Dear Diary,
Pyaar. Mujhe lagta tha maine pyaar ke baare mein sab kuch jaan liya hai. Ya tak ki main sochti thi ki maine pyaar mein sab pagalpanti bhi kar li hai. Phir zindagi ne aisa jhatka maara ki meri feelings ki tehes nehes hogayi. Par yeh sab acche ke liye hi hua kyunki mujhe tab jakar realize hua ki mera asli pyaar kaun hai: Shiva urf Bhoothnath urf mera Bandar aur iss duniya ka sabse bada duffer! Uss se pyaar kar ke aisa lag raha ki ab meri zindagi almost complete hai, bas uski taraf se ek ishara chahiye ki woh bhi mujhe pasand karta hai.
Main toh uss se roz milne jaati hoon aur kaise kaise bahane maarti hoon yeh sirf mujhe pata hai. Par yeh mera bandar hai jo ki maanta hi nahi :( Do mahine hogaye hai. Do mahine jabse maine usse apne feelings ke baare mein bataya lekin yeh banda toh aise behave kiye jaraha hai jaise maine issko kuch bataya hi nahi. Abhi bhi pehle jaisi harkatein karta hai, mujhse jhagadta hai, meri taraf dekhna bhi nahi chahta. Jab main uss ke kareeb jaati hoon toh khud ko mujhse sau kilometer ki doori pe rakhta hai. Main pagal hogayi hoon. Koi toh iss bhootnath ko samjhao. Kitna tadpa raha hai mujh jaisi phool si naazuk ladki ko. Agar meri jaisi ladki ussko pighalne pe majboor nahi kar payi toh main samajh jaungi ki duniya ka the end hone wala hai.
*buzz*
Raavi snapped out of her ranting session as she heard her phone buzzing. Looking through it, she saw her friends had invited her for lunch. She agreed to meet them in 30 minutes. She stuffed her diary inside her closet and chose to wear a sleeveless kurti with some leggings for extra comfort. She let her maasi know about her whereabouts before she left the house.
Once she reached the restaurant, she beamed at her three friends, Payal, Chhaya, and Naina. After chatting with them for a little bit, her thoughts started drifting towards her bhoothnath. She planned to visit him at Pandya Niwas as she knew her Dhara di always has him come back to the house for lunch.
Her friends noticed the dazed look in her eyes and called out to her. Raavi looked up to see her friends staring at her suspiciously.
“Yeh kya chal raha hai Raavi? Tu phirse Dev ke khayal mein khoyi hui hai kya? Kabhi toh humare baare mein bhi soch liya kar.” Payal laughed.
Raavi was upset hearing her friends teasing her about Dev. If this happened three years ago, she would’ve been laughing along but now, she got uncomfortable anytime someone bound her name with Dev. She acknowledged that it was her fault for not letting them know about her changed feelings, but she also knew they wouldn’t understand her perspective. However, she decided to let them know as she was yearning to talk about her feelings with someone. Before she could back out, she plunged into the details of her story while she observed the changing expressions of her three friends as she delved further into her history.
When she was done, she looked at her friends expectantly, hoping to hear words of support however, her wishful thinking was short-lived.
“Yeh kya bol rahi hai tu Raavi? Pagal hogayi hai kya? Tu Dev se nahi par ab Shiva se pyaar karti hai? How? Matlab, itna bada downgrade kaise kar liya tune?” Payal gave her a pointed look while Naina nodded along.
To say Raavi was shocked was an understatement. Her two friends took advantage of her silence and kept going on with their verbal torture.
“Haan Raavi. Yeh sab kaise? Dev toh kitna bada gentleman hai. Itna sweet, respectful aur suljha hua par Shiva toh uska opposite hai. Woh toh ekdam jungli aur gawar hai, aur dikhta bhi aisa hi hai. Dev toh uske aage kitna handsome hai. Shiva jaise jungli se tujh jaisi ladki kaise pyaar kar sakti hai?” Naina added to the bitter words previously spoken by Payal.
