It had only been 2 minutes and Major Malhar Rane felt like runnung away from the talkative girl. She just wouldn't shut up. A gasp from beside him stopped his train of thoughts and caused him to roll his eyes before turning to the teen. Her hand grabbed his arm whilst he stared at her incredulously, in awe of her blatant disrespect.
Malhar's Pov
"Hey I don't even know your name" she stated and also simultaneously questioned as her hand rested on my arm with such ease. I considered saying nothing but knew she'd find a way of making me say my name and I'd rather not get into her games.
"Malhar" I stated blankly with no emotions. I didn't want her to think even for a second that I could somehow form a friendship with her.
She smiled and repeated my name before locking eyes with mine "I'm Kalyani" she stated and carried on talking. It was something about social media and selfies and to be honest I had stopped listening to her.
I was conscious about the fact that her hand was still on my arm. Even though I wanted to callously shrug her hand off or snap at her to let go of me, the warmth that her hand bought seemed like home.
Interrupting my train of thoughts Kalyani tugged at my T-shirt before her hand once again rested on my arm. I looked at her and once she was sure that I was giving her my full attention she spoke.
"Why are they all staring at us" she questioned as she looked around in discomfort, I followed her gaze and to my amusement all the female army personnel were glaring daggers at either her face or her hand, which was still on my arm. This time though she subconsciously pulled me in closer by the arm and squeezed harder as her discomfort increased.
I smirked at her increasing discomfort and stopped walking, forcing her to do the same. She looked up at me with a questioning gaze.
"Because you're with me" I stated blankly and I turned my face away from her piercing eyes. I could tell that she was confused by my response but instead of questioning me further she just nodded and went back to whatever she was talking about.
A few minutes passed and it pained me to say this but I missed the feeling of her hand on my arm. I tried to make myself understand that this was a 17 year old girl and I was thinking thoughts of her that could potentially land me in jail but there was something different about her, something I had never experienced before.
"Mr Malhar?" She questioned as she paused and looked at me smiling brightly.
"Can I see a gun?" She asked as she arched her neck to look me in the eyes. I was about to rebuke her for the stupid statement before an idea presented itself.
"You want to see a gun?" I questioned amusement clear in my voice, she nodded excited
"Then let's see a gun" I said with a hidden smirk.
I was taking Kalyani to the forest area where my cadets were practicing their shooting drills. Kalyani seemed exactly like those girls who would be scared of the loudness of a gun. I planned to leave her alone with the harsh sounds of the guns in order to frighten her a bit, enough so she wouldn't finally be quiet.
As we arrived I could see the shock and envy of the cadets, I knew this was because they never expected me to be walking with a girl. As someone who always avoided girls, dismissed them sharply, it was probably a shock to see me actually walking alongside one, especially a girl who wasn't crying after rejection.
Kalyani and I paused and I looked to Kalyani to gauge her reaction, she seemed almost relieved in seeing the gun. Subedar Ram was looking at the cadets having not noticed that we had come. As the cadets noticed that I was observing them, they began to load their guns. Whilst they were loading their guns I turned to Kalyani.
"I'll be back in a few minutes" I said as casually as I could in order to avoid suspicion from Kalyani. She just nodded and turned her fact towards the cadets who were now getting prepared to target practice, her eyes widening in excitement as they adopted their shooting pose.
I walked a bit further and hid behind a tree to see Kalyani's reaction. As soon as the shots started Kalyani jumped, I smiled as I witnessed her trembling form, her arms wrapping around her body. It seemed like none of the cadets had noticed as they were all busy trying to impress me.
Subedaar Ram however looked like he was about to run up to Kalyani and help her. As soon as his eyes met mine I placed and finger on my lips and shook my head as if to say 'leave her be' he seemed hesitant but nodded and stayed back.
My eyes once again drifted to Kalyani, but my heart dropped as I observed her mannerisms. Her hands which were previously wrapped around herself where now covering her ears. But the thing that made me run towards her was her faint screams of my name 'Mr Malhar' she kept screaming as she attempted to block the sounds of the bullets hitting the target.
