"I think she only wrote the important moments in her life, Rather Writing daily routine, Di" Avinash exclaimed where his sister still couldn't gather up the courage to read the next chapter in the story. Her first diary entry didn't have shivaay's name in it, but in the second, third, and almost In every upcoming entry, shivaay's name was constant which continuously reminds her how sweet her father was. Especially with her, Her father was her courage, Her father was her strength, Her father was her everything. She grew up in Italy with her father. While reading the diary entry, she could help herself from drowning in the memory lane which had bunch and bunch of happy memories till they flew down back to India When her father came to know about her brother, Avinash. 

And now she had to stop the emotions being bludging in her heart for her father, And Read the rest just to know what was her stupid reason for getting divorced from and giving her two years daughter custody to the father. 

"Yeah... I think so... can you read it?" Arushi asked Avi. He immediately took the diary from her hand and turned to the fourth page. 

"Hey, It's the 23rd of August..." Avi exclaimed in surprise. 

"Daddy's Birthday" - Aru quickly recalled the information behind that date. 

Date: 23 August 1983.

Hey Diary!

Well, People say that when you go out with a person in the midnight having a blind trust over him, Realizing that you actually went with a 'guy' who is your just friend and after coming back to the hostel room with loads of beautiful memories is a special feeling. Okay, i am confused. Let me narrate you from the start. 

It's the same person, who introduced me to myself and refilled my courage, Yes, Shivaay... Shivaay nair, without him, i don't know what i would have done with my career? Okay, Appreciations apart. Well, the Appreciations are only in diaries, BTW. 

Tonight after having a hectic economics class for the whole three hours, the only thing there in my mind said to me was, Anika bose, lay in your bed and sleep, That's it, simple. But when the motorbike sound and the bike's headlight rays flashed in my window, I was awake, with all over gained energy. BUT HOW?

Over the next spot, i opened the window, not before glancing myself before the mirror. He waved at me, wearing a helmet and stroking the gear which gave large noise pollution. I waved at him, back. 

'COME' - he yelled. 

'WHERE?' - I asked. 

'Surprise' - He whispered. 

Can you imagine, I straight-away went to my bed, took the dupatta, wrapped it like a rob who was all ready to rob a bank. I never did that in my twenty-three years of life but that didn't strike at that point, WHY?

But I little bit took back when he asked me to sit in the back seat of his motorbike. But eventually, I sat, That's the conclusion. Oh my goddess, Why the hell i am smiling right now. Okay Focus anika, You couldn't suppose to write these things in your diary. 

Everything looked magical, The securities who was awake for the night and troubling with their whistle sound where sleeping then, Nobody caught us, When he was about to take a turn, I was about to place my palm on his shoulder, But i resisted it. Over the half an hour journey, No words were shared. I was smiling for no reason, and he gazed me from the rear-view-Mirror. and he's smiling too. But my smile wouldn't have reached him as i was hiding it inside my dupatta. But throughout the journey one thing was constant. My Irregular heartbeats. 

We reached the place, Parking his bike in a corner, he held my hands and dragged me inside. We finally went inside the Adalaj Stepwell where the sparkles of the water still didn't fail to sparkle even it's dark outside, And the place was exotic, He released my hand and i immediately cupped my mouth in the surprise. 

"What's this?" i finally asked him who was glancing me for a long time. I took off my dupatta and went close to the stepwell, baoli in the villages term.  

"You know the history behind this beautiful place?" - he asked me. 

"You brought me, Here, You must know it better than me... come on, shoot, Mr Shivaay Nair" - I said. 

"You know this village Adalaj had a huge water scarcity, so the king Rana veer Singh started to built this well. But before he could finish it, he died in the war again Mahmud Begeda, When Mahmud Begada first met with Rana Veer Singh widow wife, Queen Rudabai, he fell in love with her and ordered her to marry him. Queen Rudabai didn't refuse this offer, but she put a condition that Mahmud Begada will first complete the unfinished work of stepwell, started by her late husband, Rana Veer Singh"  he said and got my attention in a second. 

"Mahmud begada accepted the condition and built this well with the amazing architectural designs... but he couldn't marry queen rudabai..."  - he said and looked deep into my eyes. 

"Why?" - That's what i can ask. 

"Because she committed suicide by jumping in the same well..." he spelt. I couldn't say another word. 

"A woman can go any extent when she's deeply in love..." i said while looking at the water. 

"You... You know why i brought you here?"  he asked me, I nodded no. 

"For telling you that, This friendship won't work" - he said and shook me to an extent, For a second, I couldn't understand what he was saying. But what he told next shook my entire universe. 

"Because i can't fake my feeling towards you, The thing is, I love you, and i couldn't hide it from you anymore..." he said, He opened up his real feelings to me, I was shocked and stayed in the mute state till he brought me back to the hostel. That's what happened. Now i am writing everything in the diary in a confused state. Do i really have feelings for him? Why my heart going in a race thinking about the same incident in my mind.

