Two weeks of talking to Vikram, Subhadra felt good. She knew she shouldn't be happy from receiving a text from Vikram, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't remember feeling this excited...since forever.
So, they decided to meet up. Subhadra arrived at the time agreed upon to the park and had to wait a few minutes for Vikram.
When he arrived, they hugged each other and Subhadra looked around. Everyone was a busybody who thought other's businesses were their business, especially the nosey aunties.
She didn't want anyone she knew going to her parents and tattling on her for meeting a guy. They would nag her on getting married for the umpteenth time.
"So let me get something cleared up. You're interested in me right?" He asked her.
"Yes. That's why I'm here. Are you?"
"Of course I am. I wouldn't be here either if I wasn't."
Subhadra shrugged. "That's good then."
They started walking side by side.
"Let's play twenty questions." She suggested.
Vikram hated questions and he hated people questioning him, but he could make an exception for Subhadra, so he nodded.
"Favorite color?"
"Black." He answered. He watched her roll her eyes and laughed.
"What? Not a good enough color for you?"
"It's nothing like that, but black...has no color. Your turn."
"Favorite animal?" It was the only thing that popped into his mind.
"Dogs, of course. First love?"
Vikram put his hands on his head and sighed. He didn't like reciting his love story, but he could do it this once for her.
"It's a long story, but I'll cut it short." She looked excited to know, so he decided to tell her a major portion of it. He was an honest man who never broke his promises and he wanted Subhadra to trust him."Her name is Nehra. I've loved her for six years. I still do. I only met her once, that's it. There's no way for us to be together. I'm not the same caste as her. Her family would never accept me."
He could see her looking at him in his peripheral vision. He liked having her eyes on him.
"That kind of sounds cowardly Vikram."
"We don't communicate with each other. It's been six months. There's only so much I can do. You wouldn't understand." He knew she wouldn't.
"So help me understand." He looked at her then. He liked her. He liked her willingness to listen. Her willingness to understand.
He slipped his hand in hers.
"You're right Subhadra."
Subhadra liked his hand in hers. His situation was a little similar to hers actually.
"You know, this reminds me of my first love actually. His name was Aslan. He was a transfer student from Turkey. I didn't care about him for the longest time, in fact neither of us liked each other much and bam! Suddenly, one day, when I saw him talking to and smiling with some other girl, I didn't like it. At all. Apparently, he had done that on purpose. For me to notice. His family would never accept me either. A few years after that, I moved. Now, I'm a different person and he's a different person."
She saw his face immediately change and didn't understand why. She had just told him about her first love as he told her about his.
"Okay. Enough about the past. Let's talk about the present. What's your favorite color?"
So, they continued to talk and soon, it was time for Vikram to go as he got a call from work. Subhadra had tried to peek at his phone screen, even though she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself. She had the sense to be ashamed when Vikram caught her and laughed it off.
______________________________________Three weeks later :
Vikram never replied to Subhadra's texts on time. Maybe he was busy, but was he busy late at midnight? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. She didn't know and she wasn't desperate enough to ask him.
It hurt, but it was nothing big. Vikram was the first guy she felt anything for after Aslan and that was saying something. There were many guys, but only Vikram made her feel something.
She didn't know what to feel anymore. Sometimes she felt like she wasn't getting back the same energy from him as she was giving. What she felt for him was stronger than like, but less than love, so she decided to take it one day at a time.
______________________________________One week later :
"Vikram, what am I to you?" Subhadra asked Vikram on the call.
There was silence on the other end. Of course. His highness didn't like being asked questions, but she wasn't letting go of this. She wanted to know.
"Go on. Tell me." She urged him.
"Subhadra... I love you. After Nehra, I only feel this for you. What you do with my love is up to you."
Subhadra was shocked and didn't know what to say.
"I like you too Vikram. Very much. But what about Nehra?""What about Nehra?" He asked.
"What about her?" He repeated when she didn't reply.
"Well, don't you still love her?"
"I lost touch with her Subhadra. She doesn't want to be with me. She doesn't come into this equation."
