Chapter 4

Dedication Time:

Before I begin with everything, I'd like to make a few dedications which I have missed all through..please bear with me..

Nils!!: Do you know why I kind of always put an exclamation to your name? coz I call you like that lol! Like NILS!!!! So anyway! I love you...! Just be like you are always and you are an amazing person!

Aaniat: Ani!!! So, in theory there is a lot I can speak about you, but its like this instinct you know I have, which is telling me that you already know what I want to say, lol, so M not wasting my energy again. I have to mention that I'm always blown away with your POV about everything, exactly mirroring my thoughts in such strange way, u know? And the I really do think you have powerful impact with words and you should be doing something about it as and when you find time. You are so so so so underplayed for your talent, and I'm so overplayed :P :LOL ! I love you okay?

Niya! Hey my bitch's bitch! You know right, other than that even, I love you? I love the submerged competition we seem to have in loving the bitch, eventually ending up in same situation :P LOL I really do wish we will meet one day---someday!

 ********

Entwined:

Chapter-44:

2 Years Later,

NYU Dorm,

New York...

"No matter what you call it, the mark by which a business or organization is identified requires careful design considerations. Once the design process is past the angst of what best represents the organization biggest concern is, how might it be used..."

The voice of the professor echoed in the large conference hall, as graphical images played on the projector screen, the light emitted by which, created small illumination across the linearly arranged long wooden tables that accelerated up making every pupil in the class to come in view with the screen.

To Arnav:

Message Body: "I, am, bored..."

Message delivery failed!

"Damn!"

Seated somewhere in the middle of a completely filled long row, amidst students concentrating on the ongoing lecture, Khushi banged her fist on the large wooden platform, as her eyes narrowed giving a pointed look at her phone, just as the girl beside her threw her an annoyed glare, which Khushi completely acted oblivious to.

Message Body: "I, love you Arnav..."

Message delivery failed!

"Bloody!"

She banged the table again, making her laptop and a few papers, move over the table disturbing the girl beside her again.

Message Body: "Arnav, I want to make love to you right now!"

Message delivery failed!

"What the!"

"Shh..." The annoyed brunet silenced her finally which again didn't seem to make any difference to Khushi, and she just rolled her eyes.

Message Body: "Arnav, I HATE YOU!!!

Message delivery failed!

"Argh!! This is LIMITS!!"

"What the hell are you doing Khushi?"

"Can't you see?" she spat looking at the opposite side of which the girl was sitting.

Landon threw her a weird look, before shifting his attention back to lecture. Keeping his eyes on the screen, he lowered himself on his place and bent towards Khushi, in order to whisper. "When someone is in flight, the phone is supposed to be switched off" he explained like he was speaking to a small kid.

Khushi looked up at the white man, his 6 feet frame hovering quite over hers, his blue eyes teasing her and the brown hair falling over his eyes in quite a bushy way, causing Khushi to chuckle each time she observed the mere sight. However, right now, she was least interested in teasing her Mexican friend, and instead her annoyance was clearly masking her face even as she threw the very pointed look at him.

"You think I don't know that?"

"No, I thought you would give up being insensible, because we are in a damn lecture Khushi!"

"Landon you..."

"Ms Gupta..." Khushi squeezed her eyes shut, at the mere sound of her surname being taken in that typical American accent way, the t' in the name have  literally taken the sound of it.

"Ms Gupta!!"

"----yes yes, Mr Jones.."

"I'm not asking if you are present in the conference or not, I think I asked you a question..."

"He did?" she whispered to Landon who awkwardly shrugged.

"Uh, yeah of course, its..uh, you know the design graphical management..."

"Thank you for enlightening me that this is a Design Management class..." Stumped at the sarcasm of Mr Jones, Khushi just stared ahead of her, tugging her phone in the back of her jeans, and her eyes caught the text being displayed on the screen.

Hall-Marks and Logos

"Yes, and the logos, we were talking about..." Khushi answered, trying to bring all the spontaneity of the world right into her mind.

"Are we Ms Gupta?"

"Uh, yes of course, the logos and...uh, and and design patterns of logos..."

"Is that right? So why don't you let the class know what according to you is an ideal Logo, that one can design?"

Khushi stared ahead her eyes filling her face her mind working as fast as it can, and she let out a small breathe, just as her thoughts came up with something. "Ideal logo..." She let her words trail, her body language clearly indicating her fast working mind.

"Ideal logo, could...uh, could be something which uh, kind of, that... That looks prominent in all sizes?" her eyes immediately beamed realizing what she was trying to say and she smiled confidently at the professor who still expected her to elaborate the answer. "Yeah you know like the efficiency in your designing comes across when the design can actually be used on, per say, your business cards, stationary and still look the same as the enlarged version of it... like the quality of it..."

