Arhi FF 'Sandcastle' #2 Reposted all parts - Page 80

Chapter 22

Suriya,

For the first time since we met... not literally but you can say in another way... since we started this exchange of letters, I am speechless. Not because I don't want to share anything to a mere stranger but with the fact that I have nothing else to share with the man I fell in love with. As filmy as it might sound, I fell in love with you, the handsome guy, on the first sight. But with the four letters that you replied, I fell in love with the person that you are. It still amazes me as how one can know and understand the other person by these letters alone. Yet, I don't regret anything that happened between us. For one thing, it gave me the opportunity to feel being loved. Strange, I know.

I am tired, and irritated. You can't believe this. I am grounded. Literally. It's more like resort-arrested than house-arrested, by Ramya. For reason as silly as a little cough. Well, what really happened is that we spent the night on the beach, with a bonfire camp with few foreign tourists. And I had few ice creams, resulting this cough thing. And slight fever. Nothing alarming. But she had to make two calls back at home. One for Pussy Cat. And one for Viswa. I hate the control these two have over my life. while Pussy Cat all but asked me to avoid ice creams at midnights and visit a doc without a fail, Viswa stepped ahead and ordered Ramya to make sure the doc comes to our room, and not me travelling all the way to the hospital. I hate him for this.

Okay, this reminds me of something that you have the right to know. About me. About their concern or over protectiveness that I like to term as. When I was a kid, I happened to be diagnosed with cancer. I had to undergo a major surgery, the bone marrow transplantation. While I am glad my sister saved my life while risking her own, I didn't like them for having the fear and the need to look after me. I mean, they are bound to worry. But still, it had been a good 15 years and I am happy in my own little world. And healthy. And I didn't even once diagnosed anything seriously ill. Just fever twice a year during winters, which is normal with the weather.

I hope this doesn't affect whatever we have.

It's not that I don't trust you, Suriya. I do. I did with all my secrets and desires. I will do with all life ahead. It's just... I never voiced about this aloud to anyone and the intensity with which I am connected to you in this way, scaring me. I never felt like this for anyone before. And I am not sure I will for anyone in future. This feeling... of being in love... of love being reciprocated... is new.

But if things don't change with this... if you are still willing to meet me on the New Year night... then get ready to have a long ride with me. I have this small dream, or wish. I don't like all the fireworks. Well, not really. I like them, but I like watching the sparks from far away. Without being disturbed or irritated by the noise pollution. Or the world around us. it should be just the two of us. Far away from them. With us sitting on any fields, watching the fireworks, while we sit in silence, enjoying the other's presence... letting the unspoken words, the silence, communicate.

That plan does sound tempting. And too intimate.

Waiting for that moment, Suriya.

Waiting for the moment... where I can say that I love you... where you can hear me say that... so close that I can hear your heartbeat against my palm, feel your breath on my...

Shona

Arnav waited impatiently for the elevator to make its way down from the fifth floor as he stood in the entrance lobby after confirming his appointment at the reception deck. The previous day had been a day of revelations and he wasn't sure whether it ended with the day. If any, they had just begun and as the night fell across the world, the dark clouds that casted upon his life started parting away, allowing him to see where he stood in all the while. And for that, he was glad. Though the unknown fear gripped his heart with a low voice back in head that had been shouting things Arnav otherwise was in no position to stand and think about, there was a strange calmness in him that he finally had something to look for, to reach for and to end his longing. The days ahead was going to be difficult, and the day that laid ahead promised to change something, irrevocably, yet, for the first time since he came to know about the pampered kid being a matured RJ, he felt being at peace within himself. As if he finally knew where to look to find answers for his long awaited questions.

By the time he reached the cabin that was supposedly be the man's that he was about to meet, he knew exactly what he was going to do with Khushi... and with his decision of having one day with her. He stood there for a brief moment, taking the environment, his mind reminding him just how he hated RJ's for their constant baseless banter. Khushi proved him wrong with her "Sandcastle". And if Arnav was asked to share his views regarding the RJ's, he was not sure what his answer would be.

