VirMan SS/ The journey/ Part 8-Pg 16 - Page 10

"Jaiswal Ji that's fine..." the voice of an elderly woman ringed in the entire room as she laughed lightly relaxing on her arm chair. She held onto the phone more firmly as the person on the other side continued talking. She smiled to the words of the person pushing her hair aside which was distracting her kohl filled broad eyes.

"It would be a pleasure to meet Maya at Akash's wedding", she continued further her face covered with a whole lot of happiness. A wicked smile developed on the face of the person talking to her.

"Swamini Ji so is my daughter invited to your son's wedding?" he asked without much ado grabbing the opportunity to get well-suited with the most influential woman in the business world who was no less than a business tycoon. The owner of a large bungalow of herself having luxuries which anyone wouldn't have seen till now. The magnificent hotels of Goa were her property.

"Aapki beti hamare ghar ki beti hai, don't embarrass me asking this one more time", she replied flipping through the pages of the magazine kept on the table.

After nodding her head to the compliments thrown over her by the obnoxious Jaiswal she kept the cradle over the phone heaving a sigh of relief. Being conspicuous brought so many difficulties her way; every scuzz bucket trying to squeeze into her good books made her tired of the entire world. She had a huge property in Goa, everything that she ever desired but there was something she missed which made her feel left out of the world.

True she had her family to look after her and support her but the place of her husband remained like a beauty in the desert after he deceased. She had nothing but to gape at his picture hanging on the wall in front of her. If anything could make her happy was getting her son; Akash married to a girl he loved and promised to live his rest of the life with. A small smile of happiness and contempt played along her lips as she got nostalgic thinking about her son back when he was five years and cried to be a bridegroom. Her eyes got lit up with strange delight thinking about her son her only priceless possession going to take up the most precious responsibility in his life.

~~~

"Here is your destination mam'", Virat bowed down to Manvi as she checked out her mobile. The one message of "Welcome to Goa" on her mobile subscriber made her gape in contempt thinking about reaching safe and sound to the one place she desired to be in; to be able to attend her cousins wedding. A sense of satisfaction aroused in her for reaching without much tear-jerkiness this time.

"Am I let to go free now", he questioned though he didn't feel like leaving her. He raised his eyebrows as she attempted to thank him. He let down her request explaining her that things wouldn't have been this exciting if she wasn't with him. She picked her bags slowly to part from him with a slight sad face.

He stood gazing at her slow actions. She acted like she has been asked to act in an seventies film. Taking her handbag and then intentionally sliding it down her shoulder and then bending to take it again. He smiled at her clumsiness and handed over her bags to her hand almost pushing.

"I think it's time for both of us to part our ways", he said with a heavy heart. She nodded her head as a yes and tried a final goodbye to him. No stranger could ever help her so much as what he had down being like a shadow to her till she reached Goa. And a thank you certainly wouldn't do. She moved her eyeballs in a confused way racing her mind to do something special for him- maybe a treat.

Oh, lame idea- her mind told her as she had no cash on her after her luggage was left in a godforsaken car.

Her hazel brown eyes shone with great pride over her brain as a wonderful idea popped into her mind. She smiled looking at him and tried to put her idea into words.

"Saying a plain thank you would mean really bland when you took so much pain to drop me here so I have thought how it would be if you can stay for at least one day at my house, you look tired too.", she asked with pleading eyes at him. She made a puppy face and crackled up as she saw him agreeing to her sweet gesture.

~~~

As they walked through the grand roads of the Vasco da Gama city, Virat stopped abruptly viewing the magnificent bungalow that stood before them. Manvi looked at him confused and then made her eyes to the source of confusion.

"Are you sure this is your house"? He asked slightly distracted.

"What do you mean? Do you think I would bring you to any random bungalow and claim it to be mine", she narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't understand why it was getting so difficult for him to digest the fact that it was freaking the same place her cousins wedding is being arranged; excluding the fact that it was not her bungalow.

He shook his head as nothing as a small mischievous smile filled his face.

"Why am I finding so hard to believe you", she questioned doubtfully.

