Cafe Regal - II

It certainly was him. There is only one Rehaan and he was sitting right in front of me.

"Hey, you look great today! Blue suits you." He complimented me. Mukti gave me a thank-me-later smile, I returned a never-again-will-I-trust-you look to her.

"Your order is here."

I realized she had already ordered our regular black coffees for us. Us. I somehow wanted to pinch myself. Seeing him after 3 years felt like a dream.

"You have become a quiet person, Anaya." He commented.

I hadn't uttered a word still. I was busy admiring his perfect face, his hair, his hazelnut eyes... for some reason he looked fragile and thin.

"You look weak. Are you ill?" I asked.

He smiled my favourite smile which instantly sent flutters to my heart. I remembered how much I had missed it. But these tricks wouldn't work with me. Today I wanted answers. I waited for him to speak.

"Well, I never doubted the fact that you are a keen observer."

I ignored his snide remark.

"Why are you here?" I asked, rather arrogantly.

He turned to Mukti, wearing a blank expression on his face.

"Rehaan is here to apologize to you for that day." Mukti said.

"Why? Hasn't he already given me enough pain to deal with? You wish to create more drama for me now?" I burst out with anger, my voice loud.

"Listen Anaya. We both know what happened that day. We both were angry and so we decided to part ways."

"You left me.." I began.

"Us." Mukti corrected. I looked at her. He began to talk in a regretful tone.

"I agree. I left. I was okay at first. But soon I couldn't bear living without you and still being in the same city as you both. I fell sick and lost too much weight. So I made my decision and left home. I took up an internship in Wolfswagon and shifted to Germany..."

"But you are here now." I cut him.

He looked at me apologetically and continued.

"Yes. I'm here now because I had my share of misery Miss Anaya Madhavan. You fail to understand that I have finally realized the worth of our friendship. Now I just cannot afford to miss any more chances to spend time with my only dear best friends. I have had enough regrets for my entire lifetime and my only desire now is to make wonderful memories with you both that will accompany me till my grave. And so I would like to apologize to you Anaya for insulting with you. Please forgive me."

I sat in silence, too stunned by his words.

"And to you Miss Mukti Agarwal, I would like to say sorry for not being a part of your brilliant prank sessions and leaving you all alone with this girl." Rehaan pointed out to me. Mukti began to laugh. She stood up and gave him a hug.

"So is the trio back to rock?" She asked excitedly.

Both looked at me, waiting for me to respond.

"Only if you pay for my share of coffee." I said and we all burst out laughing.

That day I realized, there was something more than anger and ego. It was forgiveness accompanied by happiness.