"See, she again broke dad's heart on his birthday when he proposed her in the most romantic way," Arushi said to avi who had no courage to read the next entry in the diary, His hands started to shake in anxiousness. 

"She neither accepted his proposal nor refused it, Can't you sense her confused state?" - Avi came for his mom's support at an instant. 

"And it will be a usual reaction for any girl when a man proposed her, And forget, It's 1982, not 2012... to tell him that, Dude we are nothing more than friends"  - he added. 

"That's Khushi's dialogue, Right... when she rejected you?" - Arushi said while raising her eyebrows. 

"That's your dialogue too when Ritwik proposed you for the first time..." -  Avi said. 

"Okay, It's your turn now, Read the next entry, I am tensed, I hope mom said yes to his proposal" - he gave the diary to her. 

"Yenda Priya sahothara(my beloved brother), If she said no, we wouldn't have existed in the world... We are the living proof..."  - Arushi said. 

"You're right, Chechi(sister)..." - Avi relaxed. 

*******

PLACE: Chennai. 

She cursed her father for the very first time for waking her up late. Her father stood like a manique to see the responsible phrase of his daughter life. Least knowing about the reason behind this. He even thanked the god for making his daughter responsible. 

"Can i come with you?" her father asked her. 

"Thanks for creating enough mess in my Life, Mr Adiya Seshadri... Don't spoil my image by accompanying me to my in-la" she stopped abruptly. 

"I mean to my tuition" - she covered it up and breathed out when her father didn't hear what she was about to say. 

Her legs started to shake, Her heart started to beat unusually fast when she stepped towards the elevator. Not much time left, you can go back, anie... she thought and turn back but nodding no while breathing hard, No turning back when it comes to love...she said to herself in her mind pressed the lift button with a smiling face. 

But her smile faded into a tensed state when the lift door opens and when she saw shivaay inside the lift. A huge lump formed in her throat and he emerged out while looking at his phone wearing a tracksuit and plugged in the earphones in his ears. 

"My god, who looks this much handsome in the early morning..." - the only thought she had in her mind. 

Her drooling gaze changed into a confused state when he pressed the calling bell of her house and stood infront of the closed-door while checking his phone. Anika stand stood at the same spot in a confusion. Her father acknowledged the door. 

"Hi, Uncle... How are you?" - he greeted her father as soon as he opened the door. 

"Fine, shivaay... You, Out of sudden, Here" - he asked in confusion. 

"Actually, I came here to remind anika about the tuition, It's okay... Let her sleep, Ask her to come by 3 in the evening..."  - he said continuously without leaving her father to speak in the middle. 

"Master Ji"  - Anika called him from the back. Her father pointed his finger behind shivaay. He turned back and saw anika who controlled her smile looking at him. 

"I was about to say this..." - Her father said and his eyes locked with anika's eyes. 

"I think we are getting late, Master Ji" - Anika finally said when he got no response from shivaay. 

"Yeah, I mean... yes... It's nice meeting you, uncle"-  shivaay bid a bye to anika's father where he smiled widely at anika for making him proud for the first time by waking up early.  Anika waved her hands to her father, he went back to his house and closed the door.  Shivaay walked towards her. 

"I think Masterji, We should concentrate on CHEMISTRY  more..." - Anika said with a smirk

"Yeah, Totally sixteen chapters are there under chemistry" - he replied, Anika couldn't do anything but to hit her head with a smile. 

He took off the keys from his pocket when they reached their house. Anika wondered and asked, "There's nobody in your house..." 

"Yeah, Mom, Dad went to Delhi for some family function..." - he said and opened the house but he stopped at the same place and looked at her confusingly. 

"Are you feeling Uncomfortable to stay here alone with me?" he asked her. 

No, Never... Even it's for a lifetime...  - she thought but couldn't able to say any sooner. she just looked at him differently and entered the house first and switched on the lights. 

"We came here to study, Right" - she asked while taking the seat in the couch. He smilingly came and sat on the single couch next to her. He took his MacBook and anika shocked to see that he prepared the whole schedule that which she should study for the next two months, Not even leaving Sundays alone. 

"Are you serious?" - she took the laptop close to her eyes and asked him. he nodded her helplessly giving a series gesture to her. 

"Start from organic chemistry" - he ordered. 

"hell, That's not happening here, Ani, If you want to get something, You definitely have to loose something..." - she thought. 

And the marathon of completing the whole twelveth standard portions started from shivaay's hand who dragged anika unwantedly in this marathon. But she was happy in one fact that she was running with him. 

"Okay tell me the chemical equation for Methane..." shivaay asked her after giving the continuous lectures of one hour. 

"Baby, our equation is in zero, till now, do something for that?"  she thought. 

"CH4" - she said in a very low tone. 

"Methyl alcohol..."  - he asked. 

"Don't worry baby, we will get drunk in our bachelours party" - she thought. 

"CH3OH" she replied. 

"Okay, I will teach about benzine... My favourite" - he started. 

"but my favourite is sitting before my eyes... and i couldn't do anything other than answering your questions" - she thought and exhaled helplessly. 

TO BE CONTINUED...