“BAS KARO.” Raavi yelled, not able to hear another venomous word of theirs.
“Tum dono meri friends ho ya dushman? Aise kaise baat kar sakti ho tum Shiva ke baare mein? In fact, kisi ke bhi baare mein aisa kaise bol sakti ho? Insaaniyat naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai jo mujhe tum dono mein bilkul nazar nahi aarahi hai. Pagal thi main jo socha ki apne doston se yeh baatein share kar loon taaki main apni khushiyaan baat sakoon. Lekin tum dono toh un do bhaiyon ki comparisons karne lag gayi. Jaanti kitna ho tum dono Shiva ko jo aise judge kar rahi ho? Hoga Dev woh sab jo tum logon ne kaha, par woh mere liye bilkul galat hai. Mere liye jo kuch bhi hai, sirf Shiva hai aur main yeh nahi explain karne wali ki woh mere liye sahi kyun hai kyunki tum dono yeh deserve nahi karti. Kitne dino se jaanti hoon tum dono ko lekin aaj jakar pata chala ki tum kitne insensitive aur inconsiderate ho. Mujhse ab baat karne ki koshish mat karna. Agar apni galati ka ehsaas ho jaaye, aur tum dono insaaniyat ke naam par hi sahi par dusron ki izzat karna seekh jao, tab hi mujhe contact karna varna apne phone se mera number hamesha ke liye delete kar dena."
“Raavi tu uss gawa-,” Payal uttered but Raavi cut her off, telling her to leave. She couldn’t bear to be in their toxic presence any longer.
Payal and Naina gave Raavi a disgusted look before leaving, Meanwhile, Chhaya got up and sat by her.
“Raavi, tu theek hai na? Sorry, maine inn sab ke beech mein kuch nahi bola kyunki mujhe laga tum log isse aapas mein sort kar loge. Par tum inn dono ki fikar mat karo. Yeh toh hamesha se tumse jalte aaye hai, teri khushi bardasht nahi hoti innse,” Chhaya consoled.
Raavi looked up in surprise. “Sacchi?”
“Haan. Raavi tu bahot hi bholi hai. Tujhe dusron ki burai nahi dikhti, chahe woh dost ho ya phir koi family member. Ab iss baat par hum aur baat nahi karenge. I would say jo hua acche ke liye hua. Unn do saapon se chhutkara mila. Ab tu mujhe apne inn feelings ke baare mein aaram se bata. Mujhse sab kuch jaanna hai!” Chhaya exclaimed, smiling at her best friend.
Raavi perked up, knowing that at least someone was there for her.
“I don’t think mujhe kabhi bhi Dev se pyaar tha, Chhaya. Mujhe apni banayi hui fairytale ke prince charming se pyaar tha. Aur jab Dev mujhe bachpan mein Shiva ke gusse se bachata tha, toh maine usse apne uss prince charming ke criteria se jodh diya. Pata hai tujhe ki uski ek bhi qualities mere soulmate ki checklist se match nahi hoti? Woh sab mera bachpana tha. Ek number ki tubelight thi main." Raavi shook her head and continued.
