Chapter 10

4.

The four sisters had planned to meet-up at the Hope Cafe for lunch after which they would go home together for making the preparations for the guests' arrival. Urmila was the first one to reach there and sat in their outdoor space. She was scrolling through her phone when Manvi smacked her head from behind and sat beside her. "Kya Manvi di aap bhi!" Urmila exclaimed in irritation and Manvi just smirked and asked "Itni sensitive hai meri cousin?" Urmila rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. A waiter came at that time and took their orders. "Waise Siya didi or Shruti nahi dikhayi de rahe..." Urmila said. Manvi informed, "Siya di ka call aaya ki Shruti ko thodi der hogi college mein because of some project work isiliye Siya di, who was going to bring Shruti, thoda extra kaam khatam karke, Shruti ke saath thodi late aayegi." Urmila nodded in reply.

"Aaj koyi khaas din tha kya office mein?" Urmila asked, observing Manvi's outfit. Manvi wore a cream suit with a white shirt underneath and no tie. "Kyu?" Manvi asked. "You never wear formals aise hi. Koyi toh karan hota hai. Warna aap kurti with jeans hi prefer karti haina?! With coti or something. Aur aapke baal bhi half up, half down hai. Usually you braid them because woh aapki line of sight mein beech mein aate hai." Urmila replied and spoke the last line as if copying Manvi's style of saying it. Manvi rolled her eyes at that and said, "Aaj ek bohot bade client ke saath meeting thi. Waise I must say, your observation skills are improving day by day." Urmila raised her collar in pride and said, "Mai kaun?!" Manvi replied, "The greatest idiot the earth may have ever seen walking upon it." Urmila rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever!" 

Their orders arrived and Urmila remembered something. She asked, "By the way, tujhe zyada kuch idea hai ki ye Raghuveers kaun hai? In the sense, who all are there in their family, wagerah wagerah..." Manvi scratched her chin and replied, "Unke baare mein bohot kuchh suna hai. Apparently they are one of the biggest companies in the IT sector of India. Par IT mera field nahi hai. I'm not much aware of the IT dealings of our company. Isiliye agar past mein koyi deals sign hui ho unke saath toh woh shayad papa ko pata hoga but not me." Urmila hummed in response and took a bite of her burger. Manvi took a bite of the sandwich she had ordered and said, "Wow! The sandwich tastes amazing! Tu pehle idhar aayi hui hai kya?" Urmila replied, "Haan, bohot baar. Actually jab bhi mai ghar se tiffin lena bhool jaati hu ya phir nahi leti hu, I come here for my break. Office paas mein hi hai na! Aur bohot baar koyi bhi case ka success celebrate karne ki chhoti party karni ho, we come here. It is like our adda!" Manvi said, "For the first time I'm liking something of YOUR recommendation." Urmila rolled her eyes for the nth time. 

She then got a michievous glint in her eyes and said, "Meri advice sach mein acchi hoti hai, try karke toh dekho!" Manvi did not get what she was trying to say and asked, "Tu kehna kya chahti hai behen?" Urmila's mischief grew and she cleared her throat a little for dramatic effect and in mimicry of one of their old relatives they hated to their core, she said, "Beti, abhi tum jawaan ho gayi ho. Tumhaari umar mein toh mere teen-teen bachhe ho gaye the. Yahi sahi samay hai, shaadi karlo or settle ho jao. Warna koyi accha ladka nahi milega, haan!" Manvi's eyes widened a little and she, despite wanting to strangle Urmila, unwillingly burst out laughing at that bang-on copy. "Par di, yeh toh aapko Siya di ko kehna chahiye na!" Shruti appeared and said. Siya, who was silently giggling beside her, widened her eyes in shock and looked at her and said, "Tu kiski team mein hai yeh decide kar le!" Urmila too started to laugh and hi-fied Shruti. As Shruti and Siya sat down, Manvi said to Siya, "Waise, agar pyaar ho jaaye toh umar baadha nahi banti. Ek tarah se dekha jaaye toh, Urmi or Shruti could fall in love and get married before either of us do. Haina didi?" Now Manvi and Siya laughed properly and hi-fied each other while Urmi and Shruti looked at each other in shock.

They finished their lunch and went back home to help their parents in preparations. Tomorrow was the day the guests would arrive. Little did they know what the future would be like for them.

