Unimaginable Forces
Life changes completely within a split of a second. However, my time span was about 15-20 minutes. Five days ago the course of my life was different and from the point of view of my friends it was perfect. I was in Manali with Sneha (my friend). Abhay, Sneha's boyfriend was also suppose to join us but with his last minute work commitment he assured us that he would be joining us within a day or two.
Our gang was formed during the initial days of college life and even after 6yrs we were still going strong. Though things aren't the same as they used to be in the college, but then real world and college world are two different places. everyone matures and changes but however, I think Sneha was an exception to this fact.
She was still the same as she used to be however more dreamy now. thanks to all those Bollywood and Hollywood romantic stuff. Sneha- now she wasn't a stunner to look at. Short, average looking with a loudspeaker pitch that can beat even the blaring music, she always wore romance like a second skin. soon all 3 of us bumped into one another and from then we have been inseparable. Sneha always had eyes for Abhay. But Abhay was as usual a go getter and ambitious person was oblivious of this fact. So rather than going by the conventional way of a guy proposing a girl. Sneha thought of doing things her way. She proposed Abhay and I should say he had no other option but to agree.
Life brought a surprise for me also and I met Priya. An office colleague, soon a friend and before I could know we were seeing each other. However, I still don't know know why people say this phrase. Now as in my life the girl's compartment only had Sneha, so the comparison between the two was obvious. Priya was exactly her opposite. Sophisticated, classy, stunner... in short every person's fantasy. So now our group included one more person i.e Priya.
We all used to meet up occasionally. Abhay was handling his father's business so he was damn busy. Sneha though never complained. People adjust when they are in love and I knew how much Sneha loved Abhay. Life was running smoothly when Sneha desired to go on a vacation. We all were very lazy people so it was Sneha who always brought up subjects that would bring change to our lives. But this time be it called the girl telepathy or something else Priya also voiced in agreement. Both Abhay and I were compelled to take them on the vacation otherwise they had threatened to divorce us. Our plan was conveyed to Abhay who agreed to it initially but at the nick of the time opted out of it as he had some important meeting to attend to. In the end we started our journey to Manali.
Even though Priya is my own choice still we were poles apart. For Priya vacation meant relaxing. Spa, massages, acting as a potato couch were the ingredients of an ideal vacation. Sneha and I tried to convince her to explore Manali but she declined our offer. Both of us went ahead with our plans. We explored Manali for hours, stopped at the cheesiest places, made friends with strangers and clicked ourselves in the most disgusting poses. now when the things start getting complicating? When you have a friend and a girl friend to attend to and you don't know what time proportion should be given to both of them so that you are safe. Priya was a little bit angry, but it didn't take me long to persuade her. We went for dinner where I saw Sneha was upset. I felt like drowning in the soup bowl itself. On one hand I wanted to comfort Sneha but on the other hand didn't want to make Priya angry. So I chose to play safe.
The next day I made Priya join us for our photography expedition. But long walks and treks weren't her cup of tea. So she left us. I was clicking Sneha when I asked, "When is Abhay coming?"
"In a day or two. This is what he promised."
Priya was happy which was a great thing. Her 2 km trek had taken over a toll on her and she fell asleep soon after the dinner. I saw Sneha sitting in the lawn and decided to join her. Without a word I sat beside her. Friends have a strange sense of detection even when we don't say a word. She just started talking, "Things are not working. I've tried really hard. I know he is busy but everytime I end up losing him. At times I feel he doesn't even love me. I don't think I'm anything more than his emotional machine. He comes to me whenever he feels the need. I've started feeling that I'm a doll in his closet that is taken out when he feels like playing with it."
Now this was rare. Sneha, an Economics Lecturer behaving like this was unimaginable. My insides jolted and I came face to face with a truth that I had been hiding till now. This trip changed my feelings towards Sneha. Now I know it sounded obvious but it wasn't. I was happy and in love with Priya till now. So what happened? Was it the attraction? Or something else? But I closely looked at Sneha and I suddenly came face to face with the answer. You don't necessarily need to be in love. But you have to be friend with your partner. Priya had everything but she never became the friend that I needed. So was I in love with Sneha since the very 1st day? I didn't know. But I knew that I loved her now. "OK. Now comes the moment of the truth. I love you..."
She looked at me with an alien emotion in her eyes and left me there without a word. Back in my room I looked at Priya but didn't feel anything. I tried to reason myself that I loved her and have been with her from the past 1yr. But somehow my voice also reminded me the past tense that I used. The next day we decided to come back home. There was no reason to stay. I was in love with a girl who loved my friend. And my girl friend... well she was no longer that now. And she was never my friend. So she was just a girl now, some stranger I guess.
There was an awkward silence in the car as someone had died. Actually it was true. My relationship had died and the new one was on the ventilator. Priya had no idea about anything so she was just relaxing. I looked at Sneha in the rear view. For the 1st time I had no idea what she was thinking. Priya's home came. She hugged me, bade goodbye to Sneha and got down. Now it was just two of us and it was worse. Sneha was not talking and I wanted to sort out things. But her home came and I got down and opened the door for her. "I don't want to go..."
I couldn't decipher what she was saying. "I don't know what is between us. I just can't tell. But there is some unimaginable force. I'm not going back to Abhay. But it doesn't mean we are dating. I want to unfold what we have. I can't promise you anything. So, do you think you want to be a part of this gamble?"
