Journey of Hope

CHAPTER:- 9

Pratyasha's Pov

She came like a fire, who was gone now, but heat and temperature were still there.

"Ashia." I whispered her name while looking at her retreating figure.

"Oh! Now you are going to chant her name as a prayer." I turned around to find an angry Ishaan glaring at me.

I could feel his piercing stares upon me, but this time I didn't look down. Ashia's words did some magic inside me.

"I was not chanting her name. As a normal human, I just whispered a name to memorise as she saved me and I should be grateful to her." I said looking straight into his eyes.

For a moment he looked stunned at my answer. Then he was Ishaan Samantray, Another synonym of intimidation.

"Wow! The princess got some courage, didn't she?" He pressed my chin so tightly, coming dangerously close to me. I stepped in a backwards direction seeing his red eyes.

"Ishaan! Leave me. I didn't say anything wrong or disrespecting to you. I just defend myself." I was still looking at his brown eyeballs which were surrounded by blood-shot red cornea at that time, without moving my gaze for a second.

"Shut up." He roared giving more pressure to his hold and my cheeks turned red. "I know that you have no mother to teach you the manners about how to talk with your would be husband. More of that you have inherited her qualities of being a spoiled princess of your father. That doesn't mean I will spare you, if you kept raising your gaze and voice at me."

Tears brimmed into my eyes, but I didn't shed it. Over the years, I had heard about this taunt again and again. Mom and Dadi always said that I was a curse just like my mother, and I didn't have right to cry at their abusive words too. Now I had learned perfectly how to hide these tears under the curtain of smile.

"Look Down." He shouted but I was looking at him only as if someone had spelled me to do so. "I said look down."

When he didn't found any reaction, he pushed me in order to take out his frustration. I fell on the ground scattering my books everywhere. This time my gaze automatically lowered.

I couldn't look up to see Ishaan's angry glares and the looks I was getting from the surroundings. Being a popular man in the college, Ishaan had his own charms, that spelled a lot of girls to admire him.

Everyday I got his Fangirl's stares full of jealousy, knowing that I was going to be the wife of him. Then seeing our bitter relationship, they were smirking, while some were giving me pity looks.

I could hear the heavy footsteps of Ishaan. He was satisfied when I didn't look up from the ground, so he moved away without caring about me. Slowly the place was vacated as most of the people had no time to spare on pitying me. The drama was end, so as their source of entertainment.

I collected my stuffs from the ground and went inside the college. I had no mood to attend the lectures today. Already there were a lot of drama occured, I didn't want more by going inside class, where I was going to get a lot of stares, some with pity and some with anger or jealousy.

I made my step towards the college garden which was happened to have one of my favourite spots.

The garden was present beside the football ground of Master's building in a big area. At the opposite end to the field, A mango tree was there from the day the college had started there.

From that place, the football field was visible, but you couldn't clearly identify people sitting under the tree from the field. I went there and sat under it and looked at the green leaves.

The leaves were my best-friends. I always share my pain with them and they heard me without any interruption. I was not slapped or pushed by them. They just rustled to let me know about their presence. I started my blabberings looking at no where particularly.

"What did I think? I will give a challenging look to Ishaan and he will leave me." I hit my forehead and continued my self-talk session. "It was my luck that I hadn't done the same thing at home in front of Mom, Dadi or Anisha Aunt. Otherwise these three along with Ishaan would have eaten me raw in their dinner."

"Knowing Ishaan's big fat ego, I shouldn't have provoke him by matching his gaze. But, Why he left Ashia while she did the same thing?"

"Maybe because Ashia didn't step back while looking into his eyes." The same familiar sweet voice interrupted me from behind.

"You!" I exclaimed as soon as Ashia sat beside me.

"Yes, Me. Why so surprised? Can't I be here? Or I can't sit beside you?" She asked while raising her one eyebrow, reminding me about Baba who had the same habit.

"No you can." I said with a warm smile to which she returned the same,

yet more gracefully.

"You are talking with yourself." She said while eating the apple, which was held by her while sitting here.

I looked at her to ask about why she eavesdropped my talks, but she was not looking into my direction. Her gaze was fixed at the football field where, seniors were practising and I knew that Ishaan was there too. A great football captain he was!

"Don't mind, but I kinda heard your talk. It was by mistake only, then after hearing my name, I eavesdropped, you know a curious soul I am!"

I narrowed my eyes towards her and said, "I said your name at the last line only, but from your talks it was evident that you heard from the start." She turned her face to look at me and gave a toothy grin.

"Yeah! I heard your full talk, but it was unintentional. I was sitting at the back side of the tree before your arrival." I remembered that I didn't look around before starting my talks with my best-friends.

"It's ok." I smiled at her. "So, You are a new student?"

"Am I looking like a teacher?" She playfully asked again raising her one eyebrow. Just like Baba, I thought.

"You are looking like a student only. Then in the the middle of the semester can't expect a new admission, can I?" I asked her in the same playful manner.

"True. Then you can expect the unexpected in my case. After all I have my ways to make the impossible, possible." She winked at me and I gave her a narrow look. "Yes, I am definitely not a terrorist or investigator on a secret mission."

"I know. You are not. I trust you." I genuinely said and looked at the front without noticing the change in her expression.

"I saw that boy manhandling you." She changed the topic while I shifted my body uncomfortably. "You shouldn't step back when he advanced his steps towards you."

"You don't know Ishaan Samantray, do you?" I asked her looking at the front view of nature.

"I don't want to know him either. He is not worth to be known by me." I expected this answer from a strong girl like her.

"He is a man with a big ego. He would have probably crushed me under his feet, only if I didn't step back." I felt like sharing this with her.

"He couldn't, until he is an elephant." She continued to eat her apple.

"He can. I told, you don't know him."

"Yes, I don't know him. Then I know myself. I have faith upon myself." I looked at her to find her looking at me. "If you know about yourself completely, you don't need to care about the other one's self to justify your action."

"I know myself too. A cursed child I am!" I conveyed my feelings to her about myself.

"We can't change our fate in case of birth and death. But, it's upon us to choose the way we want our life to be."

"I don't have courage like you, to live my life in the way I like."

"Courage is a state of mind and bravery is a way of life." I averted my gaze feeling low of myself.

She was a strong girl with an aura that stopped Ishaan Samantray to say anything. While I was a weak girl who didn't defend herself.

"Do you know driving a car?" She immediately changed the topic feeling my sadness.

"No."

"How do you come to college? With that boy? He never taught you to drive a car by your own?"

"I always come with my Baba. He is very protective about me. He never let me drive a car thinking that, I will be hurt if any kind of accident takes place." I smiled thinking about Baba's scared face when for the first time I wished to learn driving.

"You never wanted to learn again?"

"I wanted. Even I want now too, but never get a chance." I remembered how everytime Prajwal and Pratyush made fun of me, whenever I wished to learn driving.

"Then create a chance." She stood up in front of me.

"How?" I asked curiously.

"Are you going to attend any class today?"

"Not in a mood to bear those hateful stares."

"Come with me then." She dragged me holding my hand.

"Where?" I asked while matching her pace. She was literally running towards the parking space.

"Don't know." As usual she shrugged off the question.

"How will we plan a journey without knowing the destination?"

"We are planning everyday for the journey of life without knowing about the approach of death, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but..."

"For a moment, leave your 'but' and explore the life. You will know yourself better to define yourself through other's words."

She stopped and looked at me for a second. It gave me an unknown assurance.

We started to move towards the parking space. But, this time it was me holding her hand.