Chapter 61

LadyMeringue

@LadyMeringue

A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Here is the sixth bonus epistle! :D :D

Happy Reading! :D :D

26th October, 1996:

Maa always says that two people are most important in our life - the one who can make you laugh at any time and the one who can make you cry at any time. And the one who can do both is someone you must keep in your life no matter what for that person was no less than a magician. It's something that's always caught my fancy, but I didn't really understand how true her words could be until now.

Take yesterday for instance. God, I was so mad at Ranveer that I could have actually hit him! Is he alright in the head or did that incident shake him up so much that he dropped his brains alongside? He wants to go home to see his mother but he cancelled his trip just because Harshad Uncle asked him to stay back for Diwali. Like seriously?

He was just asking him to stay back for courtesy sake! And our genius here took it at face value and agreed to stay back because it would look bad otherwise. And I'm sure that Ranveer wouldn't have told me about this had I not been there in the room that time, watching him tie Uncle's shoelaces. The wonder cannot tie his own, but this he volunteers for like a religious duty!

The worst thing is, I was about to counter what he said but he silenced me with his gaze. Nobody ever does that with me! But there was something about the way he looked at me that just... made me shut up! That's what angered me more! How did he just manage to do that, and that too on something as stupid as this? Uncle knew that I did want to say something but Ranveer never gave me the chance to! And by the time I finally managed to catch a break, Uncle got a phone call and the whole topic was dusted under the carpet.

I'm not much of a tantrum person like that, but the look Ranveer had on his face once Uncle left infuriated me to the point where I stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind me. I'm tired and tired of telling him to not be a pushover, that people would take advantage of his if he kept behaving like this all the time, but he just doesn't want to understand!

So instead of wasting my energy on him, I went to my room and decided to vent out my frustration by talking to the mirror and acting on both of our parts. I like doing a duologue when I'm angry because it helps me calm down and also helps me speak my mind out openly, given that I'm usually tongue-tied at the time of the situation itself. Nobody has caught me at it till now, and I've done some pretty interesting ones with Baa, Maa and Ranveer as the other half so far.I do good impersonations like that. Not blowing my own trumpet, but just saying.

Alas! Like they say, there is a first time for everything.

I was halfway through my lecture of how stupid he was and how he was going to get himself killed just by trying to live up to the society when I spotted his reflection in the mirror. I was actually doing the part where he was meant to splutter and try to say otherwise (like he always does when we do have an argument), and I caught him standing right behind me, leaning against the window. And it goes without saying that I lost my voice, nearly felt my knees turn to jelly and felt the heat rush up my face until I turned beetroot red. I continued to stare at Ranveer with my mouth open and at a loss of words, hoping that he'd say something and rescue me out of the sticky situation I found myself in.

"I sound nothing like that."

I don't know what it was about the statement, but I just burst into laughter. Uncontrollable and insane as I doubled up and nearly collapsed on the bed in a mix of laughter and tears and Ranveer joined me soon enough. I don't know for how long we kept laughing like that until we finally sobered down, heaving for breath and tears streaming from our eyes.

"I thought I'd locked the door," I remarked rather sheepishly and he shrugged his shoulders.

"You mustn't have done it properly. It was open when I came," he replied and I rolled my eyes at him, secretly thankful that he'd not overheard me say anything stupid or embarrassing.

"Aren't you the one always preaching to knock before entering someone's room?" I questioned him when I felt his scrutinizing gaze on me in hope to change the topic. Every time he gives me that look, I get this feeling that he can actually read my soul like an X-Ray, crazy as that may sound.

"That'll teach you a lesson as well," he replied cheekily, and it earned him a well-deserved punch. "But what's with the duologue?" he asked in continuation, now looking genuinely curious.

"You're a world class dunce, that's why!" I shot back rather haughtily in my opinion and he looked taken aback.

"Are you talking about the Mota Babuji thing?" he asked, uncertain about his guess even though my expression gave him the answer, I think.