"Phir mujhe yeh ehsaas hua ki asliyat mein toh mujhe hamesha Shiva ka saath pasand tha. Main hamesha uss hi bhootnath ke aas paas dikhti thi. Uss se jhagad kar meri din ki shuruwat bhi hoti thi aur khatam bhi waise hi hoti thi. Dheere dheere maine apne badalte hue feelings ko mehsoos kiya aur jab thodi dimaag chalayi, tab yeh realize hua ki mere liye toh Shiva hi sab kuch hai. I know tumhe shayad yeh thoda ajeeb lage par pyaar mein kabhi kabhi koi sense nahi hota. Jitna khush main ab hoon Shiva ke pyaar mein khud ko kho kar, utna shaayad hi kabhi maine kisi aur cheez ya insaan ke saath feel kiya hai. Yeh ek bahot hi khoobsurat feeling haii; dil ko itna sukoon milta hai main kya bataun. Main jaanti hoon mere liye woh kaddu Pandya hi sabse best hai. Shiva mein woh sab qualities hai jo mujhe apne life partner mein chahiye. In fact, uss mein toh aur bhi bahut saari khubiyaan hai. Woh kitna loyal aur protective hai, apne emotions ko acche se samajhta hai aur apne family ke saath pyaar jataane se door nahi bhaagta. Ginn kar usse teen baar rote hue dekha hai par ussne kabhi apne aansuon ko chhupane ki koshish nahi ki. Baahar se jitna sakht hai na, andar se utna hi narm hai. Uska dil bahot saaf hai aur woh jiss ladki ka bhi humsafar banega, mujhe poora bharosa hai ki woh usse bahot khush rakhega. Woh banda jo apne bhaiyon se dilon jaan se pyaar karta hai aur jo apne bhabi aur maa par jaan chidakta hai, jab woh kisi ladki se pyaar karega toh kitna doob kar karega. I get goosebumps thinking about it.” Raavi sighed dreamily.
“Aur tujhe woh ladki banna hai na?” Chhaya inquired.
“Haan.” Raavi replied with certainty.
“Main tere liye bahot khush hoon Raavi. Jab tu Shiva ke baare mein baat kar rahi thi, tere aankhon mein kuch alag si chamakh dikh rahi thi. Maine tujhe aise pehle kabhi nahi dekha. I think sahi maainon mein ab tujhe pyaar hogaya hai. I hope tujhe tere hisse ki saari khushiyaan mile,” Chhaya smiled.
Raavi hugged her best friend and thanked her for being there for her. She then made her way to Pandya Niwas to meet her bhoothnath.
***********************************************************************************************************
Raavi entered the Pandya house humming a melodic tune. She saw Dhara and ran over, hugging her eagerly.
“Dharaaa di! Kaisi ho aap?”
Dhara almost tumbled over from the force with which Raavi hugged her and let out a laugh at her antics.
“Main theek hoon. Tu kaisi hai? Kuch dino se ghar par nahi aayi? Kyun?” Dhara asked.
“Kuch nahi, main thodi busy thi. Haan par main store par toh roz jaati hoon.”
“Pata hai mujhe. Tere aur Shiva ke jhagdon ka charcha dur dur tak hota hai aur mere kaanon tak pahuch hi jata hai. Chal yeh bata, bhook lagi hai kya? Lunch karle. Maine abhi abhi garam garam theple banaye hai."
Raavi kindly refused and let her know she already had her lunch. She eyed Dhara holding a tiffin and asked her about it. Dhara informed her that it was for Shiva since he hadn't come back to their home for lunch.
Raavi tried not to show her disappointment but then an idea came to her. “Dhari di, aap chinta mat karo. Main yeh tiffin uss bhootnath ko de dungi. Main waise bhi wahi ja rahi thi. Maasi ma ko kuch cheezin chahiye thi dukaan se.”
Dhara agreed reluctantly, telling her to make sure their fights don’t blow up the store from their explosiveness. Raavi just smiled sweetly at that remark and made her way over to the store, eager to catch a glimpse of Shiva.
***********************************************************************************************************
As Raavi approached the store, her hawk-like eye had already spotted her bhootnath, and what a sight that was to behold. He was only wearing his vest while carrying some sacks back into the store. Raavi couldn’t help but stare. She was mesmerized. This wasn’t a new scenery for her but the effect it had on her remained the same. Shiva was certainly the most attractive guy she had laid her eyes upon and she couldn’t believe it took her so long to chance upon this fact. She tried not to make it obvious as she marveled at the way his muscles contracted with every movement and how his skin glistened with sweat, making him look even more delectable. She shook her head fervently to stop her thoughts from falling into a web of unshakeable desire.
As Shiva turned around to grab the last sack, he noticed the chipkali in front of him and let out a huff of annoyance.