"Alright." She conceded with him.
She wouldn't tell him that she loved him, because she wasn't quite at that stage yet. Frankly, she was a bit scared to fall in love again after Aslan, but she would get there. She knew it deep down in her heart.
______________________________________Two weeks later :
"Vikram! It's your birthday and you didn't tell me?"
"I don't take my birthday too seriously sweetheart. I didn't think it was important."
Subhadra was stuck at work and unfortunately, meeting him wasn't possible. She deeply regretted it, but it was beyond her control.
"I'm sorry I can't meet you honey."
"It's alright Subhadra. I don't mind."
After they hung up, she decided to make a video for him. Complimenting him and pasting alluring pictures of him. She added some music to the background and sent it to him via W******p.
If her boss found out what she had been doing, she knew she would be in big trouble, but for Vikram, she felt as if she had to do it. It was the least she could do.
She immediately got a call from Vikram.
"Subhadra, you're amazing. This is wonderful."
She giggled at that. "You like it?"
"I don't like it honey. I love it."
Subhadra had had enough with Vikram. He claimed to love her and she hated to admit it, but she wasn't getting enough attention from him. She felt like it wouldn't matter to him whether she texted him or not. Whether she talked to him or not.So, she stopped texting him. The first day was bearable. The second day was hard and by the third day, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to text him. So, on the fourth day, when she texted him, he asked her how her new boyfriend was. She called him."Vikram, what the hell is that supposed to mean?""It means I'm asking how your new boyfriend is.""Are you crazy? I don't have one.""Is it? Come on Subhadra. I hate liars.""Fuck you Vikram. Oh and by the way, he's fine." She huffed in anger. He was being ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."Good." He sounded dejected and resigned."Vikram, what do you take me for? You think I have one guy per week?""You didn't talk to me in three days Subhadra. What am I supposed to think?"She deflated. "I didn
Vikram had gone to Kolkata and not a single text from him for two days. Also, she only knew he was in Kolkata through his Instagram. He couldn't even give her the courtesy of telling her.Anxiety gnawed at her insides. Did he meet Nehra. Did they hug each other? Did they kiss and make up?"Subha, why are you even worrying about him? From what I've seen and from what you've told me, he isn't worth it. You've got beauty. You've got brains. Why are you stuck with him when you can do so much better?"Subhadra twirled the straw in her drink as she listened to Latha. She knew Latha was right."But Latha, I love him.""Yes, I can understand that Subhadra, and I don't blame you. It's just that you deserve someone much better. Someone who's worthy of you. I mean if I wrote Aryan poems like you do for Vikram, he'd fly in the air and worship the land I walk on. Also, he wouldn't let me out of the bedroom.""Latha!" Subhadra laughed. She had never been intimate with Vikram and had no intention of
"This is Commander Subhadra. I need backup on Line 5.""On it Chief." As soon as she saw her father, Venkat Krishnan, jogging away, she shot a Nerf at him, hitting him square on his buttock.When he yelped and rubbed the sore spot, she burst out laughing."What was that for, you brat?""It was for being too slow, old man.""Old? You call this old?" He started flexing his non-existent muscles.Her Mom, Sangeetha came in the middle."They say I only have one child. They're wrong. I have two children, except one is a man child."Her mom poked her finger in Venkat's chest."Amma, leave Nanna alone.""Devuda." Her Mom called for God.Right then, Subhadra's phone rang. It was Vikram."Hello?""Sweetheart, I'm outside your house."Subhadra contemplated on what to say. The buildings had eyes...in the form of nosy neighbors. She didn't want her father to have a bad name in the neighborhood.But, she could tell them it was a colleague from work."Nanna, my colleague is downstairs. I'll go see w
