My mind felt so quiet yet it was flooded with thoughts. As I was walking down the corridor I saw so many familiar faces, they looked and smiled at me, greeting me.
I could hear their voices but couldn't understand what they were saying. It all felt so distant, possibly because I have only got 8 hours of sleep in the last 2 days and that I got only last night.
Then someone shook me from behind, breaking my daydream and bringing me back to reality.
I slowly turn around to see who was it and it was Ankit, my boyfriend.
He looked concern and having a big frown on his face he said "Ridhima please meet me after the exam."
Then Ridhima just simply nodded, not giving much thought to why he wanted to meet she entered the exam hall and quickly sat down at her seat.
3 hours later her exam was over. Today was the last exam of her class twelve boards. She did a great job and was hoping to score the highest, as usual.
But this was obviously not the time to think about the results. The exam were over and she was finally free.
She walked out of the examination room with a big smile blooming on her face and ran to meet her best friends. Her group was rather small only consisted of six girls including her. She did have a lot of friends but these 5 were the most special to her. She could share her feeling with them without even thinking twice.
The most special was Jhankrit, the one who was always their for her. As soon as Jhankrit saw Ridhima approaching them she ran and hugged her. Jhankrit's small height always made Ridhima feel like a child was clinging to her. Whenever she hugged Jhankrit it made her feel so comfortable.
"So how was the exam?" Ridhima asked.
"The best, the paper was so easy." The expected reply, after all it was IT(Information Technology) an optional subject.
Then Jhankrit asked "So Ridhima, what did Ankit wanted to talk about?"
"What?" Ridhima asked in a confused tone, completely forgetting about the meet Ankit asked for after exam.
"Ankit wanted you to meet him after exam didn't he?" They asked
"Oh no, I completely forgot about it!" Ridhima said while rushing out of the school to meet him.
"Wait we want to come too…" they said while running to catch up to Ridhima.
Finally they saw Ankit he was standing next to his car looking super tensed.
Ridhima got close to him and said while smiling "What's wrong? Exam didn't go so well?"
But even her playfulness didn't change the expression on his face.
In a serious tone he said "Ridhima, I was to talk about something. Please ask your friends to go away."
Ridhima got a little concerned but still smiling she said "Well then say it. And my friends can stay I am gonna tell them what you said anyways."
Trying to tease him Jhankrit said "Don't mind us jija ji. Pretend like we aren't even here."
Choosing to ignore them, Ankit continued "Ridhima, I want to break up with you."
Those words clearly wiped off the smile on Ridhima's face. But she didn't utter a word for a moment.
He continued "I hope that you get highest marks in exam and become the topper once again."
He was ready to enter his car, but Ridhima's voice stopped him.
She asked "Is this because I wasn't able to talk to you during exam or because I will possibly go abroad for further studies and you don't want a long-distance relationship?"
He looked at her, sighed, and replied "It's neither of those, you see… it's actually that…". He hesitantly spoke "The scar marks you have on your body just freaks me out. You are very beautiful but those scar marks just decreases your beauty. They are like a black spot that ruins everything. You should be grateful that you don't have any of those marks on your face."
Ridhima looked at him, emotionless, then she took a deep breath and walked away.
Ankit called her name but she didn't respond, she just kept walking.
"Please don't take this the wrong way." He said.
She turned around and simply said "I had these marks even when you begged me to be your girlfriend."
"Yes, but I was too stupid to realize that. You see… every boy in our school wanted you and this was my way of proving that I was better than them." He said.
"Okay" she replied.
"Please don't me mad at me." He said.
"Oh no I am not mad at all. I got these scars after an accident which almost killed me, you know about that, I stayed a month in hospital. Now these scars are a part of me, a burden that I will carry till I die. If you can't help me carry this burden, I am glad that you didn't waste my time." She smiled and said "I hope that we will meet again sometime."
Saying this she left.
"YOU AS*HOLE! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HER. SHE IS THE TYPE OF GIRL THAT YOU WON'T EVEN GET AFTER YOU BEG EVERY GOD PRESENT IN THIS UNIVERSE. I AM GONNA BREAK YOUR FACE.!" Yelled Anwesha and Swnara. They were so angry that their faces turned red.
They took heavy steps towards Ankit ready to hit him so hard that his jaw would fall off.
Ankit was visibly scared for his dear life and he tried to open the car door.
"You guys, STOP!'' declared Ridhima.
Her voice was so powerful that both of them stopped and turned to look at her.