Khushi smiled in confidence yet again sighing using her shoulder, processing the look of approval in the way her professor looked at her.  This was pretty much the way she had been always. She wasn't the brightest of the student and she is slightly careless even, when it comes to investing continuous concentration, however,  she was bright enough to pull herself together and she knew she was interested enough in whatever she was learning to gain the practical knowledge.

Post graduation in Graphical Design Management in the New York University. That was the tag that follows behind her name, since the past two years and it had been quite a ravishing journey all through. She would be graduating soon and she would be called a Graphical design engineer, all set to earn her job this time in AR-Advertisements. This was something Arnav proposed, and she was completely taken aback to say the least. All she wanted to do back then, right after the case was solved, was to cherish each moment with him while he have suddenly come up with this plan.

"Just a matter of two years Khushi, and then, there can be no turning back for you.."

He had said, all too casually, but she was quite aware of the dynamics of a long distance relationship. In fact initially she didn't quite understand if that's what he was suggesting in the first place.

"Common, we are mature enough to not allow these things get in our way, besides, distance just helps us to stay together even more..."

"And how do you know?"

"I know because uh, I love you?"

That was the first ever time, he had said those words out and loud, and Khushi instead of being swept away with those words, was staring at him open mouthed, because those were not the very kind of words you can expect Arnav Singh Raizada to utter, just like that. Nevertheless, they did the trick. Somewhere deep inside, she just wanted to do this even. Maybe it was the instinct to get away from the whole fiasco they created in the Delhi city, maybe it was the urge to discover herself in true terms now that she have let go off something that had been holding her for ages, or rather maybe it was just this urge to be deserving enough to work with Ar-Advertising, she just dint know, but two weeks ahead of the weird discussion, she found herself in the NYU, all charged up for a new independent beginning.

This little decision that was made, has embarked her respect on Arnav to such great level, she just found herself falling in love with him over and over each passing day. She just knew what he was trying to do. She knew that he realized, she was completely holding onto him. She knew that he realized, her self-confidence levels have become so low and so dependant. She knew that he acknowledged she was relying on him in every possible way. Not that it was anything that he was complaining about, she was sure of it, but it is his thought process that took her off the guard. His thought or insistence to let her go, so she would discover herself all independently, now that the world is a far safer place for her to live and that she should give herself a chance to emerge successful in every true sense of life and on her own terms. Of course she has him, at every stage, so the time to hold herself back, was now over.

"Oh hell, I guess I'm running late!"

"Shut up Khushi, you are way ahead of time, now get going..." Landon patted her back, just as the both of them walked out of their class, waved to their group of friends sitting across the lawn. Khushi briefly hugged him and ran away waving her good-byes to her friends watching from across the campus.

And true to her thoughts, she has come a long way. Today she was the person she once thought was lost somewhere; today she laughed out loud and doesn't think of that wouldn't last long; Today, she expressed herself out and loud and wouldn't fear any kind of judging, today she made friends like the normal Khushi would, and wouldn't fear any kind of attachment and today she loved with all her heart, and wouldn't hold any insecurities.

Independent rediscovering of a way back into life, helps a lot, for its only you who can help yourself to put the shattered pieces together, and for, its only you who knew where all the pieces have been shattered to, in the first place.

It's not that she was all by herself anyway. He visited her, as often as two weeks and ironically enough, he started concentrating on his business expansion in the US these two years, or maybe that's what he said. She stayed in the university dorm, yes, and he travelled quite a lot between the subcontinents. Yet, he visited her very often and that was the most exciting part of this whole long distance relationship. They met, hanged out, had drinks much to her enthusiasm, traveled to nearby places together and did every normal thing that two people in love are supposed to do. They texted all the time, and Skyped before going to bed; phones have become such a necessity, and at 25, it seemed quite silly to her that she was behaving like a mere teen, completely addicted to the gadgets, only because a certain someone always stays with her through it. To say that their relation, their rapport, their equation and their personal level of understanding each other grew by heaps and bounds would still be an understatement.  They fought yes, and they did that quite often as well, but as they say, love will find a way and with them it always did.

You might want to fight with me, you might get messed up becoz of me, you might even feel you are stuck with me, but at the end of the day, before going to bed, if I look at us in future, then I know for the fact that you are looking at the same us too.

