PROLOGUE

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A burst of laughter charmed the room echoing the farthest corner of the house. It was the same scene everywhere they went. They had the charm, the personalities quite tectonic and yet a perfect balance. Each one had something that they brought to the table and most importantly there was never a dull moment when they meet. It was one of those bonds which are quite unique and perhaps one of a kind, in a matter of speaking.  Well, it did consist of friends and cousins but there is no other word that justifies their bond as one big family. From the calmest person to the most conversationalist, from small-talks to deep serious discussions, from making fun to comforting each other, from making get-together plans to executing them, from sharing to caring, they are simply a multitude of emotions wrapped in a small yet warm group. And how much ever simple it seemed, there was still a paradox of things yet to explore amid themselves.

.  .   .

The words seem a little less, but like they say big things come in small packages or in this case words, that is exactly what Suhas is. With that calm and charming persona, he gives that warm feeling when one meets him. He is a bit or perhaps conventionally shy but that is what you will believe on the first impression. Having said that, there are a few too many things that will surprise others. With a combination of wit, mild humour with some powerful punches, something that is quite contrary characteristic feature of being shy. However, his best part-time is watching this one TV comedy show on YouTube, but nothing can come in between his one true love, sleep, not even his wife; or… it might as well be debatable.

Contrary to Suhas, with him, the words are exponentially more. From lightening the mood to providing insightful health tips, Varun has everything wrapped under his sleeve. He had known Suhas since forever and had stuck around him during the majority of their schooling, but then later moved overseas for work. But then again, distance was a lost concept to them. They are always connected with each other, be it video calls or texting; contrary to most of the people who are so very distant living in the same city. With a great affinity for fitness, he always insists on giving tips and making sure that the other members of the group make an effort to keep up with the fitness quotient. If only, they were as motivated as he was, if only. However, there is always a sort of effort from the group members to keep themselves fit for mind-body balance, the only one winning with flying colours is Siri. However, from what he had known her a few years ago and what he sees now, there seems to be a drastic change in her in terms of weight. But then again, they say that the camera adds ten pounds.

Siri, could very well be the female version of Varun, or perhaps it’s the vice versa. She doesn’t admit much but she is indeed a lot into fitness. There is always an argument and disagreement on her part about the weight, mostly when she stands on the machine, instead of numbers the machine displays a text, “Please stand on the machine”. But in all fairness, she does have a few too many compliments from people who know her. One of such compliment was from a person who had had went overseas and saw that the people over there are overtly into being in shape, especially the women, while he sat down to ponder over to compare with the people back home; only person seems to stand out of the crowd in terms of being fit, Siri. However, she would immediately discard with saying that she is NOT. While this could be argued over who is being right and who isn’t, it doesn’t take much to figure out where the majority of the votes go. And besides following a healthy regime on a daily basis, her passion for badminton is quite unmatched. If you ask her what are the things that mostly describe her, he will come with these terms – smart, talented, open-hearted, skyscraper, and the list goes on and on. However, being funny might be an inbuilt talent,  her OCD for cleanliness in another thing altogether which no one can compete with; or in other words, she is ‘literally’ Monica from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. ( A TV series that she hasn’t yet seen).  Again, as mentioned, like Monica, her culinary skills are exceptionally unmatched.

They say they need a different sort of dictionary to understand. Or at least one should know a minimum of three languages to even get acquainted. Because that is how most of the sentences are structured, with a mashup of her mother tongue, the national language and the world’s most acclaimed language. Deeksha, being a cousin of Siri have stayed with her for a few years during their time in college and has always been a constant companion even after she got married.

Speaking of a multitude of things that happen every other time, Ashish might have issued copyrights for himself. It is believed that he hopes for the things to go one way, while they mostly take an unexpected turn. But at the end of the day, it all turns out to be for his own good. Besides the uncertainty in a few things that might be important, he has a bigger picture in mind which is slowly taking shape and no wonder, he is literally going places. Being silently quirky, technically strong and excelling at culinary skills by being deliciously good are just a few of the many things that perfectly fit under his wing. And his love for PaniPuri is quite literally unmatched and could put this whole love story to a shame, quite literally.

.  .   .

This is the story that revolves around the five of these extraordinary people and how two of these people find love and the struggle to make it a reality. And at the end, is it all worth the effort?

( to be continued )