PART 28
( Good bye: The final Episode)




Seza didn't cry much because she thought Artav would clear all the mess and come back soon. It would be quite hard for her to stay without him, but she would manage. The next day, everything had changed—no good morning texts, no calls, just emptiness. She dressed up and went to class. Ana and Seza were walking when they heard the car horn. Seza said, "Artav," and turned back.

Ana: "You're going crazy. Where is Artav?" She pointed to the road.

Seza stayed sadly. After a while, a car passed by, and it was indeed Artav.

Seza: "Look there." She paused.
Artav and Pooja, their classmate, emerged from the car, Artav holding Pooja's bag as they walked away slowly. It was so painful for Seza to see that just yesterday, she was there holding Artav's hand and bags, and today he was with someone else. She stayed strong and entered the class, but nothing seemed better. Seza was a complete stranger to Artav now.

After class, Seza and Ana were loitering around the market when someone poked Seza from behind. She turned back, and it was Artav's mom. Despite her grudges, Seza acted normally and greeted her.

Artav's Mom: "You look so weak. Your eyes are swollen. Is everything OK?"

Seza: "Yes, aunty, everything is okay."

Artav's Mom: "How's your health?"

Seza: "It's good."

Artav's Mom: "Please, can you do me a favor? Can you please call Artav? He is not receiving my calls."

Seza: "Aunty, actually, we are not talking."

Artav's Mom: "Did you have a fight? Come on, it's okay to have a fight, just don't take it seriously."

Seza: "No, it's not like that. We broke up."

Artav's Mom was shocked; she couldn't believe it.

Artav's Mom: "Is it true? Why did you both take this step?"

Seza: "Aunty, I think Artav will explain it to you later. Actually, I'm getting late to go home. Bye."

Artav's Mom: "Okay, daughter, take care."

Seza was completely shocked by Artav's mom's reaction; she got confused. Later, she found out that whatever Artav said about family members not being happy about their relationship was all a lie. His family never said that; instead, they were happy about the relationship between them, and when they heard about the breakup, they were unhappy. Seza even heard that Artav was in a relationship with someone else before breaking up with her. Seza was completely broken and frustrated. She never thought that Artav would hurt her so badly. His concerns, love, care, and promises were all fake. He was a jerk. The pain was killing her day and night. The exams were coming closer, but Seza was fully distracted; she had given up completely. She was not in a condition to do anything; she was totally lost.
When she heard all that, she was not in a position to respond. She did not understand what was happening; she was dumbstruck. Her mind was blacked out. She needed someone's shoulder to cry on, but everyone was far away. She really missed Artav, how he used to lend his shoulder for her to cry and sort all her things out. She was left with no option but to land in her house. The very moment she entered her house, looking at her depressed face, her mom asked her, "What happened?" Seza was in no state to receive her question; her senses lost their power to perceive. Her mom could understand her feelings and stopped probing further. Seza just went out of the room, her mom accompanying her. Her mom just put her hand on her shoulder and said, "Okay, stay calm." I heard everything from Ana.
That concerning dialogue from her mom kicked the tear can in her eyes, and water started flooding her eyes. The world was looking blurred from Seza's naked eyes. Nothing was clear, neither her eyes nor her mind nor the situation.