"There was no need for that. And you will not stay back here either," I added even before he could argue. And when he opened his mouth for the second time to protest, I hurried into speech again. "There's nothing more important than meeting your mother. Had you opened your mouth and told this to Uncle, he'd have understood immediately and wouldn't have even suggested what you did."

"Ishaani, really-" he began when I paused for breath, but I'd had enough of his arguments.

"No means no! And if you don't understand this, I have better ways of making you understand," I threatened while smashing my fist into my hand as though willing to try it out on him next. I would have had he spoken anything stupid then.

"Like?" he challenged in return as he crossed his arms on his chest with an unperturbed look, clearly underestimating me. So I decided to spice things up a little to get my point into that thick head of his.

"This!" I exclaimed while throwing a well-aimed pillow from the bed at him, nearly knocking him off his balance. He didn't see that coming, and the look of stunned disbelief on his face was absolutely worth it! But he's not one to give up as well. He tried throwing the pillow back at me, but for his misfortune, I caught at the right time. And then, even before we knew what was happening, we ending up attacking each other with pillows, the whole room our battle ground.

"Hey! Cut it out!" shrieked Ranveer after what felt like eternity when I managed to gain an upper hand and was hitting him left, right and center with the pillow in my hand. I huffed out irritably, still not stopping with the pillows as he covered his head as defense. All the pillows were at different corners of the room, abandoned and far from reach.

"Not until you agree first!" I heaved out in response between more pillow smacks and just like that, he suddenly caught hold of half of my pillow.

"Hey stop, stop! You look like Soorpanakha as it is!" he remarked and I stopped abruptly, realizing how my hair had turned frizzy and messy, not unlike a witch's. But that doesn't mean that I was going to let go of him for it.

"What did you say?" I questioned dangerously, trying to tug at the pillow upon which Ranveer now had equal grip.

"What, I'm being honest!" he remarked while tugging at the pillow harder, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Why, you-" I began dramatically with a gasp, but even before I could complete, Ranveer was back with another cheeky retort.

"Just rub some chilli powder and salt and you'll be able to play that part perfectly too!" was what he'd exactly told me.

And thanks to gloating about own his smarty pants comment, he got distracted and I used it as the perfectly opportunity to pull the pillow and use that to rain extra blows on him for his comment. And I'm happy to say that it earned sufficient amount of "ow"s and "stop it"s from him until he turned the tables around. I was halfway to making a comment of my own when he suddenly caught the pillow, flung it aside, and pulled my hand in a back lock when I tried to punch him. And by Jove does he have some grip!
"Gotcha! God, you just don't listen now, do you?" he wondered aloud in an amused tone that only made me struggle harder.

"No, you- I- I- I- Ow, my wrist! Let go of me!" is what I remember crying out to him while trying to struggle against his grip, but in vain. His grip remained as resolute as ever until I didn't stop putting a fight against him.

"Not until you listen to me first!" he whispered in my ear when I huffed in defeat, and his comment managed to rile me up again. I hate losing!

"No, I won't!" I hissed at the same time that I managed to break through his lock, taking both of us by surprise.

"God, you're strong! What do you eat, iron?" joked Ranveer, and that only earned him a cold glare from me.

"Ha. Ha. Not funny!" I spoke through gritted teeth and with a poker face, but it didn't seem to affect him at all. If anything, it looked like he was having the time of his life.

"Yes, it is! You can even beat Sunny Deol!" he remarked before laughing at what he'd just said rather happily. The comment did make me flush red even though I was threatened by the urge to laugh for a maddening second until I realized I was supposed to be mad at him.

"What?! That's ridiculous! That's- Ah!" I began, but cut my speech of outrage short when I looked at my hand. There was a nice set of five red fingerprints on my hand with his thumb leaving the rawest one of all.

"Look at what you've done of my hand! You've left finger marks all over it!" I whined reproachfully and showed Ranveer the marks on my wrist. He did look surprised for a moment before going back to looking casual in the next.