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"That is such a good plan, jijaji!" Sumitra joyfully exclaimed as Dashrath and Kailashi briefed her about their trip to Panvel. "By the way, Mithila Interiors memorial NGO ke saath bohot saare charity drives mein hissa le chuki hai. I've heard ki Janakji ke bhai Kushal ki badi beti ek bohot hi charitable ladki hai. Lekin maana jaata hai ki charity drives mein hissa lena, Janakji ki badi beti ka idea tha. Apparently, she is considered as the lady luck of their family. Bohot jaankaari toh nahi hai lekin dono bhaiyyo ki chhoti betiya bhi bohot kaabil hai, that I've heard." Kailashi nodded and said, "Udhar jaake we will get to know everything in detail. Yaad hai Sumi, humaari Panvel trips?" Sumitra smiled in nostalgia and said, "Haan di! It used to be so fun! Aapko woh park ka bhootiya ped yaad hai?" Sumitra and Kailashi, both burst out laughing remembering an incident from their childhood. Dashrath looked confused but just as he was about to ask...

"Usi baat par, storytime ho jaaye?" Shatrughan said, entering the room. Lakshman, Ram and Bharat also entered with him. "Pehli baar he asked something sensible!" Bharat said. Shatrughan rolled his eyes but brought his focus back to Sumitra and Kailashi who eyed him suspiciously. Sumitra asked, "Shatrughan, tumhaari packing ho gayi hai na? Kailashi added on as a warning, "Neither me nor Sumi or any of your brothers or your father are going to help you last minute." Shatrughan frowned and said, "Maasi, maa, I am not a baby anymore!" Ram lightly smacked the back of his head and said, "Tere college ka final year tha pichle saal. Jis din tujhe college se yahaan aane ki flight pakadni thi, your bags were not packed and so you missed the flight by 30 minutes and 5.7 seconds to be exact. Agar ise bachcha hona nahi kehte, then I don't what else is." Shatrughan smiled nervously and everyone started to laugh. "Don't worry, iss ne iski bags pack kar li hai. I checked already." Lakshman said and ruffled Shatrughan's hair for no reason.

"Waise, bhootiya ped ka kya scene hai maasi? Don't change the topic this time." Bharat spoke. Dashrath said, "Haa! Aisi koyi baat toh mujhe bhi nahi maalum..." Kailashi said, "Ek park hai Panvel mein. The park is normal, swings the, slides thi, bohot saare ped the... Par pedo mein ek highlight tha ek bada sa Banyan ka ped. Yeh park mein hum humaari do-teen dosto ke saath jaate aur maze karte...." Sumitra continued, "Ek din humne ek chor ko kuchh chori karte hue dekha ek dusre uncle se. Chor ne woh cheez Banyan ke ped ke kisi kone mein chhupa di. Proof ke bina hum use aise hi pakad nahi sakte the. We were just kids, koyi humaari baat sunta bhi nahi..." 

Kailashi continued, "We made a sudden plan. Humaari jo do-teen dost thi, they hid behind the tree aur hum do dare-devil chadh gayi ped pe. Sumi made a howling sound, aur maine apna sabse deep voice nikaala aur mai boli... ahhm ahhm... iss park mein ek nalayak chor ghus aaya hai. Uski itni himmat ki woh chori ka saamaan mere paas chodke jaaye...." Kailashi did a mimicry and everyone started to laugh. Sumitra continued, "Humaare dost lambi sticks leke banyan ke hanging roots ko shake karne lagi. Phir they hit large rocks on the tree for more dramatic effect. Chor nervousness mein idhar udhar dekhne laga. Sabhi dar mein aa gaye aur unhone apni cheezein check ki. Turns out ki woh uncle ka wallet chori hua tha aur use woh mil gaya. Chor bhi eventually humaari didi ki mimicry ki wajah se pakda gaya. Uss din se there was a rumour ki that Banyan tree is haunted. Aaj tak kisi ko nahi pata ki woh drama humne kiya tha." Sumitra said and hi-fied Kailashi.

All of them started to laugh loudly at that. "Hum uss park mein zaroor jaayenge!" Dashrath proclaimed while laughing. Then they all went to their own rooms to sleep. There was a lot more than just the park awaiting them at Panvel. Tomorrow was the day.

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Sorry for the late update. Was caught up in many things. 

I hope you like it! Stay tuned for the next one!

Love,

MusicOfGrace