Goodbyes are always hard to say. It's a part of life where something ends but it's also a part of life where something starts.

With that inspiration, the juniors of Mount Highlands Academy were running around to decorate the ground premises for the farewell.

Teachers and elders who supported the children from the day they entered this boarding school, now were feeling emotional and sad seeing their children entering the new phase of their life where success and new experience of life is waiting for them either to hug them or crush them into fragments.

Time never waits for no one and today at Mount Highlands, people can feel it.

Juniors were nervous and excited to bid their seniors a happy goodbye with lots of well wishes. While the seniors were excited to enter the new phase of their life. Afterall, they'll be called adults now.

The boarding school for students wasn't just a mere educational temple where they learn and grow but it was the place where they consider it as a second home. Where friends were more than siblings and competitors who were villains in disguise. The teachers who guide them are more like a parent than mentors.

It's still hard for them to leave this life and embrace the difficult aspects of life but the excitement was just too much to let go of the possibilities of what if life gets much better than this?

The Art and culture Department students from 11th grade were handling the decorations after the school helped them to set up the tent to organise the farewell.

Today , on 12 February 2016 — It's the farewell for 12th graders of session 2015-2016.

There was still time left and the members were arranging the last minute arrangements.

“ Where is ACL?” One of the member asked in frustration as they couldn't able to find their Art and culture leader ( ACL)

“ Tch…I don't know. Maybe she went to check the performance team ?” One suggested.

“ Maybe…let's get her”

They enter the school building and within few steps ahead they met the sports leader

“ SL? Have you seen ACL Saanjh?” She asked.

“ Saanjh? I saw her going to the main gates of the school” he said casually.

“ No, Kavit. We couldn't find her. It's been an hour” One of the members informed Kavit and Kavit frowned at her statement.

He clearly saw her going towards the main gates.

“ The seniors might come at any moment…shivika just made a call in reception” One of the three member sigh in frustration.

“ Shivika? She is in the green room?” Kavit asked with surprise.

“ No. Seniors were sent to tiffin top with Ahuja mam”

This piece of information surprised Kavit even more.

“ Huh? Seniors are in tiffin top with shivika?”

One rolled his eyes “ where were you when we held the meeting…dumbo? Didn't saanjh say that she had permission to send seniors to the tiffin top for buying us more time for the arrangements and shivika and Sanjay will make sure that they distract seniors for couple of hours” She shrugged the information on him.

“ Fine…I'll help you guys. You search the building..I will search the park”

They nodded to each other and started to search for Saanjh.

“ Saanjh?” Kavit shouted near the park entrance hoping she would reply back but there was nothing. Not even a human.

Every second that passed made him more anxious. She was a friend , just a friend that's what he told himself every day since that conversation.

He always held himself back whenever she complimented Sanjay. He couldn't help but admire her love for Sanjay. She was pure thus her love was innocent.

The only option left for him was to step back and vanish from her life so she could enjoy that innocent love and cherish every moment with her life partner.

He was avoiding Saanjh for days after she told him she wrote a love letter expressing her love to Sanjay and would give him at the right time.

What if she gave him and they went together to the tiffin top?

His heart sank like a rock in the vast ocean.

His steps came to halt when he heard a fading muffled noise as if someone was crying. He walked towards the opposite side of the boarding school where the forest had taken over and it's prohibited to enter the area. Still some students enter there to relax and enjoy nature.

He speculated that the voice might belong to Saanjh.

“ Saanj—”

There she was.

Hiding herself behind the old massive tree , sitting on the ground, her face buried while her knees glued to her chest.

She was crying.

“ Saanjh” He lunged forward and kneel down in front of her , shocked and worried for his friend.

“ Did you hurt yourself..? Fallen? What happened? Let me see the injury” he tried not to touch her but the urge to see what made her cry was making him touch her but he couldn't so he hovered her hand on her.

“ Hey…look at me” he sat down beside her.

She finally looked at him and her eyes were all red and puffy from all that crying.

“ Devi maa?” His voice was low and concerning.

She wiped her tears and looked the other way “ What are you doing here..?” She hiccups at last , still hiding her face to avoid her friend to see her tears.

“ I'm here to take you. Come with me” he offered his hand.

“ I'm done with Love. You were right I should have invested much more time in my studies than this fiasco” she rants her feelings to him.

All he does is to listen to her carefully.