He walked along the long corridor to the right of the elevator as per the instructions and spotted a teak double-leaf doors on his left, the wall was covered half its length by a dark tainted glass. He smiled as his mind refused to stop imagining the wide hazel eyes as soon as they saw him... partly due to the awkward moment they were bound to have after her confession... partly with the feeling of betrayal by her sister for sharing, according to the story Bindu and he had fed Khushi's friend, her whereabouts with him. He knew those were the only reactions he could expect from Khushi. But a part of him forced him to stop, his hand paused mid-air, as his mind suggested yet another reaction of...

Arnav shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside, as he knocked the door. And the doors swung open twenty seconds later, revealing a man of his height, around his age, in his blue t over shaded denims. Viswa, his mind whispered the name as he took in the well built man in front of him. He could see her few feet behind the man.

"Hi," he said, glad that his voice didn't give away the battle of emotions going on within him, "I'm Arnav Raizada. You must be Vishwanath, right?"

The man chuckled, the coal black eyes devoid of emotions, as he shook Arnav's extended hand. "It's pleasure to finally meet you, Arnav. And please call me Viswa. The name is too old to have it for a handsome guy."

Arnav smiled at the man as he stepped aside, allowing Arnav to step in. there she was, in a pale yellow skirt kissing the ground where she stood, her head held high with a never disappearing smile at the corner of her lips, her eyes shining brightly as ever even with a kind of tiredness shadowed her long lashes. "What a surprise!" She chirped with cheerfulness almost as natural as breathing as she inched the distance between them, standing beside Viswa, her hands encircling around his elbow. "Viswa is just telling me about your visit, Arnav."

Arnav stared at her wordlessly. It should give him some sense of relief, that she had reacted somewhat against the Khushi he had known but more relevant to his... but instead he shook his head with a small smile with forced cheerfulness, his eyes dangerously taking in her smile, challenging her silently to keep up with her act. "If the princess is going to have it hard," he said stressing the words as he watched her smile dropping for a split second before she composed herself in the flick of a moment, "I'm left with no other option than to roam around with the glass slipper, Khushi."

The unknown fear that he was feeling from the time he heard her endearment for her sister came back rushing, now with more intensity than it had ever been. If there was anything real between them in that moment, anything that mattered to them, was time. And he was stalling that time, stalling to understand what it was really that bind her to him. "Sorry, it is a bad joke." He said, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room as he fixed his gaze on her all the while.

"It better be that, Raizada... a bad joke."

He smiled inwardly at the voice, the warning at the edge, replacing the pleasantness the man had not long ago. He shifted his gaze from Khushi to Viswa, the latter man's eyes boring into his with barely controlled anger as his hand held Khushi by her waist in a protective way. And Arnav knew in that moment, if not before. That the man was in love with Khushi. He could say that by seeing how Viswa looked at Khushi, making sure she was okay, angling himself between Khushi and him in a way that his posture shouted at Arnav to back off from teasing her, if that was what he was doing.

"It is," Arnav added calmly, instantly liking the caring friend that Viswa was. He knew it was hard to speak with the man, yet, Arnav needed to do that, in order to bring his life under his control. Enough of him being in dark. "Actually, I'm here to speak with Khushi,"he replied as he watched her and continued, "if you can come with me, Khushi..."

"No." Khushi said hurriedly before she could stop herself. He watched her lowering her eyes in embarrassment and self-conscious as she backed off immediately. "I mean, I'm here to be with my friend, Arnav. I don't think I can cancel our plans."

"That will not be a problem." Arnav said with a flick of his fingers as he made his way to the middle of the room and plonked himself on the leather couch, ignoring the looks of them as he did. "I can wait for a while." He added for a good measure, "Bindu informed that Viswa is going to have a rather busy schedule here after an hour or so. We can go out after that, what say?" he then turned his gaze on the man and asked, his voice asking nothing but informing the man, silently daring him to say anything otherwise. "Does the plan works for you, Viswa?"

