LITTLE MOMENTS (OS Series) 10| So Far, Yet So Close.. (Pg 103)[24-Mar] - Page 34

Relaxing in his chair on this lazy Saturday, Arnav happily thought about the first gift he would give Khushi when they meet next. His mom saw him smiling as he was lost in his thoughts.

"Thinking about Khushi, is it?" she asked teasing him.

Arnav sat up straight in the chair feeling embarrassed. "Stop it mom!" he said blushing and got up to walk to the terrace.

Just then his mom's phone began ringing. His mom looked at the screen and told Arnav that it was Khushi's mother calling. Arnav stood at his place eagerly as his mom spoke to Khushi's mother. His mom's expressions changed suddenly into serious ones, sad ones. He couldn't make out exactly what conversation was going on. As he was trying to figure it out, his phone buzzed. A message from Khushi! Arnav ignored his mom's talks over the phone and paced towards the terrace to chat with Khushi without any disturbance.

A slight smile lightened Arnav's face as he read Khushi's message... Hi Arnav...

He inhaled the fresh morning air feeling refreshed. Hey, wassup? He texted back expecting a reply in no time. And he did receive one.

I am sorry

Sorry? Arnav didn't understand why Khushi was saying sorry. Sorry for what? He typed and sent at once, waiting for the reply.

For whatever happened

What happened? All was good. Every single thing! There was nothing wrong that happened after he had met Khushi. Then what was Khushi apologizing for? I don't understand what you are saying He replied waiting for an explanation.

Now that we can't be together, I messaged you only to say Goodbye...

Goodbye?! Arnav couldn't believe his eyes. Was it some spelling mistake? The usual autocorrection problem maybe... He read the message again. This wasn't by mistake. Why can't we stay together? Arnav missed a beat. He suddenly felt weak. He gathered his senses as he struggled to type.. What are you saying Khushi?

I thought your mother would have told you by now about the other alliance

Mom? She knows?! Arnav couldn't wait to talk to his mom. He almost ran to the living room and to see that his mom was done with the phone call with Khushi's mother. She looked at Arnav's horrified face. Arnav wasn't able to speak.

"Khushi told you, I guess" said his mom sadly, "Sorry about it, beta... We can't do anything about it. Don't worry... We will find a new one soon..."

"What the... ?!" Arnav felt as if his energy was slowly leaving his body. We will find a new one? "Seriously?!" He felt hurt. He felt being cheated by his destiny. "I can't believe this!!" He collapsed into the sofa chair in shock.

"I can understand what you are feeling right now..." said his mom patting on his shoulder, "Things happen... Cheer up!" saying so, she went off to her room.

Cheer up? How could he? How could he even think of going away from Khushi? And Khushi? How could she agree to marry someone else? Arnav felt his heart sink. Khushi! He opened the WhatsApp chat on his phone. He was about to type something, but his stopped. He dialled Khushi's number from the logs. He didn't know what he was going to say. He just wanted her with him. Wasn't she his Khushi yet? He felt as if she was slipping away from his hand with every ring he heard as he waiting desperately for Khushi to answer his call.

"Hello"

Her voice gave him some strength, the unique strength which he always gained hearing it.

"Khushi" he whispered weakly as his throat felt dry, his eyes filled with tears.

"April fool!!!" exclaimed Khushi and laughed heartily.

It took a moment for Arnav to realise what just happened. So it was all a joke? Relief filled his heart as the reality dawned on him. His breath was still uneven. A lone tear escaped from his eye feeling the freedom that his heart felt right now. He could breathe now. He was angry. "What kind of prank is this, Khushi! I would have suffered a heart attack right now!" he said recovering his breath and senses.

He heard Khushi laughing on the other side. "It was awesome, wasn't it? Scared, weren't you?" she asked celebrating the success of her prank.

"Do you even know what I went through?"

Khushi could sense Arnav's seriousness through his voice. She stopped laughing. "Arnav?" She wanted to check if he was alright.

"And you included mom too in this stupid prank of yours!"

Mom? Khushi was confused. "No Arnav, It was just me... Aunty didn't know anything about it..."

"Then why did she say that?" he asked. He himself was confused too.

Say what? Khushi thought for a while and realised what might have happened. "Ohh! Ma had called her just now to tell that the mahurat of our wedding got cancelled for some reason and now we have to look for a new one. Maybe, she was saying about that..."

Mahurat? So that was the reason! Sorry about it, beta... We can't do anything about it. Don't worry... We will find a new one soon... Arnav recalled his mom's words.

Khushi was worried and scared too. "I am sorry" she said.

"Don't talk to me!!" said Arnav angrily and disconnected the call.

Arnav splashed cold water on his face to wash off the fear of losing Khushi. He couldn't afford it. Not now after all the feelings he had developed towards her. He was glad that it was just a prank. But he was very upset with Khushi for playing such a prank on him. He saw he had received a couple of missed calls and number of messages from Khushi.

I am sorry

Really sorry

Arnav

Please talk to me

Don't be so upset

Please

Arnav locked his phone and placed it on his chest as he leaned back on the sofa resting back his head and closing his eyes, trying to tell himself that everything was just fine.

Khushi was worried as she could see that Arnav had seen her messages but he didn't reply. Her eyes watered. This was the first instance of a quarrel between them. He was upset. Khushi became restless. She didn't know how to make him happy. He was not answering her calls. He wasn't replying to her messages. She had no idea what to do. Opening the front camera of her phone, she clicked a selfie holding her ear to say sorry and sent it to Arnav.

Arnav opened his eyes as his phone buzzed. He knew it was Khushi even before he saw is phone. But he had not expected a picture of her. He downloaded it immediately. His heart melted as soon as he saw her. That innocent face never missed to make him skip a beat. His lips curved into a smile seeing Khushi holding her ear. Those beady eyes spoke volumes every time, and now they were apologising. How could he not forgive her?

Khushi was almost about to cry, when she received Arnav's message.

How can I stay upset after seeing such a cute face?

His message followed by a winking emoji made Khushi's heart dance with joy. She was about to reply when Arnav called her.

"Stop crying now" he said even before Khushi said hello'.

"Don't be angry with me" she said innocently.

"I am not anymore"

"Why didn't you reply to my calls and messages then?" complained Khushi.

"Had I replied to them, how could I have got that pic of yours?"

Khushi blushed.

"So, our wedding date will get postponed now..." said Arnav, changing the topic. "How long will I have to wait, Khushi?" he said dramatically.

Khushi laughed. "Intezaar ka phal meetha hota hai... It will be worth the wait..." she said.

"Aah... Really?"

Arnav was getting into his naughty mood now. And Khushi could feel it. She didn't want to fall prey to his naughtiness. She wasn't ready for it... yet.

"Ma is calling me... Bye!" she said in a hurry and disconnected the call.

Khushi lay on her bed blushing as she held her phone close to her heart.