“ I've told him my feelings and he said he didn't see me like that than why he always helped me, he would have left me unheard , maybe today I would be at peace”

She continues and Kavit listens to her complaints and pain.

Kavit agreed with few and strongly disagreed with some of her points. But at this moment she doesn't need advice or someone who can correct her but a shoulder who she can trust and rely on during her hard times.

Kavit recently learned the concept of self love. Self love isn't begin obsessed over yourself or letting go of your mistakes because you love yourself but it's a practice to fall in love with the flaws and respect yourself.

Kavit had to thank shivika for enlightening him in a new path where he got introduced to self love.

But for Saanjh, she thinks differently. She can only receive love if she gives love. She finds beauty and reason outside her own self. At that right moment Kavit spoke “ Sanjay doesn't like you…that's why you're crying?” He asked with caution.

She nodded.

“He helped me with my project” she finally said, voice breaking.

"He stayed back an hour just to explain volleyball to me. Doesn't that mean something, kavi?” She continues.

Kavit sighed, searching for the right words.

“It means he's a good person, Saanjh. That's all. Helping someone doesn't mean loving someone.”

“Whatever you felt” he continued

“It doesn't mean he felt the same. Feelings don't work like that. That's just how it is.” he doesn't know how to explain to saanjh.

Saanjh just looked even more hurt and disturbed. She closes their distance and finds solace in his embrace.

She cried her heart out and Kavit held her gently. Letting her wet his new white shirt he brought specially for farewell.

“ Shaant…devi maa…shaant” he kept on consoling her.

[ Calm down devi maa ]

After a while, her cries seemed to fall into a muffled murmur, tears rolling down her cheeks like a lifeline snatched away from her. That's how deeply she had fallen for Sanjay. She truly believed in all those fairytales of first love and now it was all shattered.

She couldn't comprehend the situation. She was miserable and terrified.

Kavit had to support her and help her to sit on the concrete ground rather than ground with mud and soil.

“ Let's go inside…you need water” he said and tried to drag her to the school premises but she stopped him.

“ Wait…” it came out in a low and broken voice. She wipes her tears with the back of her palm and stands up as if the emotion were just a passing point in her life.

Kavit stepped backward to give her the space to go and follow her when she walked towards the school.

Saanjh was still blaming herself for Sanjay not liking her. They sat on the bench of the park and Kavit went to the water cooler near the garden to help Saanjh with her nonstop hiccups.

He came with a glass of water.

“ Go to the reception…call Ahuja mam…..ask shivika…that….” Saanjh was taking hiccups at every moment she speaks.

“ Calm down first. Call shivika to ask about seniors? Done. You drink water” he offered her the glass.

She took it and with eyes signaled him to go to reception. Kavit nodded and ran towards the reception hall to make a call to shivika.

“ Good morning..Ahuja mam” He greeted his teacher on the call.

“ Yes?”

“ Mam, myself kavit. Can I talk to shivika?” He asked politely, still his eyes were fixed on the open window , from where he could see saanjh sitting and trying not to cry.

“ Shivika? Wait a minute, child…” She asked.

Later after a few seconds she answered the call again “ it seems some people have gone to the top of the mountain…these children! Don't worry beta, 12th graders will be there in an hour” She assured him and cut the call.

On the other side of the tiffin top, the famous viewpoint of Nainital, the students of Mount Highlands Academy were enjoying it. Meanwhile some mischievous students reached the other mountains, climbing for just fun.

At the corner of the bushes , near the very end of the cliff and close to the waters stands Arjun facing Shivika.

Fate is the cruel part of life. A vicious cycle where life takes you to walk along with the memories you want to submerge in the deep ocean. When the heart tangled with the life of another person, beats for them and still asks the question of why it beats whenever they’re close ,it is not the fragments of emotions wrapped around the soft mind but those fragments reshaping themselves into the symphony of love.

That's how these souls become tangled between making the choice to either stay or leave.

Arjun tried hard to put the truth under the vaults of his heart and never even in dreams let it out. But it still does. The truth is replaying again and again in front of their eyes.

“It's not a question of why you hid the truth from me Arjun, but who will you stand with?” She spoke with absolute clarity and coldness wrapped in her chilling calm tone.

Arjun, that was his name, and it felt odd for her to call him that.