"Serves you right when you don't listen to sense! You know what's your problem? You're too stubborn! And if it takes a little pain to get a point inside your head, so be it!" he boasted confidently and that statement gave me a world-class idea. God, I love my brains at times for the things it comes up with!

"Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Wait till I show this to Uncle!" I threatened and he suddenly lost all colour from his face.

"You wouldn't!" he exclaimed in a hoarse voice, but I only increased the slyness of my smile, enjoying the fact that if he had his ingenious ways of behaving like an idiot, I had mine from making sure that he didn't.

"Try me!" was all I said in challenge before running out of the room, missing his clasp by inches.

And that's how I tricked him to Uncle's room, with both of us heaving for breath by the time we reached there. Ranveer gave me a pleading look to not say anything, but I didn't pay him any heed and plunged into speech. But instead of talking about his thumb lock, I spoke about him wanting to go to his home back at the village because he's been wanting to meet his mother for months now, but he was just too shy to say it. Uncle and Ranveer had an identical look of astonishment with what I was saying, and even before the latter could counter what I was saying, I shut him up with a look of my own.

Evened the odds out and I felt so much more better!

Like I'd expected, Uncle immediately understood the rest. But just like I'd also anticipated, Ranveer walked away without saying anything, looking a definite mix of angry and flushed. I know better now than to chase him during times like these, and so I gave Uncle a grateful smile and went to my room, knowing that he would handle Ranveer now. What I hadn't anticipated though was the fact that I'd have to seek him out sooner than expected.

The rest of the day passed without any event with him being involved in his work and me in mine. But it was only once night set in and I lost myself to the world of slumber did trouble arise. The nightmare! The same, stupid nightmare! I was choking on my tears when I got up, the darkness much more terrifying than it was meant to be. I've been dreaming about this for months but its never been as bad as it was last night. I could feel my heart beat in my mouth as I got off the bed and practically ran out of my room in search of Ranveer, the need to see him alright suddenly pressing.

By the time I reached his room, I was breathing unevenly and was a mess of sweat and tears, my senses too hazy to register anything much. I pushed open the door without bothering to knock to see Ranveer sleeping on the cot while Kaka slept on the floor, both of them sound asleep. Hesitant though I was about entering the room, I did eventually and sat beside Ranveer at the edge of the cot, careful not to make any noise and wake Kaka up. I was halfway through putting my hand on his shoulder and waking him up when he turned in his sleep and settled to facing me, still unaware about my presence.

He was so peaceful, the way he was asleep... I could keep staring at him for hours on end and wouldn't tire away. And because of that, I didn't have the heart to wake him up and decided to head back to my room instead, mentally making a note to never talk about this little late night excursion. Only before I could get up, Ranveer's eyes opened and he nearly yelled out in shock had I not pinned his mouth in time. By the time he got control over himself, he'd turned pale and his eyes were visibly bulging in fright.

"How many times have I told you to knock and enter? And who enters someone's room in the middle of the night like this?" he whispered in a mass of nerves once I finally let took my hand off his mouth, looking angry. Oops. I'd forgotten that he was mad at me still from what had happened earlier in the day, but I didn't care. I just threw my arms around his neck and hugged him dearly, not caring about what he thought or what he said. Like expected, he was awkward and he didn't reciprocate as such, but atleast he let me be and let me find my solace.

"I- I just..." I began once I separated even though I didn't really know what more to add there. So I left it at that. I was hoping for Ranveer to come to my defense and he did, but in the most unexpected way.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting up straight suddenly a while his eyes narrowed at me in suspicion.

"What?" I asked, still a little disoriented with the sudden shift of situation.

"You're shaking and you look like you've run a mile. Are you crying?" he asked when I let out an involuntary whimper and hid my face in my palms to steady my breathing. The silence in the room remained absolute when I didn't reply and Ranveer didn't break it either, patiently waiting for me to say something first. When I finally gathered my thoughts and looked at Ranveer, only three words left me lips.

