"The sun has settled below the horizon and the fiery orangish sky- as vast as the ocean, is now getting dyed by dim moonlight. What about yours?" Asked Rishit, who was sitting besides Vihir- his childhood friend. Rishit tried looking in his eyes but Vihir's eyes rejected the connection as Vihir's eyelids drooped and his attention shifted towards the orange hue left behind by the sunken sun.

"My brain is constantly being assailed by regrets and the realisation that this sun might very well never rise again, stranding me in the darkness. I'm not afraid of the dark, I'm just.. actually it should be; I was just accustomed to the warmth of the sun( her smile), I attained her so easily that I took her for granted, having the notion that I possessed her: The sun was mine to begin with. But now that I sit here stranded in the ruins of the kingdom of her memories, all I could do is try to reach and grab those memories to no avail. But my heart...my heart is swarmed with anticipation, still waiting for the sun to rise again." Vihir's words were embedded with melancholy.

Rishit, who asked him the question, was regretting as he face palmed himself and in an attempt to alleviate Vihir's poignance, he tried to assure and console him,
"Don't worry Vihir, I'm sure the sun will rise again, one day for sure. The darkness might suppress and occlude the path of light, but you know very well yourself, that light always finds a path to emerge, even if it's in the depths of hell."

"What one day, huh? It's been three years now. I have survived till today by feeding myself the same lie you're telling me, but...",Vihir could no longer subdue his tears and hence he submitted to rheumy even before he could complete his words.

Rishit reached out to embrace Vihir and before he could, someone kicked open the door of Rishit's apartment's terrace. As the door was kicked open, a thud sound was heard too. Both of them fixed their eyes on the entrance.

After a minute of uncertainty, a figure stepped in. His left hand was rubbing his buttocks as if he was trying to ameliorate the pain and in his right hand was a beer holder box, with of course, beers- a beverage, in it.
"You mother-" Rishit was about to cuss Ahir( the third friend of their school trio) but he was interjected by Ahir, who said,

"Vihir, tch tch, what a fool you are to cry over a girl especially a girl who you haven't talked with for years." Ahir was swaying in the air like the concrete floor beneath him was quaking.

On one side, Ahir was struggling to maintain balance and on the other side Rishit was struggling to control his rage as Ahir's words could aggravate Vihir's pain. Rishit gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, parted his lips and was about to throw some thorny words at Ahir, but his speech was interjected yet again by his Ahir who struggled to find words but still he sluggishly opened his mouth,

"Look Vihir.... it might be hard for me to comprehend your feelings and hence I lack empathy for you...." Ahir stammered and continued ,"But one thing is definite, which is you truly regret your decision. Though whining and weeping won't do, what will help you is your actions..... Tomorrow is the day, might be your last chance to rectify your decision. Go to her and try to reconcile before you get accustomed to the 'dark'."

Rishit relaxed his countenance and fist. He looked at Vihir and was about to join Ahir to raise Vihir's spirits with a grin but before he could do that, yet again he was cut by his friend,

"And that sun thing...what was that, uhmm..uhm,
Yes, the sun which is yet to rise again, right? Don't worry about that, don't you know about gravity?" Ahir smirked and heaved his bosoms as if he was about to say the wisest words known to humanity. Ahir pointed his finger down and then raised it upwards to say,
"Yes, gravity. Whatever goes down is destined to come up. So the sun which has settled down will rise again."

Vihir and Rishit's faces froze. They were dumbstruck by his words. Not because he said something special but because he couldn't even state the basic principle correctly.

Vihir questioned him,
"Hey, don't you think you said the converse?"

"Nah, of course not." Ahir said, still proud as his chin was lifted.

"Idiot overtaken by vain. Anyways, did you drink before coming here? Mother-" Before he could complete his words, Rishit stopped him,

"Tch tch, Vihir, read my emotions not the words."

"Only if I could...." Vihir murmured in a wistful way.

"Anyways, let's celebrate Vihir," Rishit hugged him and added, " Tomorrow is your 18th birthday. It is a pivotal day of your life, cheer up."
Rishit turned to Ahir,
"Oye dumbo, bring them beers here."