They were like a self-declared entity, not just to them and to their family, but to the entire world. It's like everyone knew they are together and some day they will tie the knot. It was rather a taken-for-granted, fact and in their heads even this was true. But somehow, the official proposal never happened, or rather it happened in such a wrong time once before that they were consciously not entering into that zone at all. But she dint know why and how, from the past few days, the thought have been nagging her more than it did ever before. May be she was getting close to the graduation and finally it was the time to think of whats's next?, she didn't know, but the thought did nag her, so much that she realized something was unsettling in her mind, and it was not a very good place to be in, she have decided.

**

Just as Khushi jumped out of her car, and walked inside the airport waiting area she have almost immediately noticed the delayed status against the flight that was arriving from London and she groaned in frustration. This time it had been four whole months that he hadn't visited owing to her term exams and also that he had gotten busy. They have been quite caught up in their own schedules and it looked like the wait was just getting even longer much in contrast to her desperation.

Sighing to herself, even as her stomach grumbled announcing her hunger, since she hadn't really eaten anything in excitement since morning and realizing she has nothing else to do either, she fetched herself some food and walked towards the large glass wall, staring out at the runway, as the large aircrafts, moved in patterns, some landing, some taking off, Khushi found her thoughts drifting away into times and thoughts, events and instances which has all brought her in face to face with the life that she was now leading.

Every event, every instance of her life that has brought her closer to Arnav, now felt destined. Maybe she was missing him too much, or maybe the wait was now getting too long to handle, now that she was just a few minutes away, she didn't know, but somehow, she just found herself going through the weird memory lane, attributing everything to her own destiny and their own journey.

Did she know back then when she met him, all those years ago that this would be their journey?

The very first instance of something as stupid as a prank, causing her to come in face to face with those very brown eyes...

**

"Arnav!" his hands froze on the door knob and his stance stilled.

He turned around in one swift moment to come face to face with a very petite girl, with a ridiculously fair complexion and immensely expressive big eyes, dressed in a floral top and jeans, quite unusual from the kind of girls who hit on him often; she walked nervously and her legs stilled at an audible distance from him while she looked like she was pondering over something.

**

The very first silent coffee they had together, in that cafeteria, amidst all the bewildered glances, with her awkwardly concentrating on nothing but her coffee and with him nonchalantly yet with an attitude, drinking away his own coffee, smug adorning his face and an uncertain apprehension, occupying in her eyes.

Did she knew that day, that they would come this far, going through all the lives' barriers? Even in such harsh ways?

Kehte hain:
Khuda ne iss jahaan mein 
Sabhi ke liye kisi na kisi ko hai banaaya
Har kisi ke liye
Tera milna hai uss rab ka ishaara 
Maano mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye 

**

The very first ride in his car...

His little argument in the basket-ball ground...

The little weird conversation with her sitting on the ground, while he was dressed in his convocation coat...

His first ever direct laugh to her...

Their first ever hand-shake...

Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta 
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta
Kaise hum jaane, hume kya pata 
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta

Did she really know back then, while she was hoping for him to turn around with that little ache she had felt when he had walked away? Did she know that his walking away was only destined for him to come rushing back into her life, to save her, in all literal meanings?

Tu humsafar hai, phir kya fikar hai
Jeene ki wajah hi yehi marna issi ke liye 

Or when, he had come up to that terrace wall, that lame night, with an intention to save, did she knew he would really end up saving her from all the demons of her life?

**

"May be you should jump and take a look to see what it feels like?"

----"I'm not gonna jump stranger, you can go back to whatever you were doing before you decided to save me"

**

Khushi chuckled a little, at the little induced humor they naturally bring in, into their conversations, like they have known each other since ages, like they have been used to each other since forever.

The times they have spent at the sea-shore of that lone Goa beach,

Their first romantic encounters along the waves...

 The moments spent at the rock-cliff above the sea..

Their first silent acknowledgements,

"You either hit the hall or move away from it if you cannot, you DON'T BLOODY STAND TO GET HIT BY THE BALL, YOU FOOL!"

Her first ever bold reaching out to him... "Arnav?" she called out after walking down in complete silence for a while, with him leading down the path. She locked her eyes with that of his and slowly stretched her hand offering it to him for help.

Her very own realization of change in her feelings towards him, herself analysis even in little denial of it all...

Their first ever hug...

"Arnav..." she called out again after a moment, her hands going onto her hips as she released one final breath, composing herself. "Hug me?" she added sheepishly.

**

Meharbaani jaate-jaate mujh pe kar gaya
Guzarta saa lamha ek daaman bhar gaya
Tere nazaara mila, roshan sitaara mila
Taqdeer ki kashtiyon ko kinara mila

The moments spent in his London apartment, with all the positive hope of the world, living in the moment, just taking the day as it comes, convincing herself to give a chance to life...