Seza did nothing but cried. She cried and cried. She had no words to express her agony, and even Seza's mom cried seeing her daughter in that situation. The warm hug of her mother made her realize that she had missed the precious hug from her mother from the day she met Artav. The next moment she messaged Artav, "You are a jerk. You played with my feelings. You ruined my life. You completely wrecked me. I hate you. You are a cheater." Seza's mom saw the text. She did not respond for some time; she was also in a state of shock seeing her daughter in that way. Seza always wondered how a highly possessive, highly sensitive boy like Artav would receive all those drastic changes.
Artav and her family were very close associates of theirs; they were always given high respect, and vice versa. Now, only because of their so-called "love" relationship, they did not want to cut down the beautiful relation between the two families. They didn't make further issues. Seza was completely lost; everyone was in fear seeing her in that condition. Day by day, she became weak and skinny. Everyone was very conscious about her health. The exam was coming nearer day by day, but she wasn't prepared at all. She used to sit in the corner holding her books and used to cry all day. Ana and Arshana were fed up seeing her in that situation; they tried a lot to bring her out from the situation, but she never did. Seza felt like ending her life; suicidal thoughts were filling her mind. She just wanted to end everything. Whenever she thought about ending it, her brother's image came to her mind.
That little boy who considered her a perfect example, who always said he wanted to be like her. What would he think if she wouldn't be able to give him an example? That little boy would be disturbed. Then again, her mom and dad's image came to her mind. They always supported her in her bad days; she couldn't disappoint them. She couldn't regret it later, giving them a huge loss of their daughter. She stopped those thoughts again. Everything was jumbled in her mind. She didn't know what to do next. She was about to go under depression, but Ana and her mom helped her a lot to avoid falling into depression. They really played a huge role in helping her. Every day, seeing Artav with other girls in his car, acting like strangers, her heart ached a lot, but she pretended to be strong and acted like she didn't care in front of him. She wanted to forget all the memories, all the moments, but she wasn't able to. Every place, everywhere, everything had memories connected to it. It was difficult, really very difficult.Artav stopped coming to classes; he totally changed after the breakup. He started passing his time loitering around the market instead of attending classes. He became thinner day by day, didn't seem happy or healthy, and spent most of his time alone. He even started smoking. Sometimes Seza and Artav would be in the same cab or at the same food court, but they never talked; they were complete strangers to each other.

Dear Artav,

I miss you so much it hurts. I miss looking forward to talking to you and seeing you every day. I miss when we would just talk on the phone for hours, and when you'd not say a word, but tell me you love listening to the sound of my voice. I miss when I would go to look at you, but you were already looking at me first. Some days, I miss you so much I go through all the messages you wrote me, and it makes me smile, but then I wake up in the morning, realize you're not here anymore, and I get sad again. To hear I was your world always made me feel special. You were not ashamed of me, and you would remind me you loved me every day. I've tried to convince myself I don't want you anymore, but I just can't let go. I don't want to see you move on, but I'm not doing much about it either.

I could tell you how much I've missed you for days and weeks, but I feel like it won't make a difference. You were my everything. You are too much for me, yet I can't get enough! I simply cannot put into words how I feel about you when I see you, hear you! My heart breaks just to be around you. I take in the way you move, the way you talk; whenever you are around, although it may only be for a brief moment, it's enough to make my day. These intense feelings will never go away.

Please come back. Please let's be back.

She wrote the text and deleted it again; she just wanted to send it to Artav, but her heart stopped her from clicking the send button. She cried reading it again. It's been a month since they broke up, but Seza was still as lost and sad as ever. The exam was within the next week, but Seza wasn't prepared. All her family members were scared, thinking about how she was going to perform in her exams.
Seza still sat in the corner and used to cry, holding the minions which Artav gave her.

Two days before the exam, Seza just opened her books. She was totally blank; she didn't even remember a single lesson. She had completely left that subject before because Artav said he would help her study, but Artav was not there to help her out. She was fully distracted. She cried a lot because she was not able to remember anything. She was confused about where to start; she got frustrated and cried. Her mother came and held her and said, "Just calm down; you will remember everything. Just concentrate for a while with a cool mind." Her mother motivated her not to give up, but Seza was so frustrated. "Mom, I can't remember; surely I am going to fail. Please help me," she started crying. Her mother got tears, and she said, "Do you want Artav to help you study? I will convince him to come and help you." Seza felt so bad; she just nodded her
head, saying "No, mom, he will not come, and we shouldn't beg him." After a while, her mom took her for an evening walk just to refresh her mind. She came back and cried the whole night with the fear of the exam.

The next day before the exam was so stressful for Seza. She didn't give up; she tried hard and prepared for the exam. That day, she learned a huge lesson that we shouldn't depend on others; if we try hard, we can do anything.

