**Replies to your comments begin page 93. Don't get lost in the sea of posts! 😆
Also, as almost all of you are at the end of your nerves concerning Maan's entry, I might as well disclose that he will come in about three chapters, which is six more days if I update every alternate day!9. A Binding Tie
Office went even better than the previous day. Vyan was funny, I had found out. He joked around with the staff yet he never crossed his limits. I was still exempted from his jokes since I was new. Instead, he acted all chivalrous and reserved with me. I didn't mind as long as it didn't affect my work.
The day felt better also because I was in a lighter mood. I had been anxious the previous day since I was to meet a friend I hadn't been able to contact in four years but today, I knew what was waiting for me. The thought of seeing Anaya and Ayush's children still felt like a dream but it made me all the more upbeat about today.
A short telephonic conversation with Raya and then G was all I did before I set out for Anaya's house, memorising the address she'd messaged me the previous day. The area I ended up in wasn't unfamiliar to me but I still kept careful track that I was moving towards the right direction.
When I rang the doorbell of the moderate house, I could hear some bustling on the other side of the door. Anaya's voice, telling someone to back off, confirmed I was on the correct address, which made me bite my lip with a smile on my face. The door was pulled open and I saw Anaya, dressed in a sleeveless top and a long skirt, smiling at me. "Hi!" I stepped inside and gave her a brief hug before my eyes fell on a curious pair of light brown eyes, the colour of Anaya's.
"Is this Yana?" I whispered to Anaya even as I took a slow step towards her and kneeled down on the floor. "She is a replica of you." I looked at Anaya whose face beamed with the pride of a mother.
"Hello!" I held my hand out in front of the little Anaya and spoke in a friendly tone. "I'm your maasi." She looked at my hand and then at her mother.
"Say hi to maasi." Anaya instructed Yana. "Tell her your name."
Yana's eyes reverted to me and she smiled shyly as she brought her tiny hand to mine. "Hello." Her voice was low and melodious. "I'm Yana."
"Aww! She's so cute!" I couldn't help but lean in and kiss her chubby cheek before a crying voice called for our attention. Anaya rushed into the house with Yana running after her. I followed slowly, looking around at the modestly furnished house.
"Ayush, I told you to keep an eye on Shay until I came back!" Anaya's complaining voice made me turn my head to look at her cradling the little form of Shay in her arms and patting his back. He was still whimpering and I couldn't see Ayush anywhere. I stood there for a moment, seeing my friend being a mother to her two-year-old. It was a strange feeling which filled me, of happiness, of pride, of longing. I quickly shook my head when I saw Ayush emerging from a door, his attention on his wife and child.
"What happened to him?" He asked as he put a hand over Anaya's on Shay's back. "Did he fall down again?" I saw Anaya nod and Ayush leaning a little to run fingers on his son's head to examine if he'd hurt himself somewhere. The family picture I was looking at was so overwhelming that I could feel tears starting to clog my throat. To not let myself shed them, I cleared my throat which made the worrying parents turn to look at me.
Ayush's face lit up with a smile as he saw me. The tall, lean guy with cute, boyish features was gone, replaced with a well-built man with hardened features, but the smile was still the same, the one which could spread a smile on your face.
"Geet." He covered the distance between us in a few long strides and took me in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"
"Liar!" I accused as we broke apart. He shook his head and pinched his throat.
"No really! I swear!" The smile on my face was probably the giveaway of my pretence of being angry because he smiled and put an arm around my shoulder, leading me to where Anaya was still standing with the now quietened little Shay who was curiously looking our way. "Did you meet my Yana and Shay?" His voice was that of a doting father as he held his hands out for Shay to climb. "This is my champ!" I smiled at his tone as I caressed the chubby cheek.
"Truly your champ." I looked at his features. "He looks like you."
"He's my son, after all!"
"Our son, Mr. Ayush!" I laughed when Anaya reminded Ayush a very vital fact.
It was only a few minutes when Anaya set off to serve the dinner. She first fed her twins. It was fun to watch the twins sit in their baby seats with bibs tied around their necks as they gurgled and talked with each other in their baby language.
Yana and Shay were asleep soon after having had their meal, which gave their parents an opportunity to have their dinner in peace. We caught up over dinner, fondly remembering the college days when Ayush never shared his chocolates and flirted with girls. I laughed when Anaya reprimanded him for flirting with other girls during college and he looked at me in complaint. Their love actually shone the brightest when they fought like this over petty things and when they would make extra efforts to pacify the other.
Somehow, they both knew not to mention the name of the fourth and the most important member of our group who brought us together back during the college days. I was silently grateful to them for that. We heard a squeaky cry coming from the room where the twins had been put to sleep. Ayush began to get up to check on them when Anaya stopped him and went herself.
"Anaya told me about your... parents." He spoke in a serious voice when Anaya was gone. I looked down at my plate. "How...?" He left his sentence incomplete but I got the question.
"Car accident." I told him in a murmur.
"I'm sorry." He spoke after a few seconds.
I wasn't going to cry, I told myself repeatedly. He put his hand on mine over the table. "You're not alone, Geet. We are all here for you. Me, Anaya, G, all of us." I nodded slightly, my eyes still on my plate.
"You know, ever since I have gotten to know you, I have always thought if I had a sister, she would be like you." I looked at him at his earnest voice. "I have thought of you as a sister I've never had."
His eyes were fixed on mine. "Will you let this brother take care of his sister?" His words did the job and a tear escaped my eye as I nodded. He smiled and wiped the tear, shaking his head. I marvelled at my luck to have found such precious relationships from the friendships I never thought would become so deep.
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