Dark clouds had circled throughout the sky. The sun was about to set.
"Saa-ve! ….Noo! ..Save!....Jay!.."
A child's voice echoing by the side of a lake. Arya, the child, is panicking as he sees his best friend, Jay drowning.
"Jay!! (echo)..."
Arya screams helplessly as he can't swim and hence can't save Jay.
*BADAM-BADAM*
Intense heart throbbing sounds and then...
"Arya!...bro!...Arya!"
Arya, who was intensely daydreaming, awakens.
"Why are you beside this lake again? Huh? Why do you keep coming here?" Wini shakes his brother while asking.
"I...I need some space please!" Arya stuttered.
"No, no, no!....no more space to you. No more contemplating, " yells Wini.
"Mother is looking for you at home, come hurry." Wini signals her brother to stand up.
Arya is looking pale. He is having headphones around his neck plugged into his iPod, which was in his pocket. He unwillingly stands up. They then slowly, head towards home.
Wini is giggling, her arms around her brother, trying to cheer him up on their way to home. Arya is careless and in his own musings.
"Ah! finally! these two!.. " Sighs Stella (single mother of the two) sitting on a sofa in the living room.
"What Momma?.. You know I went to bring him back" exclaims Wini.
"But have you seen the time? I have been waiting for so long" says Stella.
*BUZZ*
Stella's phone rings.
"Oh the event managers! " She checks her phone.
"Kids stay here, I will be right back".
"The Fest is here, Finally! Are you excited Arya?" Asked Wini
Arya slowly nods his head.
" Come on bro! Be a sport. You are a song enthusiast but haven't you heard this song?.. They say one day, you'll leave this world behind; So live a life you'll remember… " Wini was singing and suddenly her phone rings.
" Office!" exclaimed Wini as she saw her phone's screen.
" Hello! Oh Thank you! Hopefully soon!....A Party!? This is so sweet! A party for me! .... " Wini kept going on with her call.
"Party" Whispered Arya to himself.
He plugs in to his iPod to cut the noise and tunes into a melody he was earlier listening to.
It didn't take thoughtful Arya more than a minute to re-enter his zone of old memories.
~Flashback~
Cherry Blossom petals blowing all around the school campus. Giggles and laughter of small pupils all around. It was a lunch break. Arya is staring into the playground through his classroom window from the first floor.
*CREAK*
Class Door opens. Arya turns his head to see who it was. Jay has entered the room. Arya blushed. Jay's shirt was not tucked in properly. His tie was in his pocket and hair was all messed up. Yet, his presence was Arya's delight.
" Chips and Cakes! Jay said happily.
" And of course your favorite, ice-creams" exclaimed Jay joyfully with a dimple on his cheek. His crooked teeth added an unusual charm to his smile, which girls in their class couldn't resist.
"Party time!" He offered his tiffin to Arya by placing the tiffin on Arya's lap. Arya felt dreamy about the whole thing. He was mesmerized by Jay's charm. He kept staring at his face. Jay stroked his hair and gently patted his face.
Arya opens the tiffin box. The smell of fresh cakes and chips enticed him. The ice-creams were looking super delicious.
"I couldn't ask for more, " Arya said softly. Such a beautiful lunch together with the boy he is fond of. He wanted this moment to last forever.
Both the boys started eating. They were laughing as Jay kept cracking silly jokes.
"Ok, Why can't Elephants use computers? " Jay asked.
"Elephants using computers,.. How is it .. ? " Arya couldn't complete his question and started laughing.
" Because, they're scared of mouse " Jay smirked.
Arya laughed out loud and some cream from the ice-cream cone in his hand fell on his chest. Arya kept laughing and didn't notice. But Jay did.
Jay suddenly stopped laughing and started gazing at the cream on Arya's chest. First button of Arya's shirt was undone. Jay's eyes which were full of dark black lashes were stuck there. Seeing him, Arya also stopped laughing and followed Jay's eyes.
There was an instant flush on his face when he realised where and the way Jay was looking. He tried to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket but Jay held his hand and looked into his eyes. It was a soft yet deep look. Arya froze.Their eyes met, fixated."
*Badam-Badam*
Heart throbbing sound.
"57% ! Can you imagine kids, 57!" Stella announced loudly. Arya's imagination faded away as Wini unplugged his iPod and he heard his mom.
"Hike in tourists, right?" Wini asked.
"Yes, honey, " affirmed Stella. "This year the festival can turn truly profitable."
" Wow! Great, Arya come on, be a sport now, we have to help her in the arrangements " said Wini.
Throughout all these Arya is quiet and in his own headspace as usual. Stella looks at Arya, walks towards him and makes him sit beside her.
"Baby! (pauses) It's over! You need to respect the course of time. You need to respect your life, which is a gift from God. Your life is special to me sweetheart." Stella speaks to Arya in a warm tone.
Wini keeps staring at her mother while she continues.
"Jay! He is bothering you isn't it? " asks Stella.
Tears rolled down from Arya's eyes immediately.
"He is with you baby, looking at you from above " Stella hugs Arya.
Arya's lips start trembling and now he starts sobbing.
Arya (openly Gay), 18, has not been able to recover from a heart break due to the demise of his best friend, Jay, whom he actually loved. Jay died after drowning in the city's lake. Arya holds himself responsible for Jay's death as he could have been saved if Arya knew swimming or called for help at the right time.
His family wants him to marry now to get over this prolonged trauma. Stella is worried about his child's health and mental condition. Arya has become very inactive. He does not have any opinion. He keeps wandering around the city like a Vagabond and returns home every night, just to have dinner and then sleeps. He has been like this since the past 8 years, after the accidental death of his beloved, Jay.
His mother doesn't understand, how two kids at the mere age of 10,could have such a deep bond, that one is still yet to heal from the demise of the other, even after the passage of 8 long years.
Stella could no longer bear his son's condition. She had to do something about it and not that she was sitting idle. She had a girl in mind, Maya.