Destiny in Stars

As the sun began to set, turning the sky a dusky pink, Vihan made his way to the Cosmic café, his mind racing with anticipation. He hadn’t seen Isha for a while, not since he changed his job, and he was curious to hear what she had to say. When he arrived at the café, he spotted her sitting at a table near the window, a cup of coffee in front of her. He made his way over and took a seat across from her.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said, feeling a bit sheepish. “The traffic was terrible.”

Isha smiled and waved away his apology. “It’s no problem, Vihan. I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Vihan leaned forward, eager to hear what she had to say. “So, what’s this important news you wanted to tell me?”

Isha took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I got in touch with Priya Sharma, and she’s here in Bangalore,” she said, her voice filled with excitement.

Vihan’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Priya’s name. He had a crush on her, ever since he saw her at a college conference. But she had disappeared without a trace, and he had never been able to find her.

“That’s amazing!” he said, barely able to contain his excitement. “I had no idea she was even in the area.”

Isha nodded. “I was able to connect with her on social media, and she told me that her parents had to move to Mysore for work, so she also moved to Mysore, leaving our engineering college. ”

Isha’s voice droned on in Vihan’s ear, but he was lost in thought. The memories of his college days were so vivid he could smell the musty old books in the library and hear his friends laughing in the distance. Isha’s voice cut through the silence, shaking him out of the daze. “Were you lost in thought?” she asked. Vihan sheepishly replied, “Yes, I’m sorry. I was in a daze for a moment.” Isha nodded, “I could tell. Your eyes looked far away.”

Isha continued, “Priya is currently working for a startup and she’s been job hunting for quite some time. She already has multiple offers. One of the offers is from SoftTech, and it’s for a position as a software engineer. If she accepts the offer, she’ll start next month. She asked me about SoftTech as a company, to see if it’s a good place to work. I told her that it is.”

Vihan couldn’t believe his luck. He had been given a second chance with the girl of his dreams, he couldn’t help but think about Priya, the girl he had been too shy to talk to back then.

“Remember the college conference?” Vihan asked Isha, a smile on his face. “It seems like ages ago. So much has happened since then. I remember the note I had thrown at Priya. It seems so childish now. I could have talked to her. I should have talked to her. But I didn’t know she was from our college. I didn’t know anything about her.”

Isha smiled fondly as memories flooded back. “Of course, I remember that! I can still picture the day you took a piece of paper, wrapped it around a stone, and threw it towards Priya. I’m trying to recall what it said... Ah, yes! It was something like ‘Hi, my name is Vihan, and I think I like you. Can we talk? Here’s my phone number.’ At first, I thought it was meant for me, but then I saw you waving your hands and pointing towards Priya.”

Vihan laughed at the memory. “Yeah, it was funny. I thought you would just ignore and throw away the note, but you called me the next day.”

“Yes, I did,” Isha said. “The first time I called, I pretended to be someone close to Priya. Luckily, I knew her name, so I was able to keep up the act. But eventually, I told you the truth. Looking on the bright side, the whole event led to us becoming friends.”

“Becoming friends was the best thing that happened,” Vihan agreed.

Isha sighed regretfully. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you connect with Priya back in our college days. Her engineering stream was different from mine, so I wasn’t that close to her. And then she suddenly disappeared.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing for that,” Vihan said gently. “I already know it wasn’t easy for you. I never would have even known her name if it wasn’t for you. And now we know the reason why she disappeared.”

The two friends sat in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Vihan couldn’t help but wonder what Priya was up to now. He thought about what would have happened if Priya had picked up the note instead of Isha. Would she think it was silly, too?

But for now, he was content with the knowledge that he had good friends like Isha by his side, and the promising future ahead of him.

Just then, Isha’s phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID. “It’s my roommate, Swati,” she said, standing up from the table. “She’s on her way here, and we have plans to go shopping. I’m sorry, Vihan, but I have to go.”

Vihan nodded, understanding. “Of course, Isha. Let’s catch up again soon.”

Isha smiled and gave him a quick hug before rushing out of the café, leaving Vihan alone with his thoughts. As he made his way home, he couldn’t stop thinking about Priya and the fact that she might join SoftTech. This made him excited because they could be colleagues and could even be on the same project. Vihan was determined to make things right with her this time and win her heart.

The girls got out of the car and headed into the mall. As they walked through the mall, Isha couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made a mistake. She knew that Vihan had feelings for Priya, and she had always tried to suppress her own feelings for him. But now, she had given him the information about Priya and potentially he might win her over.

“I don’t know if I did the right thing,” Isha said to Swati as they browsed the clothing racks. “I mean, I want Vihan to be happy, but at the same time, I can’t help feeling like I betrayed myself by helping him.”

Swati put a comforting hand on Isha’s shoulder. “I know it’s tough, but you have to remember that you can’t control how Vihan feels. You can only control how you react to it. And if you have feelings for him, then maybe it’s time to tell him how you feel. You never know, he might feel the same way.”

Isha shook her head. “No, I can’t do that. It would ruin our friendship. I just have to deal with it and move on.”

Suddenly, Isha’s phone rang, startling her. She pulled it out and saw that it was Vihan calling. Her heart began to race as she answered the call. “Hello?” she said nervously.

“Hey, Isha,” Vihan said, his voice sounding excited. “Can you text me Priya’s social media profile link.”

Isha felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, but she forced a smile and said, “Yes, of course. I will share.”

“Thanks, Isha. You’re a great friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Isha said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. “I have to go; I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up the phone and turned to Swati, her eyes drowned in sadness.

The two roommates continued to shop, but Isha couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. She knew that Vihan would contact Priya even if she did not join SoftTech, and she couldn’t help but worry about what would happen when they met.

© Vish

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.