“Ae maami ki behen ki beti, tu phir aagayi mere dimaag ka dahi karne ke liye? Kitni baar tujhe mana karna padega?” Even his question didn’t pull her out of her dazed state. He then went back inside and pulled out the loudspeaker he had kept in the store, especially for days when Raavi decided to make an appearance which was quite often.
Shiva yelled into the loudspeaker, “Ae chipkali. Ghoorna band kar aur chali ja yahan se. Bahar deewar par ek notice laga hai. Acche se padh lena.”
Raavi snapped out of her daydream and glared at Shiva as he snickered when passersby gave her a weird look. She ignored them and looked at the notice posted outside. It read, “Reptiles strictly not allowed. KEEP OUT.”
Raavi couldn’t believe the audacity of this bhoothnath but she was adamant as well. She moved forward and entered the store. “Reptiles allowed nahi hai par bandariya toh allowed hi hogi nahi? Issliye toh tujh jaise bandar ko bhi yahan entry mil jaati hai.”
Raavi could see the corner of Shiva’s lips lifting slightly at her statement but it was gone as soon as it appeared. “Kyun apni smile ko chhupa raha hai? Muskurane ke liye koi paise nahi lega tujhse. Smile kar ke toh dekh, tu bahot accha dikhega. Tere sehat ke liye bhi accha hoga.”
Shiva shared a look with her, before looking away. Her compliments always came out of the blue and rendered him speechless. He decided to focus on something else when his eyes caught sight of the tiffin in her hands. “Yeh toh meri tiffin hai na? Tere paas kyun hai?”
“Dhara di ne bheja hai. Par main toh tujhe yeh dene se rahi kyunki tu itna khadoos jo hai. Ek din dhang se baat nahi kar sakta,” Raavi pouted.
Shiva looked around to see if there were any customers to serve as Kaka and Gaumbi had not come to the store today. Once he saw it was clear, he lunged for his tiffin while Raavi yelped and ran away.
They ran around the whole store for a bit before taking a resting break. It was a scene straight out of their childhood.
“Bhaloo ko tiffin chahiye? Yeh le,” Raavi teased moving behind the counter and putting her arms forward, pretended to give him his food before moving back.
"Ae gadheri! Mujhe zor ki bhook lag rahi hai. Mujhe khaana khane de varna aage jo hoga, uska blame sirf tere upar hi jayega,” Shiva grumbled while Raavi refused to budge.
He weighed his options and figured he could corner her behind the counter if he jumped over it, rather than running around it. It would catch her off-guard and he would retrieve his food easily. What he wasn’t prepared for was the fact that he would need to get near her to accomplish his goal and this proved to be a problem for him. He had been running away from her or at least tried to, to the best of his abilities, after Raavi had put her feelings for him out there. He knew she was adamant about her feelings and that she was trying to get him to take a step forward as well but his thoughts were a mess and he didn’t want to take any action before he was able to sort out his feelings.
Shiva gulped back his thoughts and decided to go with the flow for the moment. He jumped over the counter and grabbed Raavi’s arms while she shrieked. He shook off the urge to pull her closer and focused on his mouth-watering food. That managed to do the trick.
He grabbed the tiffin before running away, snickering at the surprised look on his chipkali’s face. He hid his face as a smile made its way on his face, without his permission of course, when he saw the cute pout on her face. He slapped himself internally for having such thoughts about her. Cute and this chipkali? Never.
“Shivaaaa!!” she whined as he entered the storeroom at the back to have his food in peace. When he turned around to clear the clutter of boxes lying around, Raavi took her chance and ran towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her face against his back. She felt him stiffen under her touch and smirked internally.
“Ae..yeh tu kya kar rahi hai? Chal door hatt,” Shiva tried pushing her away but her iron grip proved difficult to break away from. “Tu hamesha mujhse aise chipakti kyun rehti hai? Koi dekh lega toh?”
