I had put my phone in aeroplane mode to stop the random "ooh-ah" of Ik Junoon alarming me out of the blue. As the car door flung open and out hopped Lila- straight into the arms of Raul- I felt the prisoner in me fall down to her knees. Why couldn't she get me? Raul was the absolute worst person to date, yet she allowed him to snake his arms around her and strangle her waist.

"How are you?" I heard Anthony drawing my attention away from the sickening hold of Raul.

I folded my arms and looked resolutely at Anthony which made him nervous. I could see the nervousness in his shifty eyes which resembled a thief's at being interrogated. "Good, I guess."

"Are you uh looking forward to this trip?"

"I guess so."

He gave out a short, anxious laugh and I pointedly raised my eyebrows. "No, no-uh nothing. You're guessing a lot today . . . I guess."

"Good one bro!" Raul remarked with a broad grin, punching his lanky back which sent him staggering ahead. I hadn't realised that he had overheard our conversation, but I was glad that he wasn't deeply engrossed in Lila.

Lila caught my tight-lipped, sardonic smile, but before she had a chance to comment, Manu called out, "We should go now!"

"Your driver decides when we leave, huh," Raul said to Lila who smilingly slid in the car and sat strategically between Raul and I, knowing that I wouldn't get along with him. Anthony had the courtesy to sit in the front next to Manu and assist him with the directions. I heard Raul's smothered words, "So your driver needs directions? I should have brought Atif bhai and my car. It has more space too, we would have been comfortable."

"Manu bhaiya is the best!" Lila exclaimed suddenly and Manu confusingly looked at her through the rearview mirror, not having heard anything. "Aren't you the best? You always know the best places to eat!"

Manu laughed, humbly denying her claims, "Nothing as such. Sometimes, good things just happen to come our way."

"And bad things too! But you know where to stop and where to move ahead," Lila chipped in, feeling elated to please Manu and witness him blush.

Raul draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her so close to him that she toppled over and he whispered into her hair, "Are you hungry?"

God. I was going crazy. I was on the verge of vomiting just hearing Raul deeply sniff her hair as if her head was a rose. Not aware of what her boyfriend was doing, Lila disengaged herself and leaned forward. "Put on some music, Anthony!" And she whipped out her over-sized sunglasses, wore them in a way reminiscent of old Bollywood actors and first turned towards me. "How do I look?"

I could see my morose face staring back at me in the reflection of those ludicrous glasses, but at least I got my winged eyeliner on point. As for Lila, she looked crazy cool. Basically, she looked like herself.

"Show me," Raul said, shamelessly holding her chin and turning her face towards him. "Wow, you look like a real heroine!"

Scoffing, I gazed out of the window and I heard Lila question me, "Why, don't I look like a heroine?" I briefly glanced at her, the sunglasses balancing on the tip of her tiny nose and the lenses almost covering her whole face. Crazy cool. I shrugged indifferently in response. "I thought these were the coolest pair of shades ever! Mama found it funny though."

The radio suddenly blasted with the latest Bollywood rap songs that I was unfamiliar with, but Raul knew the lyrics and uttered them like a parrot on steroids. Lila attempted to do beat-boxing as a way of being a supportive girlfriend, but she couldn't destroy what was already wrecked. My head throbbed- pleading for mercy, but nobody sympathized with me. Anthony and Manu blithely cheered on like classic, Indian, idle spectators.

I tolerated it all till lunchtime, folding my hands tightly over my sinking stomach and peering out of the window, counting the cars passing by on the highway. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. We halted in front of a Dhaba for a late lunch where Raul resumed his stupidity of playing with paper cups by hiding his keys underneath, a repetition of the 'magic' he did at the food court. Lila and Anthony who were a bit weary from jumping and clapping in the car all the way, responded less enthusiastically this time. Raul discreetly gave up when the waiter approached us with our food, putting away the cups and pretending that he never took them out in the first place.

The delicious food was laid out- pulao, biryani, chole-puri and lassi. I thought my appetite had shrivelled from the car ride, but the minute I put a spoonful of pulao that I mixed with chole, my mind started to sing in love. Lila who carefully observed me, copied me, mixing the two foods together. Before she even swallowed it completely, she praised Manu with rice in her mouth, "I told you! You know the best places to eat!"

"Have some lassi," Raul said, grabbing the cold, steel glass and helping Lila drink it. A white moustache appeared over her lips and aware of it, her sparkling eyes darted to me. I laughingly reached to wipe it off, but Raul did just that like a quick swipe of notifications on the phone. "You're so cute, Lila." Manu who grew uncomfortable at his words got up to sit at another table despite Lila's objections and Raul took this as an opportunity to blabber nonsense about him. "What kind of a driver he is. Doesn't know any directions and brings us to a place like this. Some dhaba. Do people apart from truck drivers even go to such places?"

"I like this place," I said apathetically, shoving a spoonful of raita in my mouth.

"Me too," Anthony added with a small smile. "Are you liking the food?"

"It's great, isn't it?" Lila chimed in and Raul conspicuously looked sour.

I felt like happily beat-boxing to rap songs. "It is!"

After lunch, all of us were feeling a little drunk on food. Anthony and Manu were chattering in low murmurs and Raul had passed out. Lila was still jumpy, her eyes flickering from one window to another. Hopelessly shaking my head at her, I put on my white, boat earphones. When I was just about to play some song, one earbud was loosened and cool air rushed in my ear. Lila had playfully snatched it from me and was now clumsily putting it on.

Pressing on Cold/Mess song by Prateek Kuhad, I warned, "You won't like the songs that I do."

"We'll see." She winked and rested her head on my shoulder, the slight frizz in her hair feeling like coconut hair tickling my cheek. The start of the song always made me imagine glittering stars falling into sloshing water and transforming into crystal droplets. A painted image of a river with crystal droplets glimmering under the silvery moonlight. Both of us were seated on the bank of that river, our toes dipping in cool water and us watching the falling stars. Then came the soft, sober voice of the singer against drum beats which struck my heart and itched my body to sway in feverish empathy. Two silhouettes danced under the black cloak of the sky. And the lyrics, those goddamn words . . .

When I feel cold
I'll keep you close
And if I could hold you
And take you home

When at night
Your toes touch mine
I'll sing you to sleep
If you were mine to keep

Lila lifted her head in pleasant surprise and noticed the strange tears surfacing in my eyes. Crystal droplets. I took the ridiculously, large sunglasses fixed on her nose and wore them. She rested her head back on my shoulder, quietly taking my brown hand in hers. Beside her, Raul stirred slightly in his sleep and I closed my eyes.

I wish I could leave you my love
But my heart, is a mess
My days they begin with your name
And nights end with your breath

She intertwined our slender fingers and raised them up towards the window, the gentle, evening sunlight showering over us against palm trees and the blue sky passing by.

I wish I could leave you my love
But my heart, is a mess
My days they begin with your name
And nights end with your breath

With your breath.

*

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