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Part 35:
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Neel slammed on the brakes.
Surprised, he looked around frantically. "What is it? What happened? Did we run over something?"
The girl calmly smiled back. "Aare, nahin baba! My village is here…this is my stop."
Neel stared at her in shock.
Angrily, he went on to say: "If that was the only reason, what did you create such a commotion? God! You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought we ran over an animal or something."
The girl glared back. "Well, it wouldn't have surprised me if we had run over something. The way you drive your GINA…it's a surprise you even got me home in one piece!"
Shocked, Neel quickly replied: "Man, you're so ungrateful! Maybe I should have left you in the rain on the side of the road. How would you have liked that?!?!?"
The girl stuck her tongue out at him. "I would have liked that very much! For your kind information, I like the rain. Furthermore, it would probably have been a lot better than sitting in your Gina and having you drive on the road like a "manic" without any consideration of the bad weather conditions!"
The two sat in the car glaring each other. Each refused to be the first to break eye-contact, for it would be a sign of weakness on their respective part.
Suddenly, there was a knock on Neel's window.
Aroused out of the staring competition, Neel turned to find a police man, patiently waiting for him to roll down his window.
Neel: "Is there a problem, Officer?"
Police Officer: "Good evening, Sir. May I ask what is your purpose in stopping in the middle of the road?"
Neel smiled. "I just came to drop off this PAGAL Billi home."
"KYA!!! Who are you calling a mad cat?" the girl questioned, giving Neel's shoulder a hard shove.
Neel laughed.
The police officer cleared his throat. "With all due respect, would you please carry on this conversation with your wife at home…?"
"We're not married!" Both Neel & girl interrupted at the same time.
The police officer looked away uncomfortably. "Could've fooled me…they fight like an old married couple," he muttered softly to himself.
Neel: "Ji? Did you say something, officer?"
The officer turned back to flash them a serene smile. "Nahin. I would kindly like to ask you to move your car to the side of the road to drop off your passenger. You're holding up the traffic."
Neel: "Can I not drive into the village?"
For some reason, Neel felt awkward in dropping her off here. Indeed, he would feel a lot better if he dropped her off in front of her house. Though why this feeling of "responsibility" arose within him when it came to her was beyond him. He was the last person to be responsible…yet, here he was, trying to do the right thing. A lot good it was doing him…this girl didn't even appreciate his efforts! She likes the rain…ha! He should have left her in the ditch...we'd see how her highness enjoyed the rain then!
Neel smirked.
Yet, something inside of him revolted against this idea. Neel didn't want to acknowledge it, but the truth was that he knew he wouldn't have left her alone. In fact, if she hadn't agreed to let him drop her off, he probably would've walked her home instead.
Neel sighed. Chivalry was too much work!
The Police Officer's words pulled Neel back to the present: "Actually sir, you cannot drive into that village. Due to the recent storm, the road to the village has sustained considerable damage. So, we've blocked it off. You will have to let off the young lady here."
Neel was just about to argue with him, when he heard the girl speak up. "It's fine. I don't mind getting out here."
Before Neel could say anything, she quickly got out of the car.
Thereafter, Neel got out too and went to open the trunk of his car.
The two carefully began to pull Billu out of the trunk. As they were doing this, Neel chanced to glance at the huge board that depicted the name of the village.
Shocked, he nearly dropped the bike on her feet.
"Hey! Watch it!" the girl responded angrily.
But Neel didn't notice. He was far too taken aback by the name he saw in front of him. Could it be?
The girl took in the shocked expression on Neel's face. Curious, she looked over her shoulder to see what had put him in such a state of disbelief.
However, all she saw was the board that had the name of her village neatly depicted across its white surface.
Puzzled, she turned back to face Neel. "Ab tumhe ka hoya?"
Neel finally met her eyes. "Surely, there must be some mistake. You seriously can't be a resident of this village."
Placing one hand on her hip, the girl glared back at Neel. "Kyu? Ab mere village se bhi tumhe problem hai?"
Neel looked away. Should he tell her? No…there was no need. He would never meet her after today, so why tell her the truth?
Neel turned back in her direction flashing a fake smile. "Um, nothing. Here, take your bike and go home. You're getting wet…I don't want you to catch a chill."
Surprised by his show of concern, the girl's eyes softened for a brief moment.
But before she could say anything, they were interrupted by the Police Officer. "Sir, you really need to move your car."
Neel glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, yes…yes, officer. I'm sorry. I'll move it right away."
He looked back in her direction. Smiling, he gave her a quick nod before saying: "Well, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you."
With those words, Neel turned around and got into his car.
For a few seconds, the girl stood planted to the spot. Strangely, she no longer felt an urgency to part ways with him.
Then, she heard Neel start his car, bringing her out of her reverie.
Without another thought, she took a steadier grasp of her bicycle and made her way towards the village.
Neel briefly glanced back in his rear-view mirror as he started to drive away. He noticed that when she neared the outskirts of her village, a small boy came up to her. Playfully, she ruffled his hair before walking away from him.
Smiling, Neel turned his gaze back onto the road and increased his speed.
This had been an interesting day! Hours earlier, he'd been feeling disappointed over the fact that he hadn't been able to gather any evidence against Gritika's fianc.
Strangely, he no longer felt anger and disappointment inside of him. Instead, he felt calm and relaxed, and….and something else. What was it?
What was this strange feeling inside of him?
Once again, Neel glanced back into his rear-view mirror. Though he tried to search for her, he couldn't see her anymore.
Sighing, Neel turned his attention away.
What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking about that girl? A girl he had only met hours earlier…a girl who he didn't know anything about…not even her name.
Neel swore. Damn, he should have at least asked her for her name.
Shaking his head, Neel tried to get her out of his mind. When that didn't work, he turned on the radio...surely, some music will provide ample distraction. It helped for a little while…that is, till they started to play a sappy love song on the station.
Neel groaned. Truly, today was not his day.
He hastily shut off the radio.
"At least, I was able to do one thing right today," Neel said aloud, smiling to himself. "When Yug see's how good the ring turned out, he'll surely flip!"
Suddenly, the smile slipped off Neel's face as a thought arose in his consciousness.
Without another thought, Neel slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt.
Quickly, Neel turned around to scan his back seat…hoping…nay, praying...for it to be there.
Yet, it was not.
Groaning, Neel placed his head on the steering wheel as the truth finally hit him.
"Oh crap! I'm such an idiot! The ring…it was in my jacket…and of course, she was wearing my jacket!"
Neel sighed. "Yug is going to kill me! What to do? What to do?"
But of course, there was but only one thing to do.
The only question was did he dare to step foot into that village?
Well, he didn't really have a choice...he needed that ring.
Reaching a decision, Neel turned his car around and began to drive towards her village.
"Ready or not, Ms. Sunshine, I'm coming back to you…I'm coming back to get something that belongs to me."
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