“Yeh toh meri line honi chahiye nahi? Aur mujhe logon ki koi parwah nahi hai. Woh jo chahe soch sakte hai." Raavi mumbled, still attached to his back. She felt at peace when he was around and she wasn’t about to let him or any stranger ruin her one chance at making some progress with him. She blinked her eyes shut as she inhaled his spicy scent which she had come to love. This right here was heaven on earth for her.
Shiva moved his hands over hers and kept them there for a bit before pushing her away with all his might. He was distraught as he liked having her beside him and even sticking to him like glue, but at the same time, he didn’t want to give her false hopes. He didn’t know if he could be what she wanted him to be.
Just then, a few customers entered the store and Raavi told Shiva to have his food while she attended to them. Half an hour later, Krish joined them after his classes were done and looked for any traces of progress between them. This had become a habit of his. He was trying to figure out their relationship but they always left him feeling puzzled. However, he knew one thing which was that there was something brewing in between them and he wanted to play cupid for them.
Raavi stayed at the store until it was closing time. She helped Krish and Shiva with their work and time had surprisingly gone by fast. Shiva was doing his last round of inventory before shutting down the shop as Raavi followed him around, constantly saying something to rile him up.
Suddenly, Krish thought of an idea as he saw that both of his targets were present at the shop. He chuckled thinking about how his brother might kill him later. "Chalo, pyaar ke liye main apna sacrifice karne ke liye bhi tayyar hoon. Wow Krish! Tu itna selfless kaise ho sakta hai?” He praised himself and patted his own back. He unplugged the phone inside the store and checked up on Raavi and Shiva’s phones. He saw that Raavi’s battery was dead so he left her phone on the counter and swiped Shiva’s phone into his pocket before hurriedly making his way outside. He quietly shut the door and placed the lock through the loop, clicking it shut.
He called Anita on his way home, letting her know that Raavi will be spending the night in Pandya Niwas. He didn’t want his maami to create havoc around her missing niece as it would ruin his plan to unite the two lovers in question. When he reached home, he told Dhara and Gaumbi to not wait for Shiva as he went out with some friends after work and would be back later than usual. Everyone believed his lies and he was absolutely ecstatic. He hoped for his ship to sail.
**********************************************************************************************************
Shiva and Raavi stared at the locked door in disbelief. Shiva cursed Krish and looked for his phone while Raavi went into a frenzy and started banging on the door.
“Krishhh! Krishh! Darwaza khol please. Tu toh mera favorite hai. Chal, khol de darwaza. Aise jokes nahi karte! Arrey koi aur hai bahar kya?! Hum andar lock hogaye hai. Koi toh darwaza kholo.” Raavi pleaded and paced back and forth near the door.
“Koi nahi hai bahaar toh tu apna yeh loudspeaker phaadna band kar de.” Shiva massaged his temples in annoyance and then told Raavi to shut up again which earned him a dirty look from her side.
“Krish tu toh gaya. Tu mere haath toh lag ja, chodunga nahi,” Shiva gritted out. “Raavi, tera phone toh yahi hai. Krish ko phone laga. I think woh mera phone apne saath lekar gaya hai, aur iss store ke phone ka wire bhi gayab kar diya hai. Gadheda kahinka.”
Raavi excitedly looked at her phone and then immediately frowned. “Isska toh battery poora dead hai. Ab kya kare? Shiva. Mujhe yahan nahi rehna. Maasi ma iss baar mujhe pakka jaan se maar degi. Unka yeh gussa mujhe nahi jhelna. Please tu yeh darwaza tod de na.”
“Haan taaki Gaumbi meri haddiyaan baad mein tod de nahi? Tu bolne se pehle sochti nahi hai kya? Mujhe bhi yahan tujh jaise chipkali ke saath nahi rehna,” Shiva said haughtily.
Raavi looked at him sadly as her eyes started filling up. Shiva got startled. “Dekh, ab tu apna rona dhona mat start karna. Krish ne waise bhi mera dimaag kharaab kar rakha hai. Tu chinta mat kar, tujh jaisi chudail kuch bhi sehen kar sakti hai. Tu bas apne rishtedaaron ko bula lena, unhe dekh kar teri saari pareshaaniyaan bhaag jaayengi.” Shiva teased, in hopes of distracting her from their current situation.
