A/N : Hello Fam! Lonnng time indeed! I was missing the AnuPre intensity of love for a while & decided to jot down a small drabble in celebration of a love so pure & selfless!

I truly don't know if I have been able to express what I wanted to in this story, maybe it is too subtle..but I published it anyway!

If you think it's worth five mins of your time, do give this a try! (Reading will take 4 mins, and in the last minute you can vote & comment :D)

Happy Reading!

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It has been more than a decade since they parted ways, Cookie was a child psychiatrist based out of Denmark now & their little Sneha was studying business from Harvard. Mr. Bajaj was still very much the silently supportive husband to Prerna, as he continued to take over the corporates as the raging business shark & Prerna, well she was settled now as Mrs. Bajaj, managing her own business & always making a grand mark in the elite social circle of Calcutta, much like her 'kakima' from the yesteryears.

Anurag & Komolika continued the charade of their blissful conjugal for the sake of family pride, Mohini Basu's peace of mind, Komolika's continued manipulative control over his business & largely for Diya's happiness & sense of belonging. Although their relationship of loggerheads have battered over the decade & both have learnt to compromise & call for truce.

Anurag, Komolika, Prerna & Mr. Bajaj lived separate lives, neither couple stepped into the way of the other, over the years they had reached an unsaid mutual agreement of keeping away from entangling their lives again. Anurag was close to Sneha of course, but she wasn't a child now, and meeting her didn't require any interaction with Prerna anymore.

The only times fate brought these jilted lovers face to face nowadays were these obnoxiously high profile social parties & gatherings that mandated the presence of all the who's who of Calcutta. Even there what they exchanged were temporal greetings & nothing beyond. One such occasion was the 'Karwa Chauth' event organized by the most elite hotelier of town, needless to say, both Mrs. Bajaj & Mrs. Basu was on the invite list.

Prerna was standing near the balcony waiting for Mr. Bajaj, to arrive at the venue for the ceremony, he had said he'd arrive directly from work, but he'd be a little late. The full moon had regally appeared in the inky night sky, stealing all attention from the tiny shimmery stars; most of the ladies were hurrying past her with their tray laden with goodies one needed to perform the Karwa Chauth rituals, but her tray lay unattended on the table somewhere in the banquet hall.

"Hey Prerna, what are you doing here, aren't you late for starting the ritual?" She quickly turned around to see Anurag approaching her with a polite smile on his lips. She smiled curtly.

"Hi Anurag, yes I was just going to get it but then I saw how crowded it got there, so thought of waiting for a bit to let the young enthusiastic brides finish their ceremony in peace, first." She replied with as much politeness.

"Yes, you don't like the crowd. Of course. I am going to get Komolika's tray from there anyway, she is super hungry apparently, so tell me which one is yours' I will get yours too along the way" he offered casually.

"Hey but you don't need to, really I will manage" Prerna responded formally.

"Don't worry about it, just tell me how I can recognize it," he replied, waving his hand and dismissing her formality in a friendly way.

"It's the one with a golden silk cover, lying next to the Ganpati idol on the table. It has my name embroidered on the cloth" she informed him & nodded in gratitude for helping her stay away from the sea of young, joyous, new brides, bubbling with excitement of celebration. Crowds & too much happiness suffocated her, she couldn't relate to it very much.

Anurag nodded in acknowledgement & soon left her to get both the trays. Prerna saw him disappear into the crowd for a moment & then turned back to gaze at the moon, her oldest friend & confidant.

***

"Hey, Prerna, I got your tray, but it seems like your sieve is missing, did you drop it in the car or something?" Anurag's voice floated back to her ears after another ten minutes & she turned back looking confused. She had surely kept the ceremonial sieve on her tray when she left home. Did she manage to drop it somewhere while she was walking into the venue, how'd she perform the ritual then? Her worry must have reflected on her face clearly, because in the next moment Anurag offered to help her again.

"Relax, I just bumped into Komolika while getting this, she has gone to the ladies room for a touch up. She won't be back for another thirty minutes minimum, meanwhile you can use her sieve to wrap your stuff?" He offered to console her. She looked at him unsure, she was sure Mrs. Basu wouldn't like it, but finally agreed anyway upon Anurag's insistence.

As she nodded in agreement, Anurag pulled out a decorated sieve from Komolika's tray & handed it to Prerna. She took it with a smile & soon arranged her tray & put a small lamp on the base of the sieve & turned around to hold it up towards the moon. She prayed to the moon with it. She prayed for a long & happy life for her partner.

"Hey Prerna, is the sieve torn in the middle or something, why does the mesh seem entangled in the middle?" again Anurag's curious voice broke through her prayers. She carefully looked at the sieve, she couldn't see any tear.

"Where?" she asked in reflex, with scrunched brows.

"Show me" he said & held the sieve just above where she held it & pulled it closer to his face to recheck. They both faced the sieve from both sides & he was finally convinced that the sieve was fine. Once assured, he let Prerna finish the rest of her prayers, while he hung around close by watching couples perform the ritual.

Prerna finished her prayers & turned to the tray to locate her pot of water. She drank it & next looked down to reach for the sweet delicacies kept there, she needed to eat it to complete her ritual. God damn it, how unmindfully did she pack her tray, the sweets were missing too! She quickly turned around hoping to call for a waiter & ask for some sweets, but before she could summon anyone, she heard his voice again.

"Hey Prerna, why did you perform the whole thing alone, where is Mr. Bajaj?" it was Anurag; clearly he was bored of all the romantic couple gushing over each other & performing the ritual, while his wife dearest was busy touching up, leaving him alone.

"He's on his way, he got late. The auspicious time would get over, so I got on with it myself" she replied back to him.

"Hey now that you're done & free to eat, did you try these crème brûlées' they're serving, it's yum! Try one" he said & handed her one before she could refuse. She took the spoon from him & with a small smile ate a spoonful of it, while he held the bowl for her.

"Did you like it? I have to check which catering company was contracted for this event" he said happily.

"Yeah, I loved it. Good stuff. Thanks, Anurag" she replied as a small grin smeared her lips too.

"Cool, you carry on. Send my greetings to Mr. Bajaj when he comes. I will go look for Komolika, don't think she will turn up in good time for this, if I don't poke her now" he chuckled and handed her the dessert bowl & left from there.

Prerna kept gazing at Anurag's retreating figure and a small laugh escaped her. "Such a liar, I know Komolika isn't even here in the party, she is in the same conference that Mr. Bajaj is in"

As Anurag slowly approached the parking lot to drive off, he smiled to himself. He knew whether they performed the rituals together or not, her fast was always for him. Forever. Sadly he never got to perform the ritual with her & break her fast.

That day had presented him with just that golden opportunity & he seized it. In silence. Like she let him seize it. Again in silence.

"Lovers don't meet each other somewhere; they're in each other, all along" ~ Rumi

***

A/N : So any thoughts? Did I mess it up, this time, or you guys enjoyed it? Do tell me :)

Also, I heard a song today that was the core inspiration to my writing this story. As many of you know, Hindi isn't exactly my strongest suit, I don't know if I interpreted it right, but this story is my lose interpretation of a song called 'Main Tumhara Rahaan' from the movie Dil Bechara by the Lt. Sushant Singh Rajput. 

May his soul rest in peace.

Amen!