The wedding ring : Chapter 2 "Where is Nihal ?"

Farewell Night

                                   She ran her fingers through the best brands that adorned her wardrobe.Not being able to chose which dress to wear , she banged the door of the wardrobe with frustration.May be it was not the dress dilemma after all , may be it was Nihal.Why was she even thinking of him ? Why was she even wasting her time in deciding what to wear ? Putting on her best wouldn’t make any difference.Putting on the best attire wouldn’t make Nihal fall in love with her.Her mind raced back to the innumerable award ceremonies she had attended , where she had received those awards , when thundering rounds of applauds had echoed in the halls and when despite of thousands of people appreciating her success and achievement,it  came down to nothing without his smile , without his “Congrats” , without his hug , without HIM.Even though she had every thing , she had no one to share it with. Her parents had passed away in a flight crash six years ago.No relatives ofcourse.She had worked day and night to become the best , to earn her living , to lead a luxurious life , to leave everything behind and start afresh. But she knew deep within , that it was just an effort to keep away the memories of yesteryears , to keep herself occupied was the best option. She had quiet given up at the concept of marriage ofcourse , for she could never stand any guy after Nihal.Even though innumerable guys had fallen for her , she neither gave way to their feelings nor paid attention to the sonnets and odes they had written for her.On the out she was an arrogant feminist but behind those eyes lurked the hidden forbidden desires of unanswered cravings and unrequited feelings. Her love was unextinguishable.Her dreams unattainable. How would she face the man she had been running away reluctantly from, for years . The man who had her heart in his fists without slightest knowledge. She looked at the clock. It was 1o clock already. She wiped away her careless tears. Once again she opened her wardrobe and tried to search for an outfit , only in vain. Until she went on her toes and looked for something in the top shelves.She lost her balance and minutes later she was lying on the floor and next to her was a red packet covered with dust. “Aah” she massaged her back. She slowly reached for the packet and unpacked it. She kept on looking at the red salwar.
“I guess red suits you” his voice echoed in her ears.She had brought the suit from the same shop which also had her dream wedding dress. Knowing that her parents wouldn’t allow and Nihal would laugh at her naive behaviour of having worn a bridal dress for the school’s farewell night , she had brought the Red Salwar.And farewell night ofcourse had been a witness to innumerable proposals , love songs dedications and hostile gazes from girls.
While Nihal was dressed in his Royal blue Sherwani and had turned on hundreds of girls with his charming smile and well built muscular body. That night , beneath the blanket of stars co incidentally they had ended up dancing together. Ofcourse they weren’t on talking terms.She had swayed her waist elegantly while grasping his firm shoulders . His hands were warm like sunbeam and her hands were cold like ice.She had avoided every possible eye contact ,but she had felt his gaze penetrating through her soul. And when their eyes had met , she was sure that she could die a thousand deaths to hold his hands forever , she was sure she could walk on fire if it meant she would get him.
“I want to tell you how deeply I have fallen for you Nihaal. I cant be just friends with you, anymore. But you love Alice. Then why , why does your touch feel so familiar  ? why does your gaze set my emotions ablaze ? Why does it always feel that may be you feel the same way too ? You have no idea how flawless you look in this Royal blue shade, I feel like looking at you forever.What are you doing to me Nihaal Singhwi.How will I spend my life without you ? If this is the end of our story then I wish time stops.Even though this is farewell , it feels like we will meet again., i dread the idea of meeting you again.To be frank I am scared that we’ll meet again.Because next time we meet I am sure I’ll end up falling deeper ,I might end up telling you how much I love you.”
“Kahin to Kahin to Hai nasha..Teri meri har mulakat me..” the music took them to some distant world. It was funny how she was able to connect with the lyrics.But this was the end. The final farewell.  Farewell Night. The last dance.The last touch.Nihaal pulled her closer , she flinched. The moonlight casted a perfect spotlight on Nihals face and it resembled some seraph,his silky hair ,now ruffled, danced carelessly to the music of the zephyr. “You look beautiful.I guess red suits you” He whispered in her ears. Her heartbeats grew shorter until she could not hear it anymore.She looked at him. Alarmed , as if every single word was making her fall harder. She tried to release herself from his clutch. But he grasped her hands tighter and pulled her closer. “You are free to leave Lipika Sondhi.But before you leave take my best wishes  for your imaginary boyfriend.Let him know that he came between two best friends” he whispered coarsely . Lipika was on the verge of tears, but she somehow swallowed them. “I will.If you promise to tell Alice that she came between us.” Lipika looked into his eyes and spoke in an undefeated tone. Nihals clutch loosened. She turned back and started to walk away.But there was something that was not letting her move , quiet literally she felt a jerk on her neck.She flinched. She turned around to see her dupatta entwined in Nihals Kada. “If it may please you two , Nihal and Lipika , can you please step up on the stage and receive your award ? We have been calling out your name for such a long time now.” The master of ceremony announced in a rather sarcastic tone. They looked at each other blankly .Not being able to untangle the dupatta, they went on stage to accept the award. “Whats this award for ?” Nihal questioned. “Mr. And Miss Popular ofcourse. Oh and to add spice to the clichéd award ceremony we have a new award “Made for Each other.” And ofcourse unanimously you two have been chosen as the winner.So do you mind taking the award and posing for a photograph?” The master of ceremony finished his explanation and handed over the award to Nihal and Lipika. They were supposed to receive it together. But god bless the entwined dupatta , the photographer got his perfect click. No sooner had Nihaal lifted his hands to receive the award than  Lipika’s dupatta slipped from her bare shoulders. Nihaal , without caring about the big gathering had turned towards Lipika and lifted her dupatta from the ground , he had then stepped closer to her and placed it in the same position while mumbling a soft apology in her ears, which had made her turn crimson within no time. They had then received the award together. And these precious moments were captured in the DSRL camera and printed within one week and posted to there address.Videos were made and songs were dedicated to them on every Orkut community . A video went viral amongst the students of st. Xaviers , which had a timeline of their pictures from the ethnic night and various other events during their stay at St. Xaviers for 14 years. Nihal and Lipika were the stars of St. Xaviers even after they had left. Despite of the fact they weren’t together, people continued to say that they were made for each other. If not anything it only rubbed salt on Lipika’s wound.The trend had only slowed down after Nihal and Lipika had gone abroad for further studies and the subsiding batches had passed out.For people  it was everything but a tag now “Lipika and Nihaal ? They were made for each other”

