Chapter 5 – Tough Times!

They were best friends, soon became high school sweethearts and soon in college, a committed couple. He loved her more than his life; she loved him more than anything else. Kavish and Anushka…were the most fun loving and fresh looking couple than all the other boring, fighting and bickering couples in college campus, everyone knew one day they would definitely get married. Kavish’s valentine’s proposal was famous even in the college and every girl envied Anushka and wanted a boyfriend like Kavish, while every guy craved to have a girl like Anushka in his life. Both were heart-throbs of college. They would go on dates, long drives, shopping, movies; he would never let her pay, and she always made sure he ate enough!

After completing engineering, Kavish wanted to start his business and retire from science forever, while Anushka wanted to go for a job…but her wealthy father was against her approaching even a simple thinking of doing a job. His conservative mind, never allowed Anushka to fly like a free bird. She knew even her decision of marrying Kavish would be confronted one day, but she was ready to fight all odds. Kavish, heading from a wealthy business family himself, had no problem marrying Anushka for he knew he can easily convince her parents…but not before that fateful day.

Kavish’s grandfather died, leaving all his children disputing for property in the end. His uncles wanted their share soon, but his father being too generous and modest, sacrificed his whole share to his siblings over his deceased father’s will of dividing everything equally. They left home, whole of the business went into filthy hands of his uncles, his father joined his civil service back after so many years and soon, they experienced ground reality…a life of ‘common man’, a word Kavish had never even heard of before, for he thought common man was the one living in a posh bungalow, sleeping on mattresses in air conditioned rooms.

He was subjected to live the life of an actual Indian common man, a 2 bedroom flat with no air conditioners, a simple kitchen with only enough to eat, unlike before where his refrigerator was full of food and delicacies. For every new thing he wanted, he had to wait for months to put forward his demand, unlike few weeks back when his father got him HTC phone only because he won a stupid bet from his elder brother. Kavish knew their family condition, his mother could do nothing but mourn over what ever happened, she was a sensitive and emotional lady, and Kavish knew that was her only weakness. His father dropped all his dreams and ambitions to achieve big, he was happy with what he had, a truly satisfied and contended man he was; who did everything to make his sons’ lives worth living, but now the circumstances were slipping out of his hands too.

Through all these turbulences and furor, Kavish still somehow managed to talk to Anushka peacefully, for he didn’t wanted to ruin her exams. He was determined he would tell her everything once the exams were over. He studied with difficulty, but passed somehow, Anushka could sense his every nerve and was getting suspicious each passing day. One day she finally fought with him over his absurd behavior.

‘What’s wrong with you? I’m noticing you since last 2 months, and I know you are hiding something.’

‘Anu, try to understand, it’s nothing, I’m just a little upset.’

‘Over what? Don’t say nothing, don’t say it’s the mood swings…you sound as if you are PMS-ing, and that too from last 2 months? Wow!’

‘Stop it Anu! Can’t you just give me some more time?’

‘Not now, I’ve already had enough…please tell me what’s wrong.’

‘Then promise me one thing…you’ll breakup after I’ll tell you the truth.’

‘Kavish? What are you saying? Breakup? But why? Over what?’

‘You’ll understand…come sit.’

They sat under a tree in college, which was their usual meeting place, but today the air was suffocating, the weather was choking their breaths, their relationship could end soon, and they could do nothing to save it. Situation wasn’t in their hands now, unlike all the stupid fights and silly misunderstandings, this one couldn’t be sorted out with just a ‘sorry’ or ‘I Love You’.

‘What the Hell! I would never breakup Kavish, you idiot!’

‘And I can’t marry you till I get everything back…I want my reputation, my bungalow, my garage full of top branded cars, I want my business, better than what we had, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take. Thank god your parents didn’t know about us, now you can safely marry someone else of your parents’ choice.’

‘What rubbish are you blurting out of your mouth? Stop for a while and think about what the hell you are saying. So what if everything crashed? Downfalls happen; does that mean we should break the relations? What if my family would have undergone such a drastic series of mishaps, would you have expected me to breakup?’

‘Anu, you are a girl and it is different for you. You have to come to stay with me, what if I have nothing to offer you? You don’t know how we are living these days; you can’t survive in such…’

‘I WILL…how can you say I can’t? If you’re with me, I’ll undergo any difficulty with ease, and we’ll get married anyhow!’

‘Listen, it’s not that easy, living in a fairytale land, and imagining everything to happen like you want it to be, it’s LIFE…and it’s fucking twisted and you have to bear with it. I will not come to ask for your hand for marriage till I make everything on my own, no matter how much time it takes, 10 years, 20 years, I don’t care, and you are a girl and your parents won’t wait that long, understand please!’

‘I can wait for 5 more years, 3 more years to my engineering and 2 years for MBA, and I’m sure till then…’

‘Nothing…nothing will happen in 5 years Anu, I guarantee you that, you don’t know how things have changed, it’s not like I have to revive a dead business, or I have to just go and start an industry which is closed down. I have to start everything from scratch, do you understand that? From doing a job and making money, from getting enough investment to starting a business, to making a house, to buying everything, to making more money…everything, bloody every fucking thing! For that I don’t know how many years I have to do a job. Can your family wait for 15 years? Tell me…’

‘You’re just getting hyperventilated, nothing else, relax and calm down and think about both of us together…all the dates, all the hugs, all the kisses…’

‘Stop it Anu…it’s not the time to think about a relationship which has no future, one day you’ll thank me for my decision, you move on please, with me, you’ll lose your family, they’ll never forgive you mind you! And you also know that, don’t you? And above all, I’ll never forgive myself…for dragging you into a trashy life. Please Anu please…’ Kavish was a strong man when it came to decision-making. He was very practical in his thinking, and so, he finally made his mind…

‘Give me some time to think Kavish…you think it’s easy?’

Anushka broke down, and Kavish said nothing but hugged her…that afternoon was not just another afternoon…they were parting away, separating their ways just because Kavish thought he’d not be able to give her what she deserves. In few more months, they finally broke up…it wasn’t easy for either of them, they still called each other and cried, talked as friends, but things had to move on….