Destiny's Fusion

As Fate of Us unfolds

“The past is never there when you try to go back. It exists, but only in memory. To pretend otherwise is to invite a mess.”

Richard's POV

We started off from the Farmhouse in the morning after having a pretty big Breakfast which included a glass of Mango milkshake and banana french toast with chocolate truffles especially for Roop,

i guess she had made quite an impression on Maa and i got the usual coffee and eggs benedict which well, i thought was good enough for the ride back to my place,

Roop wore a loose black t-shirt which had a bugs bunny on it and i was in my usual dark skinny jeans, a tribal tee-shirt and a maroon cardigan with my sunglasses on,

i felt kinda happy that whatever shopping i did at the last minute for Roop worked out pretty well and neither did she complain about it,

i mean she hadnt complained at all moreover Roop enjoyed her time there which i thought was weirdly comforting for me and the way we danced it was incredible,

i dont know what got into me that i just couldnt stop myself from holding her and looking into her prominent dark eyes enticing me not to let go,i knew she was nervous as her skin felt cold against me but as we danced it didnt matter anymore,

dont know what it is... why it is but im drawn to her...drawn to everything about her if only she knew and felt the same way..

"you know you shouldnt wear the sunglasses coz the sun cannot reach you inside the car.." i smirked as Roop used her sarcasm on me

"really..? dont you feel it looks sexy on me..?" i didnt glance at her but i knew what expression she had now as she turned towards me with folded arms

"Mandy was right your so full of yourself.." my eyes got bigger with shock as i heard her words

"what the...she said that to you?" i looked back and forth from the road then at her

"not just that!..she told me when you were 3years old you used to breakdance in a speedo and you were obsessed with your Dad's socks as you always wore it in your hands even when they went out..one more but thats just.. too embarassing to say outloud.." she grinned self-satisfiedly as she flicked her eyebrows at me

"Mandy.. you're so dead..you know thats the big drawback of being second..you dont know the crappy stuff about the.." before i could finish i felt my phone vibrated in my pocket so i took it out and quickly glanced at it

"ahh..speak of the devil.." i smirked and held it to my ear.

"miss me so soon big sister..?"

"ugh..please! had a talk with maa..and she told me you guys left so before i forget..give the phone to Rachel..i need to talk to her" my face sulked immediately and i raised my hand towards Roop

"she wants to talk to the maid of honor not her own and only brother.." Roop giggled and received the call

"hey Mandy..whats up?..How're you doing?"

"hey there girlie iam good..i hope my brother's not babbling consistently and boring you with his talks.." i laughed as i side-looked at him and he glared back

"uhh..not much..maybe its because he has eyes and mind on the road..tell me how's it going there?" i asked back

"its peachy..its like i have been to this house so many times that its just like being at home excluding my parents and the one sitting next to you..

anyways give me your number so that i dont have to call him to know how you're doing..that can seriously damage my brain cells you see.." she laughed into the phone

"my uhh..my cell number?" i stammered as i looked at Richard for help and he mouthed 'lllie' i thought for a second and then spoke

"uhh...Mandy..i..uhh dont have a phone..actually i never required one in mexico but uhhh as soon as i get a number i'll tell Richard to pass it on to you..so sorry" i replied back weakly

"aww dear thats fine..you sure do get it and even if you forget to tell me we have Richard as our medium,i'll ask him than..have a safe journey back home!..takecare" i understood that Mandy cut off the call as Roop gave me back the phone but her face didnt look fine

"way to go!..you lied like a pro.." i cheered her on but still she didnt smile as she looked away from me

"i dont want to lie anymore Richard..not to you.. not to anyone..im scared of it,i dont know how else i'll be punished for it.." she clutched herself in a protective manner and i realised what mistake i made

"you wont..Roop..you spoke the truth just.. in a different way and whatever lie you spoke previously too was with the right motive,you didnt hurt anyone and neither would you in future i promise.." i would keep that in mind i thought but still she didnt talk much after that so i took the initiative to say something again

"well,i forgot to mention but umm.. i have few of my friends who i have to go meet so we'll head there first..hope thats okey" she sighed deeply as she slumped into her seat

"what person would i have to be there..tell me in advance so that i wouldnt look like a fool standing with you.." she mumbled incoherently which made me chuckle

"you just have to be yourself.. no names just being you..i think you'll have a great time with my friends" i snickered merrily..

she didnt know what i had in mind and i absolutely had no plan of telling her too coz they say the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,after the silence filled ride of about two and a half hour i parked my car in an empty parking space

"you're meeting your friends at a restaurant?!" she yelled out in surprise

"friends?..yes..restaurant?..not exactly" i came around and opened the door for her

"where are we Richard.. really?" she asked feebly and i knew i sounded ridiculous by not telling her but it wouldnt be fun if she knew it already

"he that can have patience can have what he will..!" i smirked and she looked at me oddly

"come on.." i took her by hand towards the place that had been unknown till now..

