MILES AWAY

VII- Euphoria

VII- Euphoria

Euphoria

/juːˈfɔːrɪə/

noun

a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.

Locked lips.

Dan moaned into the kiss and plunged his tongue in her mouth.

What was she doing?

His lips moved possessively against Manya's lips making her heart beat a mile faster.

His hand ran up her back to her hair. Dan fists her hair tightly and tilts her head to kiss more roughly.

Stop

"Gosh I love you so much" Dan breathes into her ear.

I don't. I love Manan.

Dan again placed his lips on Manya. She never felt this vulnerable. She understood what she had done without any thinking.

A bead of tear fell from Manya's eyes.

But Dan was hellbent on satisfying himself.

It seemed to be like forever before his lips left hers. Harsh breathes and pants echoed throughout the washroom.

Manya looked down. She didn't even have the guts to look at someone in the eye. What she did, was so unlike her. She didn't expect this from herself.

Dan already had left the washroom with the ringing of the bell. But Manya didn't have the energy to even stand. And bit by bit, she broke down.

She slid down the walls and cocooned herself. Till then, her sobs were haunting the place but she didn't want to face anyone. She tried to muffle the sounds. But the more she tried to suppress those, the louder it got.

And the only question that clouded her head was—why did she do it?

The next time the bell rang, her condition had worsened. Eyes bloodshot, hands shaky and heart broken.

But she felt that she shouldn't wait more in the washroom. She needs to sober up or else she might get into trouble. But she never knew what waited for her outside.

The moment she got out of the washroom, she was bombarded with questions and odd looks.

She didn't expect such ruckus.

Her own friends were giving her awful looks and she was pretty sure they had already started spreading millions of rumors.

Such was the world.

And among all those people, her eyes had drifted back to him.

Standing at the corner, with all his charisma was, Dan with his gang. He smirked when he noticed her staring at him and with a last wink, he left.

Everyone left.

But she stood there.

Eyes on the floor, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Fortunately, there were no trace of teachers in the corridor.

She felt lonely, not for the first time. But this time, the feeling was different. She felt hollow, empty from the inside.

For Manya, surviving school was in itself, a huge matter. She tried her best to stay faded in the crowd.

But she understood that, after what she had done, she would be facing extremes in the days that would follow.

Her heart felt heavy and she knew, her only cure was Manan.

Noisy and chaotic.

That's what best suited the state of Manan's office. Everything was cluttered with anything and everything. Books and folders piled everywhere and people rushing to get their works done.

The first day Manan entered the office, he knew what he'd find – a small and cold environment, faded curtains and the most expected one –severe rush hours.

Manan had been in his chair the whole day, eyes and mind only on his work. He felt, making himself busy would help his mind from riveting back To Manya.

Leaning back in his chair, and cranking his neck over, his eyes moved to the window. Above which, was the never-ending sky, deft blue and cloudless.

The nature is the only eternal beauty of this planet, and its appreciation knows no limits.

Staring blankly into space, Manan's mind wandered back to when he was small. He missed those times, when there were no boundaries of living life, no tension—whereas now, it was only filled with pressure and anxiety, senses invaded by uncertainty.

Manan felt tired and spent. It seemed as if he knew something bad was going to happen.

Manan smiled sadly for he knew what was all this about.

Manya had been the reason for his sleepless nights and his overburdened days. She was the reason behind his mood offs.

He was fed up.

The office pressure, Anil's constant bickering about how Manan should get a girlfriend and Manya's thoughts—everything made him emotionally unstable.

He was minutes away from lashing out.

Anil being a married man, judged Manan's lostness to be the effect of him being alone and not getting any female company, which is why he tried to set him up with a girl—the nurse, to be precise.

But Manan's heart was somewhere else, specifically at the other end of the country. But he knew he had zero percent chance of being 'her' man.

This didn't mean he didn't want to talk to her. Surely, he did.

And so, he crossed his fingers and sent a message.

Delivered.

'She could have messaged me if she was online.'

Shut up, you mind.

Seen.

His heart started to beat faster. Reason—he couldn't and would never be able to comprehend.

He knew she was ignoring him but he couldn't help. He feared if she was going to block him. But all his assumptions flew away when he saw, she was typing.

A smile had automatically got plastered on his face.

Hey

'Are you angry?' Manan so wanted to ask this question but he was s**t scared of its probable consequences.

What are you doing Manya?

Manan was terrified if she would be annoyed by his questions. But he hoped she wouldn't be.

I have tuition Manan.

Is it possible for someone to feel emotions through texts? Cause Manan felt as if she was low, just by looking at her texts.

Manan wasn't someone to say something without any proof. And this time, it wasn't different. Previously, angry or not, Manya would always ask about how he was doing before getting into any topic.

He could be wrong and he wanted to be. He didn't want to see Manya in pain or being sad and all down.

He tried to know more.

Which subject?

Math.

He sensed her lack of attention. Typical of her. She has been like this for quite some time.

He decided to ask, but before he could say something—

I'm getting ready. What about you?

Manan smiled. At last she was back to her usual self. All chirpy and active.

They talked until it was Manya's time to leave.

Manan felt as if his entire being had lighted up. As it was Manya who was talking.

I'm ready.

Manan liked this about her. When she talked, she talked about everything—what she was doing, what she would be doing in a few minutes, everything.

It made Manan feel as if he was with her all the time.

Will you be going alone again? It you are, be cautious and stay safe all the time.

He worried too much about her, particularly when she travelled at night. Though Manan knew she was capable, but still he cared.

I'll be okay. I'm 17, you know, in case you forgot.

Manan laughed.

This girl.

So, what fashion did you do?

Manan decided to tease her. By then, his insecurity had already vanished.

I just did my hair. Nothing else, you fool. I'm going to get EDUCATION.

Manan's cheek was hurting from smiling so much. He unconsciously always got a smile on his face when he talked to her.

Okay miss. My apologies.

Manan released a deep sigh, he felt relieved after talking to her.

Okay I'm going. I'll be back in two hours okay? Bye. Take care.

At last, their time together was getting over. But he was happy he got to spend some minutes with her.

Bye Manya.

Offline.

He felt sad—sad because he wanted to talk to her a little more, sad because he had already started to miss her when it was not even a minute.

But it is what it is.

Manan laid down. Keeping the phone aside, he looked towards the ceiling fan.

Manan remembered his heart also beats this fast when he is with Manya.

A notification sound brought him back from his world.

Unlocking the phone, he checked it.

Message from Manya

'Didn't she leave?'

A photo?

She sent a photo? About what?

He hurriedly opened the inbox and there it was, a photo of her, with a single text—

Look what type of fashion I did.

What the hell?