She was astonished at the voice. She couldn't believe her ears. She lifted her head and turned to find his face near hers. His eyes had compassion in them, that same emotion she had seen in his eyes for the small girl at the temple. She knew he had come to help her like he had helped that small girl to buy the pigeons that day. All she could do was stare at his eyes. She could not move nor could she speak.
Arnav-"Sshhh...". He lifted his hand and wiped away the tears in her eyes. He clearly knew it this time that all she wanted was a hug, a genuine hug but that she was hesitating it. He remembered the numerous times that she had hugged him, those times that he never reciprocated it back. But today he couldn't control himself. He remembered the numerous times he had sacrificed so many things in his life for his Di. Today she was doing the same thing to her Jiji, and this somehow put them in the same wavelength. He felt her pain. He remembered the numerous times that he too felt like crying, when he couldn't get what he wanted in his life. All he had wanted was a hug, but there was no one for him. Now he wanted to be there for her.
He held his arms open wide, inviting her for a hug. Instantly, as if she had been waiting for it, she hugged him with such an overwhelming force and started sobbing on his chest. He held her tightly assuring her not to worry. The world stood still as they embraced each other. He wanted to freeze this moment, but he knew they were running short of time. They had to catch the plane.
He pulled himself away from her, again wiped away her tears, held her wrist and pulled her inside. He did not wait for an answer, he didn't need it. She was coming with him and that was final. No amount of protest would do. He pulled her inside the house and entered Khushi's room.
Arnav-"Khushi, quickly pack your luggage. We have a flight to catch. And don't you dare utter a word and try arguing with me. I listened to your conversation with Di and I know your worries. I have arranged for everything. How dare you sit like a cry baby here. I thought Khushi Kumari Gupta never accepted defeat in her life."
Khushi-"but...". She knew she couldn't agree to this, but she knew she would be fighting a dying cause. This time even she couldn't go against his word.
Arnav-"Stop fussing Khushi Kumari Gupta. I shall go outside and explain everything to your parents. I'm sure they will understand. Now get dressed and come fast. I'll be waiting for you." He went outside and explained the situation to her parents and Buaji, who were actually eager to send her along with Payal. He then called Akash and asked him to wait for them at the Airport.
Khushi came outside all dressed up, along with her luggage. She bid goodbyes to her family and went outside towards the car. Arnav kept the luggage at the back of the car. This time his driver was driving the car. They both got into the back seat and the driver started the car. During their 20 minute journey to airport, there was only silence between them. The driver's presence hadn't helped them to ease the tension between them.
Khushi was experiencing all kinds of emotions. She couldn't help getting excited that finally she was going to Australia. But at the same time, she didn't know what to decipher from the whole hearted hug she received from the man beside him. She felt comforted yet this was new for her and the more she thought about it, the more she felt confused.
He had been pretending to stare outside the window, his face all calm and quiet but inside he couldn't understand what those new emotions were. He clearly knew that he cared for her, even though he refused it accept it so many times before. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Khushi had wanted to say something but wasn't finding any words. He sensed it and thus, to alleviate her from his, he quietly placed his hand on top of hers.
She didn't move her hand away, nor did she meet his eyes. She pretended to look outside but deep inside she knew that she understood him. Theirs was an unspoken conversation. He held her hand until they had reached the airport.
They met Akash and the others who were eagerly waiting outside. Payal was so excited to see Khushi.
Payal-"Pagli, so you finally decided to come. May I know who that great person is, who could change this stubborn Khushi's mind?" Khushi turned around to see Arnav who was eagerly listening to their conversation. A faint smile appeared on his lips and he quickly turned around to remove their luggage and place it on the trolley.
Khushi-" Woh Jiji, I thought that you would miss me so much, that I would die yawning whenever u thought about me. So I decide to come."
Arnav-"Let's get inside fast." So finally after a gloomy day, Khushi was back to herself. They hurried inside to check in their luggage. There was a long queue at the counter. After waiting for ten minutes, Khushi became restless.
Khushi-" It is going to be long time till we reach the counter. I think till that we should do some exploration. This is the first time we are coming to the Airport. Come Jiji, let's get into the big shop there. It looks awesome from outside."
Anjali-" OK, girls. You two go ahead.Give your passports to Chote. But make sure you return back after 15 minutes and yeah, please don't get lost."
Khushi-"Ok Anjaliji, No worries". Saying she grabbed Payal's hand and both of them entered the Duty free shop. She couldn't help admiring at all the things available inside. The chocolates, the perfumes, the varieties of souvenirs and all other things. Both of them went into a wild spree looking at the things one after another.
Payal-"This is nothing less than a mall. We get everything here. It's so nice right, Khushi". Saying she turned around only to find that Khushi was not beside her. Payal panicked. She started looking for her everywhere but she couldn't find her. She went to all the corners of the shop, but she couldn't find her. She knew that Khushi was not inside the shop. She came out and saw a long line of shops. OMG! She could have entered any of the shop and it was going to be a difficult task searching for her.
She needed help and so she went back to the queue to the Raizada's who were waiting for them.
Akash-"Payalji, what happened? Why are you panicking so much?".
Payal-" Woh, Akashji, actually we were busy looking at the things in the shop, when I suddenly discovered that Khushi was not beside me. I searched for her everywhere inside the shop but I still couldn't find her. I think she is lost." Hearing Khushi's name, Arnav's ears became alert. All that escaped from his mouth was 'Unbelievable'. Their turn was next at the counter. Not knowing what to do, he quickly handed the others passports and decided to go search for her. He asked them to check in and not wait for them and proceed ahead. He assured his Di and a panicked Payal that he would search for Khushi.
