Furtive glances passed between the old colleagues as they traversed the street. Arjun noticed Riya tucking her hair behind her ear and smiled. It showed her nervousness which she was deftly trying to hide. Ah well! They were riding in the same boat.
They stopped at a local tea stall that had Arjun's eyebrows raised . Riya and tea stall?
"Shall we?" Riya asked with a nervous smile
"Here?" Arjun couldn't help blurting.
"The tea and local dishes here are great" Riya said "And the people here are friendly"
"That was not what I meant" Arjun smiled.
"Oh" Riya smiled in return "I think I am less of a cleanliness freak now"
Arjun chuckled and walked in followed by her. He sat down at a bench while Riya went into the kitchen . From being a frequent visitor to the stall she had turned into one who could budge in as and when she wanted. She came out with a middle aged man and introduced him to Arjun in her broken Malayalam.
"Arrey wah, aap tho Malayalam seek gayi Riya" the man praised.
"Kaafi…sir Ganesh uncle Mumbai mein hua kathe the aur is liye Hindi patha hain, I am taking Malayalam coaching from him" Riya explained excitedly to Arjun.
She plopped down beside him "Uncle ek strong black tea aur ek coffee"
"These people are really nice and the sadhya Auntie makes is so superb, even five start hotels can't match that" Riya said smiling.
"Sadhya?" Arjun questioned.
"it's one of the food attractions of Kerala…rice with a variety of curries and we have payasam , which is a sweet after that, which is again of two three kinds"
"Wow! You seem to have become a food expert, far from the dieting freak I knew" Arjun commented.
"I still do diet, par life ko enjoy bhi karthi hun and food is a big part of that" Riya winked making Arjun laugh.
Their drinks arrived and for a time there was silence while they sipped it.
"Hmm…so sir how are all our team mates?" Riya asked.
"Tum unse contact nahin rakthi?" Arjun questioned, knowing it was highly unlikely that Riya would do so.
"Contact tho hain but it's been a while since I saw any of them, after Sikander" she caught herself afraid that Arjun would blow off his top.
"Relax mein bhi ab who Arjun nahin raha" Arjun smiled.
Riya smiled back "That's good sir"
They looked into each others eyes for a while.
"Um…so Riya, I think you should call me Arjun" Arjun said looking away awkwardly.
"Sure" Riya said.
"So you were saying after Sikander" Arjun asked.
"Yeah after that I left for my home in Shimla, spent some quality time with Mom Dad and family, phir uske baath nikal padi ek tour pe, this is my fifth destination" Riya explained.
"Oh wow! Ithne saari jagah pe akeli" Arjun was genuinely surprised. He still felt protective towards her.
"Sir I was an ETF officer" Riya said, a tad bit irritated.
"I didn't mean any offence Riya" Arjun smiled apologetically. "And it's Arjun"
"It's okay Arjun, you know how much of a feminist I am" Riya smiled.
"That I do" Arjun agreed.
They finished their drinks and got out of the shop.
"It's evening Riya, why don't we head to the beach" Arjun.
Riya was more than happy.
They walked on the beach chatting about this and that. All the while Riya had the familiar sensation in the pit of her stomach, the one she had while she secretly admired and slowly fell in love with Arjun.
Arjun on the other hand kept glancing at her, watching her tiniest moves and trying to soak in everything about her. She was as lovely as always and her smile as infectious.
Riya wanted to ask him about his life, how he was coping after accomplishing his mission, but she found a short supply of courage.
Finally while sitting on a rock being washed by sea water she plucked up some.
"Sir, how are you doing?" she asked and wanted to slap herself for putting it so lamely.
"Not bad" Arjun replied looking at her. "And no sir Riya"
"Um yeah" Riya looked away. She blinked once and looked back at him " Arjun I meant how are you really doing, you know, now that Sikander chapter is closed"
"Hmm…life is a bit lonely. But I think now I can live much more peacefully, fulfil Roshni's dreams" Arjun shrugged.
"Dreams?" Riya asked.
"Yeah she wanted to help out orphans, she had began the job but you know" Arjun paused . After sighing "And now I am doing it, her parents had left me her wealth, now I don't have much need of it, but these children do"
"She will be proud of you" Riya said with a proud smile, showing just how proud she felt.
Arjun felt elated.
"It's almost dark, we should go" Riya stood up.
As the sun began setting they walked back along the beach, each wanting to know more, be more about each other.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Indian Mythology
Chakravarti Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan
Shiv Shakti
Anupamaa
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