-Flashback continues-
"Wo… woh chale gayi bhai," he managed to speak in between his sniffles and continued to cry again.
(Sh… She is gone, brother.)
Those words dropped on me like a bomb. The way Anant had created the image of their relationship in my mind, I never imagined this would happen. I was too stunned to speak. I didn't know what to say. Should I comfort him? Should I ask him to let it go and move on? But it's all easier said than done.
"Bhai?" Anant's sad voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Where are you right now?" I inquired to make sure he wasn't on anything stupid in this state of mind.
"Hostel," his crying became faint now.
"Good. I will be there in two hours." I hung up as he hummed in agreement.
After wrapping up the event, I rushed to Anant's room in the hostel. I brought pizza to cheer him up. I reached his room and knocked on it, and soon he came to open it. As the door opened, I was greeted by the burned-out cigarettes and Coke bottles on the floor near his bed.
'Cigarettes and Coke? Seriously? What is he? A minor? Ab isko devdas bane ki bhi training deni padegi kya?' I wanted to laugh at the sight in front of me, but that would have been rude of me. Anant stood near me with swollen eyes and a red face; even his eyes were bloodshot. 'He sure took his sweet time to cry out.'
(Do I need to train him on how to be a Devdas now?)
"Where are your roommates?" 'He wouldn't have done it in their presence; he will need to clean up otherwise.'
"Went home," he responded with a dead voice. 'Right, it was almost the time for Diwali in a few days, students tend to go home to celebrate.'
"Ok. First, let's clean up the surroundings, which affects your mood, you see." I kept the pizza on the table near his bed, and the moment I bent down to pick up the empty bottles of Coke, the faint smell of alcohol hit my nostrils. 'He is only in his first year and already getting creative with sneaking around? I take back my previous comment on teaching him how to be Devdas.'
"She left me, bhai," came his voice from behind me. It held no emotion. I didn't respond, just continued to clean. He lay down in bed, pulling the quilt over himself. It felt like he was hiding from the world, seeking warmth.
"Maybe you guys weren't meant to be, Anant." I tried to comfort him, but a stupid question came to my mind, a genuine curiosity about their out-of-the-blue breakup, "Or maybe did she do something wrong?"
Right after hearing the question, Anant sat up straight. "She didn't do anything wrong," came his loud voice, almost in a shout. "She can never. I am the one who was wrong." Tears filled his eyes. "I am the stupid one, yaar. I messed up," his voice broke. "I messed it all up, bhai. She is gone because… because of me." Tears started to roll down his face, traveling through his cheeks and falling on his quilt in his lap, getting soaked in it and leaving behind the traces of their existence through the wet little spots where they fell.
"She left me because of my own doings, bhai. I don't… I don't deserve her." He started to cry all over again, followed by loud sniffles as he talked about the days they were still in a relationship.
Soon he dozed off to sleep, still talking about the promises they made while they were still in a relationship. About being with each other forever and getting married one day. Even his bua ( sister of father) and cousin sister knew about her, and the three were super close.
After that day, Anant never mentioned it again. Even if I asked, he would either dismiss it as past or change topics, so after a point, I too stopped bringing it up. It felt like the Anant of that day never happened.
-Flashback Ends-
"Kanika," Anant whispered her name in his sleep. I stood up from the sofa and changed into more comfy clothes for the night, and lay down in bed. 'He was in a new relationship right after a few weeks of their breakup, so I had thought that he had moved on from her, but it looks like that ain't the case here.'
I looked over at Anant once again, who was smiling in his sleep.
'I wonder what he is dreaming about, calling out Kanika, and then smiling in his sleep. But well, whatever, good night.'
Author's POV
That night, after a long time Anant had such a peaceful sleep the thought that he has finally met the girl he always has just saw through a screen always thinking of how and when this divider will be removed when they will be standing together face to face where they can feel each other's touch and be in each other's reality at the same time.
He called out Kanika's name with a soft smile in a slow tone as he dreamt of the promises and scenarios they had made of their meeting for the first time in real life. How they might react, how happy they would be, how they would want to feel each other's touch to make sure everything is a reality. A very happy dream, even though the reality didn't exactly go how they had planned in the past, but only time and fate hold the answer for what's to come.