The next day, Vikram called her multiple times, and he never did that. Calls from him were few and far between. Multiple calls? Never.So, she decided to answer the third time he called."Subhadra, I'm sorry."She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her."You know what Vikram? You'd say sorry to me after sticking your penis in someone else.""Subhadra, that's too far and you know it."She did know, but she didn't care. She was too hurt and she wanted to do something crazy."I'm at work. I'll call you later.""This isn't a goodbye right, Subhadra?"She softened at that. "No Vikram. It's not."They hung up and Subhadra wondered if Latha would be up for clubbing tonight. She would need to buy a dress, though, so, she decided to go shopping after work. ______________________________________Subhadra stared at the sequined dress wistfully. She really wanted it, but it wasn't her style and she would never be comfortable in wearing something that short. It was because of the society
Subhadra heard and knew the name Mahendra Varma from somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She'd been scratching her head from the past two days, wondering, wondering, where had she heard that name?She opened her Instagram account which was entirely dedicated to her poetry and she clicked on the heart button.There it was! Mahen_Vrma. She was positive it was him, so she clicked on his account. It was him. Most of his posts were about Transition. Actual photos of him were few. One was a candid shot of him looking at the sky with his shirt half open. A Rudraksh necklace hung from his neck. She was immediately intrigued, but she exited from his profile.This same guy was the very first person to read her poems. To encourage her. To comment on her poems, all good things of course. Hmm. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.She decided to message him through Instagram.Subha_Kr10: You!She didn't expect a reply so soon, but she got one nonetheless.Mahen_Vrma: You! You stalked
Nehra looked at the woman in front of her. Long, black hair, light brown skin, and kind, dark eyes. She was short, but so was Nehra, so she was no one to judge her.She was pretty. Was she Vikram's girlfriend? Her head hurt just thinking about it.Subhadra took both her hands in hers. She couldn't help, but like it. She acted as if she had know her since forever. It was probably because of Vikram.On one hand, Nehra felt bad for Subhadra, for her having to listen to Vikram always talk about her. But, one the other hand, Nehra felt triumph. Vikram had had a pretty, kind woman in front of him, yet he couldn't stop talking about Nehra.It was enough for Nehra to know the depth of Vikram's love for her."Nehra. You have to marry Vikram. He's going crazy without you.""Don't you love Vikram?"Subhadra smiled. "I do and I want him to be happy. He'll only ever be happy with you."Nehra thought about it. "You know it's not an issue with me. My parents would never allow it.""Is there any way
On their way to the beach, Subhadra got a call from Latha."Hello?""Subha, where are you?""Going to Digha Beach. Why?""You owe me a video call.""I'm so sorry Latha. I'll call you as soon as I'm back. I have lots to tell you.""I'll be waiting for your call."The call ended and they reached the beach.She and Nehra talked for sometime and for a second, she couldn't believe who she saw.What the hell was Vikram doing here? Moreover, how did he know she was here. There was only one explanation. Aashalatha. Nehra saw Vikram and gasped. She held on to Subhadra's arm.Subhadra nudged Nehra in his general direction. "Go. Share the great news with him."Nehra looked at her for reassurance and Subhadra gave her an encouraging smile.Subhadra felt a little bittersweet seeing them together, but it was fine. She would get over it. She saw them talking and smiling, and took it as her cue to leave.As she was walking along the shore, she wanted to do something crazy. Something wild."Subhadra
Subhadra saw Vikram and Nehra approach her and Mahendra. She saw Vikram questioningly look at Mahendra. "That's right. I forgot to introduce you all. Mahendra, this is Nehra. My friend." She winked at Nehra. Mahendra just politely smiled at Nehra. "This is Vikram...Nehra's fiancé. Vikram, this is Mahendra Varma. My friend and the owner of Transition. The club."Mahendra didn't smile at Vikram. He simply smirked at him and watched as Vikram clenched his fists. "So when are your parents meeting hers?" Subhadra asked Vikram. "I just introduced her to them through video call. Nehra gave them her parent's numbers.""Awesome. I have to go now though."Subhadra looked at all of them. "How will you go?" Mahendra asked her. "I'll just get a cab.""Nonsense. I'll drop you off. I have a car. You're okay with it right?""Of course, but only if it's no trouble for you."Mahendra shook his head, so Subhadra waved at Nehra and Vikram and followed Mahendra to his car. She observed that he di