RiKara TS- Mera Pehla Pyaar || Thank you for 100+ likes - Page 7

It had been three weeks since Om was back in Mumbai. Diwali had arrived too soon, and the festivities had begun around the entire neighborhood. Rudra had all his mischief planned out and Jhanvi could only hope that his mischief did not end up with certain aunties coming over and complaining to her about him. However, that was the least of all her concerns, right now. She had noticed Omkara sulking away, least interested in taking part in any preparations, despite the fact that it was nine years since he came home, and that he was celebrating Diwali with his family after nine long years. At present, he unwillingly and lazily hung the lanterns on the canopy of their house, still wearing that glum look on his face. "Om..." she called out, and Omkara walked up to her after he had finished his designated task. "Why do you look upset?" she asked, and he was quick to shake his head negatively. "Why wouldn't he be upset?" they heard Tej say, "After all, his girlfriend and her parents have gone to Bangalore to visit Gauri. Our poor boy must be missing Riddhima, right Omi?" Tej nudged his son with the elbow, and Omkara smiled half-heartedly as his father went to look where his younger boy was.

Gauging her son's reactions, Jhanvi said, "Gauri could've been here for Diwali if it wasn't for the last minute cancellation of holidays by her school. The poor girl had made so many plans for celebrating it here, with us all." "Really?" Om said, with a sudden interest, and Jhanvi smiled as she said, "Yes. In fact, when I had gone shopping with Pinky, last week, I had spoken to Gauri over the phone. She'd been so upset that her Diwali vacation was cancelled by the school management. She mentioned how bad she felt that she wasn't here with us, especially now that you were back from Mussoorie." "Gauri said that?" Omkara asked, almost hiding his curiosity, in vain. Jhanvi nodded as she busied herself in shaping the laddoos to offer as prasad, "Yes. She told me how badly she missed home, Pinky, Shakti, Riddhima, Tej, Rudy and me..." "She didn't mention about me?" Om asked her, trying hard to mask his disappointment and sounding as casual as possible. Jhanvi suppressed her giggle, "I'm not sure I remember about that, Om..." She looked at him frowning, "Are you annoyed that she did not miss you?" Omkara's frown deepened, "Why would I be annoyed? I don't really care. Anyway, I have some work to be done around the house..." Saying this, he stormed out of the place without trying to convey what was really going on in his mind. But a mother knew her child the best. And thus, Jhanvi grinned to herself at the thoughts that her grown-up baby tried his best to hide.

***

"I shouldn't have come here at all!" Riddhima whispered into Gauri's ears during the evening prayers, "It is the first Diwali after Om is back home, and instead of being at the Oberoi Mansion, I am here in Bangalore, with you!" Gauri did not say anything, but did feel bad that her sister preferred to be in Mumbai rather than being with her. Riddhima continued, "I saw how disappointed Om was when I told him that we would not be able to celebrate Diwali with him and his family because we are visiting you here. I really wish your school wasn't so unfair to the rest of the us! Now because of this last minute cancellation of plan, I couldn't even wish Om properly!" Gauri frowned in irritation, "You should have stayed back then!" Riddhima rolled her eyes, "As if Mummy-Papa would let me stay back! If it weren't for your stupid school, I could have at least..." and Riddhima continued while Gauri mentally switched off. She did not know what irritated her more: the fact that her sister preferred to stay in Mumbai than visit her; or the fact that she herself couldn't visit Mumbai. She sighed when she heard Riddhima complain something irrelevant, and decided that it was better to drown her nose in her books than listening to her sister.

***

"Omi..." Rudy called his brother to help him light the crackers, but he seemed uninterested. Despite Tej and Jhanvi urging him, Omkara chose to stand in a corner, watching the bright colors light up the surrounding as Rudy lit a few flower-pots. Omkara sighed and looked up at the moon. Diwali would've been much, much better, if only she was here... if only...

***

Time flew by, and with each passing day, Riddhima's friendship towards Omkara starting blossoming into something akin to love. Her day began with thinking about Omkara's and he was the last thought on her mind before she slept. She even dreamt about him, and she couldn't help but blush whenever she saw him. However, the same was not the case with him. He had kept up to his promise he had made to her, that she was his best friend. And she would remain just that, and nothing more; For, Omkara had his mind and heart elsewhere; with an innocent little girl studying in Bangalore; with Gauri Sharma. He had last seen her nine years back, hiding timidly behind her mother, waving him goodbye. And by the time he was back, she had already moved away for her studies. He couldn't help but wonder at times how he had developed certain feelings for her. And over time, these certain unnamed feelings for her only grew stronger and stronger.