"Come with me," I whispered as I stood up, taking his hand into my own and hall-pulling him off the bed with me.

"Where?" he asked while pulling me back down on the bed, instantly taking his hand away from mine. Thumb locks he can hold me in but this he shies away from oddly. He is one specimen, I tell you.

"To my room. We can't talk here with Kaka sleeping," I explained, and he looked even more troubled than before.

"Ishaani, you know servants are not allowed in the house in the middle of the night," he reminded me when I tried pulling his hand up again. But I didn't care at that point of time! I just needed to get some air to get my still-unevenly beating heart back to normal.

"Please, for once, just stop arguing and come with me," I pleaded, no longer bothering to hide my tears away. The fear was evident in my voice, the cold it made me feel cutting. I don't know what it was that convinced Ranveer - maybe it was my voice, or my face or even the tears brimming in my eyes. But he did grudgingly agree to my sheer relief and surprise.

We silently got up and I led him to my room as stealthily as I could, making sure to not make any noise at all. Ranveer trailed behind me rather nervously, his eyes darting around the house every once in a few seconds as though expecting someone to creep out of the shadows and catch us red-handed. Once we reached the room, I shut the door and plonked on the bed while he sat on his usual chair opposite.

"Would you tell me what happened now?" he asked when I kept staring at him, now sounding a little anxious. This kind of behaviour from me must have rather unsettling for him, I realize now, especially when it was out of the blue.

"Nightmare," was all I said in reply, and his expressions eased out considerably. I think he was anticipating something a lot more serious like Baa saying something to me once again about my illegitimacy.

"What was it about?" he asked, his tone suddenly soothing and it was only with great difficulty that I managed to look up at him. It felt as though I'd betrayed him by seeing a dream as brutal as that, still not entirely able to wash away those images in spite of having Ranveer in front of me.

"I- You- I can't remember. I... just wanted to see if you were okay," I hesitated through my response, not entirely sure why I couldn't tell him the truth. But I couldn't. Not when he'd finally found a little stability in life after what had happened four months ago. I couldn't tell him something as stupid as this and take away his peace of mind. I wouldn't have that on my conscience.

"I am. See? I'm perfectly okay," he assured with a smile and let his fingers brush over the back of my palm before quickly retracting his hand away. Maybe he did sense that I was keeping something from him, but even if he did, he didn't show it.

"I- I'm sorry... I didn't mean to frighten you, I just-" I began hopelessly, taking by a sudden impulse to indirectly tell him about it but he completed the sentence for me anyway.

"Didn't know who to talk to about this?"

"Something like that, yeah. I'm feeling better though, thanks," I added, deciding that it was best if I didn't tell him anything about it. Perhaps the dreams were because I had still not entirely gotten over what had happened to him all those months ago. But I was almost there, and the dreams were occasional now. They'd fade away completely soon. Hopefully.

"If you're feeling better then, can I go back to sleep? I'm quite tired actually," he explained unnecessarily, but I knew he was saying it more because he was afraid of being caught. Even though the room was dark, the moonlight entering the room and falling upon us was enough light to see the alertness in his eyes for any stray sound that didn't spell anything good.

"Sure... goodnight and again, sorry for the frightening you," I expressed with a smile that wasn't entirely out there because I still wasn't entirely calm. But I couldn't get Ranveer into trouble again, especially with Baa and the whip. That's just... hideous. And just as Ranveer stood up, he sat down again a moment later, suddenly locking gaze with me.

"You know what? I want to tell you a story," he whispered, the power of his gaze disarming me of all defense. I don't know what he sensed wrong with me, but I was secretly happy that he'd decided to stay back. Extremely selfish of me, I know, but explain that when you experience the bizarre sensation of having one of the most important people in your life die so brutally in your dreams, that too right in front of your eyes.

