Raavi woke up and saw that it was way past her usual time of waking up. She quickly took a shower and got ready before hurriedly running down the stairs, eager to reach the Pandya house. But her maasi seemed to have a different plan for today.
Prafulla grabbed her niece’s arm to stop her and started with her early morning rant, “Ae Raavi beta, yeh tune kya aadat bana rakhi hai haan? Roz subah tu uss Pandya niwas ke liye nikalti hai aur shaam ko der se ghar aati hai. Log kya sochenge?”
“Maasi aap logon ki chinta kyun karti ho. Kuch toh log kahenge. Unka toh kaam hi aisa hai. Waise bhi aap ko toh pata hi hai main wahan kyun jaati hoon. Toh aap thoda chill karo na,” Raavi replied calmly, staring at her phone and thinking about how she’s going to be late.
“Yeh galat hai Raavi. Tu jiss cheez ki khwab dekh rahi hai woh kabhi nahi hoga aur tu jitni jaldi yeh samajhle, tere liye utna hi accha hoga beta. Aaj tu humare saath nashta karegi aur yeh final hai,” Prafulla then dragged her along to the table where Anita and Jagat were sitting.
Raavi sulked silently, knowing she couldn’t refuse her maasi right now so she sat down and picked at her food for a little bit. After breakfast, Raavi had to wash all the dishes which dampened her mood further. When she was finally done, she ran out at the speed of lightning before her maasi could stop her with some other excuse.
By the time Raavi reached Pandya niwas, it was already past 10. As she entered the house, her mood instantly perked up when she saw her lifelong nemesis still fast asleep on his cot. She got the urge to annoy him but wasn’t sure if she would live to see another day after that. Meanwhile, Dhara was busy washing some dishes so Raavi skipped over to her, an extra bounce apparent in her steps.
“Dhara diii!! Yeh bhootnath abhi tak soya hua kyun hai? Aap usse jagayengi nahi?”
Dhara smiled at the ever-chirpy Raavi, “Kal dukaan mein kuch zyada kaam tha toh woh raat ko der se aaya tha issliye kuch zyada thaka hua hai. Main usse pichle ek ghante se uthane ki koshish kar rahi hoon par aaj toh yeh uthne ka naam hi nahi le raha.”
“Yeh toh aasan kaam hai na. Aap ek bucket paani phenk dijiye isske upar hamesha ki tarah. Actually...kya aaj iss bhootnath ko main uthaun? Last week ussne mujh par jo prank kiya the na, usska poora badla vasool kar lungi,” Raavi smirked, already plotting for ways to irritate the life out of Shiva.
Dhara shook her head, “Mujhe abhi tum logon ka World War 3 nahi dekhna. Tu paani wale idea ko apne dimaag se nikal de. Bas usse jakar aawaaz dedo, woh khud hi teri aawaaz sun kar uth jayega.”
“Haan, usse main chudail jo lagti hoon,” Raavi muttered under her breath. She then tip-toed her way over to Shiva’s cot and slowly picked up his phone.
“Abhi bhi issne apne phone mein lock nahi lagayi. Bewakoof bandar.” Ravi chuckled as she changed his ringtone to an obnoxious song which he hated to the core. She then turned the volume all the way up and put his phone right beside his ear.
“Ab toh isse ek jhatka zaroor lagega.” Raavi called his number from her phone and looked on eagerly to see his reaction.
As soon as the song started playing, Shiva’s eyes opened immediately and he almost fell off his cot in the process of looking for his phone to turn off the ringing. He then heard a burst of annoying laughter coming from in front of him and looked up to give the one and only bane of his existence the meanest glare he could muster.
Raavi continued to laugh as she clutched her stomach. “Tu na ekdam bandar lag raha hai abhi. Ab tujhe samajh aayega ki mujhse panga lena matlab musibat ko invite karna hai.”
“Ae maami ki behen ki beti, tu yahan kya kar rahi hai? Tu mujhe dukaan par aakar pareshaan karti hai woh kaafi nahi tha ke ab tu meri neend haram karne lag gayi? Tujhe toh main abhi batata hoon.”