Rishit and Ahir said in unison,
"TONIGHT, WE CELEBRATE."

Vihir's features warmed up, he looked at them with a smile and said,
"Thank you, you idiots."

It was Vihir's 18th birthday. An important point in the life of a man. Vihir and Rishit got up from where they were sitting and slumped in the chair. Ahir, too, came near and placed the beer holder box on the table and sat down. They had sent Ahir to fetch beer and decided to rendezvous at the terrace of the society which is Vihir and Rishit's residence.

Vihir had promised them that if he fails to reconcile with her before his 18th birthday, he would accompany them to a beer party. And tonight's the moment. Ahir opened the first bottle and gave it to Vihir, who hesitated at first but after a few swigs, got familiar with beer. Hence the three friends indulged in alcohol as a way to celebrate Vihir's birthday.


…..


“We will be forever together, right ?” A small girl in her school dress asked a boy who was standing with his back facing her. Her eyes were gleaming with expectation and a few tears had embellished her round and baby fat face. Her hair was unkempt and a few ponytail holders were on the ground.

The boy who was apparently in the same school dress as her, pivoted, walked up to her and bent down to pick up the ponytail holders. He picked them up and went behind her back. The boy grabbed her hair and tried to comb them with his fingers. He separated them in two halfs and with the help of what he picked up, he created two ponytails for her. The girl's face lit up and she turned around to look at the boy.

What she witnessed was the boy trying his best to smolder his tears. He forced a smile and grabbed the unproportional ponytails and said,
“Pony promise.”

She was caught by surprise. Being a child, all she could do was draw the widest smile. She grabbed his hand and emphasized,
“Fo-re-ver”

The surroundings lit up- at least for the boy. And he repeated after her,
“Yes, yes, Fo-re-ver.”

The dream shattered into fragments and Esha woke up. Esha gasped while placing her hand on the chest. She sat up on the bed for a while, gathered herself and looked down. She dreamily smirked and repeated in a childish accent,
“Fo-re-ver.”

She got out of the bed and stretched towards the window. Esha removed the curtains and peeled outside. It was still dark, hard to tell what time it was. She inhaled and commented,
“The sun is yet to rise…”

“The sun will rise soon. In Fact the sun could rise whenever you want, it's just about your perception.” A voice replied to Esha.

Esha spun and saw a figure. It was her elder sister. She had entered the room without alarming Esha,
“Why did you wake up so early?” Questioned Esha without bothering to ask when she entered.

“I didn't sleep. I was up because I was studying.”

“I see. So you heard me and came to check on me, right Prisha?”

“Clever, indeed.”

“Anyways, you should go to bed. Staying up all night is unhealthy.”

“Don't tell me what to do,” she chuckled upon saying and added, “ don't worry i was going to bed only.”

The amicable atmosphere suddenly got heavy as they both abruptly stopped speaking. Prisha opened her mouth to say something but she didn't. She repeated this a few times before gathering the courage to ask what she wanted to,

“Are you fine?” Prisha walked up to her and took her hand.

Esha released her grip and went to the calendar on the wall. She rested her hand on it. The calendar displayed 16th March 2025. She caressed the surface of the calendar,
“Of course I am” answered Esha and ripped the page which was displayed and hence the next date showed up which was 17th March 2025.

“It’s his birthday right?” asked Prisha with a caring tone.

“Indeed.” Replied Esha.

“Do you plan to attend his birthday party?” Her voice carried the worries for her sister.

“Yes I will. After all, we had promised to attend each other's 18th birthday party. And I always fulfill my promises, unlike a certain someone.” she smirked.

Esha approached the small wooden pooja mandir which was hungry on the wall. She grabbed the matchsticks and took out a stick and rubbed it against the surface of the box to light up the candle which was in front of the photo frames of gods and goddesses. The candle was the same as a new candle. And there was no soot around the candle.