"Story? Aren't you tired?" I asked reluctantly, but there was a finality in Ranveer's gaze that made him determinedly sit down. He shook his head with a soft smile on his face. I wonder how he mustered the guts to sit beside me in spite of knowing how things could go if anyone did find out about it. But I guess that's why he's Ranveer and why he's so different. It's his ability to do anything and everything within his scope for his loved ones that sets him apart.

"I wanted to tell you about it while star-gazing, but since we didn't go for it in the first place, I'll tell it to you now. Do you mind?" he asked even though it was more of a statement. Ever since his birthday, we've decided to go star-gazing twice a week for just half an hour because we both loved the experience so much. I flushed dully at the sweetness of his tone that he tried to camouflage with a touch of cheekiness.

"I, uh, well..."

"So, the story starts with Tom being thwarted by Jerry-" he began, and out of habit, I cut him instantly.

"Why was he defeated by Jerry this time?"

"Will you let me tell the story first? I'll answer all your questions in the end, I promise," he added with a smile that made my head fall on the pillow tiredly as I lied down on the bed while he continued to sit on the chair that he now pulled right beside my bed so that I could hold his hand. How he knew I wanted to do that, I don't know either. But he didn't protest this time.

I nodded my head and he started with the story, his voice slow and soft like a lullaby. It was a hilarious story although now that I think about it, I can't recollect much. I remember laughing my way through half of it before I lost focus, staring at Ranveer who had the funniest expressions on his face, mimicking the cat and the mouse in his play. He quite reminds me of Tom and it's something we call each other when we fight - he being Tom and I being Jerry.

Ah.

That genius narrated our fight from the morning last night by using Tom and Jerry.

How clever.

But not the point. There was something about his voice that was soothing, calming my nerves as he flashed me a smile every now and then even though he looked like he could fall asleep at any minute. My hand remained in his own for as long as I could remember it before I could feel his voice send me to the teeters of sleep, my eyes refusing to shut because I wanted to hear the end of it.

There was a comfort as I watched him sit beside my bed on a chair, a strange strength that nothing would go wrong as long as he was with me. How it was that I trusted him so much, I don't know. But I did. I could trust falling asleep with him in the room even though Maa says to lock it shut and to not allow anyone in at night. Just like the way I could on the terrace on the night of his birthday. I guess he is an exception to the rule. Someone who I could trust with my eyes closed without having to worry about my trust being rightly placed. Someone who could make me cry in a minute and could make me laugh in the other.

And amidst these thoughts I let sleep overcome me finally, the safety of his hand much more than enough for a peaceful and uninterrupted sleep. It was only when I got up the next morning did I realize that Ranveer had fallen asleep awkwardly in the same chair he was seated in last night, his fingers inches away from my own. He told me later that he had to sit up that way because I wouldn't let go of his hand until he fell asleep the same way. But the moment I woke up and let sleep fade away, I realized what trouble Ranveer would get into if anyone saw him in the house, and in my room no less.

So I did the next best thing. At five in the morning, I struggled to take him down the steps and out to the servants' quarters, thankful that he was too sleepy to know what was happening to him. The height difference between us didn't help, but it was just by the grace of God that I managed to safely take him to his room and put him back to sleep. Kaka was awake by then and rather alarmed when I brought him into the room like that, but then I explained it to him and he relaxed considerably. He wasn't exactly approving of what did happen, but atleast he understood.

And as I write this to you in the safety of my sunlit room, there's a strange contentment in my heart that I've come to know after ages. It's as though the sunlight-like warmth of his aura has finally penetrated through the barren land of my cold heart, the gushing emotions emerging from within rejuvenating my senses and making me feel more alive than than I've felt in some time.

I may not even be nine, but only God knows the turmoils my heart have faced in simply trying to be a part of a society that's never accepted me for who I am. But it doesn't matter anymore because I've found the most important person of my life.

Magician Tom, who can make me laugh and cry at the same time.

Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D