Imperfect Perfections

[25] At The Lakes

"Harith, it's fine. I will be back in a second"

His face said, he clearly wanted to accompany.

What the f**k was I doing?

"Umm okay"

He sat down on a silent note. And my hands were pulled by the other side; the awkward side, and of course the worst decision that my brain should have made.

But that is where I went wrong. I was listening to my heart.

The stupid thing was playing gibs with all of this.

Brain: You i***t, remember, Harith will be the only one for you, finally. He is the one who stayed by your side despite everything. Shouldn't you be with him, right now, when he actually decided to even avoid the ride because of you?

Me: It's not like I told him to!"

Brain: As if you would understand! He is an amazing lover!

Me: Oh, shut it! He isn't in love.

Heart: Oh baby, you have always wanted Fahim, haven't you? And when he is purposefully lying for you, then why sit with a crap who sympathizes with your love loss?

Me: Hey! Don't you dare say anything about him! Harith's my bestie.

Brain: And Fahim is your f*****g ex and f*****g to-be brother-in-law!'

Me: I know!

Heart: But that guy loves you. Fahim loves you!

"You coming in too?!"

His words bit off my disturbing hallucinations, as I came into reality. We had reached the public loo beside the lakes, one which had a less queue thankfully. He was staring at me, looking at my steps following him, most unfortunately into the male's bathroom.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry..", I stepped back and began staring at the ground.

He walked inside the bathroom without another word.

Leaving me outside with a bunch of relaxed strangers, whose bladders had been successfully poured out.

This is why he brought me here for?

To walk me an awkward damn walk until the bathroom he so obviously knew, and leave me here outside.

Dogs were pooping at the sides, children played with drinks beneath trees and sweaty hefty men walked through the footpath. In a crowded surface area, I managed to stay at a less crowded zone so my body didn't get shuffled and touched every passing moment.

I sighed.

Harith...

The name rang in my mind.

Of course, he was awesome. He made me laugh and so troubled at times, that I felt like smacking his head off to some neverland. The way he stares at me makes me giggle. There hadn't been a tinge of love because we were so comfortable. I was never shy with him, neither was he with me. We were so friendly and better alongside each other.

Right now, standing here, I missed his presence.

That someone bright who lits your life.

He was the perfect explanation of a human vitamin, that he was.

Did he love me, never crossed my mind because he never said or acted that way

But now, the question came roaming around the edge of my mind. Somehow, the way he looked at my face when I agreed to go with Fahim.

It pained me with such great depth that I felt bad.

"Hey, give me some way, will you?"

I thought I was dreaming for a minute.

But within seconds, he was by my side. My eyes went up to his height, as he looked at me, smiling. He patted at his body like he had run a thousand miles through a dusty lane to reach here, and grinned,

"You here outside? Showed him the goddamn way?'

I could have kissed him right then!

My face lit up in embarrassment.

"Harith, I-"

"Nah, I know whatcha gonna say. Don't."

I nodded and looked down. Amidst random strangers taking a walk on the road, I was now not lonely. He was there, with me.

'Where is he? Not out of the loo yet?"

I shook my head, hanging it shamelessly.

This comfort always came alongside him.

"Harith?"

"No thanks. No goodbyes. No sorry.", he cleared his throat like that was for the best.

I nodded and let my thankful tears fall.

The return journey was a bit late. After the rather awkward bathroom return walk (though only for the rude and silent guy among us), we tried to hire a taxi but came to know a sudden strike had come over regarding a fight at the petrol station, which left us with no way but to catch the buses; Since everybody got into a sudden crisis, the bus was going to be crowded so many left without even stopping near the lakes.

Our last hope after waiting for three hours was the midnight four-wheeler "Heavenly Nights' that often promised its decisions over stopping at the common bus stops. Praying it would take us home, we sat at the benches silently.

"Is life as beautiful as those stars, Fahim?"

Fathima kept hiring questions of philosophy to keep the silence disturbed, whereas I and Harith talked of the daily song updates; our personal interests.

'You watched the Moonlight by Grace?"

I nodded and smiled,

'It's a masterpiece! You should listen to her new albums too..."

"Twelve and so above the top already!"

I nodded and smiled,

"Backstreet Boys used to be my favorite, which eventually molded into Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons. Looks like there is nothing stopping me from loving solos, like Taylor, Grace, and Khaled"

"Also JB!"

I shrugged, "He is cool, yeah..."

"What is JB? A new motorbike or something?'

Her questions towards our side made me wince. Harith actually choked, whereas I corrected,

"No, he is a singer-r-...."

'Oh!"

She didn't look so surprised though.

"I really don't like so many songs, you know..."

We don't wanna know...

"Fahim, you like songs?", she asked, only to fill the void of his gap.

I looked at Harith who shook his head.

'He hates it, except for pop and rock music", his whispers sounded like loud roars.

"Yes, a little bit.."

I winced hard. Harith noticed it and sighed.

'Oh! What all?"

'None of your business"

Silence again.

What the?

"Hey guys, shall we have a walk?", I threw myself up from the bench, trying to fill all the non-stop awkwardness accompanying our trip.

"Aren't you tired?", my bestie grunted.

"The lakes have dimmed into blue lights, Harith. We have walked through the green lanes, rides and the strange ice creams shops but the lake is...all lonely...and downcast....and so gorgeous"

I smiled and tugged at his sleeve.

He got up and our eyes ran to the couple on the bench.

He sat like a robot, while she clung onto his arm like a monkey; the cliche we had seen for the whole day.

This wasn't a date.

This had been a horrifying session of a snail trying hard to get along with a rock.

"I'm hungry and tired, I can't walk~~", she whined.

"Okay, so it's just us two", Harith happily grabbed my hand as we started our way for the lakes, basically a meter or two distance afar from our benches. The park had died down in commotion and the darkness had laid upon it in an hour already. It was late night sinking in and our shadows could be seen, revolving around the pavements. Since it was a public zoned park, we could stay without any special permission.

"I'm coming too.."

We stopped.

His voice again.

I held my breath as Harith turned around. The sigh he left choked my heart.

"We can't leave Fatima alone here"

"She is a grown-up, not a baby.."

Fast mouth...

My body twisted around and faced him. He was standing now.

"Yes, but we can't leave her alone, here! Either she gotta come or else you have to stay..", Harith screamed.

'Why should I stay?"

I sneered softly.

What a dumb question!

Harith was clearly getting annoyed. Sensing that, I grabbed his fingers and squeezed them,

"Because Fahim", I cleared my throat, "Clearly she is your betrothed and has to be taken care of by you"

The street lights lit our faces more brightly.

Like how his next words lit our hearts.

"I don't believe in betrothal. I believe in love"

"And I know you love me. So quit your s**t with Harith and come to me"

The world must have ended right there.

Because my life surely changed after that.

And so did someone else's.