Cold Love by Amieya Prabhaker

sarcastically, “You fulfilled your friendship today! I went there
trusting that you will take care of me.” 
    “Riya … look… I…”
     “Huh… And I thought I was
doing a service for my country. Mr. Banerjee said nothing wrong, did he? I
really did think all this was like a walk in the park … I wore my finest outfit
to court, like a little girl going to a party! How foolish of me!”
    “Riya … please don’t take
this the wrong way!”
    “You would have known Arjun,
wouldn’t you? That they ask such bizarre questions in the court? Did you
know?... Arjun, please answer me!”
    Arjun is silent and does not
respond. Riya shrugs and nods her head, frustrated when she realizes she has
been let down by her dearest friend.
    “Why? Why did you do this to
me, Arjun? … Why didn’t you tell me?” she finally wipes away her tears,
composing herself with a look of intent on her face, “Arjun, please leave me
alone. Please don’t ever try to talk to me … I don’t want to talk u
again…ever!”
    “Riya… please don’t say that.
I know what happened was wrong… but…”
     “Arjun please just go, leave
me alone!”
    That very moment Shanti’s
voice is heard in the corridor outside the room.
    “Beta, what are you guys up
to?” Just as she walks in, Riya hastily walks over into the bathroom, “What’s
up beta?”
    “Nothing much aunty.”
    “OK, beta, ;tell me, was
everything fine in court?”
    “Yes, aunty; Riya testified
as a witness. She has been a great help, aunty.” 
    “Will she need to go to the
court again? I really feel nervous about all this.”
    Riya walks back into the room
at that moment, having wiped off her tears and washed her face.
    “No aunty. Riya has given her
evidence and identified the killer. She will not need to come to the court
again. Leave the rest to the police and the officials from here on.”
    “Mama, you shouldn’t bother
Arjun with such small things. He showed such great valor today and I’m sure he
must have so much work to do… the case and everything. Right, Arjun?” she
replies in a mocking tone that her mother fails to pick up.
    Arjun gets the hint and nods.
“OK, aunty… I think I better get going.”
    “OK, beta.” Arjun leaves the
room immediately. “Are you all right my sweetheart?” Shanti hugs Riya and soon
walks out of the room. Riya gets up and goes to the window to watch Arjun
walking across the garden between their houses. She moves away as Arjun turns
around to look back at her house.
    A range of emotions, mostly
anger, cross Arjun’s mind, driving him mad, primarily because of his utter
helplessness to do anything. He walks into the house and into his room
unnoticed, without speaking to anyone.
    An air of uneasiness lingers
over the next few days amongst the two estranged friends. Riya has taken a
stance to completely shut herself off from Arjun, avoiding him at home, school
and during events with family or friends. She has chosen to keep herself busy
with her classes at the school or at the library. No one in the house notices
the difference. Riya even chooses to keep her best friend, Puja, out of the
loop; this is a rarity, as she had always shared all her feelings and secrets
with Puja in the past.
    The incident, for a change,
has made Arjun a regular attendee at the MBA school, more than he had been in
the past. Arjun and Riya exchange glances at school, but only from a distance.
Every time Arjun tries to approach Riya, she simply avoids him. Even though
they meet in class, in the corridors or at home, Riya simply dodged Arjun on
all occasions before he can speak a word. Needless to say, Riya has a long
backlog of missed calls and messages from Arjun, as all his requests to meet up
to explain things to her have fallen on deaf ears.
    As if this was not the nadir
in the relationship between these two friends, things are about to get worse,
before getting any better.
     

The Nadir
     
    A few weeks pass without the
world around them