She knew that he'd seen a lot of horrors in his life. She knew that his childhood wasn't something that someone wanted to experience firsthand. It was as if he'd forgotten how to live; how to laugh. As he sat there next to her, reveling in the beauty of the grassy plains that lay swaying in the wind before them, she noticed the hollowness in his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to envelop him in a hug or at least talk everything out with him. There was a slight hitch however; with the fact that he refused to talk to her unless and until it was absolutely necessary. They were friends, yes, but in the loosest sense of the word. She didn't know how to get him to open up. She didn't know. And then suddenly, she did.
'Chali re, chali re, junoon ko liye,
Katra, katra, lamhon, ko piye,
Pinjre se uda, dil ka shikra, khudi se maine, ishq kiya re,
Jiya, jiya re, jiya re'
If anyone saw her right now, jumping up and down, dancing to her heart's content, singing herself hoarse, they'd have thought Panchi Rastogi was a retard, who'd just escaped from a mental institution. But she didn't care. She wanted to get it across to him that she would be there, no matter what. That she would be there even if he didn't want to talk, and she'd also sit there, in front of him, not batting an eyelid if he wanted to talk to her. But for that, she'd have to let him see the 'real' her. The one who wasn't afraid; the one who he'd forgotten and also the one friend that he'd had throughout his chaotic life. He'd have to know that she was confident, that she was capable of handling everything he had to tell her.
'Chhote chhote, lamhon ko, titli jaise, pakdo toh,
Haathon mein rang, reh jaata hai, pankhon se jab, chhodo toh'
As if to prove her point, in a cheesy way, a butterfly flew past her and she tried to catch it, running after it like a mad woman. Keshav Desai shook his head, but not before cracking a ghost of a smile. She pretended not to have noticed and continued her singing breathlessly as she fell on to the soft grass with a thud. It was days like these that she wished that she still had her baby fat.
'Waqt chalta hai, waqt ka magar, rang utarta hai Panchiii-aaa
Udte udte fir ek lamha maine pakad liya reyyy'
Now that he'd let out a full blown chuckle, Panchi dropped to her bum right next to him, retaining her previous position, stopping the song for a while, waiting for him to say something.
'You're a horrible singer, you know that Rusty?'
'Why the hell do you insist on calling me Rusty? It's not even a great 'play on last name' technique. I don't call you Dabbu anymore, do I?'
He continued on his previous train of thought of her being a horrible singer; as if tuning her out. 'But what was that 'Panchii-aa? That's the part I'm confused with.' She giggled, loudly and that too, like a fan-girl; something that he didn't think was possible.
'Are, the song has the words 'Akira', which is the name of the actress in the movie. Ab, iss movie mein, I'm the actress na? So I have to use my name. And because it doesn't end in an 'aa' sound, I had to add it!' She concluded shrugging; as if her explanation was the most obvious one in the world and that he was an idiot not to see it.
'Rusty, not everyone is a movie buff and believes that a cheesy song about cheering people actually works. All this life philosophy and 'chuck de saare ghum' fundas work with people like you. Not with people like me.'
She'd had enough, if he wanted it that way, so be it. She never gave up; he had to be reminded of that too! She stood up once again and began.
'Halke halke, pardon mein, muskuraana, accha lagta hai
Roshni jo, deta ho toh, dil jalaana accha lagta hai'.
She rushed over behind him and flung herself in front of him, causing him to get startled as he winced. Panchi took her hand out in front of her, and put it to his mouth, forcing to stretch itself, as if in a smile or even a grin.
'Ek pal sahi, umr bhar issey, saath rakhna K..D..aaa'
Zindagi se phir ek waada maine, kar liyaa re!'
She was on her feet once again, bouncing up and down, running about the grassy plains imitating an airplane. He had no choice but to laugh, shaking his head at her silly antics. He'd stood up too and walked over to her, smiling.
'Rusty, I love you, you know that? No matter who says what, you don't change.'
She threw back her head, laughed and was bowing now, as if expecting an ovation for her brilliant, mind-boggling performance. As if on cue, KD burst out in applause.
'Thank you Rusty. For this; for everything you've done for me..'
She held up her hand to stem his flow of humble apologies and explanations, 'Dabbu, don't you dare even go down on that road. I'm here, and I'm always going to be. You know that, you've always known that. This wasn't some sort of a last-ditch attempt to get you to talk; do that whenever you feel ready or comfortable. This was just to reassure you that no matter what, you're always going to find me standing next to you, whether you call me Rusty or Panchi or Moti or any other thing that you wish to call me'.
He couldn't explain the warmth that filled him. He took her hand and led her towards his jeep, the smile still etched on his face. He didn't remember the last time that he'd even cracked a smirk, let alone a full blown laugh that reached his eyes. She was going to be there. Always and whenever he'd need her; and that was all that was needed. That was all that he needed to know for that moment.
'Jiya, jiya re, jiya re'.
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-Raina
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