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And then her mind went back to Amit. The one last thing she needed off her chest.
‘I … I don’t know why he wants to meet me,’ she mumbled into Atharv’s neck, clinging, as if for dear life. ‘I … Atharv, I’m not able to sleep … the memories keep coming back. It’s scaring me…’
‘Koyal,’ came his voice, calming and soothing. ‘I can go meet him and while I am at it, would love to punch him in his face,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘and I can tell you to just go on your own or not go at all. But I won’t.’
‘Eh?’ She leaned back so that she could see his face.
‘No one should tell you what to do or not to do,’ he said and Koyal slumped back into the sofa.
‘Come with me?’ she begged.
‘And do what?’ asked Atharv. ‘Strength comes from lifting yourself when life has knocked you down. You have to be your own hero, Koyal, don’t let anyone take that from you.’
Koyal looked at Athrav, lost in the wisdom of his words.
‘Real friends will have your back, Koyal – they’ll never fight your battle for you. You turned your life around, you have more courage inside of you than you care to acknowledge. Anyone can run away from what they fear – the strong ones stay put
and face them. The choice is yours.’
Koyal gulped.
‘I don’t want to be your knight in shining armour, Koyal. Do you know why?’
‘Why?’
‘Because you are no damsel in distress,’ he said, the determined gleam in his eyes only too visible.
34
Koyal walked nervously to One New Change, a mall in central London. It was Friday afternoon and the weekly market was in full swing. The sights and the smells. The people and food. All lost on Koyal.
‘Almost there,’ she texted Atharv.
Koyal stepped inside Zizzi where she had agreed to meet Amit, feeling ready to throw up. What was it that Atharv had said about facing fears, she wondered. It had sounded very grand then, but seemed to make no sense now.
‘I should have just ignored that man,’ she mumbled angrily, settling in her chair, but then stilled when her eyes fell on Amit walking towards her.
The demon, the monster, the man who had made her life a living hell for four long years was a mousy-looking man, she realized with immense surprise. Why had she feared this man? she wondered, taken aback.
The fear that had snowballed over the last few days since she had said yes to meeting him began to evaporate, leaving behind only utter disbelief.
He was wearing an overcoat she had bought for a birthday of his, she noted.
Amit looked surprised. ‘You look well,’ he said, his voice soft.
This is the man who used to scream and shout at me for losing keychains, Koyal said to herself.
‘I heard you finished B-School and now work in SunSoft. Congratulations. I always knew you had it in you.’
Yeah, right.
‘Um … do you want to order food?’
‘Let’s get to the point,’ she said, her voice curt and no-nonsense, surprised at the courage she now felt cascading through her veins.
He stared at the table for a few minutes, and when he looked up, his eyes held immense sadness.
He has aged, she thought, noticing the worry lines on his forehead.
