SS: ARSHI-Perfect World - Page 3

Part 3:

Arnav secretly thanked her Devi Maiyya also for giving him his KHUSHI. Meanwhile she noticed tears forming in his eyes and she kissed his eyes one by one to soothe his pain. He smiled seeing her do such things for him.

Khushi: Aapki haansi bahot acchhi hain. But why do always keep that Laad Governer mask on your face?

Arnav: I was not like this always. I used to be naughty. Ask Di how much I troubled her all the time doing nasty things. She used to bash me up for all that.

Khushi pinched him hard on his chest and Arnav groaned in frustration making a "What the..!" expression.

Khushi: same pinch..! Even I was very naughty and big prankster.

Arnav: you were..? You still are. Remember you broke my car down, dint let me to go office for the meeting and then changed my phone's ringtone. I was hell embarrassed in front of my clients. What was that ringtone..? haan "Jalebi bai".. Seriously Khushi.. "Jalebi Bai"..!!

Khushi could no longer control but just busted out laughing. Arnav felt so contented seeing her laughing. Her smile, her laugh were his only medicine for any tension, any pain in this world. She was truly a stress buster in his life.

Khushi: Aapko yaad hai humne aapke shoes mein juice dala tha.?

Arnav: MANGO juice..

Khushi: woh I dint get orange so..

Arnav: (Smirking) Woh bhi yaad hai, aur yeh bhi that u tried to burn me with hot tea.

Khushi: That was a misunderstanding, and I told u sorry for that as well.

Arnav: I was hurt and you were crying like hell..

Khushi: Had it happened to me I would have taken the whole world on my head. But you were so quite, not showing any pain. How could you be so calm? (sniffing slightly) Arnavji Aap bohot ajeeb ho'

Arnav: (with a loop sided smile) What..! Main ajeeb hoon..? Aur yeh tum keh rahi ho..!!!

They both remembered those days and started laughing. It was a time when they both could not stand each other, and now is the time when they both cannot live without each. Thinking this Khushi snuggled into Arnav's warm embrace and he hugged her tighter.

Arnav: Khushi..?

Khushi: Hmmm..?

Arnav: Who is your favourite writer..?

Khushi: Aap jaante hai..

Arnav: (confused) who..?

Khushi: Kamlesh Khabriji.. (and she giggled)

Arnav: (with a WHATEVER expression) Ya ya.. how can I forget him..! He was the one who made me a terrorist in your mind.

Khushi: but you looked no less than one when you had covered your face with that scarf.

Arnav: (grumping in frustration) that's bcz I am allergic to dust.

Khushi: (to herself)Aap mein bohot si takniqi kharabiyaan hai (technical problems)

But our Harvard brain was very sharp and he heard it.

Arnav: What..?

Khushi: Kuch Nahi..

Arnav: (to himself) Aur tum pagal ho, magar cute ho..

And he said that little louder purposely so that she could hear it.. and she did..

Khushi: Kya..?

Arnav: Nothing (in his signature smirk).

Khushi wriggled her nose in his chest.

Khushi: You know what, Jiji and I always dream't of marriage since childhood. But we never knew that both of us would have a love marriage. I dint even know what love was like..!

Arnav: Toh tumhein kaise pata chala ke pyaar kya hai..?

Khushi: For that I am thankful to Shyamji.

She was about to continue but when she saw Arnav's face, his jaws tightening on hearing the name he never ever wished to hear in his lifetime, she placed a warm kiss on his jaw to calm him down. She looked into his chocolate brown eyes and asked if she should continue and he nodded in a YES gesture.

Khushi: For once in my life I am very grateful to him. Because he told me something after which I started having a strange feeling. He told me if sometimes the last person you want to live with is the person you cannot live with, then it is called love. If you don't want to part from somebody even for a second then it is called love. If you feel that your heart-rate has increased then it is love. That was for the first time I felt for you. The next day when you came infront of me my heart started beating louder and faster than ever. I could not hear anything else; I could not see anyone else. The time just felt frozen. The world just consisted only the two of us. But I just abandoned my thoughts that it was acidity and nothing else.

Arnav: What..!!! Acidity..? Unbelievable Man..!

Khushi: Not only that, Buaji thought that I was under some influence of black magic. So she gave me some powder to consume to get out of it' And..

Arnav: (cutting her off) And you fed that powder to me..!!! By the way may I ask why did you do it..?

Khushi: I had seen you tying something to the tree and murmuring. I thought you were the one casting black magic on me. So I did it. But later I did realize that it was only a misunderstanding. But.. but.. (gulping..)