“Ohh, Esha, what am I witnessing?” Prisha grinned and jested,
“Could it be that you're her doppelganger? The Esha I always knew wasn't pious. She was an agnostic.”

Esha lit up the candle which illuminated a corner of the room. Esha heard her words and closed her eyes, bit her lips and muffled like a child,
“What are you insinuating?”

“Now, now my dear, don't act dumb. It's been years since the candle was lit up. And you lit the candle, today…Hehehehe. I see what that means.” She mocked her ‘little’ sister.

Esha didn't say anything. She kept mum.

Prisha didn't press to get her answer. Instead she asked her,
“Have you decided on a gift for him?”

“Oh! Gift? Of Course i have. Actually it's the best gift he can have.” Suddenly the shy Esha was overflowing with confidence.

“Woah,I'm excited now! Care to reveal what it is?”

“I won't reveal it to you. It's something that will be revealed only at his birthday party.”

“But I want to know, know, know.” Prisha pressed this time to get an answer.

“Tch, tch, what will i do with you,” Esha went to her sister and pinched her cheeks and continued
“My whiny panda.”

Prisha pouted and looked at her sister.

“Okay, I'll tell you, but a hint, fine?”

Prisha’s eyes lit up and she nodded.

Esha didn't take time to think as if she had already decided on an answer,
“My gift is quite peculiar and one of its kind. Uhm, take it as I am going give the sun- which is slowly drowning in the sea of despair, a straw so that it can climb back on the surface so that it returns to its original position i.e the sky to illuminate the world.”

Prisha didn't expect a poetic answer and hence she was taken aback. She wanted to press further but she was bereft of any words. She returned to her and went to sleep.

The candle’s flame flickered but it persisted.


…..

At 7pm. , 1 hour prior to the birthday party.



Vihir clad in a dress shirt styled with a blazer and paired with a trouser. He was standing beside the window overlooking the people who had arrived for his birthday. The birthday party was being organised in the compound of the society. Many relatives have already arrived including some friends too. But Vihir's eyes were searching for a certain someone as he didn't move an inch from his place.

“Do you think she will come?” Ahir and Rishit had entered his room at an unknown time.

“Do you guys remember?” Asked Vihir

“Remember what?” They questioned back in unison.

“That day when we weren't as good of friends as we are now. It was the first day of our primary school I'm certain.”

“Uhm, I don't recall what you're talking about.” Said Ahir while scratching his cheek as if to conceal his embarrassment.

Rishit lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Vihir didn't turn around to look at them, instead he continued,
“Of course you won't remember, you bullies,” said Vihir in a humorous tone while emphasizing the word ‘bullies’.

Rishit couldn't stop himself and he interjected Vihir's words,
“I still feel bad for that day. Please forgive us if you still hold resentment..”

Before he could continue, Vihir spun around and hugged them both,
“I don't resent you guys. Instead I'm grateful for that day, because due to it i got three friends. Two of which are still with me and the remaining one…”

Vihir didn't continue. He went back to the place he was standing a while ago.
“What I wanted to convey was, when I did her ponytails on that day, I was sad because I ruined them as I didn't know how to make a ponytail. But she held them both proudly and assured me that those were the cutest and prettiest ponytails she ever had. I was extremely happy to hear those words. And I guess she could sense that too and that's why she promised me that she'll only entertain a ponytail when I do it for her.”

“Ohh, you never told us about that..”

“And guess what? She still stands on her words. She really is an epitome of ‘Man of Words’.” Vihir's eyes were brimming with admiration and he bit his lips, maybe in an attempt to suppress his tears.

“She'll definitely come, I know she will. She always fulfilled her promises, unlike the pathetic and pitiful existence of mine.” Unable to hold his stand against the tears, he let them free and hence his face was flooded with streams of tears.

Ahir and Rishit didn't approach him. They watched him from a distance with compassionate eyes.


…..

At Esha's residence.



Esha stood in front of the mirror. Her reflection was do a flowy sundress with a fitted waist and side pockets, paired with comfortable sandals and minimal jewelry for a chic and effortless look.

“Are you ready Esha?”

