Kumar looked forward to the two months of the year when he would stay with his grandparents in India. Kumar's parents settled in Dubai and he spent most of his childhood there. His grandparents initially stayed with his Uncle, but as his father's wealth grew, Kumar made sure his grandparents had a place of their own. He loved them a lot and did not want them to be dependent on anybody.
Every year, Kumar made it a point to spend at least two months in India, with his grandparents. It was during one of these vacations that Kumar first met her. One evening, his grandpa told him about the family which stayed next door, who were helpful and caring. The head of the family would drop in occasionally to check on them. He also spoke about their young daughter and the many evenings she spent with the old couple. Kumar liked it when others cared about his grandparents like he did.
Sunday mornings were meant to be lazy and Kumar intended to keep it that way. He was rolling around in his bed, not too keen to get up early. Just when he was about to go back to sleep, he heard his grandmother call out his name. He could also hear a girl's voice talking to his grandmother and that was enough cue for him to quickly get out of bed.
As Kumar made his way into the hall, he saw her for the first time, animatedly talking to his grandmother. She was helping her setup breakfast and she looked like she was completely at home. The ease with which she was moving around the house, made him wonder who she could be.
His thoughts were broken by his grandma's voice. "Hey Kumar, this is Aditi. She was the girl your grandpa was telling you about yesterday."
"Hi", shouted Aditi, before she rushed off into the kitchen to get a dish.Setting the dish down on the table, she came to Kumar to shake hands.
"Hi, I am Aditi. I stay next door but spend most of my time with both of them". she said pointing to the old couple.
"Thank you so much." he said shaking her hands.
"Now that you are here, I can also do with some good company as long as I am here. Hope you wouldn't mind."
"Absolutely not.I am relatively new to this colony and am also looking for friends.I can do with a good friend as well", Aditi said with a smile.
It had been more than ten years to the day that conversation took place. Their friendship grew with time. Both of them looked forward to the two months that Kumar would be in India. As time flew by, Aditi moved to another city for her graduation and Kumar got admission into a university in Dubai.
Kumar and Aditi were meeting today after a long time. While Kumar moved back to India for his Post graduation, Aditi shifted base to Australia. She was back in town after three years and he was the first person she planned to catch up with.
Kumar was eagerly looking forward to meet Aditi. As he was waiting at the restaurant, he kept glancing at the door, wanting to catch a glimpse of her as she walked in. But the moment Aditi walked into the restaurant, the color drained from his face.
Kumar was stunned to see Karan standing behind Aditi.
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