There was a time she considered him her lucky charm and he considered her his. Sharing their wins and becoming each other's victory. But this was the first time she had called him by his name and not ‘Jay’

Jay, the nickname he never thought he needed. The name that held him to a meaning that he could win. And she was the first person to entrust that truth in him.

He deserved to win.

But seeing her building walls around herself and her disappointed look, he was lost. Lost in life and lost in protecting her.

This was supposed to be their happy day.

His farewell.

But everything went downhill.

“Will you stand with the truth or hold your father's hand?” She asked again, a broken undertone revealing how hard she was working to hold herself together.

Arjun lowered his eyes. “Don't make me choose, Jaya” he spoke, his voice low with guilt.

“Stop. Don't you dare call me that”she spat angrily.

She stepped forward. “I am Shivika. Daughter of Shiv Malhotra and Ambika Malhotra, who were killed by your father." She raised her voice in anger.

Arjun looked at her, and what he saw wasn't a girl who was angry at him but a daughter who had been starved of the love and care she deserved, because of his father.

“ I just got to know last week…ja.. Shivika” he chose his words carefully.

“ Still you didn't tell me. I've told you multiple times…hundreds of times…how I feel without my father…my mother, still when you know you're father is a murderer you chose not to speak with me”

“ Why did you never tell me…. you're the son of the murderer?” She spat coldly and it reached very close to his heart. Her voice cracked, breaking the coldness she attempted to keep but her fragile condition showed for a second before she masked it.

“ SHIVIKA” his voice rose, not expecting an ounce of disrespect for his father.

“ There must be something. I know my father. He can never—”

“ Maybe he lied to you. Ask yourself… who will get benefitted if shiv Malhotra is not in business industry…how will benefitted if shiv Malhotra’s company suffer…who—”

Arjun couldn't believe and understand the situation. His head covers his ear and shouts “ STOP.”

“ STOP. STOP.” His voice was rising every second.

“ My father can never do that.. never” he tried to explain but shivika was convinced after the reports her uncle showed her.

Shivika’s eyes burned, tears she refused to let fall. “My dad is dead, Arjun. And your father's name is on the suspects. There are witnesses giving testmony…what else you want?”

Shivika was trying her best that she can make his father's truth come to the public and for that Arjun has to take her side. Without his support, she can't bring the devil down. She needs his lucky charm.

“I always thought he was….” Arjun started, almost to himself.

“He's never….he's always been right about everything. About me. I didn't think—”

“Of course you didn't.” The laugh that left her was bitter and not hers.

“Because you never think anyone you love could be wrong. That's the problem with you, Arjun. You'd rather believe the world is lying than admit he's the murderer” The words were sharper and spilled before she could stop them driven by something that wasn't quite her.

Arjun’s face hardened immediately, something dangerous flickering behind his eyes, the kind of stillness that comes right before a storm breaks.

He stepped forward.

“Watch out” he said with a low voice, each word measured like he was holding himself back.

“You can hate me. You can scream at me till your throat gives out, I’ll take it, because maybe I deserve it. But you don't get to talk about my father like that. Not to me. Stay in your limits, Shivika”

Shivika flinched like a cold bucket of water just poured down her frame.

Whatever she’d braced for, maybe an apology, a plea, even his silence was acceptable not this. This version of him defending his father and his possessiveness towards his family was a new thing she witnessed in him.

“Say that again” she breathed.

“You heard me.” Arjun didn't back down.

“Your father wasn’t innocent in this, Shivika. Whatever my father did and I’m not saying he’s clean, I’m not defending that , your father buried things too. He knew things. He hid things”

“Don’t” Her voice shook.

“Don't you dare use my parents to make yourself feel better about yours” she stepped closer , glaring at him.

“I'm not trying to feel better!” The words were louder than he meant it to be.

He runs his hand through his hair, breathing hard, like the truth had been sitting in his chest for hours, clawing to get out. “ And I'm done being the only one who has to hate his own blood tonight.”

Shivika’s eyes glistened, but her eyes stayed lifted “ I'm just asking…who would you choose?”

“My choice is the truth.”His voice dropped, rough at the edges.

“And not you..” Something in him cracked, the way his jaw tightened like he was holding a huge weight in his chest.

Shivika froze for a moment and his words kept replaying in her mind “ not you”.

Shivika took a step back, putting distance between them like it might slow the ache spreading through her chest.

“Then I guess you've made your choice.”Her voice was quieter than either of them expected.

She turned before he could answer.