And just as expected, Viswa's reply made Arnav smile. It proved him that he was going on in the right direction.

"Don't you think Khushi is the one to decide that, Raizada?"

"Well," he said after a while, the smile in place as he watched Viswa's cold eyes on him. He had expected the hostility from the man but what Arnav didn't understand was the reason for the hostility. It came from either Arnav being a big size jerk in approaching Khushi, or from the fact that Viswa was in love with...

"Hey, Megha works for this station, right?" Arnav asked, forcing himself from not thinking those very lines, as he watched the sudden panic his words sent to Khushi. He pressed his lips together, the angular planes in his jaw rigid even as the five o'clock shadow hiding the seriousness with which he was approaching them. "Khushi suggested listening to her show once and I must say, I'm impressed."

Shaking his head after exchanging what seemed like a wordless conversation with Khushi with much ease, Viswa walked towards Arnav and sat on the couch few feet away from him the small space allowed him. "None of us are going to benefit in any way with this pretending thing, Arnav." He said calmly, "Khushi isn't ready to spend as much a minute with you after what happened between you the last day. and you forcing her out of her sanity for whatever reasons you have to do... isn't going to help you in any way. How about you leave her for a while, give her time if that is what she needed? Does this plan works for you?"

Arnav smiled. Viswa was a true friend, he could see that much. Only if he let his mind speak the words aloud, Arnav would know what was happening in his life. But as they say - A man doesn't identify with the truth even if it is staring you... it is not because he is blind... it is because he isn't looking for answers in that place.

But, he shook his head, Arnav had eight clues in his hand. He wasn't going to accept it with just one, which might as well turn out to be coincidence. Accepting Khushi as his... was accepting her illness. And Arnav sure as hell didn't want that to happen. Just like that thought crossed his mind, he realized that life had been too easy for him to live. Now, for the first time, he was experiencing one of the purest emotions - fear. Fear for unknown. Fear of losing his loved one. Fear of losing his Shona.

"I will leave you then." He said as suddenly as the fear of losing his Shona resurfaced - something he had been avoiding thinking from the time he heard the endearment from Khushi. He looked straight at her as he said, "I will wait in the car, Khushi. Take your time. I'm not looking forward to get murdered by your friend here just because I want to know more about the girl who said she loved me."

He then turned his back to her but paused at the microphone. Without thinking twice, his hand reached out for it and he heard himself speaking, his fingers finding the buttons to pause whatever was going on and then typing furiously on the search column the screen had on the right side.

I'm sorry to come here like this unannounced. Call me a lost puppy for all I do is search my way to reach my home. I'm not even sure whether you are hearing me out or not, but... never mind. It's been six and a half months that we had decided to meet after exchanging our last two letters three days before the New Year Eve, Shona. And here I'm, still waiting for you. Hope you hear this. And hope you come to me before I accept someone else as my Khushi.

He looked at the glass window in front of him at the blurred image of Viswa what seemed like the man was nodding, the corners of his mouth twisted into a smile. Arnav shook his head to clear his thoughts and exited the room without further look at both of them, the familiar music from a distance ringing in his ears. He climbed down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator to make its way, just as he heard angry steps that were following him, trying to fell in step with him. His smile widened further as he reached the parking lot of the office building, his hand fished out for the keys as he activated the sensor. He closed his eyes after plonking on the driver seat, his hands finding their way on their own accord to switch on the radio to hear the lyrics, just as the angry steps stomped their way in the lot that followed by a loud bang of the passenger door being shut with force more than required.

Koi Nahi Hai Bas Tum Ho Saath

Kehni Thi Tumse Jo Dil Ke Bat

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Arnav?"

