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Present day, November 2013
Amit was staring at Naina’s number on his BlackBerry. Earlier, they used to so frequently connect with each other on BBM. But now it was quite some time that they had either called or exchanged any messages.
Suddenly Amit’s attention fell on Naina’s BBM icon. He clicked on the icon to zoom in. It was an animated character of a woman lying in bed with a handkerchief covering her nose and a thermometer stuck in her mouth. Her cheeks were red as if she was suffering from a dreadful cold. The animated character was amusing but it made him a bit worried.
It suggested that Naina wasn’t well. Amit felt a deep concern for her. He slid his BlackBerry’s keypad and started typing. His hands were trembling. He wasn’t sure how she would react.
“Noticed Ur icon. Not well?” he wrote and then pressed “send”.
A smile returned to his face. His duty was to ask his friend whether she was well. Whether she replied or not shouldn’t matter.
He sat down on a chair enjoying the cool November breeze. From the window he watched children play cricket in the park outside his flat. He closed his eyes and started thinking about the best moments he had with Naina. His relationship with her had actually been a roller coaster ride with so many ups and downs. When he experienced a high, it was followed by a steep low, and so on. And when he was about to call it quit, it bounced back.
His eyes fell on a trophy titled “Dirty Dancing” that was standing on his desk. It reminded him of the annual retreat of Singhania & Co that used to be held in February every year. In 2012, the firm had organised a Retreat in Goa.
Amit remembered how much fun he had in Goa and smiled wistfully.
