The Cocoon - Season 1 Episode 4

We didn’t speak a work and started walking back to the car. He extended his hand to grab my finger…..i slipped my hands into his.

I was friendlier than ever before with Meera.

We went to “Persian Darbar” for dinner, Meera’s favorite restaurant and I was totally fine with it :D

“Let’s order that then”

“Hello ……yaa…..hello….. I can’t hear you….you ok? Where are you?

I am having dinner.

Ya im with her

I browsed through the menu while he looked restless.

“No it’s too late. Come along with me. I need to just check on her. She’s partying with some friends at this club Bora Bora. We will quickly go there and then ill drop you”

Vijay sat beside her and held her close. She lay her head on his shoulder and kept saying

She fixed her stare at Vijay and repeated “you don’t realize whom you love and who loves you”

“Nothing”

“Tell me “

“Nothing Vijay”

There was a long pause

I continued. “Is there something I should know?”

“About you and Meera”

Vijay halted the car.

“I like you”

“ And I like spending time with you ……..And we are discovering each other”

I turned my gaze“Everything “ I wanted to say “ Nothing “ I said.

He kept his hands on mine to assure something I believe. I was cold.

Questions starting erupting like a volcano

“Does Meera love Vijay?”

“Does Vijay loves Meera ?”

“I am progressing too quickly in this relationship?”

“ Is this the time when Meera and Vijay should rekindle their feelings and discover each other? “

“Am I coming in their way?”

“Does Vijay love me or he just likes spending time with me?”

My daily alarm was ringing. I reached out to my phone in my bag.

Caller : Vijay

“ I am standing downstairs. Can you come down?”

I started walking down.

“Haha thanks……Go home and sleep Vijay. Sleep is what you need “I replied.

“ Oh…. So I wasn’t invited “ I joked.

“ Meera”

I froze.

“Ok let’s speak tomorrow then”

My happiness knew no bounds. I was bursting with joy.

While they were still speaking of their common friends and alien incidents, I was smiling for unknown reasons. Nothing had happened but I felt good about everything.

The following Monday seemed delightful. I took extra efforts to dress up. Monday seemed like Friday. There were no morning blues. Red was the color of the day.

I came to my desk and pinged Vijay .He replied and we chatted until the end of the day.

He asked me if I’d like a ride back home and I readily agreed.

This was how things went for the whole week.

It was Friday and it was time for weekend plans. Vijay took me out for dinner where we were supposed to discuss this. After much brainstorming and Zomato-ing we landed at the Persian Darbar.

“It better to be with a known enemy than an unknown friend” he said.

We sat down and began to order.

“So how hungry are you? Hungry hungry or normal hungry”

“Hungry hungry “ I chuckled

“SO let’s see………..There is this kebab platter which is good….I had tried this the last time with Meera.”

We chatted and ate. He spoke like a complete Business Analyst in real life too.

Talking to him seemed like I was reading a Business Requirement Document. At times while he narrated things or explained them, I could picturize tabular structures, flowcharts and pie charts.

We were about to order for the main course when his phone rang.

Chalo cool then take care”

“It was Meera. I think she’s not fine. Let’s order quickly “ Vijay said.

“ I am not that hungry. Let’s leave “, I said.

He didn’t say anything but he summarized his gratefulness and his appreciation of my gesture in a smile.

“You carry on Vijay I’ll take a cab”

I didn’t want to add to his worries so I agreed to it.

We drove to the club. It was dark and smoky inside. We spotted Meera. She was sitting with a girl.

By the looks of it , it was evident that they were drunk and high. Meera saw us and got up . She hugged Vijay and it continued for a while. She saw me and hugged me too.

She introduced the girl as her elder sister, Natasha. We sat down. Although fully drunk herself , Natasha kept on asking Meera not to drink anymore . Meera kept blabbering “It’s my life. Don’t teach me what to do”

“It’s my life. Ask her not to preach”

In sometime Natasha lost her cool. No sanity and a bad temper are a dreadful combination I discovered that day.

Natasha shouted “Oh yes it’s your life. You married that fancy NRI and see what happened. OH yes it’s your life and see what misery you’ve brought to mom and dad .Oh yes it’s your life and you don’t realize whom you love and who loves you”

Vijay interrupted and called for the bill. He then asked all of us to make a move.

We sat in the car and there was pin drop silence. He dropped Meera and Natasha at their home.

We continued. We didn’t speak to each other either.

“What happened?”

“About what?”

“Shes my best friend ..what else do you want to know?”

“What am I to you?”

“And…………”

“Look let’s not spoil it by giving it some tag so early. Let’s go with the flow…If something is meant to happen it will and why are you bringing it all and what has Meera got to do with it”

He dropped me at my home.

I lay down to sleep.

I kept thinking without reaching any conclusion. A new day had dawned.

105 missed calls.

It seemed like he had a sleepless night too. I called him back.

“Hey you were calling?”

What didn’t occur to me while thinking the entire night, dawned upon me in a minute.

I knew what I had to do.

I walked towards him. He looked sleep deprived with a confused composure. I was sleep deprived but clear and light in my mind.