ArHi FF: Highway to hell-2, chapter 38, pg 141 - Page 15

I decided to try something different here. Check it out.

Chapter 25: Mere khwabon mein jo aaye...

"Kaate nahi katte ye din ye raat,

Kehni thi tumse jo dil ki baat

Lo aaj main kehti hoon

I love you! I love you!"

The song blared in the background. Khushi stood there among the caves wearing a blue chiffon saree. She flinched as Arnav caressed her cheek. She began to dance with him. A weird, one-sided dance because he was everywhere, but she couldn't see him. She careened around like a crazed woman repeating that she loved him in a never-ending litany. He sang with her, occasionally grinning, when her sinuous movements looked more silly than sexy. After all, he was invisible. To an outsider, it would have looked like she was having a very nice party. With only one guest. Herself. In other words, she was making flying solo seem better than the real thing. He stared at her red lips and the big blue bindi on her forehead. She looked gorgeous. He wondered if the time had come to reveal him self to her. He was getting a little tired of playing games with her. She would always love him, he thought. Whether he was the hero who came to her rescue everytime she was in trouble, or just a cantankerous, erratic businessman with a soft spot for pom-poms. He was contemplating pressing the button on the strap that encircled his wrist when a flash of lightning interrupted his train of thought.

It began to rain. She was drenched in a minute. The wet saree clung to her like a second skin. Drops of water hung to her lips and neck. He ogled shamelessly. One of the perks of being invisible was that lascivious behavior was completely acceptable. No one except you knew what a lech you were. He loved it. She closed her eyes and did a sexy little shimmy with her hips. He strode towards her quickly. No, he didn't want to be invisible anymore. He wanted her to know whom that little shimmy was for. He had almost reached her and was about to grab her waist when she sneezed. Once. Twice.

"Damn" said Khushi. "I knew this was a bad idea. Dancing in a chiffon sari in the Mumbai rain. For a man I can't even see! I bet he looks like a troll. Why would a decent looking human being prefer to do his wooing while invisible? I'm getting out of here." She walked away quickly.

"Hey! Mr.India. I'm leaving. I don't like shivering with cold while dancing all by myself in the rain like an idiot. Also, I prefer my men to be solid. Visible in 3 dimensions. This transparent act ain't workin' for me buddy! Ciao!"

"Troll! She said I looked like a troll? What the!" He walked away dejectedly. It wasn't supposed to end this way. She was supposed to roll around on a bale of hay in the rain, with the transparent sari clinging to every curve, singing paens to his eternal love. It was supposed to be hot. There were no sneezes involved. No one ever felt cold. No one called him a troll. This was all wrong. Where were the Ctrl-alt-delete buttons when you need 'em?

The dreamer woke up with a smile the next morning. "Best. Night. Ever."

********

Khushi was making breakfast when Arnav entered the kitchen. He nuzzled her neck gently. She pushed him away smilingly. "I'm busy. Go away."

"Daddy's being all kissyface with Mommy again!" said Sheila, smirking.

"Daddy luurvvves Mommy!" said Nita, laughing at Sheila. They high-fived each other.

"Did you see them making out on the couch last night?" asked Sheila, winking at Nita.

"Hey! Weren't you supposed to be asleep?" asked Arnav, hurriedly. Khushi rapped him on the knuckles. "Arnav, don't encourage them. You know we didn't make out on the couch last night!" she scolded.

"Err..we didn't?" he asked puzzled.

"Your memory's going with your hair Arnav Singh Raizada!" said Khushi patting his receding hairline. "We most certainly did not."

"And you two! No more sass from you now, OK? Sheila, Rahul, Zak and Virat are ready for school. You're driving them today. Nita, you're going with Dad. And Dad will also drop Sachin, Viren, Laksh and Yuvi in the Van. Let's go. Chop.Chop." said Khushi.

She packed lunch for her entire brood while they ate breakfast. It was a messy, busy, joyous affair. Fruit loops were flipped at one another. Inevitably, someone spilt the milk. Or the cereal. Or punched someone in the nose while displaying their latest science project. It was never quiet. She never had a moment's peace. And she loved it. She still had 2 boys at home. Ashwin and Mahen weren't old enough for school yet. She still had some babies to coddle. She liked that. It kept her young.

She saw her large brood off to school, with Ashwin on one hip and Mahen clinging to her hand, while Arnav bent to kiss her goodbye. All her children lined up for their daily goodbye kiss, without which they never left the house. After waving them off, she went inside to start laundry. Laundry was a chore when you had a family that consisted of 11 children. "Correction, 12!" she patted her expanding tummy lovingly. Number 12 was due very soon, and she just couldn't wait. "Sourav" kicked her from inside, as if to remind her that he'd be joining them in the outside world very soon.

The dreamer woke up sweating. "Cricket team. What the f**k. No bloody way!"

********

Khushi was wearing a tiny pink blouse embroidered with pearls. It barely covered her bosom. She wore tight pink bottoms that slung well below her navel to match. Her entire midriff was exposed. She wore hot pink lipstick and some strands of pearls in her hair. She breathed heavily, as if she she'd just run up several flights of stairs. Arnav stared at her heaving breasts, as if they were a work of art.

She ran her hands up his chest quickly, to his face. He made to catch her, but she slipped away. She danced her way to a large stage, with about a hundred girls dressed similarly, dancing behind her. Every now and then, a flash of powdery color would explode behind her, as if it was a Holi song. Which it wasn't, of course. But, details, details. Who cared?