“Yes I am. Let's leave.”

Esha and her sister left the room. She was about to lock the door but she suddenly pushed it open as if she had an epiphany. She rushed inside,

“What happened?” Asked Prisha.

Esha didn't answer. She approached the small wooden pooja mandir which was hung on the wall with the support of a screw. She looked at the candle and sighed. Her expressions relaxed. On the way back to her sister, she first switched off the fan and then picked up something from the dressing table and slid it down her pockets.

Prisha tried to see what it was but couldn't fathom from that distance.

She didn't ask her what it was, instead she commented on her hair when Esha was locking her room.

Her hair was flowing with the wind. They were as black as a raven. Long, smooth and lively.

“Uhm, Esha why aren't you having ponytails? They were your favourites right?”

Esha spun to give a look to her sister.

“Wait, Wait, I don't mean you look bad in this style. As a matter of fact,you look beautiful in everything. Oh my gorgeous sister.” She was about to hug her sister but Esha's plain and cold expression told her not to.

Esha started to walk towards the stairs,
“Let's go.” She said,

“I was just curious…” said Prisha under her breath but then hastily followed Esha, afraid that she would leave her behind.


…..

Inside Esha's room.

The flame of the candle was about to be extinguished. But when Esha picked something from the dressing table, the flame glimmered as though it had been rekindled.

The candle flame didn't die yet as if it was waiting for something to happen.


…..

At 7:57 pm., at the Kalpataru society compound.



The crowd has gathered in the society. The adults were sitting while the young people were standing besides their parents or were talking among themselves. And of course the children were having a blast.

The two sisters had already stepped into the ambience of the birthday party. The compound was embellished beautifully but Esha's eyes ignored the decoration and the people. They were searching for only one person, Vihir, the birthday boy who was already on the stage accompanied by his two friends and his mother.

Esha's eyes widened upon seeing him and on the contrary Vihir's lips quivered and his legs trembled. He wanted to run off the stage and talk to her but the cake cutting ceremony was going to take place in a few minutes. Rishit and Ahir took his palm in an attempt to console him.
They both noticed Esha and her hair, which weren't tied.

They can't meet at the moment but their eyes can. Their eyes locked and a memory flashed in front of Esha.

Everything was the same as today in the fragment of her memory. The crowd, the children's antics and the society compound. The only difference was Vihir didn't look as old as he was in the present. And the sequence of balloons behind him said 15 instead of 18.

Yes it was a memory of Esha when she attended his 15th birthday. She walked through the aisle and got up on the stage.

She looked at Vihir whose eyes were bereft of luster which was quite odd since it was his birthday. He was looking as downcast as he was in the present. But Esha was cheerful unlike the Esha in the present,

“Hehehe,” chuckled Esha, bit her tongue and said,
“Oops, i forgot to bring a present for you.” Her face exuded radiance and she seemed excited as she continued chuckling.

“That's good.” Vihir voiced in a serious tone.

Esha didn't expect this answer. She anticipated that he would be angry with her and would pout. Actually she had brought a gift but she decided to pull an antic. When he would get upset, she would have taken his gift out. She wanted to see his brightest smile but now her plan went south.

“What do you mean?” Asked Esha in an apprehensive way and her smile was replaced with tension.

“After the party, meet me at the society terrace. I will explain.” Answered Vihir concisely. In the whole conversation, he neither did meet eyes with her once nor did he catered her a piece of cake.

Esha went down the stage. She was equally feeling disappointment and dread as the bright colour of her face turned gray.


…..


Esha was waiting on the terrace for Vihir. A bead of sweat adorned her face. She was visibly anxious as she couldn't stand in one place.

In a few minutes the birthday boy, Vihir entered through the terrace. As soon she him, she ran up to him and exclaimed,

“I'm sorry Vihir. It was just a prank. Actually I've bought a gift for you.” She put her hands inside the pocket to take the gift out , but before she could, Vihir grabbed her hand and stopped her,

“I don't want that as a gift. I want a promise from you.” He said in a solemn voice, and still not looking at her.