“Tujhe toh khush hona chahiye ki Somnaath ki sabse sundar ladki ke chehre ke saath tere din ki shuruwat...” Raavi retorted but trailed off once Shiva got up from his cot and his blanket fell off of him completely, revealing his very shirtless body, only clad in track pants which hung quite low on his hips.
She gulped back her reply as her eyes zeroed in on his torso. She couldn’t take her eyes off his chiseled chest which was glistening with a few beads of sweat. She was so lost in her staring that she didn’t notice when Shiva was standing right in front of her.
“Mera chehra upar hai. Ghoor kya rahi hai, khayegi kya?” Shiva smirked seeing the chipkali in front of him at a loss for words and struggling to form a sentence in her defense.
“Wohh...m..m...main kahan ghoor rahi thi. Ghoorne layak kuch tha hi nahi,” Raavi stuttered, averting her gaze. “Tu ja jaakar naha le. Tujh se masale ki smell aarahi hai,” she said in hopes of distracting him from the way she had been shamelessly ogling his body.
“Masale ki smell huh?” Shiva spoke in an irritated tone before lunging forward to grab her but Raavi already saw this coming and ran away screaming with Shiva right on her heels.
“Dhara diiiii bachaoo!! Yeh jungli bhaloo mujhe maar dega,” Raavi swiftly ran into the aangan, hiding behind Dhara.
“Tum dono phir shuru hogaye,” Dhara laughed while Shiva tried to bypass her to get to the nuisance who had dared to ruin his morning.
“Shiva. Chod na. Tu jaakar freshen up hoja. Tab tak main tere aur Krish ke liye breakfast banati hoon.”
Shiva narrowed his eyes and gave Raavi one last glare before walking off to shower.
“Dhara di, sirf Krish aur Shiva ke liye? Baaki sab ne breakfast kar liya?”
“Arre haan. Main toh tujhe batana bhool hi gayi. Dev aur Gombi toh kab ka chale gaye. Tu Dev se milne aayi thi, haina?” Dhara gave Raavi a knowing look.
Raavi smiled awkwardly and denied her assumption promptly. “Dhara di, aaj kyun na main Shiva aur Krish ke liye breakfast bana doon? Aap ko waise bhi aur bhi kaam hoga na?”
“Nahi Raavi, aise kaise main tujhe...,” Dhara spoke but Raavi cut her off.
“Please diii! Mujhe apne future ke liye yeh practice bhi toh chahiye,” Raavi pleaded and Dhara nodded, knowing she can’t say no to her cute face.
A few minutes later, Krish was sitting at the table enjoying his breakfast when Shiva joined him. He took out his food and started eating in haste. The food was so good he almost let out a moan but didn’t do so as he knew he would never hear the end of it from his little brother.
“Yeh bhabhi ka aaj tak ka best methi ka paratha hai. Aaj toh kuch alag hi jaadoo hai inn mein,” Shiva spoke in between in bites.
Krish gave him a mischievous smile, “Haan haan jitna thoosna hai, thoos le mere bhai. Parathe toh sach mein adbhut hai.”
Just then, Raavi entered and placed some more parathas on the table before taking a seat beside Shiva. He looked on suspiciously as Krish started praising Raavi.
“Raavi, aaj toh tune kamaal kar diya. Kya mast parathe banaye hai. Shiva ne already chaar thoos liye hai,” Krish stated as Shiva started coughing and spit out the remaining paratha inside his mouth.
“Yeh parathe iss chipkali ne banaye hai? Issliye toh yeh itne kadwe hai,” he made a face as he grabbed a glass of water.
Raavi smiled at him sweetly. “Haan kitne kadwe the yeh toh dikh hi raha hai. Tu chinta mat kar. Main Dhara di se kuch nahi bataungi,” she looked at him smugly and hinted at the fact that she heard every word of his.
“Ae chipkali. Tu zyada smart banne ki koshish mat kar. Yeh parathe kuch itne special nahi hai ki tu hawa mein udh rahi hai. Aur agli baar apna ye breakfast banane ka shauk uss maami ke ghar par chod kar aana," Shiva stood up in annoyance and left the table.