"Guys there is no use of this and we are already running late, the traffic jam will be huge right now so it's better that we leave." She said in a calm and exhausted tone.
Her other friends were too shocked to say anything, so they just followed her to her car and sat quietly.
The driver started the car and asked the girls in the back seat "How did the exam go beta?"
"It was great uncle." They smiled and replied.
He giggled and said "Well now you and I both are finally free."
The ride back home was awfully quite.
This made Ridhima recall the tragic memory which lead to her scars.
~~•Flashback starts•~~
Ridhima was originally from Patna, Bihar.
She belongs to a very wealthy family.
One day when she was in class 6, about 12 years old. She was sitting in the passenger seat of her school van.
The van had some issues it wasn't able to function properly.
All of a sudden the van came to a stop and within factions of seconds the radiator of the van exploded, spilling burning hot radio-water on her entire right arm, the right side of her body and both of her thighs, covering more than 20% of her body.
She was covered with blisters at the moment. Then she was rushed to the hospital from school. Handling unimaginable pain and not even shedding a single tear, she reached the hospital.
There the doctors removed the entire upper layer of her skin. She was brave, not even screaming or crying once during the entire operation, even though the doctor gave her no anesthesia.
Halfway through the surgery her parents finally came. For the first time seeing tears in her father's eye broke her heart.
Then the surgery was finally over but the pain wasn't.
She was taken back to her home. Her surgeries and dressing of wounds continued for about 2 months. She stayed in bed rest all that time.
After 2 months she was finally able to walk and not wear bandages.
But the suffering were far from over. The burned area developed hypothetical scars and keloids. Those are the two types of rare scars a patient might developed after getting burned apart from the normal burn marks. In this the area in which the scars are present darken and swells.
Now 1% of the total people who get burn develop these scars and she is the only one in this entire world who has these scars in such wide area.
The doctors are trying their best to remove these scars, and that's why her family moved to Delhi from Patna for better facilities.
~~•Flashback ends•~~
Jhankrit was also originally from Patna, but right after Ridhima shifted to Delhi, her father also decided to expand their business in Delhi.
Jhankrit and Ridhima were friends since the day they were born because their family were close friends.
Both in Delhi and in Patna they are neighbors.
So are all the other girls in her friend group. That's why they all came home in one car.
Finally they reached Ridhima's house. Everyone got out and went directly into her room. This was a part of their regular practice. They first came to Ridhima's house sent some time there and then head for their respective houses.
However this practice was not followed for the last two months due to board exams. But everything comes to an end doesn't it?
Ridhima fall ease to her bed when Swnara finally spoke "Ridhima why don't you care that an as*hole just dumped you? I mean I am more angry than you are."
She smiled and said with a calm voice "There is no use of being angry. And I am glad that he didn't waste my time any further."
Even though Ridhima was trying her best to calm her Swnara and Anwesha were not ready to accept the fact that a lab monkey dumped their best friend.
Meanwhile Jhankrit and Jahanvi understood her feelings and they were trying to be supportive.
"I would have broke his jaw if you didn't stop me." Said Swnara
"Why did you stop her, beta?" said Ridhima's mom as she barged into the room without knocking, as usual. This was her habit, but nobody ever minded her, as she already knew all the latest tea.
She was never a strict mother, she was always a friend.
"Maa…" Ridhima exclaimed.
"Yes Swnara beta, why were you ready to beat him to death… without me?" She asked while smiling to lighten the mood.
"Maa, Ankit broke up with me." Ridhima said in a low voice.
"What? Really. Yes! YES!! YES!!! Finally" excitedly exclaimed her mother. She was even happier than the person who had just won a lottery worth of millions.
Seeing her joy the girls bust into giggles.
"Don't get me wrong beta. It's just that he was never good for you. I met your father when I was younger than you and in that exact moment I knew he was the one. But Ankit… you and I both knew that he was never the one. I am just happy that you can finally move on." She explained in a calming way.
"I know that Maa." Replied Ridhima while smiling back at her Mother.
"Anyways, I came here to tell you all that food is ready, so change your clothes and come down to the dinning room to eat and Ridhi beta Dr. Jha has called us to meet tomorrow. It's been almost a month since your last surgery. So be ready in time tomorrow." Saying this her mom left the room and everybody rushed to change their clothes.
Ridhima's head was flooded with thoughts, she just hated these surgeries they were always so damn painful. But for some reason she wasn't scared at all about tomorrow.