are saying goodbye to each other, congratulating and wishing each other all the best for their future careers. Some of them are also shedding tears, thinking that life will change so much after today. They are sad of loosing their close ones, with whom they have shared many happy and sad moments in the past few years.Some of her close friends met her and Rhea is sad that she wont be seeing them daily. But more than all these, something is breaking inside her, something which she is experiencing for the first time and she doesnot even know, how to handle this.

She looked around for Prashant. He is among his friends, and he didnot notice her looking at him.

Finally, her favorite lecturer, Mr Shah, was addressing the whole class and gave his blessings and his best wishes for their bright future. And in that whole crowd, their eyes met for a second. Then again, and again a few more times. Rhea was again conscious and she looked away.

At the end of the final class and final goodbyes, people started leaving for their homes. Rhea felt, that moment should never end. She wanted to talk to Prashant. she wanted him to call her, tell her something, that she has been longing to hear from a long time. And if something doesnot happen today, she had a feeling it wont forever. It is never easy for her to loose him but she felt as if with each passing second she is getting more and more sure of loosing him and as if there is nothing she can do to stop this to happen.

Rhea goes to the parking lot, unlocks her bike and gets ready to go. She is doing it as slowly as possible in the hope that he might call her from behind. She is also listening to all the sounds around her carefully, so that she doesnot miss him calling her name. But she doesnot hear anything.

Rhea starts her bike and just one last time she looks back, pretending to see if something is wrong with the rear wheel of her bike and tries her best to find Prashant. He was there, speaking to a few friends and at that moment, she could feel a sea of emotions overtaking her. How can he be so relaxed and why is she so much worried ? Like the other thousand times, she has had felt before, that it is just from her side, is that really true?  Can she be so wrong in reading those gestures, those eyes? Can those eyes lie so much?  Every time , he used to look at her , she used to feel as if  something is piercing her soul through her eyes and as if she is loosing her own control of herself , and at that very moment, she looks away. Was there really no connection between them? With great difficulty she controls herself and she starts her bike and moves on. She didnot looked back any more time.

But wearing the helmet and driving at full speed, she was crying as loudly as possible. She felt, no one can see her tears through the helmet and in that crowded and busy street.  She kept on crying and driving till she could feel her neck and clothes geting wet with her tears.She parked her bike under a shady tree away from the noisy place and removed her helmet. She started breathing deeply and tried controlling her. The day was very bright and sunny and the cool breeze under the tree felt good on her stressed mind and tired body.

She remembered how they have met. During the initials days in one of the exams, they were sitting one after another and as Prashant was not concentrating, Rhea pokes him from behind and asked him to write and not talk to his friends. That was the begginning and very easily they became friends.

She had always liked him, yearned for him, always wanted to talk to him at every possible occasion. She would keep trying to get a glimpse of him  in every possible opporunity and if their eyes met, she would look away. She had also caught him staring at her a few times and only god knows how happy that used to make her. She clearly remembers, how she used to feel, when he had not come for a class. She wont be able to concentrate and as soon as he enters, she could tell from his footsteps that he has come. And the moment he passes her place, a shiver runs down her spine. She wont be able to look at him even though he might be sitting very close. She would be waiting to touch the testtubes, or flasks or anything that he had held for sometime in the lab classes.In short, she was totally mad for him.

Not only this, some incidents here and there, sometimes made her feel, that he too cares. He too likes her company. That day in the chemistry lab, they were doing
an experiment together and she pours some liquid into a testtube which he was holding and a few drops fell on his fingers. He starts screaming and she became very scared.
His friends were helping him and in the meantime accidentally, some again fell on Rhea. It was like ice cold water. She looked at him and that mischievous look at his face,
she can never forget. As if he wanted to see if these things trouble her and if she really cares for him.

Or that day when there were fights between the two contesting parties and college was closed immediately. He didnt leave her side, he didnt go home until Rhea’s father came after nearly 2 hours and picked her up. He was away from her in a nearby shop in front of the college keeping an eye on her, as she waited near the college gate. Even though, they have never spoken about this, she very well knew why he was there.

Ahead of exams, he will collect notes from god knows how many lectures/students and gives it to her, even without her asking him once.

She has never been able to understand this, this strange thing between them. Whenever she has needed him, he has been there. Was that only friendship?

She was always so jealous of other beautiful girls talking to Prashant. She has always been a plain jane, and sometimes that made her feel, her feelings will
always remain one sided, exactly the way, it has been proved today.

Coming back to the present, she never realised, she has been crying all these while.

Even though, it was not easy for her on that day or for all the days to come in her life, she stood up, she gathered herself once again. She has to look forward, she has to
march ahead into her bright future, if not for her, but for her ever loving parents. she cannot let them down at any cost or anyone’s cost.

She started her bike and she drove, this time neither too fast, not too slow, but at a controlled speed as if she is taking charge of her life from today. She forgets her helmet and
the cool breeze is gently drying her tears away.

She not only goes away from him in miles and kilometers, but in days, months, years and perhaps, a lifetime.