"Kalyani!" I exclaimed as I reached her and spun her around from her shoulders. Her eyes widened as she noticed me and her hands grabbed the front of my shirt whilst her she allowed her head to rest on the top of my chest and cry. I was shocked at her extreme reaction, I had hoped that she would be slightly scared, enough to quieten down and give me peace of mind. I turned to look at Subedaar Ram who was just looking at Kalyani with nothing but pity in his eyes, as I noticed the way he looked at her I realised that something was very wrong and I had done something atrocious.
Lamenting on the adverse reaction to my prank. I let Kalyani cry into my chest, cursing my traiterous mind for enjoying her body pressed against my own.
As we walked into the building again in silence I kept stealing glances from Kalyani and order to make sure she was ok. She seemed a bit shaken up and slightly pale. She hesitantly looked up at me.
"Mr Malhar, can I please go to the toilets" she questioned quietly. With nothing to say I just nodded and made sure she was following my lead. I wanted this. I wanted her to be quiet, to stop annoying me, but now that she's quiet it just annoys me, it seemed impossible but I had gotten used to her loud and bubbly personality in the few hours that we had known each other.
I waited outside the toilet area and sat in one of the chairs. I rested my head on my hands and thought about my behaviour. When did I turn into an animal? She was so scared and for a moment I had enjoyed seeing the fear on her face before realising her fear was extreme. Shaking my head into my hands I sighed.
"Major Rane" The familiar voice of Subedaar Ram caused me to look up at the man. He looked at me with something akin to pity and took a seat next to me.
"I know that there's something going on in your personal life and it's making you upset and clouding your judgement" he started in a soft and understanding voice.
"But Kalyani Deshmukh has also suffered sir, her mother died a month ago, in a mall shooting, she witnessed it sir, witnessed her mother dying" he carried on whilst hushing me with a raised finger as I tried to interrupt him.
"In your pain and suffering, you can't forget the people in the world around you and their pain and suffering" he ended as he gave me a sad smile.
My stubborn nature wanted me to argue with the wise man's words and I tried to find something, but I couldn't find anything, after all the words uttered by him were the absolute truth. So I smiled at the older man.
"Thank you Subedaar" I said meaningfully, I had understood the important message behind his words.
"Call me Ram" he insisted as he got up and walked away into the crowd of people.
Ram's words affected me in a way that was foreign to me and my chest tightened uncomfortably. He was right. My troubles may seem like a lot but in front of Kalyani who witnessed the death of her mother they weren't bad at all. It was as I remembered her smiling face did I realise the sadness hidden behind her bright smile, the tiredness behind her sparkling eyes and the anguish behind her words, that no longer seem annoying, that now seem like a coping mechanism. As I realised the truth of her mothers death, I got the means of justifying her reaction to the harsh sound of the bullets, some form of PTSD from the trauma of seeing her mother die.
"Can we go back to my father?" Questioned Kalyani who had appeared by my side without me noticing whilst I was thinking about her. Knowing that my words would fail me I just nodded and once again lead the way.
As she entered her father's office her gloomy face changed into a bright smiled as she hugged her father. This was when I realised that her happiness was a facade to keep those around her happy and on the inside Kalyani Deshmukh was suffering.
"Thank you for showing Kalyani around" Colonel Deshmukh said whilst smiling
"It was no problem" I said with a stiff smile as I remembered my cruel act
"I'll take your leave then sir" I said swiftly as I attempted to assuage my guilt and remove myself from situation. Colonel Deshmukh nodded and I took an internal sigh of relief.
"Wait Mr Malhar" Kalyani suddenly exclaimed causing me to turn around, she bounded towards her father's desk and took a black card.
"This is an invitation to my birthday party, I hope you can make it" she said as she extended the card towards me, her voice lowered at the end as uncertaincy and hesitancy set in.
I was about to refuse, citing personal reasons for me being unable to attend, but then I saw it. The flicker of insecurity in her eyes as she questioned herself and her decision in inviting, but also the flicker of hope, hoping that I would accept and say yes. Her vulnerabilities and questioning herself made me feel emotions for her that I'd never felt for anyone before, especially only after spending a few hours with them. So I smiled and took the card.
"I'll be there"