Roop's POV

"New york Aquarium..?" i read the banner at the top of the attractively built Gateway that provided the entry into the place as we stood infront of it

"wait here.." Richard ran off to the booth just below the gateway and got us two tickets

"now we are officially ready to go.." he smiled cheerfully at me

"but what about your friends?..dont you think we should wait for them?"

"uhh..they are already here..so lets not keep them waiting..come on" his friends wanted to meet in an aquarium thats strange i thought as i simply nodded and entered the exceedingly wicked grot with him,

the most unbelievable experience of my life i felt as we were walking under the tunnel of floating fishes..big-small-gigantic..

my eyes moved swiftly with so much curiosity as i stared at each one of the cute adorable sea wonders..i always wanted to see them up-close and now i was..

i couldnt feel more happier and luckier than that, the view was breathtaking..

the sharks lurked around daringly in the other tank and cute little tortoise came up near the glass where i stood..

"aww..hie youu..whats your name?" i spoke in a babyish manner to the one staring at me with big black eyes

"Greetings from atlantica strange human!..my people call me sebastian" Richard spoke in a deep throaty voice and i narrowed my eyes at him

"what..?..anwser him..he just greeted you" Richard stood there with his hands in the pocket grinning at me

"not funny..spokesperson of sebastian" at that Richard chuckled mockingly

"come on..there's more" i walked behind him and entered the dark room which had jellyfishes of uncommon colors vividly flickering around emitting bluish light which was fascinating and i stared gapingly like a 5year old,

not just them there were Anchovies, shrimp, electric eels and cute little seahorses then there was the giant red playful octopus which looked slow but much entertaining to the eyes

"where are your friends..?..i dont see them anywhere" i asked finally

"ohh yeaah and its almost time..lets go meet them"

time.. i was still confused as to what he was saying,then we entered the main area outside and saw adorable penguins soaking up the sun as they were spread idly over the rocks and some different kind of seals swimming in the water around them

"hey kayla.." Richard spoke to the woman feeding some of the huge seals from the other side

"hey smarty pants..came here to see your friends?" she cheerfully asked and Richard nodded

"there he is and the one in the water is upset with you so he wont be coming up anytime soon" she bellowed

"so can i get a little help in fixing things up"

Richard asked back with a grin and she with a hearty laugh threw 4-5 fishes out from her bucket towards us

"Come on.." Richard caught hold of one and took me towards the pond

"Richard..w-wait wait..i dont think this is a.." as soon as he kept the fish above the water a mouse like animal caught the fish and ate it up

"thats my friend jacob a sea otter.." jacob then grunted and rolled over in the water

"oh so you want more huh?..Roop you wanna try?" i looked at Richard nervously as to say what..

but then slowly i gathered up all my strength and lowered the fish in the water,jacob immediately grabbed it and consumed it down..

it felt so amazing and funny as i laughed frantically..

"thats my boy.." Richard exclaimed and petted the brown fur animal caringly,

i watched him with a smile as he looked so happy and excited to be around them and then out of nowhere suddenly a penguin popped its face out of the water

"ah..thats wendyl..the jealous black footed penguin.." he then donkey like brayed at me

"mind giving him some attention.." Richard said as he was still busy scratching jacob,

i then took another fish and gave wendyl but he turned out to be more clever, as soon as he ate the fish i gave he stepped out of the water and waddled towards the fishes that were left

"and the most hungry one too i would say.." i smiled gleefully as i petted the gentle little amphibian

"why wouldn’t he be, its their feeding time..these were the friends i wanted you to meet..so did you like them?" Richard asked with a smile as he too petted the jiggling wendyl now

"like?..i love them!.. they are so cute and energetic..i love your friends and their neighbors too..all of them except the ones with knifelife teeths" we both laughed jubilantly,

after watching the beautiful marine creatures and their playful tricks for treats we came out of the aquarium to grab something to eat at an outdoor snack bar with picnic tables

"i'll go order something..anything specific you want..?" i just shook my head to say no

"alright i'll be back in a min.." he then walked off to the counter,i watched people taking a stroll over the boardwalk..children running around with balloons and animal mask on their faces,

they looked euphoric and thankful for the life granted to them unlike me..i on the other hand ran away from it and never looked back since...wish i hadnt..i sighed heavily as sadness infilterated me again,

i turned my attention from there towards the other side but my eyes couldnt move from what they saw next as my breathing got rapid and my heart quivered in horror at the sight of my past standing there with some skinny miss universe..

he didnt know i could see him smiling foolishly with that woman and i wanted to claw that off of his face..

i was enraged too freaking mad and i wouldnt let him get away not this time i thought..not until i have my revenge.

