RELAY OS COMPETITION: PHASE 2: ENTRY 6 (MARAASIM)

Relay Competion- Phase 2
I have choosen THEME- 1. Below is the theme. If you already know that you can skip directly to the story.
THEME 1: A highly ambitious Rudra, returns from London, after 7 long years. Rudra wishes to become a C. E. O. of a top notched multinational company, ASPIRE. It is his prime goal in life. He returns to his ancestral home with plans of selling the property to earn millions, so that he can invest into his career, where in he meets up his childhood crush, saumyaKapoor. saumyais street smart, beautiful and extremely talented. But she is an extreme family person, and hence never left her family to settle elsewhere. She visions her village to be a heaven on earth and she feels that all the educated individuals in the village should come back to the village and work for its development. Rudra was never able to confess his love for Saumya. saumyawas also his senior by 2 years. saumyadid like Rudra secretly but never told him as she felt it would be embarrassing to propose a guy who was younger to her. Meanwhile, during his trip around his village, he lands up infront of a huge palatial mansion. Upon enquiring, he realises that this was a property of his school crush, BhavyaArya. He had loved both saumyaand Bhavyaequally, until he left for London after his higher secondary. Bhavyawas a girl of extreme confidence. She was independent, elegant, graceful and the sole owner of DESIRE. Both ASPIRE and DESIRE worked hand in hand owned by the Arya siblings. Bhavyanever liked Saumyas’ concern for Rudra. And she used to be extremely jealous when Rudra spoke to Saumya, the reason being saumyabeing more loved by everyone. Rudra was UNWARE of both of them liking him.

Okay so this is my selected theme. I hope I’ll be able to justify it. So, lets begin……

MARAASIM
As he walked out of the large ‘Exit’doors of the airport, the Sun had just begun its journey towards the sky. Dawn sent shimmering rays over the place, bestowing a golden path from the ground to the horizon. It was the perfect dawn, one to be savoured instead of squandered. Rudra blinked toward the sun that brought him another day he was never promised, yet was glad to see. Only an hour ago the blackness was absolute, but now the mist was visible, silvery. He let the moment sink in, soothe him from his core right out to where the nascent rays touched his skin. This meant a new beginning was possible and possibilities meant hope.
Early mornings were their own reward. The tall sky scrapers were silhouettes against a crimson sky and the air smelled of the rains. There was no drone of cars, only a hiss as they move over the rain coated street. There was something about the dawn that made each new day such a gift, unwrapping the world anew. And for Rudra, this dawn brought a gift of homecoming. ‘I had been waiting for this morning for so long that I barely believe my eyes. I could go to an all day spa and not be so refreshed, so recharged…’ he thought.
He had waited for this day for quite some time now. Seven years was a pretty long time and now he was finally here, back to his own country, he could hardly believe it.
It was too early for the masses to be up yet, a very few autos and taxis waited in the parking. Rudra moved towards the pick-up area where his cab waited for him to take him to his ancestral house in his native village. He was going there to sell his house and invest that money for his career. He wanted to make a successful career as a CEO in a multinational company Aspire. It was his dream job. Immediately after high school, he had left for London to study so that he could deserve that dream job of his. He had trained, trained hard for seven long years to reach up to his own expectations. He even used to work part time mostly to make some extra money to spend on his assignments and projects or sometimes for extra pocket money. He had skipped so many outings and parties while his other friends have been merrily whiling their time away. No he wasn’t a nerd or a bookworm or didn’t know how to have fun. He did. But not at the cost of his studies or dream job.
Then he had worked as an intern in one of the companies for two years. They never went easy on him. There were no fix timing. On paper yes, but not effectively in practice. He remembered so many times when they had to stay back at night when there was high workload. No, he doesn’t regret any of it. Those experience were once in a life time. They made him what he was today.