***

Om woke up quite at three o'clock, that morning. He had been accustomed to waking up early ever since his boarding days at Mussoorie, and despite being back in Mumbai for almost four years now, he still stuck to the Mussoorie schedule. Of course, it also helped him to reach his office quite early. The only difference about today was that, today he was asked for a special favour by Shakti Sharma- to pick up Gauri Sharma from the railway station at 04.30 in the morning. Omkara was more than happy to oblige. He had even listened to Riddhima's curses when he had called her up to wake her up at 03.30. Presently, with his car parked outside the railway station, he did not know what made his heart flutter at the thought of picking up Gauri. Even though Riddhima, in her half-asleep state, was muttering something to Om while waiting outside the station, he could feel a certain strange excitement in meeting Gauri for the first time in all these years.

***

It seemed as if time had stood still when he saw her walking out of the station along with her luggage. Dressed in a pale peach salwar and a book in her hand, Gauri scanned the parking area as she adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose. Om got out of the car and walked towards her, and smiled when he saw her serious expressions soften at his sight. "Welcome home, Gauri!" he said softly as he bent down to hug her. After overcoming her initial hesitation, she hugged him back for a brief second, only to pull away. The first thought that came to his mind was how soft, supple and gentle she felt in his arms. He hoped and prayed she did not hear his heart thudding, nor feel his hands trembling with the happiness of seeing her after all this while. Somewhere, in the corner of his heart, he had a tiny fear and doubt if his strong feelings for her were genuine or not. Until now. Because the moment she was in his arms, it was all clear to him; as if something precious had been unveiled to light; that she was meant to be his; that she was his soul mate.

Omkara looked at Gauri as she watched the streets of Mumbai in fascination. Three years had changed Mmumbai significantly. Riddhima was fast asleep in the backseat, leaving Omkara and Gauri to sit with a pin-drop silence. "How does it feel to be back?" he asked attempting to strike a conversation, to which she shrugged her shoulders with a smile, continuing to look at the early morning view outside. "I take it that the view outside is more interesting than me?" he mused, and she shook her head in negative, causing him to smile. "So, do you still shy away from talking to anyone?" This time, she looked at him with a small smile. "I am not a talkative person. Sorry, but I make a bad companion during any journey." Omkara chuckled, "I'm thankful you aren't talkative; I don't think I could tolerate another' Riddhima." Omkara's heart felt a sudden bout of happiness when she laughed at what he said; her laughter sounded like the tinkling of bells. And with every second, his heart kept mumbling to him that's he was indeed the one. Dil ne tumko chun liya hai... tum bhi isko chuno na...' played on the car radio, and he could only thank the supreme force for the subtle indication.

***

"Welcome home, Gauri!" Jhanvi said, handing a small gift wrapped box to Gauri, when Tej, Rudy, Om and she had come over that night for dinner. "Thank you Aunty, but this wasn't really required" she said, politely refusing the box. "Well," Jhanvi started, "Then you'll have to discuss it with Omi. Coz he picked it up for you..." Gauri looked at Omkara as he blinked at her with a grin, silently asking her to keep it.

"Om brought it? Let me see..." Riddhima said, almost pulling the box from her hand. "That is Gauri's gift." he said in an admonishing tone as Riddhima ripped the wrapper open. Without looking at him, she fumbled with the box, "As if it makes a difference as to who opens the gift. What's mine is Gauri's and what's Gauri's is mine. Right, Gauri?" Riddhima did not wait for a reply from Gauri, who apologetically looked at Om. "Dangler earrings! So pretty!" Riddhima said as she held the earring up for all to see. "Om's choice is quite nice!" Tej said in appreciation. Om was about to say something but frowned deeper when he heard Riddhima ask Gauri if she could wear the earrings. "But that's Gauri's gift!" he said in a louder voice. Riddhima turned to him and said, "If you really wanted to get something for Gauri, then you should have asked me. Gauri doesn't even wear earrings; she hasn't even pierced her ears! If you had got her some books, that would have been a great gift!" Om looked at Gauri, who looked at him helplessly. "Of course, you can keep the earrings Riddhima..." Tej said with a smile, "Om can always get another gift for Gauri! And maybe, you can go with him and pick up a gift that Gauri would like?" Riddhima looked excited at the idea, while Om looked on irritated, even when Tej winked at him.

