Ayush! Yes, I still remember, that was his name. He was the only son of our neighbor Sharma Uncle. Tall, slender body, fair, and blue eyes. He was twenty-four and dressed like a college student.

My parents always saw him as a son they never had. If Mom had to go to the vegetable market, she called Ayush; Dad had to go to the Doctor, then Ayush.

Ayush, Ayush, Ayush! I was fed up with the name being constantly hummed in my house.

It had been almost eight years since he and his family had come to my colony, but we had hardly talked even once. But yes, I had always felt as if his expressive eyes wanted to tell me something.

I have always been my Dad`s darling and believed in living life to its fullest. My Dad never tried to restrain my independence and candidness. He was a man of principals and always believed that girls are no less than boys on any front.

There was always an unspoken distance between me and Ayush. I always wondered if my friends ever see me talking to him, what would they think about me? That I am friends with this idiot, who is nowhere in comparison to my social status.

I still remember my birthday party a couple of years ago. I had invited all my friends and we were having a good time together. Ayush was on his toes, taking care of the guests. In fact, he had taken the entire responsibility of arranging the party; Dad can`t even walk properly due to sciatica. Be it the arrangement of the flowers, catering or furniture, everything was taken care of by Ayush.

"Hey, You Gaonti! Yes, You. Come here. Bring one large drink for me with soda", Ricky ordered grinning.

He simply went, brought a drink and handedit to Ricky without any expression on his face.

"Hey, wait man! Come here", Ricky called him and put a 500 rupee note in his hand.

"Go man, have fun. Your tip", Ricky laughed and everyone else laughed in unison.

He just kept the note back on Ricky`s hands and returned with the same expressionless face. There was not any evidence of anger or embarrassment on his face. I wonder whether he had ever shown his emotions till date. And that`s what irritated me the most.

Even when he had lost his entire family in a car accident, he did not shed a single tear from his eyes. He was just frozen, but he did not cry. Yet, I could see the enormous pain in his eyes, in spite of his silence.

He was quite lonely after losing his entire family so suddenly in that accident. After the accident, he started visiting our house more frequently. He was almost another family member of our house now. Though my mom and dad were slowly getting accustomed to his presence in the family, there was still an unspoken distance between both of us. Even though I tried to erase it, my ego always came between us and restrained me from doing that.

I had always felt as if his silent eyes always have a lot to say, but I did not bother to know what was that he wanted to say.

That fateful day, I had been extremely happy. My best friend Ricky had thrown a party on his birthday and I was very excited about it. Dad had allowed me to go to the pub at night, but to my utter disappointment, he sent Ayush along with me for my safety.

I was very angry with my dad, but I had no choice but to take Ayush along withme. I could not protest because I knew he would not have allowed me to go alone. With the same stone-faced expression, he sat with me in the car. Soon, the car reached its destination and we entered the pub.

All my friends were already present and were eagerly waiting for me. I profusely apologized for the delay and soon got lost in the crowd. With the corner of my eye, I saw him sitting on a chair in one corner. After getting relieved from him, I was soon busy partying.

Soon the DJ started spinning some foot tapping numbers. The light was very dim, and the song was slowly having its effect on me. I was slowly coming closer to Ricky. My arms were slowly tightening its hold on Ricky`s waist. I don`t remember whether it was the effect of the song or the alcohol, but the very next moment, I felt Ricky`s lips on mine sucking it vigorously.

All of a sudden, Ayush stood up, and the very next moment Ricky was on the floor, slowly wiping the drops of blood dripping through the core of his mouth.

Everyone was quite as if the place has witnessed some storm recently. Ayush caught hold of my hand, started the car and soon we were on our way to the house.

"Stop the car, you scoundrel! Are you mad or what? Why did you do this? You idiot. Don`t you have some basic sense? Why did you do this? Now, why are you silent? Speak up you bastard. I said speak up" I yelled in anger.

"Because I love.....", he did not even complete his sentence and there was a tight slap on his face. The imprints of my fingers were evident on his face.

"You Scoundrel! Have you ever seen your face in the mirror? Howdare you speak this to me? I never thought that beneath such an innocent face, there is a wolf hidden inside? Why did not you too die with your family only?" my anger was almost uncontrollably now.

As if there was loud thud when he heard my last sentence! It soon started raining. He did not speak a word, just rubbed his cheeks casually and started the car. We both were silent throughout. He dropped me at my home, parked the car and handed the keys to me. Before I could further say something, he left.

The sun was rising and the birds were chirping outside. I rubbed my eyes and felt that there is a loud noise coming from the neighbor's house as if too many people have gathered in one place.

"What happened Mishra Uncle?" I came outside in the balcony and asked the neighbor who was running somewhere in a hurry.

"Oh! You don`t know. That guy Ayush, Sharmaji`s son. He died of a heart attack last night. We are wondering what happened to him. He was such a brave boy. He did not even shed a single drop of tear even when he lost his entire family." Mishra Uncles was continuously speaking in a hurried tone.

My eyes watered, and two drops of tears rolled down my cheeks. I tried to keep those priceless tears safe in my hands but in vain. Probably such tears are the ones referred to as pearls...