Out in the cold...-II

The remains of the sunset was blurred. He realised he was crying. As he wiped his tears he looked at his hand band, 'Live Strong' it said. Her last gift. He smiled a salty smile and left for his room.

"Hey Rithesh!", he heard someone calling him.

It was his friends. 'Or the so called ones...', he thought ruefully.

"Hi dudes. Whats up?", he went near them.

"We are going for a trip to the falls. Coming? Some quality time with booze.", asked of them.

"No man. Can't. Got some pending stuff to be done.", replied Rithesh.

"Awww, come on. You need a break dude. Or are you still in abstinence?", asked Prajod.

"Not that.Sorry I...I can't come.", said Rithesh as he walked away.

"The bastards are still laughing about me when I am not there. Fuck them!", he said to himself. His friends looked on. They had a puzzled expression on their faces.

"The poor guy! He was one good badboy...", remarked Abhilash as he released a stream of smoke.

"What did I say then. He will certainly regret hooking up with her. And look now.", said Amal.

"Technically yes. She did leave him. But not how you had imagined.", said Benny.

"And that Boys and Girls", Amal took time to draw in a big puff of cigarette, "is a lesson not to hook up with a pretentious brainy bitch."

"Hey snap it dude. Why the hell are you dissing her now that she is dead. You had some issues with her. But you are a real bastard to tell such stuff at this time.", Aaron was fuming.

And a verbal tirade broke out among the guys. Eventually they were making comments about each other's mothers and/or pet.

Rithesh spotted an empty packet of a foreign cigarrette. He looked closer to see the brand name. 'Huh? Arabic! Never had that.', he thought to himself. 'God I could kill to have a fag now', he stared longingly at a nearby cigarette shop. The same old man was sitting there. 'But you promised her man!', his inner conscience was telling him.

'Hmmm. thats yin now where is yang?', he waited for a response from his bad self. 'I guess she drove him out of mind', he thought shaking head at his own insane babblings. He thought about the day he stopped smoking...

"Look at that dear. That is how females should be", said Rithesh referring to a music video were a girl was lighting the cigarette for her man.

"Hey I could do the same!", said Gayathri with a glint in her eyes which Rithesh missed.

"Hmmm", he handed her the lighter and placed a cigarette on his lips.

"Close your eyes!" and he closed.

He waited to suck in that first smoke. 'Whats that funny smell', he wondered. Realisation struck at the same instant as the pain. She had lighted his moustache.

"Fuck you!", he swore as he stormed out.

Things patched up a week later after she apologised and he promised not to smoke again.

"I haven't broken that promise dear", he said to her photograph on the table as he switched off the lights.