CH 12 || Flame

Dhruv

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Had I ever been told by someone before, that waiting for someone was not easy, I would have mocked him, but now I realize, it's indeed not a cakewalk.

I have been waiting for my muffin from last half an hour and I don't know why am I being anxious.

Maybe because I think that there are chances that she might reject my proposal. Even if she rejects my proposal, she will still be the reason for my smile, at least she will be with me, even if it means, as a friend.

"Dhruv, calm down. Stop pacing as it won't reduce the distance between yours and Saavi's home."

"Namit is right dude. Arjun and Riddhi will soon come with her. Why are you getting so anxious?"

Namit and Rohit were right but this feeling of anxiety was not leaving me. I was feeling the sudden urge to see her. I had no idea what the hell was wrong with me.

Without wasting any more second I called Arjun but he didn't respond. I kept calling him but after a few rings he switched off his phone. I called Riddhi but she did the same and now I was sure that my anxiety was not baseless. Something didn't feel right. I told Namit and Rohit and they got worried too.

They too tried to call them but their phones were switched off. With the thought of calling Rana Uncle, I dialed his number and the bell rang at the same time. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Arjun and Riddhi standing there and their grim expression didn't settle well with me.

"Where is Saavi?"

"Let's go inside and then we will talk."

"Arjun I don't want to listen to your talks now, it can wait. Just tell me where is she? Is she still in the car?" Saying this I started to move past them when Riddhi held my hand and said,

"She is not in the car."

"Then where is she?"

"We will tell you, come inside." Saying this she took me back to the living room.

Everyone settled in the living room and it felt like Riddhi and Arjun were having some kind of inner turmoil.

"You both are testing my patience. If you don't want to tell me, fine. I will call her myself."

I was dialing her number when Arjun said, "She is gone."

"What do you mean by gone?"

"She left India."

When those words left his mouth, I was stunned for a second but then I realized, it's Arjun, and he was for sure doing a prank with me but that was just not the right time for it. I was getting solicitous and he was enjoying my misery, I thought.

"Arjun if this is one of your stupid pranks then trust me I...." Riddhi didn't let me speak and said,

"He is saying the truth."

She handed me a letter which she said was the only thing they found at her house.

******

Hey Everyone,

If you guys are reading this letter, it means I am gone. I know you all might hate me for this but everything happened so suddenly that I couldn't inform anyone of you. I have to say a lot of things to you all and I will try to cover the maximum parts in this letter.

Riddhi, you were not my friend but my sister. Thank you so much for taking my stand whenever needed. You never let me feel inferior and when you befriended me I knew I could confide in you.

Namit and Arjun thanks for being the friends I can always rely on. You guys always made an effort to put a smile on my face. Arjun, I will surely miss your jokes and Namit, I will miss watching you making weird faces whenever someone tries to tease you.

Rohit, thanks for being my brother. You made me your little sister the moment we met and always treated me like one. Thanks for being the brother I never had.

Jai and Nikhil, you guys are the those whom I befriended. Jai, thanks for always being the supportive friend and Nikhil I will miss your tantrums which you used to throw before every exam.

Last but not the least, Dhruv, I don't know what to say about you. The words might fall short if I start to write about you. All I have to say to you is Thank You. I wouldn't be me if you didn't come into my life. Thanks for everything and I am sorry too.

That's all I have to say to you all. Please don't ever try to find me. I am leaving India with the plan of not coming back.

Saavi

******

Dropping the letter, I went outside and asked Rana Uncle to take me to her home.

You can't just leave like this Saavi Bhatt, you can't.

The car stopped in front of her house and I rushed out of the car. The house was not locked so I barged in but it was empty. Everything was gone and I had no idea whom to contact. I asked her landlord and she told me a couple came to take her, saying that they were her parents. I contacted her orphanage hoping they might have any information about her parents but they said they didn't have any. I tried to know about the person who used to pay for her education but they didn't share the person's details saying that it's against their norms.

In my stupidity, I forgot I had her number so I called her but the message I received broke the last thread of my hope,

'The number you have dialed does not exist'.

Everything felt like a nightmare to me. I called her again and again but received the same message. I called Jai and Nikhil thinking they might tell me the truth if it was a prank but to my surprise, they too had no idea about it. They came to me, and we decided to search for her. I knew she could not leave me like this, but where do I find her? My mind went blank but Jai told me not to lose hope. We went to the restaurant she used to work but they had no idea of her whereabouts.

I called Ryan and every other student whom she used to teach but to no avail. They told me they never contacted her after their last exam. I searched here and there without any destination in my mind but couldn't find her.

Suddenly a girl appeared in front of me out of nowhere, wearing the same type of clothes my muffin used to wear. I knew it was her. I shouted to gain her attention,

"MUFFIN" but she didn't turn.

"SAAVI," I shouted her real name on top of my lungs but she was not paying heed to it.

Running towards her, I was about to reach near her when someone pulled me back with force,

"Are you mad?" yelled Namit. Arjun was with him too. I didn't know how did they reach there but the only thing in my mind was my love.

"I saw her. I saw my Saavi. She is...." Arjun stopped me in mid and said,

"She is not your Saavi. Look." saying this he pointed towards the direction and I found that the girl was someone else.

"I need to look for her. She must be here somewhere." I was about to go when Namit yelled again.

"Dhruv, Saavi is gone. You have to believe it, SHE IS GONE."

His words pierced my heart like needles. I felt someone poured a bucket of ice on me.

"You need to calm down. If Namit had not pulled you, that truck would have hit you," said Jai.

"Calm Down? How can you say that? Why only I am affected? Why not you guys?" I asked them but they all chose to remain silent.

"Wait! You all believe what's written in that letter, don't you." I chuckled thinking how my friends could be this stupid. I sat down on the footpath and my laugh soon turned into cries.

"She can't just go like this. She can't leave me."

"But she did," said Namit.

Wiping my tears I got up and went back to her apartment. The images of me spending time with her there started flashing in front of my eyes. Tears started to fall freely and I sat down there in silence. The only person who had the power to bring a smile on my face without making any effort was gone. The reality was still hard to believe. As I was deep in my thoughts my eyes landed on a painting which was kept in the corner.

It was my painting, but what caught my attention was the message written over it.

To Dhruv

With Love,

From Muffin

I was getting calls from my friends but I wanted to live alone at that moment, so I switched off my phone. I would have stayed the night there only but muffin's landlord asked me to leave. Glancing at her house for one last time I left.

Rana Uncle drove me to the house. I went inside and everyone was still there and were looking worried.

"Where the hell have you been? We were trying to call you but..."Rohit stopped yelling at me when he looked at my face. Maybe my tearful face stopped him from yelling further. I went to my room, kept the painting there and laid on the bed and let all the negative thoughts flood my mind.

Why do all bad things happen to me? Why am I so unlucky? Why don't people stay in my life?

First mom, dad, little one, and now my love, everyone left me. I am indeed not worthy of their love.

Our story ended and the Flame of our love couldn't ignite.

******

Author

******

He thought his story ended but the truth was his story has not even started yet. He didn't get her because he was not ready which he thought he was.

It is rightly said everything has its time and place and it was not the time to start his story yet. Because before that, he will have to prepare himself for the devils he was unaware of.