The words mirrored the angry hazel eyes that were now staring at him. And funny it might sound, he couldn't help but think about the contrasting emotions the girl beside him possessed just when all he was trying to do was control the urge to think about the words... the shared dreams that was related to the very song that had been playing

Lo Aaj Main Kehti Hoon

I Love You

"Shh..." He said, bringing his face close to hers, forcing her to look at him even as she moved back in the enclosed space that allowed her, to put the distance as much as she could. "We are too comfortable for being just friends, Khushi." He whispered huskily, his eyes staring at her now shivering lips and back to her lowered eyes as he leaned in, the jasmine hit him, wiping off the little piece of sanity he otherwise carried. He looked at her for one last time, his eyes begging her to do something that would break the spell that had been created between them without their consent. Instead, he leaned in further when she closed her eyes, his mouth touching hers, his lips over hers in a gentle peak.

He felt an electric jolt hit him hard as he kissed her, his hand pulling her close to him by her waist as the other raised to cup her face, even as he felt her hands balling his shirt on his sides. He didn't know what he was thinking or doing. He didn't stop to analyze his actions or its consequences. The confusing facts shattered him and there was no backing off. There was no point in playing riddles. It was time to solve the puzzle. He had been kept in dark for too long. Khushi had her way for too long. The fact that there were not just one or two but nearly seven clues of who she might be to him. And the more he avoided confronting them with her, the more he would be pushed apart by her. He adjusted more comfortably in his seat, pulling her to his lap as he did, taking her lower lip between his teeth. He felt her arms snaking around his neck, pulling him close, as she let out a moan. He smiled, his mouth leaving hers, resting his forehead against hers and groaned when she whispered throatily.

"Suriya"

Even as the urge to confront her grew wildly, Arnav realized how she called him. It was something he realized in that moment. Khushi called him by his middle name only when she was intended to tease him... and when she was too preoccupied in her own thoughts. She called him Arnav only when she was conscious about his presence. He looked at her, the hazel dazed at the sudden, unexpected kiss.

"I love you, Khushi."

He let the words linger between them as he watched her eyes twinkled at him for a moment before realization dawned upon her, widening her hazel as she pushed him. But it was expected, her reaction, and Arnav was fast on his actions. He held her hands in his grip, leaving her with no option other than to hear him.

"I don't see a point in waiting for Shona who, in a rather simple way, ended things between us through a note." He said with a shrug, ignoring the ache in his heart for the blatant lie he was saying, even if it was what he felt the right way to make Khushi confess the whole truth. "And I really like you, Khushi. I want to give us a chance. I want to spend the day with you, as you asked. Here I'm, with you."

And it pierced his heart to watch her stare at him with threatening tears, the shock and betrayal evident. "You love Shona." Khushi whispered, her voice alien to him, the pain undoing his resolution. "It hadn't even been ten minutes that you conveyed your message to her with a song. How can you manipulate your words so easily, Arnav? How can you lie so blatantly that you love me?"

Arnav wanted to laugh, to ask her who had been manipulating and who had been the one playing among them. He wanted to demand her why she was the one to decide everything and reasons for keeping him in dark. He wanted to ask about the song - the very song that he loved and the one his Shona wanted to play during their first date and kiss - that had been dedicated by RJ Megha to her boyfriend on the day Khushi and Arnav had their first outing. He wanted to ask why she said that the person she loved, loved her back, while Arnav loved Shona. He wanted to ask about her being her family's princess. He wanted to ask about Kiran being her father's student and their love. He wanted to ask about Tank bund being her favorite place and late night eating habits. Pussy Cat and Viswa together was more than just a mere coincidence.

Yet, he was unable to do that. If confronting Khushi meant confronting his Shona... that it meant his Shona had little time with her.

And Arnav wanted nothing but that to turn out as a lie... fate's cruel joke.

"Shona wants me to be happy, Khushi." He said, watching her as he decided to face the truth... to make his Shona confess the truth at any cost. And if that meant him being ruthless, then that he would be. "I can be happy only with you, so here I am."

"So," Khushi hissed even as she stared at him helplessly, and angrily, along with betrayal."If it's not some Shona, it will be me. Is that so, Arnav?"

"If it's not the girl I love," Arnav countered her gently, "it's better to have life with the girl who loves me."

Either way, Arnav let the words unspoken, I am not going to leave you. Khushi, Megha or Shona... I will make you confess the truth.

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