Shivaay watched as Anika disappeared into thin air. ‘Anika,’ he spoke sadly and cried looking down. ‘Why did you go? Why? How will I ever move on in my life? How will I live my remaining life without you? I wish, I wish you were here,’ he said and laid keeping his head on the pillow and moved his hand under the pillow as he used to sleep like this. His hand touched something hard, he sat up and moved the pillow and saw a diary, Anika’s diary. ‘I know you don’t want anyone to read it, sorry but I can’t stop myself,’ he apologized to her in his heart.
He opened the first page, her name was written there, Anika Shivaay Oberoi. How his name looked perfect connected to her name. He flipped the page. ‘Dear diary, its my first time I have fallen in love with someone, there was a person Daksh who basically had a crush on me, a harmless crush, so we were in college at that time, we always sat together, but I hardly ever talked with him even if he tried. To be honest, I wasn’t into boys. It all started with a proposal.
So one day he proposed me, I couldn’t say no, so I went without answering with baby steps while everyone watched and I swear I could hear the roar of laughter from the crowd and some were feeling pity for him. I didn’t feel bad, my yes is yes and my no is no. I know how to refuse, how to say NO, but couldn’t say this time though we weren’t even friends and every love story starts on friendship so how could I accept his proposal without knowing him? I didn’t felt right, I didn’t felt attraction towards him.
Well what kind of love should I have fallen without attraction? Funny no? The next time we met, I simply apologized and told him that I don’t love him. Why would I have said yes when inside I am saying no to myself? So I refused. Some days later, he started hanging out with another girl, Tia Bajpai. She was really beautiful, the way he sat with her was just to make me jealous but why would I have been jealous when I never had love? Weird…he really was weird, well later his crush shifted on her and he fell for her.
He didn’t stop troubling me even though. He gave me letters saying that you won’t get anyone who will love you like me etc etc. I always got angry and tore it into pieces but one day I went to him and lashed out at him. I even slapped him. I went from there in anger. But his words haunts me till today, “Is thappar ki keemat tum zaroor chukao gi.” Who was he to say all this? Like seriously? My life, my wish, my rules, my problems, not others’ business. Saala choosa hua aam. Ha ha!
So after the college was finished and all of us got graduated, I fell in love with my childhood friend, Shivaay Singh Oberoi and when my name got connected with him, I became Anika Shivaay Singh Oberoi from Anika Chaturvedi. I like both my names though. Shivaay and I met on the bus stop after college, we always fought while we were little but things got better as we grew up. We just caught glances of each other before we got into the bus. When the bus arrived, I rushed towards the seat which had window, as the bus was full, he had no option but to sit beside me. So he did, believe me or not, he started fighting with me to sit by the window side.
Khadoos…he fought and fought until it got out of control and I stood up from my place, took out my water bottle and splash, it went on him, now he looked so innocent, in fact it looked as if I m cruel, but I didn’t laugh at that time, I was angry so I too fought. “What ha? I sat first, did I say to sit beside me? Go sit on the roof, don’t bother me,” I said with anger moving towards him and suddenly the bus had such a jerk that I fell on that khadoos. People were staring at us, but who cared? He was staring at me as if I m an alien, I stood up and so did he. I let him sit beside me after that as I was too tired to fight. So after some months, love blossomed between us and later we married, after one year we were blessed with my junior form, Shivika Oberoi. So now she’s of two years and we are very happy. Anika.’
The point was why did those words haunted her? She was a brave girl after all. It was the time to meet Daksh. So Shivaay knew where he lived, he went there and knocked. He came out. ‘Shivaay, you? Come inside,’ he invited and Shivaay came in with his usual sadu face. ‘What did you do to my wife? Don’t tell lie, I know you had a crush on her, then you threatened her, when I was back from abroad, I found her fallen down the stairs, tell what did you do?’, he shouted holding his collars.
‘Its the truth that I had a crush on her and I threatened her, but I didn’t kill her,’ he said. ‘Seriously?’, Shivaay asked. ‘Yes I didn’t, why will I? I love Tia now, she too had a crush on you, so what?’, he confessed. ‘Look, don’t change topic, Anika’s soul hasn’t got peace till now, and if you don’t tell me the truth, she won’t leave you, think, just think is she was so tadibaaz in her life, how would have she become now? She will come back to take revenge. She will even take you in her world,’ Shivaay threatened and Daksh looked on.
(The ones who are sad about Anika being dead, I have thought of a happy ending for this, smile )