.i stood up from where i was and walked towards him while my eyes furiously stayed fixed on the two romantically engaged with one another

"are you happy now..?" i spoke angrily at which he turned around unwarily with his girl towards me

"RR-RRRoop..what the hell..I..I didn’t expect.. y-you would b-be here" he panicked hysterically as i could see beads of sweat forming over his forehead

"well,what did you expect Raj..life would be as cruel as you expected for me...i thought you were different Raj..but i was so wrong...so stupid to think you would take care of me..love only me..i trusted you..you big time eccentric asshole!!!" i screamed out madly coz I couldn’t hold it in anymore..

the rage for the given deceit as hurt filled tears filled my eyes, I grabbed his shirt and shook him up aggressively..the woman on his side backed away in fear of my wrathful behavior so did the people as they stared in disbelief

"get off of me you psychotic b.." he pushed away my hands forcefully and raised his own to hit me but before he could Richard caught hold of his hand and brought it down firmly as he stood between us now with composure

"better keep your hands to yourself pal or you wont be left with any..she's not your's to rule anymore...so just back off alright?.." Richard then grabbed me by the shoulder while his eyes still glared at Raj until we turned around to walk away from there

"now I see!..this is the guy who bought you huh?..you could have done a lot better than him Roop with your sultry moves" Raj laughed shamelessly but my heart couldn’t bear more pain than what i already felt, my eyes welled up with tears as i looked down

"That’s it..." Richard turned back and before i could stop him, Raj in shock already held his hand over his severely bruised jaw which oozed blood..

"Did you just freaking hit me?" Richard caught him by collar and brought him closer to his face

"Yeah I did and I would have done more than that if we weren't in public coz people like you don’t deserve to live..but that’s not something I can decide..i can only give you a heads-up which i just did..i hope you learn from it" Richard then pushed him away with a disgusted look and held my hand in his as he shoved Raj aside from our way..

Richard didnt say anything but the way he held onto my hand until we reached his car expressed that his anger hadnt subsided..

i wanted to know his thoughts.. what was he feeling coz this all happened because of me..i didnt know what to say as i was still shivering emotionally.

.i could see how furious he was as he slammed his hand over the car's roof which startled me and then sat back in his car.

i gulped uneasily and stepped into the car as well..he could blame me for being in his life..take back whatever he had said back then...i was ready for it but this silence after hitting Raj so violently.

I can’t..I can’t bear it..this wasnt Richard..who was this guy then..sitting beside me

"I’m sorry Roop..i uh dont know what got into me..i guess..i just lost.." i spoke up before he could finish

"no its fine..because if you hadn’t i would have done it myself..he deserved what he got..guess i can’t run away from my past after all..like this.. someday i'll have to face my parents too..you won’t be able to save me there Richard.." i looked at him Disheartened

"who knows Roop... maybe i won’t have to..and you wont face them alone..I’ll be there to support you no matter what..it won’t be easy to make them understand but we'll try..together"

his blue eyes remained steady with mine and each word spoken by him sounded perfect..thats more than what i needed..now i knew i'd be safe if not by hope then by him

"umm..there's a place i wanted to go but..only if you wish to go there with me?" i muttered softly

"anywhere just name it..?" his simple but kind words brought a smile on my face and we..together... like always headed towards the place..

Richard's POV

after asking for directions from people where at times Roop spoke her own unique language and driving through leftight-Uturns..we finally found the place..

it was like a big white fort with a sparkling golden flag over the dome..the parking place wasn’t near to the fort so i just parked the car where i could..

whole of the time I had an unnerving feeling as we went by foot towards the place..after what i did to that guy..I would have done the same to any other guy who would have tried to hurt Roop and I don’t regret a bit of it..

but i wanted to know why!..its not like she couldnt have stopped him..then why..why did i get in the way to save her..why have i been saving her all this time..its not just about being responsible is it..

"hey..whats wrong?" I realised we had reached and were standing before the magnificient Monastery now

"Roop..i dont know if i should like what i did back there..I don’t deserve to go in.." i mean it was a religious place i couldn’t just enter after hurting a person..i might forgive myself but HE wont forgive me i thought but then i felt Roop's hand wrap around mine

"you deserve everything that a noble man deserves..which includes HIS blessings too, come on.."

a noble man..i was noble in her eyes...in her heart...a man of honor and courage..a man who would protect her because for this man she was all that mattered,

i didnt know how i had become such a person in these few weeks but now that i was i wanted to hold onto it...hold onto her,

Roop made me wash my hands in the sink as her fingers traced over my slightly bruised knuckles..i could see the sadness in her eyes..was she feeling it for me

"does it hurt..?" yes she was I thought as I smiled back certainly

"well, now..it doesn’t.."

