Heart Crossings (Part 3)

(Continued....)

"What is the name of this relationship? Am I in love with him? Is he my friend? Was he someone I had a good time with? What Krittika? What?" Krittika was thinking as tears were welling up in her eyes. She had to meet Ashish for lunch the next day. Krittika spent the whole day trying to think of something to say to Ashish, so that he could get a hint of how much she loved him. She was there at the restaurant on time, because for once, she wanted to show him that he was her priority, nothing else. Half an hour passed, she had texted him, but there was no reply. She called him, he wasn't taking her calls. By then an hour had passed. "Hi Neha, this is Krittika, is Ashish with you?" "Hey Kittu... no he isn't with me, I'll find out ok?" Neha said. "Hey Kittu, figures that junkie Pavithra disappeared and Ashu's helping her parents look for her. Don't know why he keeps meeting that girl so many times, all these junkies are goddamn losers man! I think Ashu's wasting his time on her! You can tell her no... Hello? Kittu? Kittu are you there?" Neha was yelling. "Yeah Neha thanks," said Krittika distraught. It was as if something in her had died. Ashu, the guy she had loved more than her life, the guy she held no secrets from had kept his life a secret from her. It was as if she didn't even know him anymore. "Was she in love with a lie? A person who had no value for her feelings? Obviously, Kittu, how dumb of you. Why are you expecting so much from a person who had not even committed to you. He doesn't care to even properly say good bye, he doesn't deserve you" she thought as she cried herself to sleep.

The condition with Ashish was more or less the same, though he had volunteered to search for Pavithra, all his thoughts were centered on Krittika. He knew he had broke her heart. But he knew he could make ammends and then tell her that he loved her. Little did he know fate had other plans. As he was thinking about Kittu he recieved a call from the police officer. "We found the dead body of Pavithra near the diary farm forest stretch please bring a family member to identify her body." Ashish couldn't believe it. Pavithra, who he thought was his sister , who he wanted to lead a normal life was dead. He was shocked and unnerved, this was a girl on whom life had played a cruel joke on. She had not even seen one tenth of her life. Ashish didn't even know that a month had passed; He had been very busy consoling Pavithra's parents, performing her last rites, he had just started a campaign to root out drug abuse. He knew every passing day was increasing the distance between him and Kittu and pretty soon it would be too late but he was distraught when the realisation hit him that even Kittu hadn't tried to call him since the day Pavithra went missing.

A week had passed and Ashish was travelling to another part of town for an anti-drug campaign. Thats when he saw her. "Hey Kittu.... " he called out. She looked at him, without any trace of recognition and Ashish immediately knew that things were way past irreconcible between them."Ashish," she said. "How is Pavithra? How are you two doing? Did she kick the addiction? Oooh.. I'm sorry how can she, when she has you to bail her out. You guys make a great pair I'm sure", she said, stressing on each word carefully. Ashish felt as though somebody had stabbed him. Was this the girl he had loved? He knew he had hurt her, but she thought he and Pavithra... The thought itself was boiling his blood. "Krittika!" He yelled. "Why? Getting angry 'cos I'm talking the truth?" it was as if she was challenging him. He felt as if he was going to hit her, if she would stand infront of him any longer. "I don't have to explain myself to you Krittika. You of all people should understand me. But you didn't. Anyways, I guess we bumped into each other because we had something left between us. That day, I called you to meet because I wanted to break up. Our roads are different. They would never meet. If it were that day, I would have thought twice to say that. But today, I really have to thank you. You made it so easy for me. Its over Krittika." He said. Krittika nodded her head. "You are welcome" she said looking out of the moving train's window so that she could hide her streaming tears from him.

(Continued part 4....)