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Statutory Warning: Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption are injurious to health.

There was a board hanged on the wall of the room written, “Cancer Specialist” on it.

RJ was lying on bed coughing very badly, when doctor turned towards him holding an chest  ex-ray in his hand, “I am sorry, but have last stage of cancer, it’s too late now. I wish you would have quitted smoking earlier ”

“No doctor, don’t say like this please. I have responsibilities” RJ said holding his breath.

“that you should have thought earlier” doctor said removing his specs.

“Ok doctor, but I have a last wish”

“sure tell me”

“Please donate my lungs to Municipal Corporation”

“Why”

“So that they will take out TAR from my lungs and repair the roads.”

And a message appears on Screen,

“Don’t be next TAR donor, Quit smoking, TODAY”

“What a piece of crap” Reena shouted and switched off the TV.

“Is this kind of ads RJ does!” She told while lighting the cigarette.

“hahaha, I am not able to control my laughter” Akhil was rolling on couch.

She passed the cigarette to him and sited beside him, “I really don’t know what I saw in him”

“My goodness, 2 days ago you were mad for him, suddenly this much change?”

“leave it” she took back the cigarette and blew it.

“Just because….” Akhil was about to say something when his phone started ringing.

“Hey its RJ calling”

“put him on speakers” Reena directed him.

“ok” he received the call and kept it on table and both of them bowed over it.

“Hi RJ, whats up man?”

“Hi Akhil, how are you buddy?”

“Ya  I am good, how are you.”

“leave it, just tell me, are you with Reena?”

Reena signaled him as NO.

“No buddy, I am in my home now”

Suddenly doorbell rang.

“RJ, wait a minute someone is at door” Reena got up to open the door.

“So you also started lying to me Akhil” RJ’s voice came from phone

“what, no man why should I lie to you.”

“because I am the one on the door.”

Reena opened the door and saw RJ standing in front of her.

He cut the phone and kept it inside.

Reena gave him way to inside, he entered and shuts the door.

“Whats wrong with you guys, why are you behaving like this?” his tone was also a little upset.

“have I done anything wrong, you guys can tell me directly instead of avoiding me like this.”

“No RJ, we were not avoiding you, why are you thinking like that” Reena tried to compose herself.

“because you are continuously offline for last 2 days, and in these 2 days I called you 7 times, 4 of them you didn’t picked and the remaining 3 which you picked as favor, you said you are busy and you will call me later.”

“God, you really did that Reena?” Akhil tried to act unaware.

“Like you really don’t know Akhil” RJ turned towards him and replied in same tone, “I will see later, but first” he turned back to Reena, “Just tell me the truth, only truth.” He stared in her eyes.

“Ok, see its nothing to do with us, but do you have a girlfriend. I am asking this because once you told me that you are single, so what was the reason of lying to us, the people you calls as your friends.”

“what???” he got shocked, “who the hell told you that I have a girlfriend, I don’t have any”

“we saw you with her outside Jogger’s Park on Friday” and on our curiosity we followed you till inside the park. Ask him” and she pointed towards Akhil, “at the first glance we also thought she is just a friend but what we saw inside the park had cleared all the doubt.”

“Ya dude, you were on your knees holding her hand in yours,” Akhil added.

RJ slapped his forehead with his right hand.

“See, now you realized that you got caught.”

He took out his phone and searched for something, and finally turned the phone towards them and asked.

“Is this the one you saw that day?”

They saw a contact name Chhutki with her photo on it.

“Yes” Reena replied

“ok” he pressed the call symbol on screen and kept it on speaker.

“Hi Rana bhaiya” a female voice came from other side.

“Bhaiya?” they whispered and looked at each other.

“Hi chhutki, how are you?” RJ replied and signaled them to keep quite.

“leave it bhaiya, just tell me, did you tell her”

“to whom? What?”

“to Reena, bhaiya tell me na I am dying to know what she replied.”

“replied on what Chhutki?”

“bhaiya why you are behaving like Gajni, you practiced all the day with me to tell her your feelings, did you tell her? And what she replied?”

“She don’t love me Chhutki, I was wrong about her, ok I will call you later”

“but bhai……..” and he cut the call.

He kept the phone inside his pocket and turned towards the door to leave.

“wait” Reena called him, “where are you going?”

“Away from you” he didn’t turn back.

“You love me? And I was……” she was looking for words when RJ turned back.

“Not anymore Reena”

“what?why?”

“because I was wrong about you, you don’t love me, if you did you never doubted on me or at least you would have ask me, but no, you decided to get away from me.”

“just because of a misunderstanding you are leaving everything and going away” Reena came forward and asked.

“tell this to yourself”

“hey I am sorry, I am admitting my mistake, but how do I know, you never told me. I thought you don’t like me in that way. Reena was about to cry.

“This, this is your problem” he pointed figure on her, “you want everything instantly. See a guy, have crush, start liking each other, then instant relationship, instantly being physical, and one morning when you woke up you realize that you are with a wrong guy who is not compatible with you in any way, and then instant break up, is this all you wanted. Well I never wanted that, I want to be in true love rather than being in this new age relationship thing, and I believe if you take time in building something it will stand for long.

