Book-in-the-making.

An unedited excerpt from my BOOK-IN-THE-MAKING..

'1 1 : 5 8pm', She glanced at her phone, probably for the hundredth time by now.
Two more minutes, and she would be a year older. She wasn't excited like every one else is, in those early hours before the day, expecting people to suddenly remember, she is alive. Birthdays lost the fun in them from the time her friends from college had formed two groups. The last time she ever had a blast on her birthday was when her best friend convinced her parents for a night out, and they had partied until late. This time, she had no idea what to do, like always. She was just waiting for the phone to start buzzing, so she could answer all the calls, and sleep peacefully.

She was expecting his call. She knew he would, it meant a lot to him, her birthday. It had been a good one and a half month that they last spoke, when she told him it was not going to work out. She still remembered how hard it was for her to let him go, and to be strong, and not to show him the signs that she loved him the most.

She knew, he was still waiting for her to change her mind, to think about her decision of giving the relationship up, and to get back to him. At times, she even thought of getting back, ignoring the odds of it, and to believe in him, but she was afraid of the future, a future they would not be able to reach.*clink clink clink..clink clink*, her phone rang. It was HIM. The time was 1 2 : 00am. A strange feeling of happiness shivered in her, as she read his name on the dialler.

'Hello', she said, in a low voice, adjusting her phone over the ear.

'Happy Birthday', he whispered on the other end.

She was happy, happy to hear him speak. This was what she missed the most, his voice, she could hear him speak for hours.

'Thank you', she replied, gulping down her excitement.

'Open the door and look down, there is a surprise for you', he instructed her while she was almost shocked at the fact that he actually thought of surprising her.

She jumped from her bed at once, and her sleep, well now, it could wait for a while, she thought. Walking towards the door she was imagining what it could be, 'the surprise'. She opened the door, slowly, without a sound, and looked into the poorly lit hallway, to find him. He was standing near the lift, smiling and pointing downwards, reminding her about the surprise gift. She looked down, already content after looking at him, at 4 boxes that were piled up together, on the doormat. She picked them up swiftly, and placed them in her room, to return to him, quickly.
She walked up to him, after securing the door from outside, and her smile widened with each step that she took. He was there, along with three other friends, smiling at her.

'Happy Birthdayyyy', everyone shouted together, as she walked up to them.

'Thanks for coming', she whispered in his ear as she moved in a little closer to him, standing beside him.

'How could I not come, Saww? If we really have broken up then this is the last chance for me to make you feel special', he said, hiding his face away, not to show her how hard it was for him to accept his defeat at changing her mind. He had decided not to bring up the topic today, just to keep her mood alive.
Cool breeze greeted them on the terrace, with a full moon shining in the sky, and he did not waste a single second to tell her that the reason for such a weather was her birthday. She chuckled away, rolling her eyes at him, an expression of her that he loved the most.

'You people sit here and talk, we'll try getting dosa or some snacks from Ram ki Bandi', Vineet said in an excitement, to which Pravallika and Nikhila nodded right away. And now, they both were alone, under a glooming moon and a sky full of a hundred thousand stars.

'Are you happy, Saww?', he asked, looking at her hair that was falling perfectly over her shoulders.

'You think I am not?', she turned her face towards him, 'I am more than happy, Azad. Moreover, I thought you wouldn't wish me today for I know I have hurt you so much', she said covering her face with her palms.

'How could you even think like that, Saww. This day has been on my mind since so long and I wish I could make it a little more wonderful', he frowned, still not satisfied by his efforts.

He knew he could do so much more for her, and he wanted to do so much more for her. You could see it in his eyes, that enthusiasm that just her name bought up, in them.

'You've done more than I could ask for, Azad, and trust me, no one would ever do this much for a girl who is so stubborn about not taking the relationship ahead', she reassured him of his efforts, slipping her fingers into his.

'By the way, you did not tell me what the surprise gift is?', she hit his knee with her fist, as she suddenly remembered about the boxes.

'Go, see for yourself, and come back up, Saww', he winked at her, with a wide grin on his face.

She rushed down at once while he waited for her, counting the stars, praying to God that she likes it.

'Woooah! Did you-uu-u seriously make that g-gift on your own? For me? Seriously?', she exclaimed, gasping for breath as she walked towards him.
The gift was a representation of her nickname that he used to call her with, 'See-saw', handmade from things like wooden pieces, chess pieces, fake jewellery ornaments etc.., of which, some he had to steal from his sister's wardrobe.

'Yes, but did you like it?', he asked, covering his eyes with his fingers, looking from the gaps.

'I loved it. I really did. That is just so thoughtful of you. Thank you so much, Azad', she said as she moved in closer to him.

They both expected a hug, but neither of them initiated one, thinking it would be awkward. You could tell from her eyes, she wanted to hug him, and deep in his heart, he had that wish too. He tapped her shoulder, as a substitute, pulling his hand back as fast as he could. From his side, it was the respect that he had for her which stopped him from hugging her, fearing that she would think, he did everything today for her to get back to him. And on her's, it was more of a confusion, a fight, in-between her wish to hold him close and her decision, not to give him hopes again.

They both settled on the concrete blocks, sitting close but still apart. One look at them and anyone could tell, they loved each other but some resistance stopped them from accepting it, may be that month long separation.
'Saww, remember you once said you want to sit on the terrace and count stars with me. Well now, I made your wish come true. Look up, one, two, three..', he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder, which she welcomed, brushing her fingers in his hair.

'Oh yeah, you remember. I so wish, we could stop time, its so beautiful, this moment', she said, playing with his hair.

'I know right. Wish we could, Saww, wish we could'.

It was 3 : 00 am. She did not feel sleepy any more, nor did he want to go home. They both sat together, heads inclined on each other, counting the stars, and talking about a past that seemed impossible to reach out to. Lost in the same thoughts, sharing each other's smile, caressing each other's hair, they had the same thing running in their hearts, 'a love, they could not make, together'.

- Azad Hussain @ smokeofsulphur.blogspot.in