“Iss bhootnath ki body thodi kam buff hojayegi kya agar yeh ek din meri tareef kar de? Khadoos kahinka,” Raavi sullenly thought to herself. He was the reason she showed up to Pandya niwas every day. Nobody knew of the change in her feelings and she didn’t know how to explain it to anyone which is why she let everyone assume she still had feelings for Dev. It had been well over 2 years since she discovered her true feelings for Shiva and since then, she has been inseparable from him. Only her heart knows how difficult it was for her to conceal her true feelings. Everyone just thinks it’s the same old Raavi-Shiva rivalry whenever she approaches him and starts bickering but the truth was that this was the only way for her to remain in contact with her bhootnath. She had been trying to figure out whether he shared the same feelings as her but to no avail. He was as socially available as a slab of brick. Normal conversations with him were a faraway thought so she resorted to her usual method of arguing. She sighed deeply, wondering how their relationship will proceed in the future.
“Arrey don’t worry Raavi. Yeh toh hai hi kagda type ka. Parathe mast the. Accha ab main chalta hoon. College ke liye late horaha hai.” Just as Krish was leaving, Dhara decided to join him as she was leaving for some work at the store. She told Shiva to drop Raavi off wherever she wanted to go which got him more worked up while Raavi immediately brightened up upon hearing this.
“Shivaaaa. Hum chale ab?” Raavi spoke a little too sweetly. She knew it would irritate him.
In response, Shiva grabbed her arm and dragged her into the storeroom, slamming the door shut behind them. Raavi looked up in surprise just as he caged her in between his arms.
“Shiva...yeh kya kar rahe ho?” Raavi whispered timidly without meeting his gaze. She tried to escape from under his arms but he was too quick as he stepped forward lowering his arms and, unknowingly, pushing his body further into her.
Raavi sucked in a breath as she felt her whole body heating up. Being in such close proximity to him evoked certain feelings which she had never experienced before. They were used to being all up in each other's personal space since their childhood but this was different for her now as her feelings for him had changed.
“Ae chipkali, idhar dekh. Kuch der pehle toh tujhe ghoorne se fursat nahi mil rahi thi toh ab kya hua? Aisi chui mui type ki kyun ban gayi?”
“Shiva, aisi koi baat nahi hai, samjha? Tu baaton ko twist mat kar. Ab mujhe jaane de.”
“Toh jao na. Maine kahan roka hai tujhe,” Shiva stated haughtily.
Raavi stared at his arms on either side of her before looking up at him accusingly.
“Pehle tu mujhe yeh bata ki tune aaj breakfast kyun banaya? Dev toh aaj tha hi nahi toh yeh sab mehnat kis ke liye? Aur tu yahan roz roz kyun mere naak mein dam karne ke liye aajati hai?” Shiva stared into her eyes, burning through her soul with a piercing gaze.
Raavi was confused as to why he was asking her this. Could it be that he may be reciprocated her feelings and was looking to confirm it with her in his own stubborn way? She wanted to confess but it was too risky. She was afraid he would push her away from him completely if their feelings didn’t match. But maybe it was time to take the risk and push a foot forward towards a future filled with many possibilities.
Raavi didn’t realize when her arms started moving on their own accord. They moved up Shiva’s arms slowly, squeezing his biceps briefly before clutching onto his shoulders tightly. She gave him a meaningful stare before she reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes.
Shiva was surprised at her boldness. He opened his mouth to say something but what came out of her mouth next made him speechless.
“Main Dev se nahi milne aayi thi. Infact, mujhe usse koi lena dena nahi hai. Thoda sa change of plan hogaya hai. Pichle do teen saal se...m...mere..mere dil mein sirf tera khayal baitha rehta hai. Main..main...roz...tujhse milne aati hoon,” Raavi admitted squeezing her eyes shut, scared to see his reaction.
Shiva, in shock, pushed himself off of her and ran his hands through his hair nervously. "Ae maami ki behen ki beti, apna dimaag tu bazaar mein bech kar aayi hai kya? Yeh kya naya drama laga rakha hai? Dev nahi toh Shiva sahi? Yeh hai tera plan?”
