I woke up early today, as the final was from 9am. I got ready and reached the ground on time. Prakash sir was already there by that time. But there was no sign of Aisha.
I called her. Her phone rang but she didn't picked it up. For the whole day, we waited for her. But she didn't came. Eventually, the opponent won the final without even playing it.
The next day, I went to school and looked for her. I even asked her friend, Shanaya, about her. She replied, "Hasn't she told you anything?"
- "No. What happened?"
- "She has transferred to abroad for some reason which I can't say."
- "Abroad? Where?"
- "To USA."
I stood dumbstruck. What kind of emergency was it that she went to another country right on the day of the finals, even without telling me?
Well, I didn't find the answer of this question for several days. I tried to text and call her many times. But her number was unreachable.
One day, I received an SMS from an unknown number, which had the following things written:-
"Hey senior,
I am Aisha, your first student of badminton. Do you remember me? Well, I still remember you, because why not, you were my inspiration for playing badminton.
I loved playing badminton since childhood. But unfortunately, I was never a very good badminton player. Even after taking coaching classes from the school, my game didn't improve.
Then one day, I saw you playing in the Inter-School Badminton Competition. Seeing your game that day changed my visions towards badminton.
I changed my old techniques and started to play like you. I worked very hard on it day by day, in the hope that maybe someday, someday we could play a badminton doubles game together.
But after a few months, I heard about those rumours and that, you have quit playing badminton. But I didn't lose hope, I kept on practicing.
You might be wondering that why am I suddenly telling all these things to you. Well, I know that I have caused you a lot of trouble, by disappearing just on the day of the finals out of nowhere.
Well, there is a secret which no one else knows except my family and Shanaya. When I was 6 years old, doctor told me that I was suffering from a rare disease called 'Friedreich's Ataxia', which is basically an incurable disease caused by genetic disorder and shortens the life span of the person suffering from it.
So, in hope for better treatments, I transferred to USA here. Even now, I am typing this message lying in the hospital bed. How crazy I am, isn't it?
Well, I didn't tell about it earlier to you because I didn't want to ruin the previous moments that we shared in those 7 days.
You remember the first day we met, at that old building? It was not a coincidence. I often used to follow you after the school, because you know, I was somehow interested in you.
Therefore, I knew the fact that you used to visit there for some reason after the school. I think that clears your doubt that how I got to know your address, when Prakash sir himself didn't knew it.
And when I told you about my coach trying to change my gameplan and techniques, they were just fake excuses, because I wanted to know you more and also to learn more from you.
Then, you remember that day, in the Sanjay Van, my legs got temporarily paralyzed. Well, that was due to my illness. When I saw you getting worried about it, I was somehow relieved. Such a big selfish I am!
You remember I gave you an orange ribbon, as a sign of friendship? It was actually the ribbon given by my grandmother to my grandfather and then, my mother to my father. It is a belief in our family that whenever a girl child will find her best friend from the opposite gender, she will tie the ribbon in his hand.
To be honest, those 7 days that I have spent with you were the best 7 days of my life. Tomorrow is the surgery on which my life depends. There is a very small chance of success. But if it succeeds, we may see each other again, senior.
And last but not the least, what I want to say is... I LOVE YOU NISHANT. "
I cried. I didn't knew that she was dealing with so many things. After all, the moment she entered my life, my world became colourful once again.
Its like she coloured those 7 days of my life with the 7 colours of a rainbow. And now, after all these happenings, she is talking about leaving me? How can I live without her colours?
Many years have passed and today, I am the chief badminton coach of the National Badminton Academy. I never met her again. But she just showed me the correct path of my life. I regret that I can never thank her for what she has done to me. But she will remain in my heart forever.
After all, WHEN THE 7 COLOURS OF A RAINBOW MIXES, IT FORMS A WHITE LIGHT......
The End