Raavi slapped his shoulders lightly. “Shiva chidha mat. Mujhe bechayni si horahi hai. Hum yahan saari raat kaise reh payenge? Mujhe toh bhook bhi lag rahi hai.”
Raavi unknowingly pulled his hand into hers to seek comfort. Shiva was about to pull away but one look at her face and he instantly melted, letting her hold his hand. He could see the worry etched onto her face and he couldn’t deny the fact that it bothered him a lot. After a few minutes of basking in each other’s presence, Raavi looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows.
“Kya?” Shiva muttered.
“Bhook lag rahi hai.” Raavi voiced out as Shiva sighed and went over to grab a few packets of chips and biscuits. He then brought over two cold drinks, one for his chipkali and the other one for himself. This seemed to brighten up her mood a bit. They sat down near the counter and Raavi munched on her food while Shiva contemplated what to do. He could break down the door but then who would fix it? He was too tired to function right now and they couldn’t leave the door broken otherwise the shop could get robbed. There was no other way out. There was another door that was blocked by a ton of heavy boxes and he was in no mood to do such hard work at this time. They had to spend the night here after all.
“Tu nahi khayega?” Raavi looked at Shiva with her big doe eyes. Her brown orbs had a calming effect on him and he couldn’t really explain why. He lightly shook his head at her question.
“Aise kaise nahi khayega? Tu toh somnaath ka sabse bada bhukkad hai!” Raavi teased but her voice was also laced with worry. She wanted him to eat something. He worked so hard all day long and now he couldn’t even have proper dinner. She felt a slight pang in her heart.
“Yeh tu mujhe keh rahi hai? Jab dekho tu humare ghar par ya iss store par thoosne ke liye chali aati hai. Badi aayi mujhe bhukkad bulane wali. Khud ko dekh, kitni badi dinosaur hai tu.”
Raavi took offense to his words and started poking him in the ribs. Shiva swatted her hands away in response. A few minutes later, she held out her hands in front of him. “Ek toh kha le. Please. Mere liye.”
He was surprised to see a look of concern highlighting her angelic features. He realized that she was worried about him. Keeping his eyes locked onto hers, he took a bite from her outstretched hands, insisting to himself that he only did it to clear her head of all her concerns. He reprimanded himself and internally declared that this would be the first and last bite. However, Raavi had some other plan as she beamed at him. She fed him another one and yet another one, much to Shiva’s chagrin.
Raavi blushed a rosy red at his intense gaze. Shiva’s eyes moved on their accord and locked onto her lips. He noticed some leftover crumbs and before he could control himself, he moved closer to her and swiped his finger across her lips, letting it linger there for a while. Raavi’s eyes widened in surprise at his unexpected movement. Her lips parted on their own as she felt his finger continue to trace her lips before moving up her jaw. She let out a few heavy breaths and not being able to handle his burning gaze, she squeezed her eyes shut. Shiva, watching her shut her eyes, snapped himself out of the trance he was put in and stood up quickly.
Raavi opened her eyes, seeing him stood far away from her. This put a frown on her face. She could imagine the gears in his head turning and with the one-track mind her bhoothnath had, she knew he could only be feeling one thing: guilt. She got up and grabbed his hand with hers, making sure he was looking at her and then proceeded to give him a reassuring look to let him know she didn’t mind his touch at all.
Just as Raavi was about to speak, she felt something run past her feet. She let her eyes follow the movement and screeched loudly, squeezing shiva’s hands. This jolted him out of his thoughts as he asked her what was wrong.
“SHIVA! CHIPKALI! CHIPKALI! CHIPKALI! CHIPKALI!!!” she continued her yelling and then jumped on the counter to keep herself a safe distance away from the reptile on the floor.
Seeing her disheveled state, Shiva let out a hearty chuckle, enjoying her misery. "Ae chipkali, apne rishtedaaron se aise kaun darta hai? Phattu kahinki.”