“Shiva! Aisa bilkul nahi hai. Dev ke liye koi feelings nahi hai mere andar! Woh toh sirf ek phase tha meri bachpana ka jo ab guzar chuka hai. So please aisi baatein karke meri tere liye jo feelings hai unki insult mat kar,” Raavi replied crossly.
“Tu pagal hogayi hai Raavi. Tujhe khud nahi pata tu kya chahti hai. Yeh faltu ka drama band kar de isse pehle der hojaye.”
“Mujhe pata hai mujhe kya chahiye. Infact, isse zyada sure main life mein kisi aur cheez ko lekar nahi hoon. Aur maine toh decide bhi kar liya hai ki kuch dino baad main Dhara di se hum dono ke baare mein baat karne waali hoon. Koi aur samjhe ya na samjhe, woh meri baat zaroor samjhegi.”
“Band kar apna yeh bakwaas. Humare baare mein kya baat karegi jab koi ‘hum’ hai hi nahi?” Shiva glared at her yet Raavi remained unfazed.
“Humari shaadi ke baare mein obviously. Uske baad toh ‘hum’ ho hi sakte hai,” Raavi replied innocently.
“Shaadi karne ke liye dono ki manzuri chahiye jo tujhe mere taraf se kabhi nahi milegi toh apne iss khayali pulao pe brake laga aur mera dimaag khaana chod de. Hum dono mein koi mel nahi hai. Tera mera sirf dushmani ka rishta ho sakta hai,” Shiva pointed at himself and then at her before letting out a huff.
Tu galat hai Shiva. Humare beech jo hai woh tujhe abhi nahi dikh raha kyunki teri aankhen meri maasi ke liye nafrat se dhaki hui hai. Tu khud nahi realize kar raha hai ki jab bhi mujhe teri zarurat rahi hai, tu hamesha sab kuch chod chaad kar prakat hojata hai meri help karne ke liye. Yeh koi apne dushman ke liye thodi karta hai. Mujhe poora vishwas hai ki tujhe ek din inn sabka ehsaas zaroor hoga aur tu khud iss shaadi ke liye haan bhi bolega. Mujhe bas uss din ka besabri se intezaar hoga. Raavi mulled over to herself.
Overwhelmed with her love for the stubborn man in front of her, Raavi jumped up towards Shiva, winding her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his cheek softly. Before he could react to what just happened, she broke away from him, albeit reluctantly, and ran away quickly before he could see her reddened cheeks.
Shiva, shocked at what just transpired, looked on speechlessly. His hands raised up to touch his cheeks which were burning up in flames. Her lips felt soft against his skin and he had to begrudgingly admit that it felt good. Though he was still hesitant about how to feel, that action of hers felt so natural to him; it just felt right. His heart was thudding rapidly and somehow, he wasn’t as opposed to what his chipkali had been talking about just a few minutes ago.
He chased after her in a dazed state. “Raavi, ruko. Bhool gayi bhabhi ne kaha tha mujhe tujhe drop karna hai.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her along, wondering why he offered to drop her off when she had clearly forgotten about it. He cursed his mouth for moving on its own accord.
None of them brought up the kiss and resumed their banters as if nothing had changed. Such was their equation but one thing that was different now was that Raavi’s feelings were out in the open and it was Shiva’s turn to come to terms with his feelings which were hidden deep inside his heart.
As they left the house, Raavi continued to beam at Shiva’s back, happy that he offered to drop her off when she was about to leave on her own. This was just the beginning. There were going to be a lot of baby steps in this journey when her bhootnath was involved but she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Unbeknownst to Shiva and Raavi, Krish had come back to grab some of his books and had witnessed their blazing faces as they had exited the storeroom one after another.
“Oh bete ki! Yeh dono ek saath storeroom mein? Aur Shiva Raavi ko khud apne saath lekar ja raha hai, woh bhi poore haq se? Beta Krish, kuch toh daal mein kala zaroor hai,” he scrutinized thinking of ways to spy on his brother and his supposed arch-nemesis.
blissfulcanyon2021-10-12 08:42:03
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