On the first day of the exam, it had been almost a month since she saw Artav. That day, she saw him, and all her friends came to her and wished her good luck. Everyone was shocked to see Seza; she was looking pale, weak, and unhealthy, not like her cheerful and healthy self before. She had completely lost her smile. All her friends went to Artav and wished him good luck, and they started talking, but Seza was left behind; she didn't go. In that phase,

she felt that she had not only lost her love but also the friendship with Artav, which was worth more than a million before. She just wanted that friendship, but it was not possible.
She went to the exam hall; everything was arranged. Next to her, one desk was empty. She prayed inside her heart, "Please God, send some of my close ones there," so that she could discuss a bit. Later, Artav came and occupied that empty desk; actually, his roll number was pasted on that desk. Seza felt really bad; even though he was her closest, he was a complete stranger now. She didn't focus on him, thinking that she might get distracted. She did her exam well and went back home. While coming back home, suddenly it started raining heavily. She didn't even have an umbrella, and she was in a place where there were no sheds. She was getting wet, so she increased her speed. Meanwhile, she heard a horn; she felt that she should stop the car and ask for a lift. As she turned back, it was Artav; he just saw her completely wet, but he didn't stop; he went away. She was pissed off. Later, a stranger came and gave her a lift till her home.

The exam was over, but Seza was still stuck with Artav's memories; still, she used to cry. Suddenly, one day she got a text from Artav.

Artav: Hey
Seza: Hi
Artav: How are you?
Seza: Fine
Artav: I am sorry
Seza: For what?
Artav: Just I wanted to say sorry
Seza: It's okay
Artav: Why did you doubt me with that little kid?
Seza: It was just a misunderstanding; we cleared it, right?
Artav: Yes, we did.
Seza: Hmm
Artav: Okay, bye, take care.
Seza: You too

The conversation ended; she didn't know why suddenly he texted her. It became a mystery, and she got sad again. Seza felt huge pressure about her further studies; she was helpless, she didn't know what to do. She was in the phase of her career-making but was disturbed by certain things. Day by day, she was getting weaker and weaker. One day she missed Artav a lot; she tried to call him, but it was blocked. Later, she found him on Instagram; she saw his profile picture with his so-called sister (actually, he used to call her kid and sister). They were in a relationship. Seza felt sorry for herself; she was in guilt and was ashamed thinking that she doubted their relationship before, and now they were in a relationship. From their username to DP and bio, everything was similar; she felt cheated. She really was aggressive; she brought her mom's phone and dialed Artav. He received the call, but as soon as he heard Seza's voice, he disconnected.
She took all her frustration out on Artav in a text; she asked him to meet once, but he made excuses and denied. She felt so guilty for choosing him before as her soulmate.

Later, she came back to her room and packed all the gifts and letters. While packing the minions, she got emotional because she was so attached to them, but she packed them and sent a text to Artav: "Hey, you jerk, I have left your things in the shop of your house; kindly receive them." She took out her secret diary where she used to write all her sorrows; she tore all the pages and threw them away. She felt kind of relieved doing that; she made a decision that she needed to move on; there was still more to go. She made herself stronger, but she was still weak inside. She felt that if their destiny wanted, they might be together in the future.

Almost a year passed; she went out of state for further studies. Deep inside, Artav was still in her heart; she hadn't moved on yet. She used to call him from everyone's phone just to listen to his voice; just hearing his "hello," she used to disconnect the call. Later, she got to know that he had broken up with that girl within 1 month of their relationship, and he too was out of state for his further studies. She used to wish him at 12 on every year of his birthday; even today, almost 4 years later, she is continuing the same process, but she never gets any replies.

It took Seza more than two years to become a normal girl again and to overcome the incident. She stopped giving any thought to love and started developing philophobia; she couldn't trust anyone and was afraid to trust a guy. Many people came into her life, but she didn't find an Artav among them. The breakup taught her a huge lesson and completely changed her life.

Even today, she misses Artav; she cries for him. She stays on her balcony and gazes at his building. She still asks about him to her friends; she misses all the moments, all the memories haunted her a lot. If not love again, she wants their friendship back like before. She tried to move on because it's not worth it to remain stuck in pain and regrets, but something holds her back; maybe she still needs more years to heal her broken heart.

Even till date, she sometimes misses him very badly; her heart aches thinking about all those days. She still feels bad thinking about her mother's tears and the support from her mom and especially Ana; she really helped her a lot. Without her concern and guidance, today Seza would not be with us; she would have ended herself. Ana took a huge initiative to take Seza out of the pain.
Her breakup is still a mystery; she doesn't know why they actually broke up. It became a mystery. She is not able to trust any relationship; she is fearful. Though Artav treated her very badly, she never thought ill of him; still, she remembers him during her prayers and always prays for his happiness and prosperous life. She never got recovered from that loss; she just wants to heal her broken heart.

Seza is still hopeful that one day Artav would be back.





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