JaJo OS : Gift

As the grandfather clock announced the arrival of the eleventh hour of the night, her she peeped down onto the now empty street below. The long black tarred road stretched below her house, now empty of the private cars and motorcycles, that had gathered previously, during her birthday party that evening.

Jodha exhaled a long sigh and rested her head against the orange grills of the verandah. The day had been a busy one, it being her twenty fifth birthday. She had been on her toes since the morning.

Her lips stretched in a small smile as the day's events came back to her.

The morning had started with the surprise from her family. Though she knew that it will come, all thanks to the twenty four years of experience, still the excitement and enthusiasm of her family had rubbed on her.

Switching on the phone, which she had bought the previous eve, she had received the numerous messages from her friends and family. Her accounts on the social networking sites had been flooded with the wishes.

After breakfast she had been literally hauled by her closest friends, Moti, Tia and Simi. First of all the salon session and then the shopping for the upcoming Durga Puja, after lunch with Biriyani and raita at Arsalaan .

My my! What a day it had been! The glaring headlight of a passing motorcycle brought her out of her reverie. She looked at the time. Fifteen minutes had passed.

The events of the evening had been no less either. By the time she had returned after the outing her friends, her family had arranged for a surprise birthday party for her!

So as usual, after she had returned, Jodha had been forced to go and freshen herself for the party.

She had been pampered and spoiled all through the day by friends and family alike. No stones had been unturned to make her day special. But if anyone had peeked into her mind, they would have seen a gaping hole glaring at them. Not that she wasn't happy with the way her day had passed, She was happy. Period. She was very happy. But still...

A message alert broke her thoughts. Hastily picking the white metal, she looked at the sender's name. A frown marred her smooth forehead.

Why was Tia texting her now? She had been present at the party. In fact her whole day had been spent with Tia! So what was the need to text at this odd hour?

Quickly opening the text, she let her eyes roam over the letters.

JO! I NEED TO MEET U AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE COME TO THE CLUBHOUSE NOW!

What! Clubhouse! At this odd hour!

Her fingers roamed over the screen and eventually she called her.

Switched off! Tia's phone was switched off! But just now she had sent the text!

Horrible thoughts ran over her mind's eye. Quickly slipping on the red heels, Jodha clutched the phone tightly and ran down the stairs.

Luckily for her, the door wasn't locked. The thought of informing her parents had crossed her mind, but sensing the urgency behind her best pal's text, she decided against it.

The clubhouse was the last building in their alley, a two floored building, that had stood the tests of time. Though the glass on the window panes had stopped shining now, the yellow colour of the building was now a memory of the past, but still the grace of the old structure had not faded. It still stood proudly and elegantly in the narrow alleyway.

The door was open but lights were off. What was Tia doing inside! Mumbling a quick prayer, she rushed in through the open door.

"Tia! Tia! Are you here?", Her panicked voice rang inside the room.

Frantically groping the nearest wall, she tried to find the switchboard. The eerie silence of the room was enough to make her panicked. Switching on the torch in her phone, she let the beam wander along the wall. Finally catching sight of the switches, she sprinted towards them.

...

The dazzling room was an absolute contrast to the blackness that had prevailed a second ago. Jodha's mouth formed a 'O' as she looked at the chocolate two tier cake sitting on the wooden table, ready to be devoured.

"What the!", Surprise evident in her voice, Jodha now looked at the person, who has utilised her momentary shock to appear from the front door.

"Happy birthday darling", Jalal's voice acted as a soothing balm to her nervous neurones, as she felt herself relaxing for the first time since the last half an hour.

"Why are you here now? And where is Tia? She messaged me to meet her here."

"That was surely Tia. But whatever she had done was just following my dictation!", He smirked at the obvious displeasure in her voice.

"What? What's your plan? First of all you are so busy nowadays that you just forget to wish me on my special day! Do you know how much tensed I was since morning? Your phone was switched off and you were just nowhere in sight! How many plans I had for this day! Do you even know how much I wished to spend this day with you? You feel everything is a game? That you can ignore ne for the whole day and then suddenly jump out of nowhere at the middle of the night and that also in this clubhouse. I do not give a damn about your plans. Just get lost!", Jodha's hands shot up in the air, clearly showing her frustration.

"First of all, I didn't jump out of nowhere as you mentioned. I walked right through the front door! And secondly, I was really busy since morning. Actually to say the truth, since last night. My dida is diagnosed with dengue and we were with her. As for the phone being switched off, it was due to lack of charge. And finally, your birthday is still not over. It still has 7 more minutes, if we just leave the seconds alone. So let's just stop this discussion here and come! The cake is all ready to be feasted on", Jalal whispered the last part in her ears.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't know about your dida. And then you can blame these birthday hormones for my behaviour. I was plainly frustrated with your lack of response today", Jodha looked on the verge of tears.

"Hey hey! Don't start the waterworks now darling! Come! Let's cut the cake".

"No I won't. I want my gift first. You have been unavailable for the whole day. Granted, that it was necessary on your part but still! I wanted to spend my day with my boyfriend. But since he didn't appear earlier, now he has to pay for it! So just give me my present. Otherwise this girlfriend won't budge from here!", She turned her face sideways to hide the erupting grin.

"Accha! So this girlfriend here needs the gift now. Okay so be it."

He searched inside his jeans pocket and on finding the desired object, he crouched down on his knee, " This boyfriend here tried to think of every gift that can make his girlfriend happy. Though he knew, whatever be the gift, she would have been happy, but still here he produces something that he has tried to do since a long time"! He opened a ring box and took out the beautiful sparkling diamond ring and opened his left hand for her, " Does this girlfriend standing here wants to be pampered by this boyfriend crouching here for her whole life?"

...

Ecstatic would be the wrong word to portray her condition when she heard the man in front say, " Does this girlfriend standing here wants to be pampered by this boyfriend crouching here for her whole life?"

With the fervent nodding of her head, she slipped her left hand in Jalal's, so that he could put the ring on. Words refused to form in her mouth as the tears slipped from the hazel orbs.

Pulling his crouched self up she hugged him, letting her body show what her lips were unable to utter.

After composing herself, she straightened and gazed into his honey brown eyes. They spelled honesty. Overwhelmed by his gift, she uttered after sometime, "Why did you give me this today of all the days?"Zeist

He smiled at her. She had been on cloud nine after getting the ring, and that needed no one's certificate. "To be truthful Jo, I've thought really hard and when that led me nowhere, I decided to gift you my surname on this special day."

"You know boyfriend! You are the best."

"I know girlfriend! Just wait and watch, I'll be the best husband too".

...

So, here's the new OS. Do tell me how is it.

Your comments and likes are my inspirations to continue writing 😊

Will be waiting for your responses😊

Regards,

Barnali😊