"You question a lot", he dragged her to the colossal architecture.

"If you're helping me so much I guess I can shamelessly ask for one more help from you", she dragged the last sentence trying to please him.

"Go ahead", he signaled as they reached the door.

"I'm going to see a guy at this wedding that my parents are pestering me to see and I want to escape from this by hook or by crook", he listened patiently as she completed her rattle.

"Problem kya hai, achi bhali changi to ho, ya koi defect hai...", before he could complete the sentence she stopped him.

"Nahi...nahi you're getting me wrong, he's not my type, he belong to a different category. I like spice and he loves sweet. You won't believe in the first meeting itself he was lecturing me on various things as if I was already married to him. He's way too emotional, he is boringgg...", he laughed at her explanation.

"Okay I understood, so how exactly am I going to help you", he asked this time controlling his laughter.

"You could do something by acting as a third wheel..." she dragged smiling.

"You mean kabab mein haddi? Is that what you mean! Wohaa you're not the same as you look. Dikhne mein badi seedhi lagti ho lekin ho badi tedi", he chortled greatly surprised.

"What do I get for that"?

"Anything"...she replied immediately.

"Sure?"

"100% sure, bond likh kar doon kya ab..." she laughed banging the door bell literally. While he smiled to himself.

The door bell ringed large enough to startle every member of the house. For a nanosecond every worker busy at wedding preparations looked at the door and then continued their work.

"Ye sari aishwarya ne Devdas mein pehni thi, meine specially Akash ke shaadi ke liye kharidi hai" (this sari was worn by Aishwarya in Devdas, I have specially brought this for myself to wear it in Akash's wedding), a hyper woman dressed in an embroidery sari with every matching accessory talked showing off her sari.

"Which bonehead is banging the door so hard, every work in this house should be done by one and only Kadambari ", the same woman muttered under her breath before dragging her feet to the door.

"Kadambari hum dekh lenge door pe kaun hai (I'll see who is on the door), I think its Maya on the door", Swamini gestured and rushed to the door before the bell gets damaged.

"Haye ni is it Maya from London? Chaddo ji mein hi khol deti hoon darwaza", Kadambari rushed to the door before Swamini could open it. She opened the door with a thousand of lights illuminating on her face while Swamini sighed recalling that their fashion talks would begin from now.

The color on the face of both the women faded away looking at both Manvi and Virat.. Confusion and blankness took the place of a pleasant smile. Manvi squeezed between both the women and rushed into hall relaxing on the couch. The two women had a blank expression on their face. Swamini narrowed her eyes at Virat while he held both of his ears asking a apology in a whisper. Kadambari closed the door and sat opposite to Manvi greatly surprised at the new arrival.

Virat threw his luggage on the glass table beside and sat in a thud as resting his legs on the table beside his luggage. Manvi threw an uncomfortable smile at the ladies who were looking suspiciously at her. She bent her head slightly scratching and whispered to Virat, "What the hell are you doing? Ye tumhare baap ka ghar nahi hai, Behaveee...!" she signaled him to remove his legs from the table.

"Of course hai", he replied giving a tight-lipped smile finally giving up on her glares.

"Please don't mind, he is a bit illiterate. He doesn't have a home so I brought him along with me. You can kick his ass out from this house tomorrow morning. But let him stay here tonight", Manvi pleaded giving an uneasy smile.

"You're such a big fat liar", Virat whispered to Manvi as she shushed him. She couldn't get why they were looking at her with uncertainty written in their eyes as if a goon has landed up in their house instead of a prison. The ladies were greatly astonished at Manvi's behavior and her language. Basically everyone was confused there except Virat. All kept mum as they didn't know what to say. The level of uneasiness was increasing every passing second for Manvi.

"Wo kya hai na, I'm very tired so I didn't wish you namaste and all. Aur waise bhi apno ke pass kya formalities? She laughed trying to make the situation less confused. But her talking made all of them even more confused. Manvi scanned the whole hall. The hall was so big that a whole house could be fitted into it. Basically if a person is standing at the corner of the room, then he had to use a phone to call another one standing at a different corner. The room, correction, stadium looked more of as a mansion.

