Hey Lilikins, a Letter!

Dear Li-Li,
YOU FRIGGIN' BASTARD! GOD-DAMNED IDIOT! HORDE OF STUPIDITY! STUBBORN PIG!

Had I always been going on and on in FRENCH to throw away that rotten mango from your life that you failed to understand me? That shit of a person gave you such pain in these two years but you never even thought about kicking him out! Not that I never told you to give up on him! But you, you would never listen to me! Always going about with your I-know-what's-best-for-me attitude! I am literally going to murder you the next time we meet!

Do you have any idea what a big headache you've freed me from? :) :) :)

Didn't I tell you, Lilikins, how bad it felt to be a 'happily-ever-after' when your story lay burnt and jagged on the floor? I tried, so desperately, to do SOMETHING... But I failed. Miserably.

Thank God you had these guys, Lilikins. I'd have died under the load of guilt...! :) :)

Okay, I couldn't help you. But you're all right now. That's what matters. That's what I've wanted.

Now listen to me ('cause you haven't ever, in all these years) - now if I ever find you sulking about how rotten your mangoes were, you're gonna end up like Dumbledore, 'cause I'm gonna push you off the topmost floor of the highest building on Earth! Now we both are gonna enjoy together. Remember, you've got to set an example for HIM (my 'him', you know... :P). You've got to make him feel there's fun in life even after she's gone. She no longer matters, 'cause he knows people can love him more. Link your case to his, Leah. Don't let yourself down. Don't let a chance come when I begin to lecture you all that you lectured him.

Now that my Lilikins has it all, I don't want her to look back AT ALL. Because what lies ahead is what matters. You know that, Li. So do I.

Rise and shine, Leah. Know what you have. Grab the moment and live. LIVE.

Don't you dare become me...!

Love,
Emma :)

All This While...

"He really told you that? Disgusting!" Natalie exclaimed as she looked at Leah with narrow eyes. Leah had been telling Hannah, Penny and Natalie about some of her terrible incidents with Mango-Jay which had contributed profoundly to the end of their oh-so-friendly 'friendship'. As Leah was done telling them about one particular incident when Mango-Jay had abused Leah just for fun and hadn't thought apologizing later would be important, she looked up at the trio. Each face bore an expression which was unmistakably punctuated with hatred and disgust.
"You know what? You are not going to talk to him. Ever," Hannah said, looking straight into Leah's eyes. Leah found it funny how Hannah's glasses seemed to magnify her tiny eyes. Well, it really wasn't the right time to observe magnified eyeballs, but Leah wanted to divert herself from the ongoing topic. She was so desperate to get rid of the nightmarish experiences with Jordan that magnified eyeballs seemed a much better option.
"Seriously, Leah, he ain't worth it! Not worth it at all!" said Penny, shrugging.
"Guys, I've had feelings for him since more than two years. I can't just flush him out of my life! He's more of a habit now - something I can't get rid of," Leah explained.
"Exactly! He's just a HABIT! You've just become USED to 'liking' him! You don't really 'love' him, Leah!" Penny exclaimed.
"And you know what? He's a bad habit. If you continue with bad habits, you simply ruin yourself!" said Hannah in a very matter-of-fact way.
Leah had heard all this before. It was history repeating itself. She was so used to hearing things about Jordan that now it hardly made difference. She loved him. That's it. The End.
"Forget him, Leah. You'll get a much better guy, trust me," Natalie said.
"Uh-oh! Not really 'The End'," Leah thought, rolling her eyes.
Mango-Jay had been the ultimate guy on Leah's mind. If it wasn't going to be him, it wouldn't be anybody else. If Leah's life was a movie, he was the lead actor. He wasn't on the screen all the time, but he is supposed to be there till the movie ends. And then it doesn't really matter on what note the movie ends!
"I don't have any other option, OK? I don't love him out of choice! I really can't help it! You guys have no idea how it feels like to love someone who has hurt you so much. I don't voluntarily 'think' about him before I go to bed and the moment I wake up - he simply crosses my mind! It's like I'm shut in a place with no food, water or air and the only way to survive is to eat a bad smelling rotten fruit! It's probably worse than a hundred hells put together!" Leah was shaking now. She knew she was about to cry. She tore off from the gaze of the three pairs of anxious eyes and looked down with an intention of hiding her tears. She slowly wiped her tears and looked up at her friends.
"I myself don't wanna be this way, but I'm trapped. And I guess there's no way out. Not any I can think of."
Hannah came closer, placed her tiny hand on Leah's shoulder and said, "There's nothing in this world that you cannot get. Each and everything is within your reach, you just have to stretch out your arms to get it. You'll get anything if you WANT to."
Leah knew these words. These were her words. The words she said whenever she was trying to comfort any of her friends. And now her words were giving her hope...
She looked at Hannah and smiled. Penny and Natalie also moved closer ad expressed their agreement.
"Now, girls, let's find a way to dispose the rotten mango from this idiot's life!" Natalie said in her usual sing-song voice and she gave a high-five each to Penny and Hannah.
And so the 'project' began.
Natalie suggested Leah should have an imaginary boyfriend. "It'll make you feel better, trust me. It's a sweet experience!" But Hannah though it was a bizarre idea so it was dropped out.
"Why don't you pick up a filmstar you are crazy about and develop a die-hard crush on him?" Penny suggested.
"That's insane! I mean, it would be so unrealistic. That wouldn't be enough to distract me," Leah said, now slowly getting involved. The fact that she was at least trying to overcome this Mango-Jay thing was a sign of hope for them.
"If you so want it to be 'real', then choose a person you know - someone you see or talk to everyday," Hannah.
"Oh come on! You know what a lot of guys I have as friends!" Leah replied sarcastically.
"What about Arthur? You are quite close to him, right?" Hannah asked.
"Arthur??? NOOOOOO!!!" Leah cried.
Arthur had always been a great friend but Leah had never thought of him in any other way.
"Why not? You two understand each other so well!" Penny exclaimed. Everybody except Leah saw this as a solution. For her, it was just another senseless idea by her senseless friends.
"Come on, Li! If you give it a thought, you'll see Arthur is much better than Mango-Jay. He's the sort of person who can never hurt anyone. And well, you know, he's also been through tough situations in life! But do you ever find him complaining? He's a happy-go-lucky down-to-earth person - exactly what you need!" Natalie said.
Till this moment, Leah could have sworn these girls were kidding. But at that precise moment, she actually 'thought' about Arthur for the first time ever. She recalled his smiling face, how he had supported her and trusted her. Although he talked less, Leah felt better whenever she shared anything with him. She knew she could be herself around him. He somehow made her feel special always and there was some sort of bond that connected them. Everyone around Leah talked about how boring Arthur was, but Leah could never bring herself to agree with that. She found him funny. Amusing. PERFECT.
Leah smiled. The girls had been looking at her all the while with deep curiosity and as they saw her lips curve, they literally jumped! All the way to the bus stand, they talked about Arthur and after so many days, Leah found herself blushing.
"Oh Li, you two are the perfect pair! I so envy you!" Natalie said in her awe-filled tone. Leah knew they were just trying to make her feel good and well, Leah was actually finding herself at the top of the world. She thanked the girls for making her realize how blind she'd been. All this while she had been craving for light when she had her own sun wrapped up in her bag. Yeah, it wasn't going to be really easy for her to dump away all the memories she had of Jordan, but she now had someone else. She finally had a better option, someone who could make her smile. And as she walked ahead, she recalled Tagore's words - "If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars..."