Arnav: (in stern voice) But the damage was already done. I developed a bad throat after that.

Khushi: I too drank half the juice then. Even I had the same influence.

Arnav: (slightly annoyed) Khushi..!!! how could you even think I could do something like that?

Khushi: (pouting) I told you I was very confused back then. I had too many problems to deal with.

Arnav: Like..?

Khushi: Like your proximity causing some unknown feelings, like butterflies fluttering in my stomach, the loud dhak-dhaks, acidity.. Uff..

Arnav could barely suppress his laughter anymore and he gave in. he laughed till his eyes became moist. God..!!! His love was such a crazy little creature he thought, who had more innocence than a child and at the same time had wisdom where even experienced people would bow infront of her. Khushi felt embarrassed that she was so stupid that she dint even realize her own feelings.

Arnav: yaad hai after that kanya puja fiasco, we both decided that we won't talk to each other?

Khushi: and you ate the spicy dal prepared by Lavanyaji, inspite of my warning. By the way how did it taste..?

Arnav: Yuck..! Senseless.. I had it to show it off to u, later regretted bcz my tongue was burning like hell. And regretted even more for not taking honey and milk that you got for me'

Khushi: And you also dirtied the pool by throwing milk in it. Poor HP and OP. they had to spend an entire evening cleaning it.

Arnav: and I fainted after that for not eating anything for a long time.

Khushi: I was so worried then, I dint know that people faint bcz of low sugar. So when you asked for sugar, at first I denied and when I saw you collapsing I gave you Jalebis.

Arnav: And later you came to apologise to me for that. Silly girl. And with all the flour on your face you looked like a cartoon to me.

Khushi: That was the first time I had seen you laugh. I was so drowned in your laughter that Di had to literally shake me up to bring me back to my senses.

Arnav: (teasingly) Drowned..?

Khushi: aur nahi toh kya, who would have imagined that The ASR can laugh also? And that too so loud ke pura Shantivan Unki hasi mein doob jaye. How did u manage to laugh so much?

Arnav: woh isliye kyunki jahaan tum ho wahaan to yeh sab hona hi hai..

Khushi: (confused) Matlab..?

Arnav: Matlab jahaan Meri Khushi hai wahi meri haasi (laughter) hai..

Khushi: (Looking into his eyes) Aap haaste huye acchhe lagte hain.

And he kissed her nose.

Arnav: By the way you are a great cook. How did you learn cooking Khushi..?

Khushi: I don't know when and how I learnt it. May be it was my amma's gift to me. I don't remember how her cooked food tasted, but maasi (Garima amma) says that it tasted same as mine.

Saying this Khushi started sniffing remembering her parents, and he felt guilty for spoiling such a good mood by unintentionally recalling her past. So he tried to change her mood by trying to drift her thoughts towards food. Her all-time favorite hobby.

Arnav: You are a great cook, but you have an even greater appetite. Sometimes I wonder how do you manage to remain so slim inspite of hogging on food as if there is no tomorrow.

Khushi had her lips in a perfect 'O' shape.

Khushi: Maaf kijiyega..! I never hog on food.

Aranv: Oh really..?

Khushi: haan..

Arnav: Nainital trip yaad hai Khushi..?

Khushi: (making a face) Us mein kaunsi khaas baat hai?

Arnav: Khaas baat.? All the time in my car you kept munching vadas.

Khushi: (Cutting him in between..) Pakoras..

Arnav: Ha whatever..! And still you eat like anything in the Dhaba.

Khushi: that was bcz I was tired of pushing ur khatara to the garage. So I was hungry.

Saying that she got up and sat straight in her bed. He too got up and sat.

Arnav: Gadi apni jagah se ek inch bhi nahi hili thi..

Khushi: (in an irritated tone) Kyunki who KHATARA thi. (stressing on the word khatara)

Arnav: sach batao Khushi, you emptied the petrol tank right..?

She nodded her head in a YES and he raised her brows asking her WHY..?

Khushi: Kyunki hum dono chahate the, that you spend some time with Lavanyaji forgetting your work pressure for a change.

Arnav: Dono..?

Khushi: (Turning her head the other side) hum aur Lavanyaji.

Arnav: What..! I can't believe Lavanya was also involved in this stupid plan.

Khushi: Stupid nahi tha, romantic tha. Aur humari phooti kismet toh dekhiye unki jagah aapke saath hum jungle mein phaas gaye.

Arnav: (Smirking, he held her wrist and pulling her close, she landed on his chest) Phooti kismet..? Sach mein Khushi..?

Now she dint want to drown in his eyes again so she thought of playing with his words and pulled her hand out of his grip.

