If you are all thinking that I chose to write this OS based on red colour because I have just become Rockerz, then you are absolutely right!!š¤£ I am dedicating this OS to my awesome sister friends Shreya, Rima, Zana and also Nayu who has just been promoted Rockerz yesterday.
She had become a great puzzle for him, Arnav Singh Raizada, the top owner of the best fashion house in Delhi, AR Designsā¦a puzzle that was becoming inextricably complex to figure out. She was so different from all the other girls he had seen before and he was talking with experience when he affirmed that Khushi Kumari Gupta was indeed an exceptional girl that demarked her from all the female counterparts he had worked with.
Her efficiency and hard work knew no bounds, and this was clearly the first attribute of hers that had created a soft place in his heart. Day by day, her presence in the office was THE thing that he looked forward to seeingā¦she was not only a very efficient employee but also an extremely beautiful woman who had left a bewitching impact on Arnav. In a matter of days, he had fallen in love with her simplicity.
Khushi had noticed the increasing tenderness that oozed from Arnav's way of talking to her and she often caught him staring at her. From the day she had been called for the interview, she had observed how good-looking he was, the perfect dream man, and the fact that Arnav seemed to have fallen for her gave her immense happiness. Because she too had fallen in love with himā¦the various times they had worked together, his talks, his smile, his generosity. And since the past few months, they had started dating each otherā¦
But there was an inexplicable barrier that was surrounding Khushi, a barrier that prevented Arnav from fully deciphering her. Despite the bubbly nature that made her so characteristic, her eyes often conveyed utter pain. He had asked her several times what was bothering her, but no answer had come.
"Today it's Valentine's Day! I need to talk to her! I need to ask her" Arnav murmured to himself.
The whole office had become a red haven, with all girls wearing assorted red clothes and showing off their red Valentine cards and red roses. Amidst all the effervescence, Khushi was sitting at her table, staying away from the red craze that had overpowered everyone. Wearing a simple light-coloured Anarkali suit, she took Arnav's call and made her way towards his cabin.
As soon as she reached his cabin, Arnav pulled her towards him, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Happy Valentine's Day Khushi! I love you!" Arnav whispered in her ear.
Khushi instinctively blushed and kissed Arnav back on his cheek before adding "I love you too Arnavji!"
"Even if you are not wearing red today, it is not the colour missing from your face!" Arnav said.
"What do you mean?" Khushi asked.
"Your cheeks and nose have turned completely red! By the way Khushi, do you mind me asking you a question?" Arnav asked holding her hand.
"Why are you hesitating? Go ahead!" Khushi smilingly said.
"Why did you prevent me from offering you red roses today? And why are you not wearing the red suit I gave youā¦you didn't like it? You have refused before also and it didn't bother me, but today is Valentine's Day" Arnav asked.
"Because I don't like red!" Khushi said immediately, her face depicting melancholy.
"But why? I thought that girls dote on red colour, and especially today, Valentines' Day! You know me better than anyone but sometimes I feel that I don't know you enough! I have the right to know what keeps nagging you from within. Each time I ask you about the pain that you are trying to dissimulate, you evade the matter Khushi!"
"Arnavji, it's just thatā¦" Khushi started to say, before being interrupted by Arnav, who exclaimed:
"It's just that you don't want to share your worries? That's what you were going to say? Khushi, I love you and who else will share your pain if not me!"
Just at that moment, Arnav's hand bumped against a glass of water and he bent to collect the pieces of broken glass, when a slight shriek made Khushi realise that he had just hurt himself.
"Let me see!" Khushi said worriedly "Arnavji, you just don't take care of yourself!!!"
She hurriedly took his hand and kissed the surface which was bleeding : "This is the reason why I don't like red!"
*Beginning of flashback*
The heavy drops of rain were battling against the road where Khushi, only ten year old, was running as fast as possible; shock and fear overwhelming her. She was drenched from head to toe when she reached destinationā¦a destination that no child would have loved to reach. She extended her hand to the glass-door that was separating her from the two persons she loved the mostā¦her Amma and her Babuji, both lying unconscious on their respective hospital beds, their body covered with that colourā¦the colour of deathā¦red blood.
The sight of blood gave her an eerie sensation that marked her to life. She had tried hard to rub those red spots that she found were staining her Amma's and her Babuji's faces. She frantically moved her hand along the blood and tried to get rid of the red colour, before her Buaji had come and took her away. Since the day she had lost her parents, the images of blood had been etched in her mind, and she had banished red from her life.
*End of flashback*
Khushi was in tears when narrating her traumatic experience, and Arnav tightly hugged her showering her with his soothing and warm comfort.
"Khushi, sshh!! Just relaxā¦sit here!" Arnav made Khushi sit on his chair, and realised the pain through which she had gone through since all these years, keeping her past deeply buried.
"Khushi, why didn't you tell me before? I understand your pain ā¦ I have lost my parents too and it is the worst thing that can happen to any child! It's natural for you to have felt repulse for red, the colour which you think has taken them from you!" Arnav said.
Khushi was silently listening to him as he sat on the table, cupping her face.
"But Khushi, if red is the colour of blood, then do you know that this" Arnav pointing to his heart and then to hers "pumps blood to your body. Your heart and mine as well are huge repositories of blood! And love comes from the heart, right?"
"Are you trying to confuse me?" Khushi asked with a small smile that had appeared, her tears fading away.
"I just want to tell you that you have always seen red from the bad side of the coin! Just flip it and you will see a beautiful world where red is the second name for love and life!"
Arnav was aware that it would be impossible to remove the traumatic images from her mind, but he felt the urge of being there for her. Red was the thing that prevented Khushi from moving ahead and enjoying her life as any woman of her age would. Arnav felt the need to neutralise all her fears and instil faith in her, and he kept doing it until red was no longer a bane for Khushi.
Maybe Khushi was only waiting for the right person to lift the veil that was preventing her from seeing other symbolisms of redā¦and now that love had knocked at her door and that she had found the ideal partner, she felt different and much more at peaceā¦
"Today your parents would have been so happy to see their daughter brimming in happiness" Arnav told Khushi.
Arnav slowly approached Khushi who was sitting on the bed, in her red bridal attire, wearing red bangles and the most important sign of a married woman, sindoor!
"I love you Khushi! You and meā¦" Arnav said, and Khushi added "Forever".
Arjun