“Shiva!! Yeh mazak nahi hai. Uss chipkali ko yahan se nikal varna main toh iss duniya se gayi.”
“Nautanki.” Shiva mumbled as he swept a broom across the floor and pushed the lizard out from under the front door.
Raavi finally breathed in relief.
“Abhi dekha na teri uss chipkali behen ne mujhe kaise aankhen dikhayi. Bilkul teri tarah ghoor rahi thi. Mujhe toh laga teri aatma tere andar se nikal kar uske andar chali gayi.” Shiva smirked at the death stare he was receiving from the chipkaliyon ki beauty queen. “Waise sahi hai. Yahan par sirf ek hi chipkali ke liye jagah hai aur woh quota toh tune poora kiya rakha hai.”
Raavi picked up an empty box from the counter to throw at him but she lost her footing in the process and stumbled over. Shiva rushed forward to catch her, already expecting her fall, owing it all to her clumsy persona.
Raavi shut her eyes and waited for the hard blow from the fall but instead, found herself in Shiva’s arms. She gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck, softly letting her fingertips brush over his hair. She always wanted to run her hands through his silky-smooth hair but he was quite protective over his luscious locks and would declare war if she tried anything. She looked up at him, only to see him staring the opposite way. She knew what he was doing: distancing himself. She would deal with him in her own way. For now, she was on cloud 9 by being able to experience such moments with her bhootnath. She mentally prepared a note to thank Krish later.
Shiva let her down gently before he could lose himself in her yet again. He tapped the side of her head, muttering. “Akkal ki dushman. Thoda sambhal kar raha kar.”
He stalked over to the storeroom to prepare for a place to sleep. It was late and he was exhausted. Kaka sometimes stayed overnight so he kept a spare mattress at the back of the room. Shiva pulled it out and placed it on the floor. It wasn’t that big but it would have to do for tonight. Raavi yawned loudly and asked, “Main kahan soungi?”
“Mere sar par,” Shiva replied sarcastically. “Jahan sona hai, soja. Wahan floor par hi theek rahegi tu.”
“Main kyun floor par soun jab tu yahan iss gadde pe phail kar so raha hoga? Mujhe bhi yahi sona hai.” Raavi huffed in defiance making Shiva smirk.
“Theek hai phir. Soja yahan.” Shiva lied down and sprawled over the mattress patting the very little space left beside him.
Raavi blushed profusely and Shiva couldn’t quite figure out how she could be bold one second and yet be so innocent the next. He had to admit she looked adorable and he felt his gaze soften as he traced her features with his eyes.
Raavi, determined to face this situation bravely, went and sat beside her bhaloo who seemed to be enjoying this situation way too much for his own good. With a pounding heart, she continued to look everywhere but at him, scouring for any remnant lizards or other living creatures which might scare her into having a heart attack. Suddenly the lights went out and she looked at Shiva horrified.
“Yeh lights kyun chali gayi? Tumne jalayi lights ko?” Shiva shrugged and let her know the lights often go out at night in this area.
“Mujhe andhere se darr lagta hai. Main aise nahi so paungi.” Raavi whispered softly.
“Darpok kahinki. Tu ek baat bata, tujhe iss duniya mein kis cheez se darr nahi lagta? Ek list bana kar dede kyunki usse seekhne mein aasani hogi varna yeh samajhte samajhte ki tujhe kis kis cheez se darr lagti hai, humari poori zindagi beet jayegi.”
“Mazaak mat kar! Mujhe sach mein bahot darr lag raha hai. Aisa lag raha hai ki meri jaan hi chali jayegi kuch der mein.” Raavi sniffled.
“Abey o chudailon ki maharani, tu hi toh kehti hai ki jab tak tere saath mere jaisa bhoothnath hoga, tujhe kuch nahi ho sakta. Toh apna yeh drama band kar aur mujhe sone de,” he tried to comfort her with his presence while using her own words.