Khushi: aur nahi toh kya..? You put so many restrictions on me.. that I should walk behind you, keeping a distance. I was so scared. How would I tell you had any wild animal attacked me..?

Arnav: They had already run away from there listening to non-stop blabbering..

Khushi: You should have been thankful to me for that, instead you asked me shut my mouth for 5 mins. (Now exaggerating and looking up) "Paanch minute" (5 mins) hey Devi Maiyya, hum hi jaante hai ke who paanch minute humne kaise bitaye the. Aur uska parinaam (result) yeh huwa ki hum gaddhe (ditch) mein girgaye aur humare saare kapde kharab hogaye the.

Arnav remembered how tensed he was when he found her missing. His thoughts were broken when she spoke again.

Khushi: yeh sab kum tha ke uparse humare kapde bhi chori hogaye. Aur humein woh lehenga pehenana pada.

Arnav: Tum usmein acchi lagrahi thi Khushi.

Khushi: woh hum jaante hai.. The way you were staring at me, I had thought I would have melted there.

Arnav wondered that she had noticed his gaze on her. But God forbid she looked so mesmerizing that he just could not take his eyes off her. It wasn't his mistake that she looked so perfect a bride that anybody could not stop but to stare.

Arnav: (smiling) uske baad to tum khane pe aise toot padi jaise tum salon se bhooki thi.

Khushi: (closing her eyes and clasping her palms)Woh khane ki khushboo se kisike muah mein bhi pani aajata.

Arnav: (in a loop-sided grin) Nautanki..

Khushi: (her mouth in a perfect O shape) Kya kaha aapne..?

Arnav: Nothing.

Khushi just made a face and turned the other side. Arnav got to know that she became upset. A small smile curled up on his lips as he thought of playing with her a little. He laid back on the bed and asked her.

Arnav: waise Khushi why are you so clumsy always..? Is it your childhood problem or it started after you started seeing me..?

Khushi: (turning to face him, confused) Matlab..?

Arnav: that you are always nervous around me. Is it that in nervousness you end up falling in my arms or were you always interested in being my arms?

Khushi: Its nothing like that. I never ended up coming to you.

Arnav: Really..? Who was it who fell into my arms trying to speak on my phone in dhaba..?

Khushi: Woh toh hum network dhoondane ki koshish kar rahe the. That's why I had climbed the table and slipped. It was only a coincidence that you caught me.

Arnav: You should be thankful to me for that. But you never did acknowledge that I was always in time for you.

Khushi: (Making an annoyed face) THANK YOU.

Arnav: waise thank you se ab kaam nahi chalega. You have to take a punishment.

With that he pulled her wrist and she fell on his chest hard.

Khushi: haaw.. punishment..? Kyun..?

Arnav: Because you dint let me attend my meeting after that. You stopped me faking a drama about our eloping and marrying, and letting you off just then.

Khushi: then what would have I done? You were leaving me then, how would I get back home safely?

Arnav: and you thought you were safe with me..? Did you even realize what you were upto..?

What if I had really tried to do something on that day..?

Khushi: But you did. What more you wanted to do..?

Arnav: Excuse me..! Maine kya kiya..?

Khushi: you left me in dark the whole night. I could not even breathe properly due to fear.

To say Arnav was amused was an understatement. Here he was trying to explain the consequences of what her drama would have created but she went all together in a different direction.

Arnav: (calmly) I was damn angry on you. I was always like that only. I din't realize what I did in anger. My mind did not function normal. But the first thing I remembered when I woke up in morning was about you. I found you unconscious and I went numb. I realized it then that I hurt you again. I am sorry Khushi.

Khushi: (emotional) I was told by that dhaba wali aunty that you took care of me. And you were very worried for me. That was enough for me.

Arnav: why do you always forgive me so easily..?

Khushi: that's because I love you. (Now to change the mood) Aur aap toh humare hero hai. Pure filmy style mein aapne un goodon (goons) ki pitayi bhi to ki.

Arnav: (getting slightly angry) how dare they touch you..! I would have killed each one of them then and there had you not stopped me.

Khushi noticed a frown coming up on his brows and she slightly massaged his temples with her thumbs to calm him down. He always liked this soothing touch of hers on him.

Khushi: Why did you do that then?

Arnav: Because I had no answer for the pain I went through then when I saw you hurt. You had asked me then also and threw you out of the car on the outskirts of the city.

Khushi: chalo itna to pata chala ki aapko bhi faraq padta tha, sirf aap maante nahi the.

Arnav: (in a very emotional and husky voice) Mujhe faraq padta tha. HAMESHA..

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