He woke up with a jerk with the sudden halt of the cab. Looking outside he saw his ancestral home. All the memories of his childhood came rushing in. He took a tour of the whole house every corner having a significance of its own, a memory of his own. Finally he came outside near a bench. It was ‘their bench’. There was nothing so great about the bench. Physically atleast. It was just a roadside bench standing next to a streetlight, in the shade of a nearby tree. It was the memories that made it so special. It was his and his childhood best friend saumya’s bench. They even had their names carved on that bench. It had seemed so important back then. He chuckled at the thought.
It’s fascinating how we’re taught that ‘home’ is this tangible place, the most simply defined of terms-
it‘s a house,
a postcode,
a country.
And yet sometimes home cannot be explained by a street number; sometimes it’s a face, a voice, a laugh more honest and familiar than any truth you have ever known. We‘re taught that in its most literal sense, home is where we live and grow.
But one day, in the silence that follows nostalgic stories and subsequent laughter, you realise that you never did more living or growing than when you had certain people by your side.
“So the rumours were true huhh. Mr. Rudy the great is back in town!” said a female voice from behind.
And suddenly, she was my home.
“Saumya! Om My God! Is that you? How are you? How’s everyone else? I have missed you so much.” He fired so many questions at her while engulfing her in a hug.
“Will you let me breath. I am great as always. Everyone else is fine. You tell me. How have you been?”
“So many things have changed here. Let’s take a walk and we can talk while you show me around. What say? ”
“Perfect”
And the rest of the evening was spend in talking about random things, catching up on each other’s life, teasing, telling tales, refreshing the old memories and creating new ones.
Her beauty was astonishing. Rudra thought. Not in just her looks; no, that was too evident. It was her passion for everything she put herself into. Her thoughts on educating the people in village and developing villages instead of moving to other places. It was the crinkle in her brow when she was concerned or the way she smiled when everything came together. Her laugh was so infectious that it was absolutely exhilarating just being around her. All of these small things added up to make her so irresistible.

While on the way back, they came across a huge mansion.
“Saumya, whose mansion is this?”
“Oh it’s the ‘Arya Manor’. Currently owned by the Arya siblings. They mostly live in the city but sometimes come here for holidays. Right now the younger one Bhavyais here. You must remember her, don’t you? If I remember correctly, you guys were in the same batch. ”
“Bhavya, ofcourse I remember her. She was my…ummm.…”
“….childhood crush. Now don’t give me that look. We used to share everything with each other then.”

As days flew by, Rudra had gotten close to both Bhavyaand Saumya. Bhavya, his childhood crush was also the owner of Desire and her brother owned Aspire, where Rudra wanted to work. Desire and Aspire both worked together for majority of their projects. He used to meet her to know more about both the companies and the industry in general. First as classmates, then work, Bhavyaand Rudra soon become quite close to each other.
While he also harboured feelings for Saumya, his childhood best friend/love, they were too young to differentiate then but now, it was different. He was more and more confused.
He didn’t think he could ever choose between the two. A part of his heart stayed with the one and the second part with another. saumya’s love was sweet taste of sugar on the tongue, while Bhavya’s love was wild and passionate. saumya’s love was like sitting next to a bonfire in the middle of winter and Bhavya’s was sunshine and beaches. One was the moon while other was the sun. The sun has to die every night to let the moon breath. But the moon loses its shine without the sun. One was water- calm, clear and soothing the other was fire- sparkling and radiant. But the water could drown you and fire could burn you. Bhavyawas a hurricane, a windstorm but saumyawas that drizzle of rain where you just sit with a hot coffee in hand, reading a book or listening to music.
saumyawas the lovely winter, where the land is covered with a carpet of glistening snowflakes and you are cuddling in a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa, while Bhavya, she was the summer, ablaze with energy , warm and sun kissed. Winter cannot last forever. Its harsh and isolating where even the animals hibernate. While summer, its scorching, blistering.