Putting aside his hesitancy in getting too close with her, Shiva pulled her down and offered to hold her hand as she slept. She agreed and moved closer to him, letting his scent calm her down. She rested her head near his chest and clutched onto his upper arm for support. Closing her eyes, she felt sleep wash over her.
It was dark so Shiva couldn’t see much but he knew his chipkali was fast asleep. He too felt his eyes shut and he let her presence lull him to sleep. Later in the night, Raavi kept stirring which in turn woke Shiva up. This time, he felt her fling one of her legs over his and her upper body had completely shifted so that she was lying half over him. He rolled his eyes at her position.
“Ekdam gadheri ki tarah soti hai yeh ladki.” He didn’t really mind as she weighed almost nothing compared to him. He went back to sleep with a slight smile on his face.
***********************************************************************************************************
Raavi felt the first rays of the sun peek through the window in the storeroom and blinked her eyes a couple of times to adjust to the surrounding. She looked over to see herself in a compromising situation. She was tucked safely into her bhoothnath’s side, with her legs lying over his. His arms were around her shoulders and he was currently pulling her closer. She felt her cheeks burn and smiled. She could really get used to this. Many a time, she had yearned to be in his arms yet it always seemed to be a faraway thought because of the stubborn man with whom she was currently snuggling. She was glad she got to spend this one night with him. She would treasure it forever.
Raavi slowly removed herself from his side when she heard a noise coming from the entrance. She went to check on it and saw that the door was now open. A note had been left on the counter for them and she picked it up to gather its content.
The note read:
I hope tum dono ko chain ki neend aayi. I know mujhe zaroor aayi thi. Thank you bolne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Mujhe apna farishtha hi samajhlo ;) Dhara bhabi aur maami ki chinta mat karna. Maami ko lagta hai ki Raavi humare ghar par thi raat bhar aur bhabi ko lagta hai ki Shiva raat ko der se aaya tha. Bas time se aakar ghar par so jaana mere bhai.
Shiva walked up behind her, running his hands through his hair. He plucked the note out of Raavi’s hands and read it, making an irritated face at his little brother’s antics.
Raavi couldn’t help but admire the sleepy Shiva standing in front of her. She wanted to pull his cheeks but his grumpiness had no bounds as of now. Shiva, on the other hand, couldn’t believe Raavi could still look so beautiful right after waking up. He raised his hands to brush her hair out of her face but she had already turned around, looking for her phone.
After Raavi grabbed her phone and Shiva had put away the mattress, they went outside and locked the shop. Shiva hopped onto his bike and looked at Raavi with a raised eyebrow. She mimicked him in return, wondering what he wanted.
“Ab tujhe invitation dena padega iss par aane ke liye? Chal. Tujhe ghar chod deta hoon.” Shiva grumbled. He was clearly not a morning person, however, Raavi’s bright smile seemed to lessen his grumpiness. She jumped up behind him and wrapped her arm around his waist, resting her head against his back.
“Waise tujhe neend kaisi aayi?” Raavi questioned.
“Tujh jaisi dinosaur agar kisiko apna takiya samjhkar uske upar chadh jaye toh neend haraam hi hogi. Ab apna chapad chapad band kar. Mujhe inn sab ki aadat nahi hai subah subah.”
“Haan woh toh dikhta hai issliye toh tu aise kaddu jaisi shakal bana kar ghoomta rehta hai. Itna moody kyun bann raha hai? Khush reh ki meri khoobsurat shakal ke saath teri subah ki shuruwat hui hai. Aur by the way, main bahot hi halki hoon. Tu yeh jhooti baatein apne paas rakh. Samjha, bhootnath?” Raavi quipped, not taking him seriously.
Shiva chose to ignore her while she continued to bask in their private moment and kept herself glued to his back until he dropped her off outside her home.
She is the princess of Bhopal dynasty, and he is a rare mafia. He kidnapped ...
Rihana, yearning to break free from the predetermined fate of being a tawaif's ...
Comments (0)
View all