CHAPTER 19 : Saru

 Oh my God! What have I done? It was nine in the morning, and I didn't remember a single thing about last night. I was wasted. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there stood Harsh, looking at me as if I had done something wrong. I didn't say anything; I just stood there, watching him. He stepped closer and asked, "May I come inside?" I replied, "Yes, sure." Then, in an absurd tone, he exclaimed, "YOU KNOW YOU WERE GREAT LAST NIGHT?" His words terrified me. I retorted, "Can you tell me what I did last night?". He replied gently, looking into my eyes, "You were very romantic last night." I was astonished by his words and didn't respond; instead, I took a step back. Harsh asked me again, "Are you going to visit the cyber café today for the paperwork?" I replied, "Oh yes, I forgot about it. Give me 30 minutes, and we can go together." He smiled at me.

After a moment, we both walked towards the cyber café not too far from the society. I completed all my paperwork, and we were just hanging out. Harsh then pointed out a beer shop and said, "Let me buy a beer for myself." This made me a little upset, so I replied, "It's harmful for you." Instead of responding, he just smiled.

He went toward the beer shop while I waited outside. Suddenly, I noticed an older man—not too old—wearing a black suit. He appeared to be a lawyer and was hurriedly moving toward his car. As he did, his wallet slipped from his pocket and fell to the ground. In that instant, a beggar picked it up. I ran toward the beggar and snatched the wallet from his hand, but he started arguing with me.

At that moment, Harsh arrived and asked, "What happened, Saru? Is he bothering you?" I explained the situation to him. Harsh confronted the beggar and demanded he return the wallet, frightening him into doing so. The beggar handed the wallet back to Harsh. When Harsh opened it, his expression changed; he looked disturbed and filled with anger. He threw the wallet into the air. Curious, I asked, "What happened, Harsh? We need to return this to its owner." He yelled back, "I don't care about this fucking wallet! Leave it!" I insisted, "No! Harsh, I'm going to return this." I picked up the wallet and walked toward the man's car. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Sir, you dropped your wallet!" He smiled and replied, "Thank you, child." I turned back and started shouting for Harsh, "Harsh, wait! Where are you going? Harsh, wait!" I moved towards him and pulled his hand, but he pushed me against the wall. I fell to the floor and hurt myself. Suddenly, the man who I returned the wallet arrived and helped me get up. He asked me politely, "Child, are you okay? May I drop you somewhere?" I refused his help, but after a moment, he mentioned that he was Harsh's father and explained that Harsh hated him, which was why his behavior had changed. He then handed me a book with some photographs from Harsh's childhood, including a picture of him with his father. His behavior towards me was shocking and hurtful. Harsh left me alone, holding a bottle of beer, with tears in his eyes.