She just walked, and he let her

Because some part of him knew that following her now would only prove her right about everything she’d just accused him of.

“ You just don't have to go after my father…Shivika!” He said, more to himself than her.

She was gone. From his eyesight and his life and forever.

A classmate runs to the top of the cliff and walks past Shivika “ hey, Junior! Where is the head girl?” He asked.

“ Don't know” shivika mutters coldly and keeps walking.

The senior frowns and rolled his eyes “ juniors …these days”

He kept walking and reached the top and saw Arjun sitting quietly on the ground.

“ Arjun? Where is the head girl?” He asked casually.

“ Let's go…the farewell is going to start”

Arjun was quiet and strangely calm.

“ Head boy? Let's go..?” The classmate tried to cheer him up thinking he was feeling bad leaving the school.

“ Hey…Don't tell me, Rayyan went to see Avantika” he laughed, making small talk with Arjun.

“ Joru ka Ghulam..” he teases and still tries to hold Arjun up but Arjun shrugs it off and walks away.

“ Why is everyone's mood so off…” he commented and started walking behind Arjun to reach their destination.

Trust is a very valuable asset a person can have. Some earn it and some just have it. Avantika stood behind the bus to hide herself as if that could hide her shame and guilt.

Rayyan had told her to wait for her. One part of her is calm knowing he wouldn't be able to attend the farewell. The guilt which was drowning her might be hidden for some days but another part wants to confess to him her mistakes and most importantly play with his trust.

“ Avantika…” Rayyan grinned , noticing Avantika near the bus stand.

“ Actually….” He couldn't stop smiling and turned around to face the lake instead of her. He was very shy.

After the confession Avantika dared to leave him speechless.

“ I have to tell you something…” Avantika said, too low but it reached him.

“ Yes…me too. I'm not sure if I can crack Advance…I'm still scoring 200 in it” He expressed his disappointment in himself.

It's been two years , he is studying hard to get into an engineering college. Learning, staying all night for mock tests and it used to be terrific but now he seems a bit relaxed not because he believes he would crack it but someone else is trusting him enough to keep going.

Avantika..

“ And…you know! I have to give three mock tests tomorrow, I don't know how it will go.” He said excitedly.

Avantika had a slight smile on her face witnessing the calmness before the storm she will struck on him. But she can't keep the truth for too long.

“ Trust me, I'm not joking..” she said , her voice softly holding a remorseful tone.

Rayyan’s gleaming eyes softened seeing her fierce eyes looking at him as if pleading.

“ When I say…that day I was hurt. My ego was hating every bit of your existence” she continues.

But Rayyan was silent, listening to her while still battling his confusion.

What is she confessing?

Is she hurt? Someone hurt her? Is it me?

She told him everything , what she had done to him in the last nine months, and why she had done it. Now she was full of shame and guilt, barely able to talk about it.

Her head hung low and when she lifted it up, she saw tears building up in Rayyan's eyes.

Her knuckles were pale, gripping the sides of her saree tightly.

“Say something,” she whispered.

He stood by the side of the bus, one hand still resting under his pocket.

Then

“Nine months” he finally said, his voice low and almost disbelieving.

“Nine months of you weaving the trap and keeping me in darkness? All that motivation was for nothing? That ‘ I trust you’was for nothing?” his voice cracking.

Finally, his eyes couldn't help but shed tears.

Avantika steps closer but he steps back.

“Every single day, after we confessed. I wanted to let you know. I never want you to suffer—”

“ But still you chose silence…?” His words turned cold.

The worst part of all this was he was not shouting. His voice was calm and cold. Like he is already shutting his emotions off.

“ I know what I did was wrong.” Tears slipped down her face.

“You taught me what it means to love myself, that I don't need anyone's approval but I used it for my own benefit…to satisfy my ego. I was insec—”

She stopped herself. She couldn't say it out loud. A part of her still scared of the darkness that she herself inflicted on herself.

He took a breath, like he was trying to hold something together.

“ I can't be here,” he said.

“I can't keep giving pieces of myself to something that was never whole to begin with.”

“Please…Don't go like this.”

But he was already turning. His steps were slow, deliberate as if his sorrow was pulling him backwards.

“ I forgive you,” he said, without turning back.

And then he was gone.

12 February 2016 was the day those six people will never forget. How can they? It's the day that snatched everything for them.

Love, friends and companions, everything was gone.

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[ A/N] : how the prologue?

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