OS: Knot So Easy (Updated Pg 12) - Page 5

Part 1: Page 1 (Knot So Easy)

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/54183570

Part 2: Page 4 (Tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt you)

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/54220137

Chapter 3: So near, yet so far

Arnav

He was pacing again. It was just past 6 and the office had begun to empty out now. Everyone was in a hurry to go back to their homes, back to their beloved families. Everyone, except him that is.

Today was Thursday, it meant that Khushi didn't have tuition classes and he had to find a reason to go home late. This was after all their unspoken time-out strategy. It was a slow day at work and there really was no reason for him to stay at work. He was feeling restless and just a little tired as well; he probably needed some caffeine and sugar. He stepped out.

He got into his car, but his hands felt unsteady and he just couldn't get the seatbelt to fix. And he instantly thought about her. She and her constant battle against the seatbelt. He was pretty sure she did it deliberately, just to drive him mad. The lil minx! Inspite of the sugar low, he smiled. Why could he not stop thinking about her? Why was she every where? Like a tattoo ' as painful to get one and even more painful to remove. This needed to change. He needed to fix this.

He reached the coffee shop and for once all the noise, bright lights and chattering were a welcome change.

"Table for one, Sir," the waiter asked.

He nodded, reminded of happier times when he and his wife had played matchmaker sitting in this very place.

Enough, he told himself.

Enough is enough, he commanded his brain.

He ordered for a black coffee and looked around, mostly couples who believed they were in love and being idiots. He shook his head and immediately felt unsteady. He held his head in his palms and willed for the coffee to appear quickly.

And just then that feeling returned. The feeling that she was around. Even though he felt weak, he lifted his head and looked around at the smiling faces and then unmistakably it was her voice, that chirpy tone which she reserved for everyone else but him.

"Nanheji, Nanheji, idhar, idhar," she called out.

He followed the voice and saw that she was right ahead of him, but oblivious to him. He did not move. He did not even breathe. She was waving and smiling at NK who was waiting by one of the corner tables. Her hair carelessly tied into a bun, dressed in a bright blue salwar kameez, she looked like one of the many young girls out here for a rendezvous with their lover. Something in him died just a little on seeing her there. He watched NK walking up to her, like he had somehow been awarded the biggest candy in a store. And then Khushi grabbed him and hugged him saying, "Thank you, Nanheji. Aap nahin jaante aapne humaare liye kya kiya hain!"

NK beamed at this and the pair of them walked towards the corner table.

And just like that, everything changed.

He didn't wait for his coffee to arrive and left. While driving back home, he couldn't get the vision of her hugging NK out of his mind. And when he did that manage to get rid of that, it was only to replace it with the vision of her hugging Shyam. Now it seemed that she had moved on from Shyam to NK. At least his sister's marriage was no longer in danger. He should be glad, right? Then why did it hurt so? He couldn't believe that his head had turned into this pathetic mush. And that is when he hit the damn tree.

Khushi

She was at the station, nervous, guilty and relieved. Nanheji had gone to buy her a bottle of water. She put her hand on her heart that was beating really fast now and felt her mangalsutra. She thought about Arnavji then and shivered. She knew that he would hate her for running away like this, but it needed to be done. She knew that this was her best chance to fight for her love and everything that was important to her. Some day Arnavji will understand and forgive her.

Nanheji returned with a bottle of water and said, "Khushiji, aap please andar baithiye ab. Time ho gaya hain."

She nodded and said, "Aap bahut ache hain, Nanheji."

She was inside the train and picked up her phone to check the time. There were 18 missed calls from Aakashji.

Part 4 Page 12

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/54795192

Forgot to say, thanks people. You guys are the nicest!