Roop then covered her head and so did I after taking a cloth from the weirdly staring bearded guy who looked quite old,

Guess nobody here expected a white man would drop by..but it didnt bother me much coz although people worshipped HIM differently depending on their beliefs and culture,But for HIM we were all the same, we walked inside the hall and all i could look at were surprised faces and some not so happy about a stranger in the house,

we stood infront of the small money box behind which there was the Guru Granth Sahib i cant even pronounce it properly in my head as Roop told me, over which the worshipper sitting just behind it waves the whisk, it is done to show respect and dedication towards the holy book,

it had some similarities with the church i used to visit when i was a kid..by that i felt our religion wasn’t much of a different either,

Roop then suddenly nudged me by her elbow as her hands were already closed together to pay her respect and I realized i was dumbly staring at her,

I cleared my throat quickly and got my hands together to do the same..i had nothing to say..but if i had to ask something from HIM i would ask for her instead,

blessings..love..safety..happiness..whatever that could be in this world..

she changed my life and made it worth living..we have had our pocketsized experience with each other..which now i feel have become a part of me..i cant forget them...cant forget her,

she slowly opened her eyes and i looked away with a grin as i was again staring at her,

Roop then knelt down and bowed her head which made me realize how much she believed in HIM maybe that's why we met because HE believed in me,

the keertan being recited carried us effortlessly to a place of quiet, to stillness,

we then had the sweet thing called the prashad about which i asked Roop if i could have more but she just laughed at me and took me to have what they call is langar,

as we together had deliciously rich food sitting down in a crisscross manner i was amused to see the person just sitting across me hadn’t stop staring weirdly at me even when i acknowledged him with a smile

"Am I that odd to look at..?" I whispered to Roop and she giggled

"You're not odd..You're funny"

"Roop..that's worse than being odd..by the way this food is just so good, glad you brought me here coz I had Giant dinosaurs storming in there.." she laughed and told me to carry on, once we were done having food,at Roop's humble request to the bearded turbanguy I got to have the prashad again for which i hugged him strongly,

we then came out and headed towards our car,

the sun had disappeared below the horizon and the sky had turned dark as the shimmering moon had taken its rightful place, I could clearly hear the shrill cries of the cicadas and other insects as it was the only noise i could hear around this soundless place

"you cold..?" I asked Roop coz she was rubbing her hands simultaneously but she shook her head

"hmm afraid of the dark ..that’s what it is..huh?" I smirked teasingly but then suddenly she stopped me

"Who are those people near the car..?" she asked and I realized they weren’t just ordinary people as I gazed down at them

"Hey Danny..look!" the one peeking into the car turned around as he saw us..

"I think we have found what we were looking for..boys" he grinned evilly at us

“We were being followed..” Roop immediately looked at me

“What!..”

"Roop listen to me run..as fast as you can and don’t look back"

I murmured to Roop but i could sense her fear as she clutched my arm tensely

"Richard.." she whispered desperately

"Roop do it!..Just go!" I pushed her away,

she didnt want to but this was the only way i could save her from their vague intentions

"one guy against six..how do you think you're going to win this?" that Danny guy spoke as he tapped the baseball bat in his hand while the others laughed

"well, winning isn’t what I’m focusing on right now..but I bet I would've kicked each one of your asses if you had the balls to face me alone" his face wrinkled like an old parchment in agitation

"Get the girl, you idiots! and break every bone in his body" he spoke through clenched teeth, two of them rushed to capture Roop but I got in the way

"Don’t even think about it.." they then lunged wildly at me instead,

I blocked their attacks and gave them back with as much strength i had in me but it wasn’t enough I knew,

they were too many in numbers moreover with weapons but wasting their time was what I wanted to do didn’t matter how many blows that took, stopping one made me vulnerable to the others, by now I knew I was bleeding badly as i felt blood dripping down from every part of my body that they striked cunningly with full force..

"ohmygod!..Richardddd!" that moment my heart gave its last beat when I heard Roop's voice

"let me go!...Richard!" she cried out my name painfully but all my strength had washed out of me as they hit me turn by turn ruthlessly

"please...please let him gooo..”

“No please stop it...he will die"

I heard Roop plead desperately in low sobs but I couldn’t move reach out to wipe her tears of anguish

"Get her outta my sight...She’s being noisy" It felt like I had sold my soul, I had lost it forever..the internal pain, the agony of that moment, was just horrendous and shattered me bit by bit from within..

"No..no leave me! Richarddd! let me go..Richard..leave me!.. Richardd!"

I fell on the ground lifeless drenched in blood and my eyes closed to the only person I wanted to see forever as her voice gradually faded off into a whisper..