"Ooh La La, Ooh La La

Ooh La La, Ooh La La

Tu hai meri fantasy!"

Arnav sang faultlessly. He had a scratchy baritone, perfectly suited for crass item numbers. Besides, he was singing the gospel truth. She was his fantasy. His every dream come true. His muse, and she also lit his bedroom fuse! A two-in-one, as they said in the 80s.

Then they were rolling down a slope, him and her. With several unripe oranges along side them. Truly, the oranges got in the way terribly. They were most uncomfortable to roll alongside with. And if they got under you, you squished them and got all sticky. It wasn't even a good kind of sticky, because you got that acidic, orangey, tangy, type of sticky. But there they were. Rolling down a hillside slope. Him over her. Then her over him. Over and over they tumbled till they reached the bottom of the slope. Just like Jack and Jill. Who went up the hill. And came back with a daughter. Except Arnav and Khushi were smart and used protection.

Then she was in a red saree. With a backless blouse, held together only by a couple of strings. He was staring at her like he'd never seen her before. He clutched one end of the saree and started unwrapping her like a gift. She stared at him longingly, willing him on. The dreamer tossed a little. No. No. He wasn't unwrapping her. He was backing her into a wall. By a pool. A swimming pool. And the saree was red. But the blouse wasn't backless. It was quite modest, actually. She looked at him, lips trembling, eyes downcast, feeling shy. He held her face in his hands, and bent towards her. Those fabulous, luscious lips were this close to his, when his phone rang, and the ringtone played:

"Choona na, choona na,

Choona na, choona na

Ab mein jawan ho gayi!"

"Dang it!" the dreamer said, waking up. "Cellphones should be outlawed in dreams!"

********

Nita played happily in the garden watched over fondly by her parents. She wore a pretty pink frock. Her hair had just started to grow back and she had a dark brown fuzz on her head. She bounced her big beach ball happily. Sheila played with her, occasionally bouncing the ball away from her. But she always gave it back, before Nita could even begin to pout. Sheila was a stellar elder sister. Giving, mature, loving. And she understood her sister like nobody else did. She knew when Nita was sad. When she was angry. She sensed her moods and altered her behavior to match. Remarkable for a child of 6.

Khushi leaned back into Arnav. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. He looked relaxed and happy. She sat within his embrace, between his outstretched legs. She wore a long yellow skirt and a pale green peasant blouse to match. It was summer in London. And a very happy summer it was. Nita was in remission, officially. Khushi's family were visiting from India next week. She couldn't wait to see them.

The sun shone down brightly. Nigel and Freddy sat under a tree, a little apart from Khushi and Arnav. Freddy didn't enjoy getting tanned. He thought it made him look old and brought out his crows' feet. Which it did. What he didn't know was that nobody cared about his crows' feet, except him. Nigel nudged Freddy. "Look, he's doing it!" he said.

They watched as ASR fished a small, flat box out of his pocket and held it in front of Khushi. Her smile would have lit up a Christmas tree. Freddy couldn't hear what he was saying, but judging from her reaction, whatever it was, she liked it. Khushi threw her arms around Arnav's neck. "Yes, yes, yes!" she yelled. Nigel and Freddy looked on happily as Khushi kissed Arnav. They went and got Nita and Sheila and shared the news with the 2 girls. There was more hugging and kissing.

Freddy walked over to Khushi. "'Gratulations Minnie! I'm so happy for you."

Khushi hugged him tight. "Freddy, I am so happy today, I could burst." A tear ran down her cheek.

"Shhh Min. No tears. Not today. Today is for happiness. Only happiness." He said, wiping her tears away. He hugged her back, very tightly, almost like he didn't want to let her go. When she finally pulled away, it was his eyes that looked suspiciously moist.

"Do you have best men in Indian weddings?" asked Freddy playfully.

"No. But someone needs to give the bride away. And I think I know just the man to do it." She kissed his cheek lightly.

"Not Nigel? He can't give anything away without crying all over it, dropping it, or breaking it!" Said Freddy, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Freddy! Shut up and give me away, OK?" asked Khushi.

"Whatever you say Min! You're the boss." Said Freddy, hugging her again.

"No. No. Actually, you're the boss. I'm just bossy!" she deadpanned. He groaned at the pun, but then spoke seriously.

"My pleasure Minnie! My pleasure!" said Freddy. "I'd be honored to give you away. I sense a group hug moment," he said as Nigel and ASR joined them. The 6 of them stood in a hug for the longest time, no one willing to break away. It was Sheila who broke the emotional silence. "Can we eat? I'm hungry!" They trooped away laughing to get some ice-cream.

The dreamer woke up with tears running down their cheeks. "If only dreams came true!" was the spoken whisper.

******************

*Tongue planted firmly in cheek* Vidhya says: Plenty of ArHi in there for everyone who's been asking!

So, here's a little game for you guys. The first person who guesses the identity of all 4 dreamers in sequence correctly wins...err...nothing much. Just a pat on the back from me and maybe, a chance to tell me one scene they want to see in a forthcoming chapter. I will do my best to write it. (Provided it's not err...too steamy---I'm no good at that! or mystery----I absolutely suck at that!)

For those who don't recognize the songs:

http://youtu.be/x5444GtVrX0

http://youtu.be/GT0V_vcd_ME

Fab update Vidhya! Something different, unique, and definitely creative.