BlogchatterA2Z: Friendship That Fades

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"We will stay in touch forever, protect each other from red flags, and share secrets. Promise? Promised!" Arzoo and Tara vowed.

Five years of friendship saw ups and downs and each other's miserable moments. Arzoo was slightly introverted yet badass, and Tara was extroverted but naive — a perfect blend of strong female friendships uplifting each other.

The year they graduated, the Covid 19 took over the world. Everyone was locked in their houses. Arzoo was stuck in NCR for a few months as when the flights shut down she was pursuing her internship with one of the major MNCs in the city. The tension enhanced in the atmosphere, and Arzoo's fear took over her. Tara would call her twice a day to check on her and would ask to try checking for ways to return her home and stay safe. There was no sign of any good news, but all the uncertainties kept coming her way.

One morning, Arzoo woke up with an ambulance siren from the outside. She removed the curtains to check the matter. She found her neighborhood was getting sealed because of the detection of the virus in one of the family members. She got terrified, and the first thing she did was to check the possibility of returning home. Luckily, she found there was a flight to Pune leaving at 6 p.m. It was a relief for her amidst all the tension. She booked the flight and called Tara to inform her that she was going home. Tara was relieved hearing that and started pouring all the safety measures before her until Arzoo interrupted and told her she would manage everything.

Arzoo packed her stuff after hanging up and decided to leave for the airport at 2 p.m. to arrive on time. She gotta catch this flight at any cost. The airport that used to bustle with people appeared dead. There were very few people there. Arzoo sat at an empty bench to avoid interaction and exchange with strangers as it was risky.

It was difficult to kill time, as it felt like time was playing with her patience. She dozed off while waiting. It was 5:30 p.m. when an announcement woke her, and seeing her watch, she rushed to the boarding gate. She made it in time and boarded the flight. After 2.5 hrs she collected her baggage from the conveyor belt and booked a taxi to her home.

A twenty-minute ride felt like an hour's journey as the chaos in the city with ambulance sirens ringing on roads and in her head. When she finally reached her home, to her surprise, her mother offered her sanitizer and told her to take the room upstairs and stay quarantined for the next fourteen days as per the guidelines. She wanted to hug her tight. But with tears in her eyes, she did as she was told by her mother.

None of her family members except her mother interacted with her in her quarantine period to avoid the spread of the virus in case she brought it along from NCR. It was torturous for her. She cursed the virus and the time she decided to return home.

Once the quarantine was over, she met with her dad and brother. The first thing she did was hug her mother tightly and cry frantically. Her mother caressed her and calmed her assuring her that she was safe now.

Fast forward to two years.

Arzoo returned to NCR, and this time Tara too, took a job in the same city. They decided to live together, but things did not align, and Tara moved to a different apartment. Arzoo tried everything to stop her from leaving but Tara had to move out as she wanted to live in an independent room. They were in touch via calls and met on weekends. But Arzoo did not like it, so after a few months, she decided to move into the same apartment as Tara. Tara was happy that Arzoo was moving into her building.

But the friendship took a different turn when Tara realized Arzoo was merely treating her as a doll to vent out her anger, share her joy, or merely for enjoyment. Tara tried to ignore it for many months, but things got out of hand when Arzoo moved out of the building trying to push Tara to tag along. Though she tried everything from emotional blackmail to convincing her how it would be budget-friendly, Tara did not move with her.

"I am happy that I did not listen to her. I got a hint many times that she was being possessive and wanted to keep me away from everyone. But sheer trust took over, and I trusted our friendship blindly." Tara told Rahul and Manasvi.

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