OS: Stars

The coffee cup sat like a lonely sad man on the table. The cup of tea sitting beside it had been removed by a pair of fair hands. Arnav stared out moodily at the starless sky. Inky black sky devoid of moon and stars seemed to irritate him lately. Made him feel like a part of him was missing. It looked like he was studying the sky intently with a frown etched on his face but he knew he was being transported to a similar night many weeks ago.

"Why don't you get Hari Prakash to do the poor decor?" Khushi pretended to arrange the flowers on the plate. She refused to look at him, the eyes. They seemed to bore through her, right to her soul. "I want you to do it." Arnav replied in an expressionless voice. "Well, too bad because I don't have time." She turned to face him with a jerk and an exasperated look on her face. Why is being so adamant? As it is the other tasks are no less difficult considering it all for his en... She took a deep breath and forced herself to admit the word-engagement. "Actually you do. I'm not asking you to do it right now. There is still time left for the engagement." Arnav saw Khushi flinch at his emphasis on the word engagement. He smirked sadly and raised his left his brow waiting for her comeback. C'mon Khushi just admit it. When she kept staring at him mutely he simply turned and left. Damn you Khushi.

Strike 4 for Arnav.

It's been like this ever since Arnav came to know about Khushi's engagement. A game of strikes and counterstrikes. Much like chess, except that their chessboard and pawns were the situations and retorts respectively. The king and queen still sat safely in their position. The pawns and knights were being slaughtered ruthlessly. If someone spared sometime and actually heard their conversations and felt the undercurrent then they would actually think the two stayed up the night to strategize their moves and played it out the next day. Well, it is only fair enough to think that since neither of them got any sleep.

Khushi plonked on the sofa restraining the hot burning tears burning at the back of her eyes. What does he want? He is doing all this deliberately just to hurt me, but why? I'm anyway leaving... "Khushiji,"Hari Prakash broke into her thoughts, "Bhaiya wants you in his room." Now what? Khushi's mood couldn't exactly be described as irritation. It was more of a smoothie of helplessness, hurt, confusion topped with anger and frustration.

"Come in." Arnav waited for Khushi to enter before shutting down his laptop. His emotions could be compared to a panther caged in a room where he couldn't roam about. None of his moves were bringing desired results. He thought of his anxiety and hurt. No, he wasn't hurt, he was angry at news of Khushi's en...whatever. Arnav argued with himself. He couldn't even bring himself to say the word. It was like bile stuck in his throat. Khushi went in and stood by his table. He looked up at her. "Which lights do you think should be put on the plants?"

He won't just give up, would he? Khushi took a breath to calm herself and replied, "Whatever you choose is fine by me." Arnav shrugged and stood up. "I think I would like the poolside to be a reflection of a starry night." Arnav knew he had hit a real low point when she looked up at him in surprise. Her lips shifted into a small sad smile as she went out to look at the sky. It was pitch black. After what seemed an eternity, she answered him. "If you want the light of the stars to be a part of your life you have to understand them and give them their due importance. Stars will be a part of your life if you don't keep rejecting them with harsh skepticism. They can't be bought with money Mr. Raizada." Arnav turned to face the bed. The constrictions in his throat begin to grow. Khushi silently let herself out of the room.

Strike 4 for Khushi.

"You know right that the stars won't just pop out if you keep frowning at them?" Khushi asked while cradling her cup for warmth. Arnav turned to look at his wife smiling at him. "I think one just did." The coffee cup joined his partner through another pair of fair hands as the smile grew brighter.