Bhargav’s reply put Archie in a special hell. It fell like a whiplash on her. Her ears were ringing all day every day. Her head was in a stupor, and she felt dizzy thinking about the flowers that were now wilting slowly. Nandan and Amrita were shocked and now Nandan had gone two steps beyond crazy.
“He knows you were in a relationship with someone by the name Bhargav”, raved Nandan, angrily, “It is getting too personal.”
Yes. It is getting personal.
Whoever he was knew that part of her life. Whoever it was, was creeping closely with slow and deliberate steps. They were not too far now. The familiar feeling of bugs crawling up her skin returned. Nandan won’t let her step into the open at all – no tea stalls, no roadside and street food, no shopping and no grocery shopping as well.
She was allowed in only three places – her apartment which she now shared with Amrita, Nandan’s car and the office. Archie was frowning most of the times and protesting but Nandan wouldn’t have it.
Archie had asked Meghna about the person who had delivered the flowers. She had the least helpful words on the planet.
He wore a mask – covered up till nose due to the pollution and had hair covering one eye due to the fringe. Very dreamy eyes and very heavy voice. And so tall. I would have fainted there just so he could grab me.
Archie had rolled her eyes at Meghna.
The flower vase looked like a one-off single gift. There weren’t any gifts dropping by, but the Post-its hadn’t stopped either. Now, there were follow-up Post-its.
Hope you loved my flowers. Yellow indeed is so you. (Archie grumbled. She liked yellow flowers more than any other colour ones).
If you want to thank me, smile at the sky tonight.
These flowers are not as beautiful as you.
Drat that idiot! I am more scared of Nandan than the stalker these days. He is going to drive me crazy.
She and Amrita had planned to go for a bit of shopping instead of doing online hopping. With a sudden gust of mild breeze, the temperature dropped few degrees and the sky that had white clouds turned grey. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for the weather to change its mood and one thunder later; it was pouring down in sheets.
Naturally, they had to cancel as roaming around mall in the rains didn’t sound like a great idea. Nandan immediately called Amrita to drop the plan as he was unable to get out due to traffic blocks due to the rain.
So, it was hot chai, some Maggi noodles, and open laptop to order things online.
It soon got boring and Amrita had slowly started snoring. That’s when Archie realized she had dozed off.
Archie sighed and went and stood next to the window. The rain had not stopped but it had slowed down considerably. She sat curled uncomfortably on the foot stool as she gazed outside to that fateful evening when she and Bhargav broke up.
It was raining that evening too.
***
Though Archie and Bhargav were dating for a year and half now, both had felt that they were moving away from each other slowly. Two years ago, both were working for the same company. That is where the affair started. Though Archie loved her job there and that she now had a steady boyfriend she felt she was “settling in”.
This unsettled her.
She would often discuss with Bhargav about branching out. And most of the discussions would get converted into heated arguments. So, she started applying to other companies and she got a position she really wanted. Thereafter, was a long row of discussions not only with the current company but also with Bhargav that different jobs didn’t mean they were breaking up and all.
But the move had started showing strain on the relationship already. Most of the time it was a video call conversation, and they met in tighter schedules during the weekends.
May be the affair lasted because of the job. That was no love. It was convenience.
And so, on one such Friday, Bhargav had messaged her, “Are we meeting tomorrow for dinner?”
She replied positively, “Absolutely. It has been a while since we had dinner outside.”
Archie was really looking forward to the dinner Saturday evening. It was after a very long time they were planning to go dine. Sure, they would catch up for movies or coffees. And either he had a short window, or she would have some place else to be. This weekend she was totally free and she thought she would shop and get her hair and nails done and all.
She didn’t want to be late. So, she reached the restaurant fifteen minutes early. It was not crowded at this time. It was a newly opened restaurant and was a bit away from the main road. This was a haven for sitting and having serious conversation if there was going to be one.
There was a concierge waiting outside who was seating people. He looked somewhere between fifty-five and sixty. He was throwing a look at Archie every few minutes as she waited there.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Thirty minutes passed.
Forty-five minutes passed.
One hour passed.
“Child, are you waiting for someone?” asked the concierge kindly, “You have been sitting here in the waiting area for quite a long time.”
“Yes sir. I hope it’s okay. Maybe he got late.”
The concierge nodded understandingly. But even she knew. Bhargav was not coming.
“Sit as long as you can wait.”
Bhargav had not read any of her texts. Neither had he called back.
Where are you? I am at the restaurant.
Are you going to be late? Should we reschedule this?
Say something. I am waiting outside without any clue.
Pick my call Bhargav.
Are you okay? Are you in any problem?
It was 8.30 when an Instagram notification broke her reverie as she looked at couples come and go. She even recognized some of them as she had taken their “date-night” pictures for them. They had profusely thanked her.
Her stomach lurched as she saw a female employee of her old company had posted a live video of house party. And in the centre of it all, was Bhargav. He was drinking and shaking his head as he roared like an animal. There was another girl whom Archie didn’t recognize. Bhargav grabbed her and crashed his lips on hers. The entire room exploded cheering and screaming. The girl seemed to be dizzy in the kiss.
But not as dizzy as Archie felt. She felt she would fall and loser her conscious. She stumbled out of the waiting area. It was mostly empty now. The concierge came running after her.
“He is not coming?”
Archie must have looked ashen faced from trying to keep a straight face and stopping her tears trying to trickle down.
“My nephew will drop you. Please don’t go alone.”
Archie had a mortified expression on her face. She couldn’t believe and she couldn’t speak.
Archie had no memory. Everything was blur. The video was playing in a loop in her feed as she tried to shake her head as she climbed on the bike behind the nephew. Ever so gently, the guy pulled the phone out of her hand. She didn’t resist. He kept it safely in his pocket as the two rode to her apartment.
It had started drizzling already when she had got on the bike, Archie stared at the sky for the entire trip to her apartment.
“Near the dotted fountain please”
It was a square in the corner of which was Archie’s rented apartment.
“I will walk. Else you will have to go long.”
“Are you sure?”
Archie nodded as she gratefully accepted her phone back, thanked him and walked like a robot towards her place. She left a message to Bhargav, before opening the gate. She wanted to leave all the stress and everything that had happened today outside. She was not taking anything with her to the new status in her life.
It is over.
She entered her apartment, went straight to the shower, stood under it as she broke into tears and washed away everything so far.
New beginnings.
Newer problems.
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© 2026 Ashwati Menon | The Dusty Bookshelf
Post-it is an original work published as part of the Epistories series. All characters, events, and storylines are protected by copyright. Unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, distribution, or publication, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.
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