Suddenly he would go silent...
Ajay would astonish his friends with those sudden dreamy eyed pauses in between friendly banter...
Nobody could explain the sadness wch would suddenly lurk in his deep blue eyes...a deep regret would flood his othrwise radiant face---something which nobody could ever explain..perhaps not even him---leavin his friends all worried n curious at the same time...
"you okay?"
"hmm...everythings fine" he always said.
Somehow the music always got him nostalgic...the radio in the backdrop started crackling breakin the chain of thoughts wch always moved around in tangents...
The peppy RJ switched over frm "itna na mujhse tu pyaar badha..." to the raunchy "kaisa jadoo chaya re", snapping ajay from his trance.
He smiled to himself and to sneha who was busy drumming her fingers on the table, mischief in her eyes :)
and he realised , he had moved on...
Miles apart,the radio was playin in anothr room, teasing yet another heart with nostalgia...there she was listenin to the RJ chirping "radio mirchi 98.4 fm" as she played her fav song.
"hey cmonn aashi , we gettin late" her friends say as they pull her away frm the set.
Somehow aashi seems upset today...but nobody asks her why..naina knows but dosent want to.everybody knows she'll be okay in a while...tht has always been aashi...very temperamental...very unpredictable.
"i hope so" she'd said whn naina had consoled her sayin "time is the best healer n tht everythin wud be fine". but knowin aashi , both of thm were equally scared tht she mite juss prove it wrong...
"lets go...u wait for me in the car.,..will be bak in 5 min"
She locks herself in her room ...the next few minutes are extremely painful...she knows she has to do somethin bout it but she cant understand wht...
n thn MOHIT crosses her mind...she HAS to call him, afterall he is the only one who can understand her...understand the situation...inspite of knowin him for juss a coupla months, she knows for sure tht he will always be there for her ...to help her .to ease the pain...to make her feel better
"take me away frm this, please, i beg you....juss want to get away from all of this...frm him...frm myself ...frm whtevers left" she bursts out cryin like a baby.
She dosent have any fear of being judged by mohit...she knows he will understand.he somehow always did...
Mohit isnt surprised...he has heard this before...
"dont worry dear.im thr for u whnever u need me...im juss a phonecall away"
Click goes the phone anf mohit wonders how much more will it take for aashi to move on.He feels a strange sense of sadness as he thinks of herbut cant help smiling at the irony of the whole situation---he knows n understands tht the day aashi will move on, she wont need him anymore...
still 10 more minutes for the movie to begin and teena, asha, aparna rush to get popcorn...aashi declines the offer n stays near the counter bsy lookin at her cellphone.it dosent take a rocketscientist to guess tht she's terribly upset over sumthin...yet her friends choose to ignore it "leave her alone n she'll be okay --thts aashi" they know...but somewhr really they fear they mite upset her all the more lest they ask her about it...
5 min later, aashis phone rings oin the movie hall ...
"look our aashis smiling...ah ah!! who's this? mystery guy mohit is it??"
"ya surely must be...so aashi whn r u goin to introduce us to this mohit...somehow this guy manages to do wonders to ur mood...remember last time u were soo irritated over sumthin n wudent speak to us...juss 1 call frm him n 5 minutes of meetin up wth him brought u bakk grinnin frm ear to ear.wht magic powder does he spray on u aashi"
" yess truely he must be a magician ...we want to speak to mr magic man too aashi...coff coff"
teased her frieds.
Naina smiles and silently wishes mohit to be the right guy...she knows her friend too well n knows she deserves to be happy.she wants aashi to move on, move away frm all those memories wch keep haunting her time n time again.She wants her to forget ajay, to realise tht it was nothin but a game, a game of emotions, a game wch she had lost, a bad dream .Thr were many who'd tried help her move on but aashi claimed she wasent ready yet.she'd lost faith..doubted intentions and wasent ready to giv anyone a fair chance juss cos destiny had proved her wrong .somewhr down the line,some guy got close n she got hurt n so every guy henceforth had to pay the price .She listened attentively to naina as she lectured her on how she shudent be soo stuckup and anyone who dint know her well would think she was almost convinced.....
But somewhr naina knows it was all in vain...she could easily read the denial in aashi's eyes under the superficial "i know tht naina, please dont make me go thru it over n over again".She knows tht despite sayin tht, aashi goes thru it everyday, every minute--only noone knows the extent to wch it hurts.noone except maybe mohit...
maybe mohit is the one --thinks naina..."when r we goin nto meet him aashi?"
"hmm soon...pretty soon" is all she gets in reply as aashi distractedly hurries away frm the movie hall...
Outside the movie hall awaits mohit...6 feet tall, handsome, suave,wearing a cool white shirt over blue denims.he smiles as aashi rushes towards him.
Many heads turn to see the cute couple get away frm the crowd demanding privacy.As soon as they reach an almost secluded area, the duo exchange silent looks at each othr.As their gazes meet , the empty silence in aashis eyes is enough to make mohit realise wht she's goin through.
She looks at him, her eyes welled up with tears n he immediately knows wht he has to do...
he goes close to her and whispers as he draws a white kerchief like packet frm his jacket pocket.
"here are your shots.ive got u a weeks supply this time...but make sure u keep the cash coming!am considerin you since u r a regular now but you still new to the game Remember aashi,thrs no better way than this to move on!"
She smiles reflectin a childlike innocence in her eyes "move away u mean...".mohit juss smiles
the words "new game" remind her of wht naina had told her and she brushes off a tear as she realises tht this too is a game...juss tht its a game she already knows she'll lose...a game which dosent hav any winners!
"thanks" she says as she fills out a syringe n injects the "magic powder" into her veins feelin it go into her system.
At times, time dosent get about healing wounds and an eternity seems too short to make one ready to move on.
she hands mohit the cash n turns to go bak to her friends who r in the movie hall waiting to see the exuberant aashi after her 5 minute meeting with the "MAGIC MAN"...
miles away, ajay is happy thinkin she has moved on and he has too ...in a diff world ------a world of happiness and love --frm whr nooone wud ever wanna return
n miles apart aashi is happy tht he has moved on n she is moving AWAY...to a diff world ---a world of needle pricks n magic powder --from whr noone can ever return .
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