“The truth is,
everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering
for.”
20th December, 2025
Bhopal.
I tried my best to invite the last person of our gang over the phone.
But all I could get was, “Man, is it really necessary to be there in person?
Can’t we all just hangout in Skype, like always?” Prakash said. No doubt he was
a busy guy. Why wouldn’t he be busy! Battlefield7 was released the day before!
“Haven’t changed a bit, have you? Lazy ass, as always! But pack your
bags because this time, Arya’s coming to the reunion.”
That last sentence was enough to persuade him to come to the college. Some people come into our life like a
gentle breeze in the spring. Whatever the mood may be, their presence makes our
day beautiful. But a very few enter our lives like a tornado, they shatter
everything, show us the extreme nature of life and when they leave, we are left with
the feeling, “Dude, That was one hell of an adventure.” Arya was that
tornado in our lives.
27th April, 2012,
MANIT, Bhopal.
It was the day when we saw Avengers and decided that our gang would be
called as “The Mech Avengers” from then on. After a long quarrel and a match of
arm wrestling, I got to be the Iron Man. Being a mechie gang, we had no Black
Widow. Our first two years were a roller coaster ride with the impeccable
teamwork. May it be the new copying techniques in the exam room or making a GT
successful or breaking down every bit of the furniture in mess, we were
perfect. But from the third year, it wasn’t the same. As we grew up, we also
grew apart. Life happened!
Lets ride through the reunion; 31st December, 2025:
I’ve reached the place of reunion. My AR-15 made sure that I did not
forget to buy gifts for everyone and a gas mask too, as Bhopal is not among the
“30 cities where you may breathe” list. I prefer to call my robot ‘Jarvis’, but
that name was not allowed as millions of people applied for the same name!
Captain and Thor were already
there (it seemed a little awkward to still call them with those names). They
brought their families with them too. We met twice or thrice before this but
this time it’s going to be special! Arya is going to join us! Though we were
out of contact for more than 10 years, he never really was out of our hearts.
We started discussing about our good old times.
Once again irritating you with a small memory; August, 2014:
Right from the starting of the third year, we started sensing that
something was wrong with Arya. Summer vacations changed him completely. He used
to skip our tequila nights, just to talk to some girl. But one good thing was
that he became a confident person, unlike before. He moved away from our block
into a more isolated one. We all hated the girl for snatching away our best
friend from us. We wanted him back badly, but that didn’t happen for 10 years,
at least.
Back to our reunion scene:
“Hey guys” greeted a woman, whom we’ve never met before. Her smile sent
down a instant pulse down my heart and her bangs made her face resemble a
modern angel. A small mole just below her lips, just intensified her flood of
beauty. I felt that she may be the reason for which I was left alone in this
huge world. She may complete my life. I felt lucky that I was the only single
member there in the gang. Otherwise, I would’ve had to face a severe
competition, by the end of which we would have disgusted the woman with our
trials.
“Ananya” she introduced herself by extending her hand. “Arya must have
told you about me” she continued.
That’s it! That was enough for us to recall who she was! No one cared to
show the courtesy of shaking her hands then. She was the woman who was the reason
for this 10 year long wait. There were many situations in my life where my
heart contradicted with my mind but for the first time, half a part of my heart
was contradicting with the other half. I didn’t know what to do.
I examined the surroundings. Only question was in everyone’s mind, “Where’s
Arya?”