Their first ever kiss...

Her little bold yet nave confession...

The first snow-fall that she had experienced...

His smile, his laugh, his gradual opening up to her, his unconditional love, security and protection towards her, his silent support, his voice, his smirk, his cologne, hell she missed him; She missed him a lot! And the feeling, somehow felt good, maybe not to miss him, but to actual anticipate meeting him again, even as her mind was completely attuned to that of the memories they have worked to rebuild together.

Not just from the times, they have known each other, even the past two years, where they have literally spent in growing in their relationship, in every true sense. She have cherished each moment that was spent with him, and she had been living in true sense, finally as the journey of her life, has finally began, with him.

She was more of the enthralling part of their relation, which goes without saying. She was more of the cheesy, romantic one if she excluded their love-making encounters. True to her interests, she always believed in capturing the moments. Owing to her designing skills, she always made efforts to give him gifts that more or less only consisted of their pictures designed in various patterns. She wouldn't stop taking pictures, when they are together, she wouldn't stop making the most of their every meeting, much to his annoyance, but then this was all what she was, or rather what she called living, cherishing every moment of togetherness, together. And later these symbols of memories would become her mere relishing aspects to hold on to, when she found herself missing him, in her usual lonely times.

Sadiyon se tarse hai jaisi zindagi ke liye
Teri saubat mein duaayein hain ussi ke liye
Tere milna hai uss rab ka ishaara
Maano mujhko banaya tere hi jaise kisi ke liye
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta 
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta 
Kaise hum jaane hume kya pata 
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta

Just as she traced his face in one of the pictures she was staring at, as her finger trailed along the long touch screen of her phone, her eyes distantly caught the flight announcement and excitement rushed back into her senses as her legs rapidly took her to the receiving channel. Her legs started jumping over the floor, a little, as her petite hands were holding onto the rubber stopper, and her eyes eagerly waited for a certain someone to step on the escalator, descending towards her. And when he did, dressed in his black jeans paired with his black  jacket, a sling bag hanging across his form, looking as ravish as ever, before he could even spot her, Khushi broke into a quick run, landing herself in his arms, jumping from a mere two feet distance away from him, taking him completely off the guard even as his instincts worked spontaneously, holding her in place or rather in air much to his surprise.

"Whoaa!!! I feel like I'm knocked out of my lungs in a moment!"  he said against her hair yet not still placing her on the ground.

"God I missed you, missed you missed you!!" she said almost crushing his neck inside her arms while he placed a tender kiss on the side of her cheek, saying his words through it, like he always does.

"So, miss hot-shot business student, how are you doing? Where is your sexy short formal suit? I deserve a treat you know after all these days of not seeing you?" he asked finally placing her on the ground as they started walking, encircled in each other's arms, towards the exit.

"Not that easily, shut up! Mr Jones, caught me in the class today and all because of you..."

"Excuse me? What did I..." He was interrupted by the message alert tone of his phone, which he had just switched on and just as he checked his phone, there were quite a few messages that came in continuously.

"What the.. Why do you have to send messages when you know I would be in the flight?"

"That's my way of telling you, that I was thinking about you at that very moment..."

"------really?  So why does it have to end with an I hate you, then?" he rolled his eyes.

"Just so I could see this look on your face?" she smirked, bending towards him and dropping a quick kiss on the side of his cheek.

"Cheezy!"

"Are you complaining Mr.Raizada?"

"----I dare not!"

He turned her around, just as they reached her car, pinning her to vehicle as he vigorously captivated her lips with his, into an enchanting kiss, making up for all the lost time, looking forward for the time that was to be spent ahead.

"Mmm..."

He roamed his hands along her waist, downwards towards her bottom, tugging inside the back pocket of her jeans, as he removed the metal element, he so knew would be there. "Hey that's cheating!"

"It's my turn baby!" he smirked dropping quick random pecks on her lips before walking around the car, and taking the place behind the wheel, "Now stop gaping and hop on..."

"I'm not gaping, you cheater Raizada!"

He laughed out loud, as they sped away, towards his apartment in New-York, in that very sea-blue Tuscan, which they both have fallen in love with, something that resembled the earlier times of their encounters and something that Arnav have gifted her, before she headed to this very city.

Tu humsafar hai, phir kya fiqar hai
Jeene ki wajah hi yehi marna issi ke liye 
Kehte hain:
Khuda ne iss jahaan mein 
Sabhi ke liye kisi na kisi ko hai banaaya
Har kisi ke liye

**

Chapter-45+Epilogue