Anika's POV -
"Di, I'm so excited for Saumya's marriage. I still can't believe she's getting married." Gauri told me.
"I know right? In school, she used to say I'm not going to get married and all. And see now. She's the first one among us to get married." I laughed.
Gauri, my choti. She had come for Saumya's marriage. She was away in Pune for completing her studies.
We were out for shopping before we left to Delhi for Saumya's marriage.
We were shopping for 2 hours straight and were exhausted. I headed to Starbucks to grab an Espresso as Gauri went to Bombay Chowpatti to eat some chats.
"Thank you." I thanked the waiter, took my coffee and headed towards Gauri.
I was humming "Tum paas aaye, yun muskuraye.." when I bumped into someone dropping my coffee. I stumbled and was about to fall when someone's arms grabbed me by the waist and balanced me. Reflexively my hand reached his shoulder.
I looked into his eyes and realised it was kanji. Icy blue. Stormy grey. Sea green. I creased my eyebrows concentrating on his eyes hard.
He helped my stand up, "Thank you." I smiled and saw that my coffee was all over his suit. "Crap. I'm so sorry." I apologised still looking into his eyes.
"Uh. It's okay It's my fault. I wasn't looking."
"Neither was I." I mumbled.
"Please stop."
"Stop what?"
"Stop staring at me. You're gaze is making me feel insecure." I laughed. "I wasn't staring. I was just trying figure out the colour of your eyes. They're so beautiful."
"Thanks." He smiled slightly. "Anyway, I gotto go. Bye." He said and left. I turned around and saw his retreating back.
I looked at him hoping for him to turn around. And he did. He turned around and flashed me his million dollar smile at me.
I smiled back. What was happening to me? Why was I suddenly so happy meeting this total stranger. I brushed the thought away and went to Gauri.
.
I was packing my bag when Gauri came and hugged me from behind. I hugged her back and told her to pack. Gauri loved giving unexpected hugs. Initially it annoyed me but when she left for Pune I had missed her and her hugs a lot.
She jumped on the bed saying, "I finished my packing long back, Di. You're the only one left."
I knew her packing. She stuffed all the dresses we'd brought today into her bag. And when we'd reached there she'd start panicking saying I forgot this, I forgot that. And then she'd borrow everything from me. I shook my head, "Yeah right. Choti, don't forget to put the alarm." I reminded her. We both we sleepyheads. When I had to go to school, I remembered Ma yelling a million times from the kitchen for me to wake up. Once I had fallen asleep in the bathroom while brushing my teeth.
~Shivaay's POV -
"Daadi, you called me?" I asked tensed. She had called me suddenly and I was scared about her deteriorating health.
"Yes, Shivaay. I wanted to talk to you about something really important." said Daadi seriously.
"Yes Daadi tell me." I encouraged her.
"Shivaay, what have you thought about your marriage? You've earned enough okay? Now think about your life ahead." hearing the word marriage I looked down.
"Shivaay, you have to get married someday right? So, I think it's the right time now. "
"Daadi, you know I'm not..." I started but was cut off by Om.
"Shivaay, I know what Tia did was wrong, terribly wrong and you've been badly hurt but that doesn't mean that you won't move on in your life."
I didn't say anything but just left from there.
Rudra, my best friend had called me for his marriage. At first, I wasn't willing to go. But now I needed to go away from home. At least for a couple of days. I grabbed my suitcase and left for Delhi.
~ Gauri's POV -
"Maa, please do it fast! We're getting late." I yelled on top of my voice motioning Di to pack some stuff fast. It was 8:40 now! And we were to board the flight to Delhi at 10! The airport was just 15 - 20 minutes away. But, it could even take 2 hours to reach there. Yes, the traffic over here can be anyone's enemy. But now we were getting late only because of... me!
Yesterday night Di had reminded me to set the alarm for 6:50 am. I was so engrossed in talking to Saumya, that I took the alarm clock turned it to somewhere between 6 and 7 and kept it on the side table. We slept "peacefully", and also were till Di heard a vessel fall in the kitchen. She woke up, checked the time and to her shock it was 8:25 am. It was then it struck me that I hadn't turn on the alarm.
We were all packed and were about to leave when Ma called from behind, "Annika, take care of yourself okay? Take your medicines on time. And call me daily." She kissed Di on the forehead.
"Don't worry Ma. I'll take care of Di. You know na how responsible I am?" I winked at Di.
"Yeah. I saw how responsible you are today morning." Ma lightly smacked my head as I huffed and Di laughed.
"Let's go choti. We're getting late." We both hugged Ma and we left.
Arjun