saumya(POV)
The growing closeness between Bhavyaand Rudra didn’t go unnoticed by Saumya.
It was one fine day when I was sitting on ‘our bench’ and Rudra leaning on the tree. He was talking something on the lines of his dream job and how near he was to working in Aspire, his career plans and how within a few years he would be the CEO, if everything went right, about the developing industry and how there were so many opportunities for growth and so on. I was hardly paying and attention as I was drowned in my thoughts.
I began to realize, he was never mine and he never will be. He belonged to her and she belonged to him. I don’t know why I even hoped for one second that he and I had a chance. Hope can break a heart and at least it broke mine without a warning or a sign.
“If you love someone, you should be happy to know that they’re happy, even if it’s not with you”, my best friend used to tell me. So I convinced myself that as long as he’s happy with her, I will be happy for him too. I wiped a tear that secretly fell from my eyes.
“Rudra” I said, “You are very passionate about your dream job aren’t you?” that question sounded foolish even to my own ears. Ofcourse he was. I had known it for years.
“Offcourse. As if it is a thing to ask”, he just affirmed my thought.
“Then maybe you are sitting on the wrong bench.” I could see the look of confusion in his eyes but he kept silent. “You and me, we are never meant to be Rudra. I wish it was safe to be just friends but we both know it isn’t. Shhhh” I hushed him before he could say anything. “Rudra we are just a misfit. You have ambitions, your dreams, career plan. You want to soar the skies. I have faith, good grades, and I’m not one for trouble. I would never be able to leave from here. I am happy living here in this little village. We are completely opposite to each other and opposites don’t always attract. Bhavya is perfect for you. You know each other, you share the same dreams. And I cannot take that away from you. Not now when you are so close to achieveing your dreams. I know what they mean to you. You have always trusted my decisions and trust me this one time again. Just give it a thought. Please.”
We both had remained silent for what seemed a long time. For the first time we had nothing to say to each other. The street light next to our bench also flickered for a while before it went out completely. When suddenly he spoke, “You will stay in touch, won’t you? Come to meet me sometimes?”
saumya stood before Rudra, her insides quivering but her face set hard. She had cried her tears, suffered her wounds, walked her hardest roads. There was a moment, just a fraction of a second, when his face showed puzzlement. It was all the encouragement she needed. “You will never see me again Rudra. I don’t want to leave you but I have to before I need you. I want to stay and be best friends like it used to be before relationships got in the way. Forget me Rudra.” Rudra held her gaze, his eyes every bit as hard as one who harbours pure pain. Asaumyafelt the shockwave pass through her like it always did, yet this time she stood firm, with dry eyes and still hands.
“People don’t forget girls like you. They try. But they won’t ever forget what your love felt like.”

Everyone had thought that Rudra had crush on Bhavya, but it was known to very few that even she liked Rudra. And speaking of Saumya, Bhavya had always been jealous of Saumya. In childhood she had always been with him as best friend and now, she had to just spoil everything by playing the epitome of sacrifice. Bhavya was not bad at heart. She was just not thinking straight at the moment. On one side she was sad for saumya that she had to lose her love, but she was happy that she lost to her, she knew she shouldn’t be, but couldn’t help it. She was angry that Saumya, who had always been loved more by everyone had again raised herself in the eyes of others. She had got Rudra but saumya had won again. She had gone out of the house, crying.

Rudra followed the sound of the sobs. Lucky for him, she always cried like there was a gale inside her fighting to get out. He sat on the damp roadside bench next to her and followed her gaze to the moon, saying nothing. She wiped her tears and glanced his way. “ Why do you even bother?”

“Bhavya, I know you, the real one inside, not the one you show the world. You’re beautiful.”

“But I rage, I get angry, I hurt people and I mess up all over again.”

Rudra held her gaze, “I love you and that will never change. You are human like the rest of us and you make mistakes. You will continue to make them too, as do I. But what’s so special about you is that you own them, feel the hurt and force the pain to make you better.” Bhavya’s sobs had ebbed to a trickle and she took Rudra’s hand. “I’m going to love you. I’m going to love you in your weakest moments to your strongest ones. I’m going to love you when you‘re happy and I’m going to still love you the when you‘re sad. Don’t you understand? I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I want to love you. Each and every piece of you. I want you with your imperfections as much as I want you for you. And I’m always going to want you. I’m always going to be here loving you with everything.”
He gave a gentle squeeze to her hand which he still held and together they walked back into the house hand in hand.

THE END

Note – The Story is titled ‘Maraasim’ which, for those who don’t know is an Urdu word meaning ‘Relations’. I came across this word randomly and thought this will go with the story and hence the title.
A/N – Hey there! Okay I know this was quite long. We at TU are not used to this long a story. But I had that minimum 2000 word limit criteria. I hope you guys enjoyed the story and I could write it up to your expectations. Please ‘Like’ and ‘Comment’. Suggestions are always welcomed. Criticisms, as long as they are not disrespectful, will help me write better, so please feel free to post them. I would like to know if there was any scene/line/description which you liked the most. And finally, if you feel I am worthy of going to the next level, then please vote (and tell your friends to vote too! )
Lots of Love <3 <3 <3

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