Chapter 1

"Hey Devi Maiyaa, what is happening? When I'm near him then Dhak Dhak, when I go away from him even then Dhak Dhak and now that I'm remembering him, then also Dhak Dhak. Yeh disease to permanent ho gaya!"

Khushi pouted and crossed her arms on top of the table. She placed her cheeks on top of her arms and kept staring at the Dabba. I get those stupid heartbeats even when I look at the Dabba. Acidity hi hain Khushi! Eat your food and it would be gone. You haven't still broken your fast, nah? That's why.

She straightened up and pulled the dabba closer to her. She took out a Puri out of it and was about to eat it but then she put it back, huffing a little. She let her fingers circle around the small tin box and wondered aloud, "It's just a dabba but then why I felt a current pass through me when I was taking it from him?" She tried to touch the box in different places to see whether she feels the current again, Maybe this is a special dabba, electricity hain isme in certain spots!

"Khushi, what has happened to you? Since you've come home you are stuck with this Dabba. Eat quickly and come to sleep." Payal stated, stifling a yawn.

"Jiji, usne diya hain." Khushi breathed softly as if the mere statement would explain everything. But it made Payal even more confused. "Usne? Usne kisne?"

"Woh...woh..woh La..Lard Governor ne." Fine. Only this was left to happen, Khushi you are feeling bad to call him a Lard Governor? Duh!

"So do you think it is poisoned?" Payal questioned innocently. Khushi at once pushed the dabba a little further and shielded it with her arms. "Di, kuch bhi bolte ho! Why would he poison food. He's not like that and you don't even know him!"

"Aadmi? Aadmi nehi rakshash hain rakshas woh Lard Governor." Payal mimicked the words that Khushi had probably said hundreds of times to her. Khushi made a face and gave a little push to Payal. "It's a  time-waste to talk to you Jiji, you are troubling me more. Go to sleep, I'd just...I'd just come in a while."

Once Payal went away shrugging, Khushi closed the lid of the box and placed her forhead on top of it, feeling the coolness of the surface. Devi Maiyaa, I can't take it anymore. This increased heartbeats, this acidity, how long would it continue? Please show me the way."

Idea!

Khushi got up excited and almost rubbed her hands in glee. It was simple actually. All I have to do is to stay away from him. Perfect solution. I feel my heartbeat increase when I go near him, when I talk to him, think of him, right? So I won't be doing any of those things from tomorrow. I'll avoid him at any cost. Ha!"

Feeling rather pleased with her decision, Khushi opened the dabba once again and finally started to devour the food. Anjali-Jee is such a great cook. She thought as she ate and felt glad inwards that she remembered Anjali not that Lard Governor. It was so glorious to eat food after breaking a fast, she thought pleasantly and immediately a memory wave hit her. The memory of him holding her carefully and making her drink water, breaking her Teej fast...

When after 20 minutes, she went to sleep she found Payal yawning but still awake. "Jiji, why didn't you go to sleep?" 

"Stupid, have I ever slept before you?" Payal replied and Khushi suddenly felt overwhelmed. She gave Payal a quick hug, 'Jiji, you are the best!"

"That's right Khushi but what's this? You've still got that Dabba in your hand?" 

"Oh this!" Khushi looked at the box in her hand and placed it carefully in the side table. "I just thought I'd keep it here so that it won't get lost."

"Khsuhi, how would it get lost from the kitchen? You've gone totally crazy."

"Err..maybe someone would steal it."

"Who's inside the house to steal your dabba?" Payal rolled her eyes. "Amma? Babuji?" 

"Err..Err...well there's Shyamji. He's an outsider, nah? He can steal my Dabba." Khushi replied as she settled herself down in the bed.

"Khushi!" Payal chided her, "How can you think of him like this? He'd steal a tiffin box? You've gone mad. Do you even know that Amma and Buaji are planning to..Khushi? Khushi?" Payal shook her head as she realized that Khushi was sound asleep and not listening to a word she was saying. She ran her hand lovingly in Khushi's hair, muttered a soft 'pagaal' and went to sleep herself.

...

"I won't see him, I won't see him, let me not see him, Devi Maiya, Devi Maiya...Oh no!" Khushi stood there transfixed as the man himself opened the door. Just my dumb luck! He was talking to someone on phone, probably Anjali and assuring her something about not having medicine one day. She sneaked past him and hurried towards Lavanya's room, but he called her from behind.