"Sorry..." Om muttered to Gauri after dinner, still glaring at Riddhima and the earrings, Gauri's gift, which she had worn. "Had I known that she would stake a claim over your gift, I'd have got her a pair too." Then looking at Gauri, his eyes softened, "I'll bring your gift, soon." Despite Gauri's protest, he had the last word and promised her a gift, soon.

***

Few days later, Omkara had cracked the shell that Gauri had built around her, and had also managed to become her close friend. It had certainly taken some time for Riddhima to digest the fact that Omkara now divided his attention between her and Gauri too, and somewhere, she wasn't liking it. However, she couldn't help but melt into a gooey puddle every single time Omkara looked at her with a bright smile on his lips. And in the deepest corner of her heart, she was thankful that Gauri was becoming friendlier with Om, which meant that there could be a possibility of her younger sister playing a cupid between Omkara and her.

***

"These earrings?" he asked again, and Gauri nodded her head with a broad smile. He chuckled, shaking his head as she moved her hair aside, she showed off his gifted earrings. "But Gauri, I thought you had never pierced your ears!" he said, while his eyes focused on the nape of her bare neck. "I decided to get them pierced." She said with a shrug of her shoulders, while sipping the tender coconut water and watching the waves visit the sea shore, one after the other. "Why?" he asked, now focused on her ear and the earring. "Just like that..." she said in a soft tone. And Omkara felt his heart swell with joy when, for the very first time, she actually blushed.

***

"Om, you just do not find any time to talk to me nowadays!" Riddhima whined, drawing Omkara's attention for a short span, before it shifted to Gauri and the boy sitting next to her on the swing on the porch. "Why is he being so friendly to her?" Om asked as he frowned. Riddhima shook her head with a broad grin, "He's Ajay; Gauri's classmate, who has the biggest crush on her." Omkara said nothing in response but only glared at the two of them smiling at something silly.

***

A week had passed since that day, and Omkara refused to talk to Gauri, or even acknowledge her presence around him. And a confused Gauri had even asked Riddhima what the matter was, and even she was completely clueless. Gauri, at present, saw him seated at his desk in his room, trying to sketch something, furiously. "May I come in?" she asked as she knocked on his room door. Omkara heard her voice, but refused to respond. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, but there was no answer, thus confirming that Omkara was certainly mad at her about something. "Omkara, I'm talking to you!" she said in a louder, impatient tone. "So you finally found the time to talk to me?" he said in a dry voice, causing her to frown. "What do you mean? What did I do?" she asked walking towards him and he chuckled sarcastically. "You did nothing, Gauri. Now, why don't you go and spend time with your boyfriend?" Gauri frowned, "Boyfriend? What are you saying?" Omkara balled his hands into a fist as he threw the charcoal pencil away. "Really? You don't know? Don't act smart." His sudden outburst stunned her, and the hurt was evident on her face, causing him to be more irritated. "Listen, why don't you just go from here and do something more productive? Like, maybe spend some time on the swing with that Ajay?"

Three seconds later, he heard Gauri burst into a fit of laughter. His ire rose when he watched her laughing at him, but he couldn't ignore the fluttering of his heart when he heard her laughter. "What's so funny?" he said in a soft yet stern voice. After a whole minute, as the laughter subsided, she asked him, "Who told you he was my boyfriend?" He looked away and in an annoyed voice, he said, "Riddhima told me he had a crush on you." Gauri shook her head with a small smile, "That doesn't mean he is my boyfriend? If him having a crush on me meant that he was my boyfriend, then, by the same token, Riddhima is your girlfriend!" Omkara looked at her in shock, "What?" A second later, her eyes grew wide, almost mirroring his expression. "Please tell me you know that Riddhima has had the biggest crush on you ever since... since... I don't know since when!" Omkara looked into her eyes, "But she's ... she's my best friend! I don't have any such romantic feelings towards her! Plus, she never told me she had any such feelings for me!" Gauri's lips formed a perfect O, "You've got to be blind if you did not notice her feelings for you! I mean, it's right there in the open. The way she looks at you..." Gauri's voice trailed off when she noticed Om looking at her intently. She felt her heart beat turn faster when he stood a few inches away from her, staring at her face, and then settling his gaze on her lips. "Then, Gauri, you must probably be blind too..." he said, his heart now thudding faster. "Wh... why do you say that?" She shook her head, unable to comprehend what he was saying, and then her eyes grew wider when he held her hands in his. She felt her breath hitch as he stepped even closer to her and said, "Because you haven't noticed what I've felt for you over the years. You've been blind to how madly I've been in love with you for years now..."

***