Khushi had always made sure that she landed herself into trouble. A laugh escaped from his mouth thinking about it. Khushi definitely deserved a place in the museum. She was a limited edition piece, no one like her. He went shop after shop, searching for her, but still couldn't find her. Then as if he had been enlightened, he knew where she would be. Why didn't he think about it before? He went straight into the sweet shop in the food court and behold, there she was standing at the counter, arguing with its employee. A huge smile appeared on his face thinking about their conversation. He went nearby to hear it.
Khushi-"Do you know that you people are cheating the common man? 450 rupees for 1kg Jalebi. Are you nuts? I prepare better than this at home and only charge 100 rupees."
Employee-"But madam, we have to pay rent for this shop and there are so many workers here. So they will charge extra right to increase their profits."
Khushi-"Stop teaching business to me. You remind me of Laad Governor." She murmered.Hearing this Arnav couldn't control himself from going near them.
Arnav-"Excuse me, but can you please tell me what the problem is?" He pretended like he never heard their conversation.
Employee-" She wants to buy Jalebis. But she is not ready to pay the price displayed here."
Arnav-"Here take this and pack 2 kgs Jalebis and make it fast." From the corner of his eye, he could see her staring at him dumbfounded. She wanted to protest but her voice failed her. From the time they had hugged she couldn't manage to talk to him. Somehow, her mind was confused with his actions. He clearly understood this. So he took the packet of jalebis and grabbed her hand and walked back fast to the check in counter. They checked in their luggage, went through the airport scanners and finally reached the boarding gate, where she met the others.
Payal-" where were you? I was so worried about you. I really don't know what would've happened if we couldn't find. We would have left you and gone to Australia. See, you should thank Arnavji for finding you." Khushi managed a glance at Arnav, who was still staring at her. He had an amused expression on his face.
Khushi-" Woh Jiji, I wanted to eat jalebis. So I went into the shop." And she narrated her entire story. All couldn't help, but laugh at her antics. After waiting for twenty minutes, they heard the announcement to board the flight. All five of them entered the flight. Khushi and Payal were really excited to see the inside of the flight. All of them checked the seat numbers on the boarding pass.
Akash-"Bhai, our seats are in the fifth row. Where are yours?". Arnav glanced into his and Khushi's pass only to realize that their seat was in the thirtieth row.
Arnav-" Since we checked in late, our seats are at the back. Come Khushi, let's go to the back."
Khushi couldn't believe her ears. She was going to sit with her Arnavji all by themselves at the back. This couldn't be happening.
Khushi-"But Jiji, I wanted to sit with you." She protested.
Payal-"Then who told you to get lost and check in late. Serves you right." Arnav pushed her forward and she reluctantly went and sat in her seat. He placed the handbag above and sat beside her. The plane was about to take off and he knowing her experience with the seat belt in his car, decided to tie the seat belt for her. The engines roared and the plane started. During the take off, Arnav could clearly see an eager Khushi, peeping out of the window at the Delhi City lights and getting all excited. This reminded him of his first journey in the plane. He was astonished at how mature she was sometimes and yet this childlike innocence in her during these times.
She had held his hand excitedly and turned around to say something. But again she couldn't find any voice in her. What was happening to her? She wondered. All he did was stare at her.
After about 1 hr into the journey, there heard an announcement regarding the plane encountering bad weather and then the plane started trembling and so did Khushi's panic.
Khushi-"Hey Devi Maiyya, I don't want to see your face so soon. I don't want to die." Saying this she grabbed Arnav's hand and he squeezed it tightly back to reassure her that they would be alright.
Arnav-"Don't worry Khushi. Nothing's gonna happen. Calm down." She held on to his arm really tightly and it pained him. But he wasn't gonna let that minute pain affect him. He was strong and he was going to be stronger for her.
Khushi-" when are we gonna reach Australia?". This was the first time she had directly spoken to him after the hug.
Arnav-"We still have 13 hrs more to go." A shock crept upon her face and she quickly released her grip on his hand, only to reveal a completely red Arnav's hand with nail marks.
Khushi-"Arnavji, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your hand." He reassured her he was fine. She couldn't believe what was she doing. He had been nice to her but she was hurting him. She felt guilty. So she opened the jalebi packet and started munching jalebis.
The food was served. Within two minutes she gobbled up all the food. Arnav was shocked at her behaviour. All he could do was offer something from his plate and within no minute she finished munching it and stared at him. He knew that she was still hungry but was embarrassed to admit it. So he called the Air hostess and ordered more food for them. Khushi ate and ate without any hint of stopping. He had enough of it. Even he panicked at how such a small sized girl could accommodate all that food inside her.
He held her hand to stop her from suffocating herself and placed his other hand on her shoulder.
Arnav-"Relax Khushi, calm down. Is something bothering you?". He said with a genuine concern on his face.
Khushi-"Why are you behaving so nicely with me today?". She blurted out the confusion in her mind. Somewhere she knew the answer but could not accept it. He was no more the Rakshas. He reminded her of the days just before Diwali, before that fateful night and she was scared. She wanted his answer.
Arnav-"I don't know". Saying these three words, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He himself didn't know the answer to it.
Sorry if it is long. Please forgive me if you've been bored.
Part 3: Gravitation. Already here!!!
Comments please!!! This time I will even accept chappals. By the looks of my writing I can definitely open Chappal shop😆
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