"Ignore Khushi ignore." she told herself and proceeded anyway not responding to his repeated calls.

"KHUSHI!"

She stopped dead on her track. No one, absolutely no one said her name like he did. Her parents and most of her relatives always called her Khoosi and though Jiji pronounced it correctly but it was not the same. The way his voice captured the word Khushi made her name sound special. She's always felt..different whenever he has called her with that force but today her hearts fluttered. Control Khushi, remember what you're supposed to do?

She said a small prayer to her Devi Maiyaa and turned to give him a piece of her mind. "Can't you see I don't want to talk to you? Forget talk, I don't want to even see you, do you get that?"

And she left him standing there, baffled.

...

She could feel him near her. Oh no, what's he doing here in the kitchen. Lard Governor, can't you leave me alone for a while? 


She turned to face him and was a little surprised to see him wobbling. What happened to him? But she controlled her curiosity quickly and started to admonish him when he took her name, "Why have you come here? Do you ever listen to anyone? I told you, I don't want to see your face, go away."


Having said so she turned around and pretended to be busy. After a few moments she turned back to find the kitchen empty. Wow! The Lard Governor went away so soon today? Didn't even argue once. Good for you Khushi, no Lard Governor,no Dhak Dhak!


Bending down to retrieve the fallen towel, she almost fell down in shock. Blood rushed in her face as she saw him sitting helplessly on the floor, holding the floor for support, he looked as if he was about to faint. A fear, so cold that it made her shiver, gripped her whole being as she rushed to hold him. A small squeal of "Arnavji!" escaped her mouth. And when it did, she couldn't even recognize her own voice.

"What's happened to you? Please open you eyes, please, please, please." She begged as she wondered what she was supposed to do. She held his shoulders and tried to make him steady but he seemed to have lost all balance. Panicked, she called Anjali first and then Lavanya but could reach no one. 

"Devi Maiya, help me!" she moaned and closed her eyes to sort out her thoughts and when she opened them again seconds later, her heartbeat stopped. He was totally unconscious, his head dropped against the cabinet. She felt as if she couldn't breath anymore. No Lard Governor, no Dhak Dhak, she recollected the words she's so joyfully thought only minutes back and the irony hit her. If he wouldn't be here, if something happens to him, she won't have to deal with the increased heartbeats, because her heart won't beat at all then. Because her heart has started to beat only for him, when, how, why, she doesn't know.

She felt tears in her eyes as she tried to make him conscious by rubbing his dead cold hand and trying to bring some warmth back in them. When nothing happened she grabbed a glass full of water and sprinkled water to his face several times till he gained consciousness and gave a small grunt. He tried to sit up, the stubborn fool he is, and almost fell head down on the floor but she prevented the fall by holding under his head. But his head did fall, not on the floor but on her shoulders. 

Instinctively her one hand wrapped around his shoulder and the other one held his head to her shoulder tightly, hugging him close to herself. She was shocked at her own reaction but it seemed the most natural thing to do in the world. It took the whole of her will power to gather up enough strength to ask him softly, "What's happened to you."

He mumbled something like, "Something sweet." on her shoulder. She thought she's misheard him. "What?"

He held her shoulder with one hand and moved away from her arms, choosing to lean against the cabinet once again. "Something sweet." he repeated.

"But you are not allowed sweets!" Khushi tried to reason with him.

"Please." his voice was barely audible. Khushi made up her mind and quickly brought the only thing she could think of, the jalebis she was eating a while back.

As she saw him taking small slow bites of the jalebi from her hand, she couldn't help remember the words she's uttered to Lavanya few days back, I'll feed my husband Jalebis with my own hand. 

The image of him throwing the pink dupatta and it landing on her head floated back in her mind. She kept looking at him with so much tenderness that she knew if he was in his sense, it'd scare him off.

She helped him up and stood there like a rock until he finally seemed capable of walking himself. She kept holding him as she didn't want to let go. She could hear herself asking him what went wrong. And she only half heard his explanation about his low blood sugar level.

As soon as he left, she wanted to burst into tears. You've came to take sugar and I...

And she let the tears roll down her cheeks. Why did I get so scared? Why did I feel the way I felt when I reached home that day and found Babuji had an attack. When did this happen, when did he become as important as Babuji to me?

"Devi Maiya, raksha karna." she said softly and taking no attempt to wipe her tears went back in making the pakodas once again.

...