He paused for few seconds and started again, “I always knew that you have a crush on me, but I never had a crush on you never, because I fall in love with you the moment I saw you, that night, when I met with an accident on road, I removed my helmet to abuse whoever did that, but suddenly I saw you and the world stopped for me, I saw 2 beautiful eyes who were saying something to me.”

Reena shook her head in disbelief.

“But I never wanted to mess everything in rush, so I took time, I waited for the day, when I will start seeing love in your eyes rather than just crush and likings. And when the time actually came, I came to know that I was wrong, so goodbye.” He immediately opened the door and went out pulling it.

The door made a sound like a gun shot.

**********************************************

25 days later….

“Nayan Tarse, Nayan Tarse…………..”

The pub was running with the song and full of noise and people all over.

Reena was sitting on a tool in front of Bar counter, lying half of the body on counter table.

“Hi gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?” a boy standing next to her offered.

“oh drink” she sited straight and smiled, “why only one drink, whats about the most expensive champagne, and a most expensive wine, and a most expensive vodka, and a……….”

“wait I just came” he ran away.

“bloody jerk” she made a face.

“I can buy you a whole bar baby, if you are alone” she turned back to see another jerk, who was not even able to stand on his own.

“she is not alone, try on someone else” Akhil kept a hand on his shoulder.

And the person left immediately.

“Come Reena lets go, you are drunk.”

“no buddy, I just now started”

“ya I can see that, you became a proper Devdasi for RJ”

“RJ, and she started crying, why didn’t even listen to my feeling, he just told his and left.

“Come” and he dragged her from the tool. Gave her support from shoulder and taking her outside. When they reach at the door a handsome guy came and helped him to open it, “watch out man, don’t let your girlfriend drink like this” and he left.

“she is not my girlfriend dude” he told but till than he was gone.

“see, just because of you I lost a chance to interact to a hot guy”

“hot guy? Where?” she also tried to look back.

“Reena, just now you were crying for RJ.”

“oh yes” as she remembered, “RJ” and started crying again.

Few minutes later

She was vomiting on road, Akhil was holding her. After she finished he took her back to the car and gave her bottle of water.

“drink some water you will feel good” she took the bottle and started drinking.

“Look baby, why you are doing this to yourself, he will not be back and accept this reality.” He took a round of the car and sited on driving sit, “see you did every possible effort to talk to him, now just move on please, consider it also as one of your failure relationship”

“I just can’t” she kept the bottle back, “those were silly relationships, RJ was right, but not true love, and look at me, I found the true love and lost it at the same moment.”

“Relax buddy” he tried to console her.

“tell me one thing Akhil, I was always like this, I mean impatient and short tempered, but why you never left me?”

“because I am your friend and friends don’t break up, apart from that you are the only one who never make fun of my sexuality”

“and you are the only one who never judge me on my habits and number of relationships” she replied on same way.

“come” he pulled her towards him and gave her a hug.

“I wish you were straight” she told while hugging him.

“and I wish you were a boy”

“Shut up” she slapped on his arm, “let’s go.”

****************************************

When she woke up in the morning, her head was blasting with pain, “aaaaah”

“lemonade” Akhil passed her the glass.

“thanks” she took the glass.

“I am glad you woke up, by the way you have a visiter in the hall”

She stopped drinking, “who?”

She came out of the bedroom, and saw RJ sitting on couch holding a bunch of roses in his hand.

He immediately stood up by seeing her.

“Good afternoon” he said with smile.

“Afternoon? Whats the time” she looked at the wall clock which was showing a time of 1:30

“leave it” he came near her.

“I think something on gas, I just came” Akhil went to kitchen leaving them alone.

“this is for me” she pointed towards the roses.

“No, actually I was going to my ex-girlfriend’s dog’s funeral, this is for him”

“what?”

“arrree !! of course this is for you” and he handed the roses to her.

She took it and started crying, “I thought I lost you”

“hey” he wiped her tear with the tip of his finger, and kept his palm on her cheek, “you can never lose me, after going away from you only I realized that I can be angry on you but can never stop loving you and I was also not able to stop myself by following you every day” they saw in each other’s eyes.

“yes, I followed you every day, saw you in that bloody pub, drinking and vomiting like hell. I wanted to hold you but at the same time I was trying to convince myself that I have to get away from you and today my love won over my ego, I am so sorry I gave you so much pain”

“It’s Ok, this is enough for me that you are back”

She paused for a second, “But you know na I am short tempered, what if I will again…”

“then I will cool you down with my love.”

“and what if I will hit you in anger”

“then I will return the favor”

“what?” she shouted throwing away his hand, “you will hit me”

“why, don’t you believe in gender equality?”

“yes I do. But?”

“But what, why should you only take advantage of it.” And he smiled.

“anyways, I brought something else for you” he opened his jacket zip and kept his hand inside to take out something.

“A packet of chocolate flavored………..”he was taking out something in small packet.

“what?” she got shocked.

“cigarettes, chocolate falvored.” And he saw the packet.

“Oh cigarettes, I thought..”

“what you thought?”

“nothing, yeah I like it. She raised hand to take it,

“wait” he stepped her and took a step back and went on knee, opened the cigarette packet like a ring box and said, “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“yes” she said and he stood up and hugged her.

“ahem ahem” Akhil made a sound to remind them his presence. “So everything is fine between you 2 now?”

“yes” both said in Corus and Akhil also joined them in their hug.

Sometimes life is not what we see it, but what we make it.

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