“What..” Esha stuttered , “what promise do you want?”
Initially Esha thought that it might be a proposal or something like that but his solemn voice and face adorned with uneasiness rejected all of her conjectures.

Vihir parted his lips to say something but he couldn't. He bent his fingers to turn into a fist and finally expressed what he wanted to,
“Look, I will be straightforward with you.” he grabbed her shoulders and distanced her from himself . Esha was taken aback, her eyes widened in disbelief, but before she could express her discontent, Vihir added,

“When I first met you, everything seemed so beautiful. The time we spent together, the antics we pulled together, even the punishments we bore. Everything was colourful with you. But nowadays, my life is getting dull. My parents are having altercations regularly, I'm getting introverted and depressed, my grades are decreasing, my creativity isn't the same, I can't focus on anything , not even my career and it's partly because…”

“Because…” repeated Esha whose eyes were already moist.

Vihir ceased speaking and took a step back,
“Because of you.” Vihir completed his sentence and turned his back as if he didn't want to face reality. As if he was a dastard who turned his back when faced with a complication.

I am a coward. Vihir told himself.

Esha was still not ready to accept what her friend was saying and hence she pressed further,
“So?”

“So… so I want you to promise me…”

“Promise what?”

“Promise me…,” Vihir stopped and screamed “promise me that you will cease to be a part of my life starting tonight.”

Esha still didn't submit to her fears and she asked one last question in a single breath while trying her best to maintain composure,
“So what about our promise of being together ,fo-re-ver?”

Esha couldn't fathom Vihir's expression as he concealed them.

“A promise which can potentially destroy someone's life is better off broken.” Vihir left the terrace upon completing his statement. He didn't look at her before leaving.

Esha couldn't smolder her tears anymore and hence she burst out in tears.

What happened that night was very abrupt. Never in her life would she have seen that coming.

Why did he say that? What could be the reason?

Such thoughts trampled her mind but she couldn't find an answer. And hence she started to believe that she really was the reason for his misery and hence she granted him the present he asked for.

…..

While Esha was reliving one of the grim and austere memories of her life, the cake cutting ceremony was done and it was time for the guests to present the birthday boy with gifts.

Prisha tugged the shoulders of Esha to awake her, who was seemingly in a dreamy state.

“You have bought a gift for him, right?”

Esha didn't say anything but nodded.

They waited in the queue for their turn to go on the stage.

…..


Prisha handed over her gift to Rishit who was standing next to Vihir. And Ahir thanked her on his behalf. The next turn to present a gift was of Esha's.

Esha stood at an arm’s distance from Vihir with nothing in hand. Vihir was about to raise his lowered gaze to have a look at her but her presence and his regrets didn't allow him to and hence he kept looking down.

Prisha tugged her and asked her,
“Hurry and give him the gift.”

Esha closed the distance between them. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. Vihir didn't expect this, hence he closed his eyes out of fright. He was trembling and his lips quivered.

Soon Esha and her sister went down.

Vihir opened his eyes. He froze for a while. He stood on the stage like a statue.

“What happened?” Rishit asked out of worry while Ahir kept the next guest in the queue busy.

“She gave me the straw- the support that was required by the sun of our relationship to rise again.” He said this without any expressions.

He exclaimed with an obvious change in emotions, " She gave me the foremost present of my life.”

…..


The door swung open and Vihir stepped inside. He saw Esha letting her eyes wander in the sky, unfazed by the sound. He didn't waste a second, he walked towards her.

He stared at her back before for a while and then annotated,
“‘Why stare at distant stars when you own a mirror’.”
As soon as Vihir annotated the compliment, Esha turned around. Vihir was too close to her and she didn't know that hence she got startled and her foot got entangled by her another foot and before she could fall down, Vihir caught her by her waist,
“Was it that good that you fell for me?” Jested Vihir while looking deep in her eyes.

Esha was caught by surprise. She didn't expect the timid, shy and now gloomy Vihir to be so upfront. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the situation, she fought back and mocked him,
“Why do you litter my mind with your words when you own a dustbin.”

