The Friendship

The Lost Emerald

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

The Friendship

Driving back from home, all Raghvi could think was about the messages that Mayank had sent her. She was part relieved to know that her lost earring had been found but figuring out a way to retrieve it now gave her anxiety.

The night replayed in her mind too.

It had started to rain unexpectedly and soaked both of them while waiting for the valet. Mayank had suggested her to dry herself before heading home. After much hesitation she agreed because heading home like this would invite many questions and it wasn’t the time of revelations yet.

He unlocked the room and left the door open for her to follow. He picked up the towel and handed it to her, showing the way to the washroom. She took the towel and latched the washroom from inside. She then dried herself with the towel and the hair dyer available. She cursed the moment when she had agreed to celebrate. It was too soon.

Fifteen minutes later, she came out relatively dry to notice Mayank in a different attire. His wet clothes lay lifeless on the study chair in the corner. He still looked impeccable in his casual tee and blue jeans. Their eyes locked and awkwardness paused the moment briefly.

“Shall we leave?” suggested Raghvi, breaking the silence, heading towards the door.

Mayank silently followed.

The drive home remained wary of any conversations. May be the thoughts of their past clouded their words.

Lost in the thoughts, driving on auto-pilot, Raghvi did not notice when she reached the basement of her apartment and the car came to a halt. She sat there for a while thinking about twenty years ago.

Mayank and Raghvi used to be best of the friends and everyone knew it. They weaved their college life with pranks and memories. Their pranks were always unexpected. After passing out of college, they joined the offices in the same city but in the opposite corners of it. Meeting regularly was replaced by constant long calls. It was during one of these calls Mayank had confessed his feelings for her. But it was too late by then, Raghvi had already found Arjun and was expecting his proposal soon. In the hope of keeping the friendship alive, the distance between them grew until they lost touch when Mayank moved abroad for higher studies. Meanwhile, Raghvi got engaged and then married, conveniently skipping the invitation to Mayank.

It was few months ago, Raghvi noticed him in a mall and their friendship resurfaced. Mayank had a wife too. So, it felt much safer for Raghvi to rekindle the abandoned friendship. More than that, she needed his help more than ever.

Now what confused her was if it was a prank that Mayank was planning on her or if he still had feelings for her. She wished for the latter to not be true. But this surely made her guards go up. She began to question, if she had done it right to be friends with him again.

She walked mindlessly and opened the door. A parcel wrapped in a brown paper and tied with a red twine on the foyer table, next to the trinket dish, was awaiting her.

The parcel was addressed to her, written in beautiful cursive handwriting, which she instantly recognized it. All Mayank wrote was:

Raghvi,

It’s finally here.