"Yes, they think I am too young to go by myself and as I am turning 18 this October they would not get permission to live with me on student visa"
"But you are not alone I am there with you why are they thinking you are alone"
"It's nothing like that Arnav, they just think that if I am left alone then all I will do is partying and become a slut"
"What are you saying shut up"
"It is the truth! They think if a girl is left alone then all she will think about is having boyfriends,sex and party"
"Our parents are not like that Devi, they are just worried about you, do not overthink it"
"Oh so they are the elders so they can worry about me but not see that my future will b affected by this silly reason of their!", I shout
"Please don't shout someone will come up, listen to me you talk to your parents, tell them you want to go abroad for higher studies and tell them you are not alone, you will be with me"
"You are not going to be with me for my entire life Arnav, they need to know that, they need to trust their daughter which they do not at all"
"You just talk to them okay and I am going to be with you every step of the way why do you think I won't be with you for life you crazy person"
"So do you think we will be? That is just not practical, everyone loses friends as they grow up its nothing new "
"But we would not let our friendship affect in anyway, I am going to be with you Always and forever whether you like it or not", Arnav says as he flicks my nose and raises his hand for a high five.
"Always and forever", I say in return and we hug it out with teary eyes and bright smiles.
"Come lets go the sun is down", he says and I notice the dark sky with very few shining stars, due to this pollution we rarely experience a sky full of stars.
I remember when I was young and we used to visit my Nani (Maternal Grandma), it was in Rajasthan during summers, my Nani lives in a small bungalow in the village it has all the basic necessities and her home has a front yard where there is open space concrete floor no grass
So we all used to sleep in her front yard in cots under the starry sky and the desi village air, even during summers there was a cool atmosphere in the night time, everyday we would get to catch glimpses of monkeys when we woke up, along with my Nani bustling around in a happy mood because we would go only once a year- perfect start to a day.
Also the entire colony used to know when we were going there as 1 week earlier my mom used to inform her that we are coming and Nani starts preparing like making sweets and getting maggie packets for us also the bottled water as the village water did not suit anyone in the family except Nani.
(we as in our family and my mom's sister's family, which included my sister, she was a year elder to me so we get to do all the fun together)