Vihir parted his lips but couldn't say anything. She made him release his grip and stood on her feet.
“Do you think these pickup lines from our childhood could mend our damaged relationship?” asked Esha.

Vihir didn't answer her question, instead he bowed down in front of her and said,
“I know it won't be the same as before. But we can start anew.”

Esha was about to say something but Vihir didn't let her speak,
“Please don't say anything for a while. You only presented me with 30 minutes. Let me use them to the fullest.” He straightened up and requested her , still looking her in the eyes.

Esha sighed and said, “Go ahead.”

Vihir inhaled and started,
“You know what Esha? In these three years, I've realised, experienced and learnt a lot of things. One such thing is that we are free to make our choices but aren't free from the consequences of it.” Vihir reached out to take her palm and met her eyes and continued,
“And three years ago, one such choice I made, due to which I lost you.”

He continued as Esha didn't say anything,
“I blamed you for my incompetence and everything else. And ever since then, I swear I haven't felt the warmth of the sun. I have been surrounded and haunted by my regrets, mistakes and your memories.”

He stopped his ‘speech’ and chuckled dryly,
“I lost a friend only to be surrounded by darkness. What a bad deal, but suitable for a loser like me.”

He made a sobbing sound and lowered his gaze,
“I am a loser , I know that very well. But I'm not asking you to pity me. All I will ask of you is to give me another chance. That's all. I won't insist or force you. It's upon you. I will gladly accept whatever you decide.”

He closed his eyes and started to murmur something while waiting for her answer.

A chortle escaped out of her mouth.
“Hahaha, why are you acting so differently? You waited three years for this?”

“Does that mean you are willing to give me another…” before Vihir could complete, Esha cleared her throat, “Ahem” and continued in a serious tone,

“I might give what you want but there's a condition.”

“Might.. it's better than a no!” Exclaimed Vihir and asked nervously,
“uhmm…What's the condition?”


“It's…” Esha tried to create some suspense.

“It's…” Vihir repeated after her.

“It's a promise.”

“What promise?” Asked Vihir hastily.

“Promise me that you will never hurt me again.”

“Ohh…” suddenly the light and playful environment got heavy.

Vihir said seriously with determined eyes,
“I can't promise you that. But i can promise you one thing that if i ever hurt you again, I will cease to exi-”

Esha stepped forward and covered his mouth before he could complete his sentence. She embraced him and said,
“As dramatic as ever.”

Vihir's eyes widened to the limit. He was overwhelmed by disparate feelings like surprise, elation, guilt, but the one feeling that stood out was the warmth that he was deprived of since years. He got to feel it. His fun finally did rise again.

They were about to have a really warm moment before Esha realised that he reeked of alcohol. She promptly got away from him and asked him,
“You are drunk, you bastard. No wonder you were acting so confident.”


“Uhm…It was because I lost a bet,” he said timidly.

“What bet?” She asked as if she was his mother.

“I promised them(his two friends ) that if I fail to reconcile with you before my 18th birthday, I would accompany them to a beer party. And they made me drink again now because I was too afraid to face you.”

“Hehehehe, I lost the bet as usual and am a coward.” He rubbed his head in embarrassment.


She exhaled and said with a smug smile,
“Well, you don't need to drink again, right? It's still your birthday.”

He understood what she alluded to and his face lit up like a child. He walked up to her hastily and embraced her.

“Thank you Esha. But are you sure about your decision? I mean you always keep your promises.”

“Don't worry about that. A certain someone had once said , A promise which can potentially destroy someone's life is better off broken.”

They both remained silent for minutes while they still embraced each other. Well the silence was sometimes broken by the intermittent sobbing.

Esha took something out of her pocket and handed it to Vihir. Vihir understood what she meant.

He went behind her and started making ponytails. They were still not perfectly done, but objectively a lot better than before.

Esha turned around to face Vihir. They looked at each other for a while and leaned in and said in unison,
“Fo-re-ver.”


…..

Inside Esha's room.

The candle which was lit up by Esha finally lost its flame.