"Aunty zaroorat padne pe gadhe ko bhi baap banana padta hai jaise meine isse banaya hai, actually meri flight miss ho gayi thi aur mujhe lift chahiye thi to mein isse le ayi", Manvi laughed out loud pointing at Virat. She tried to lighten the situation with her jokes but it made the situation even worse. Swamini looked fouled up at Manvi. She couldn't understand a thing, who is this girl? And what is she talking about?

"Virat who is this? She finally asked a mute Virat who was enjoying the drama Manvi was doing. Now Manvi was baffled. They already know him. She couldn't get a thing. When they already know him then what is the problem? Why are they looking at both of them as if they were some strangers, when they're not? Did she just land up in a mental asylum or was this really where her cousins marriage is gonna be held, wait, how did these both ladies know this bonehead, Manvi wondered in herself.

Virat tried hard to control his laughter but he couldn't. He had to get it out, because keeping too much laughter inside could burst him anytime. He started laughing like mad and kept falling on Manvi between his laughter while she kept pushing him. Manvi scratched her head trying to distract herself from the mad people. As she was checking out each picture on the wall, her gaze got fixed on one of the photo. She got wide-eyed; her eyeballs hanging lose from their position.

"What the hell is that", she muttered loudly getting up from the couch her gaze still fixed on the photo. Now how the hell did this Virat or whatever land in this photo? She felt her head spinning anytime. Did she just end up in a never ending mystery series of a Harry Potter film?

"Don't tell me this is YOU", Manvi asked pointing towards the picture on the wall. He was standing with Swamini and hugging her as if he had known the lady for life. All the three people sitting on the couch stood up coming near her. Both the ladies looked stupefied at her whilst Virat walked upto her not to clear but to create further confusion.

"Ye mera judwa bhai hai jo kumbh ke mele mein kho gaya tha (he is my twin brother who was once lost in a fair, but what a surprise how did he appear here)", Virat burst out laughing. Swamini softly punched Virat on his shoulder to end his drama before the poor girl goes mad. All the three were in laughing stitches whilst Manvi felt that she was caught in a jigsaw puzzle.

"Haye ni ye tho Raaz 3 ke climax se bhi zyada interesting hai", Kadambari tutted in comparing the present situation to her favorite ghost film. Swamini laughed at Kadambari's remark and looked at Virat sternly this time.

"Virat who is this girl? Introduce us to her before she goes nuts", she laughed softly making Virat laugh even louder. Kadambari joined them too while Manvi kept moving her head to all the three like a robot.

"Bua she is my wife", Virat replied lovingly looking at Manvi and putting his hand on her shoulder and embracing her in a side hug. Manvi formed an "O" shape with her mouth and her eyes popping out whilst Swamini and Kadambari went totally blank at the new piece of information. Manvi side-faced Virat and looked at her totally bowled over. Is this a freaking joke? She could understand that Virat belonged to this mad family, but what-the-heck! How dare he pull a meek and gentle girl like her into this gigantic hoax and make a laughing stock out of her. She glared at Virat shooting daggers through her eyes. At the moment Virat gulped thinking that Manvi would defiantly kill him.

"What!!!!!" Swamini asked as an exclamatory mark formed on her face.

"Haye ni Virat tumne mujhe apne shaadi mein nahi bulaya. Mein apni Devdas wali sari pehanti thi. Teri chachi ekdum best lagti thi tab (haye ni Virat you didn't invite me to your marriage. I would have worn my one piece Devdas sari, then I would have looked the best among all)", Kadambari reciprocated her pain making a pout.

"Holy Cow! Manvi are you married?" Pooja: Manvi's cousin appeared from out of blues and asked as a big fat question mark formed on her face.

Manvi looked at each face and finally gave up the job of thinking. She stood silent making words out of the expressions of each face. "Marriage my foot! What the hell is happening here", was her answer to each confused face standing there waiting for her confirmation.

~~~

It's the hug day, right? So a tight jaadu ki jhappi to all my friends.

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