It was so typical of Sneha. A twist when you least expect it. I sat in the car smiled at her and drove away. Where? It never mattered, the destination was with me....
Our gang was formed during the initial days of college life and even after 6yrs we were still going strong. Though things aren't the same as they used to be in the college, but then real world and college world are two different places. everyone matures and changes but however, I think Sneha was an exception to this fact.
She was still the same as she used to be however more dreamy now. thanks to all those Bollywood and Hollywood romantic stuff. Sneha- now she wasn't a stunner to look at. Short, average looking with a loudspeaker pitch that can beat even the blaring music, she always wore romance like a second skin. soon all 3 of us bumped into one another and from then we have been inseparable. Sneha always had eyes for Abhay. But Abhay was as usual a go getter and ambitious person was oblivious of this fact. So rather than going by the conventional way of a guy proposing a girl. Sneha thought of doing things her way. She proposed Abhay and I should say he had no other option but to agree.
Life brought a surprise for me also and I met Priya. An office colleague, soon a friend and before I could know we were seeing each other. However, I still don't know know why people say this phrase. Now as in my life the girl's compartment only had Sneha, so the comparison between the two was obvious. Priya was exactly her opposite. Sophisticated, classy, stunner... in short every person's fantasy. So now our group included one more person i.e Priya.
We all used to meet up occasionally. Abhay was handling his father's business so he was damn busy. Sneha though never complained. People adjust when they are in love and I knew how much Sneha loved Abhay. Life was running smoothly when Sneha desired to go on a vacation. We all were very lazy people so it was Sneha who always brought up subjects that would bring change to our lives. But this time be it called the girl telepathy or something else Priya also voiced in agreement. Both Abhay and I were compelled to take them on the vacation otherwise they had threatened to divorce us. Our plan was conveyed to Abhay who agreed to it initially but at the nick of the time opted out of it as he had some important meeting to attend to. In the end we started our journey to Manali.
Even though Priya is my own choice still we were poles apart. For Priya vacation meant relaxing. Spa, massages, acting as a potato couch were the ingredients of an ideal vacation. Sneha and I tried to convince her to explore Manali but she declined our offer. Both of us went ahead with our plans. We explored Manali for hours, stopped at the cheesiest places, made friends with strangers and clicked ourselves in the most disgusting poses. now when the things start getting complicating? When you have a friend and a girl friend to attend to and you don't know what time proportion should be given to both of them so that you are safe. Priya was a little bit angry, but it didn't take me long to persuade her. We went for dinner where I saw Sneha was upset. I felt like drowning in the soup bowl itself. On one hand I wanted to comfort Sneha but on the other hand didn't want to make Priya angry. So I chose to play safe.
The next day I made Priya join us for our photography expedition. But long walks and treks weren't her cup of tea. So she left us. I was clicking Sneha when I asked, "When is Abhay coming?"
"In a day or two. This is what he promised."
Priya was happy which was a great thing. Her 2 km trek had taken over a toll on her and she fell asleep soon after the dinner. I saw Sneha sitting in the lawn and decided to join her. Without a word I sat beside her. Friends have a strange sense of detection even when we don't say a word. She just started talking, "Things are not working. I've tried really hard. I know he is busy but everytime I end up losing him. At times I feel he doesn't even love me. I don't think I'm anything more than his emotional machine. He comes to me whenever he feels the need. I've started feeling that I'm a doll in his closet that is taken out when he feels like playing with it."
Now this was rare. Sneha, an Economics Lecturer behaving like this was unimaginable. My insides jolted and I came face to face with a truth that I had been hiding till now. This trip changed my feelings towards Sneha. Now I know it sounded obvious but it wasn't. I was happy and in love with Priya till now. So what happened? Was it the attraction? Or something else? But I closely looked at Sneha and I suddenly came face to face with the answer. You don't necessarily need to be in love. But you have to be friend with your partner. Priya had everything but she never became the friend that I needed. So was I in love with Sneha since the very 1st day? I didn't know. But I knew that I loved her now. "OK. Now comes the moment of the truth. I love you..."
She looked at me with an alien emotion in her eyes and left me there without a word. Back in my room I looked at Priya but didn't feel anything. I tried to reason myself that I loved her and have been with her from the past 1yr. But somehow my voice also reminded me the past tense that I used. The next day we decided to come back home. There was no reason to stay. I was in love with a girl who loved my friend. And my girl friend... well she was no longer that now. And she was never my friend. So she was just a girl now, some stranger I guess.
There was an awkward silence in the car as someone had died. Actually it was true. My relationship had died and the new one was on the ventilator. Priya had no idea about anything so she was just relaxing. I looked at Sneha in the rear view. For the 1st time I had no idea what she was thinking. Priya's home came. She hugged me, bade goodbye to Sneha and got down. Now it was just two of us and it was worse. Sneha was not talking and I wanted to sort out things. But her home came and I got down and opened the door for her. "I don't want to go..."
I couldn't decipher what she was saying. "I don't know what is between us. I just can't tell. But there is some unimaginable force. I'm not going back to Abhay. But it doesn't mean we are dating. I want to unfold what we have. I can't promise you anything. So, do you think you want to be a part of this gamble?"
It was so typical of Sneha. A twist when you least expect it. I sat in the car smiled at her and drove away. Where? It never mattered, the destination was with me....
thnk u...
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