KulfiWala's  , 12th December 1:45 pm

December 12th 1:30

She knew what to wear now. She changed into the Red traditional wear. Strangely it looked as good as new. She dabbed some kohl and Lipgloss.Started her Skoda’s engine and moved towards her destination. “What will I Tell him when I see him . How will he react. Why does he want to meet me. I hope he doesn’t see love in my eyes” Engrossed in all these thoughts , her car came to a screeching hault near the Kulf walas. She raised her glares and looked at the surrounding. It was the same.The fragrance  of nostalgia reached her nostrils.She could see him talking with two kids and then buying them icecreams. He still looked the same or may be not.May be there was too much of similarity between him and her memories of him.As she descended the car and started walking towards him she felt as if her heart would literally come out of her mouth. After all this time she was feeling those butterflies in her stomach again. Courtesy being Nihals one sight. As he walked closer she slowly began to notice the differences. But she didn’t care about the difference. He was standing in front of her , in flesh and in blood. Dressed in a royal blue formal shirt and his hair ruffled as usual and  she wondered if she would ever stop blushing in his presence. “Hi” she tried to speak but nothing came out. “ I missed you so much” , yet again nothing came out. “Nihaal” finally ! No sooner had she spoken his name , Nihal pulled her closer and embraced her in a bone crushing hug. She hugged him back apprehensively. “I missed you Lipika.I am so glad you came” Nihal whispered in her ears. “Nihal . I  , I missed you too. I would have come no matter what . After all you are getting married.” her grip tightened as she completed her sentence. As if never wanting to let him go. Nihal slowly loosened his clutch. Raised his head and looked at her seriously and said “Thats what I need to talk to you about.” He adjusted his spects and ran fingers through his ruffled hairs. It sent shivers down her spine. “Need to talk about the wedding ? You are getting married to Alice. Right ?”
she asked coldly,hoping against hope that he would deny. Tell her that he wanted to marry her. But the answer defeated her yet again “Yes.I am.” Her world had shattered yet again........

Bhagwan Das Hospital , December 12th 7:30pm

December 12^th
7:30 pm Bhagwan Das Hospital.

Its been 2 hours now , I have been asking every one where is Nihal but no one is ready to answer . I have been begging , puking blood. I am in ICU.My broken leg hurts. My head is bleeding profusely.I am not able to move my left hand.I’ve heard them say that its broken.My neck and my skin is feeling the stinging , blinding pain , as if tons of burning cigar have been extinguished on my bodyIn this mind numbing excruciating pain I cant think of anything but Nihal . I want to hug him and tell him “YES NIHAL SINGHVI.YES I LOVE YOU.I WILL BE WITH YOU FOREVER.”. I feel like I am falling in the dungeon of despair and pain.I guess I can see death.But it wont come easy. Not until I feel Nihals touch ,one last time. But instead I can see Alice.What she told me ten minutes ago , I am stil trying to take in. I am unable to speak.My voice has choked. I can only speak couple of words in a minute.I am just crying and turning my head to ask them questions.Alice , what did Alice tell me ?  “No. I am not marrying him.” Why cant she ? But Nihal told me he will marry Alice. I guess my eyes are closing again. “Alice why cant you marry Nihal” . Someone please ask  Nihal to come here. I am dying.Where is Nihal ?