"Are you okay?" Arjun asked seeing the expressions changing on her face. Her cheeks were tears stained and her eyes were still a little puffy and red. Arohi nodded her head lightly and said, "Just a little headache," she looked up in his eyes and saw concern. "I'll get you some medicine," Arjun said and was about to stand up but stopped when Arohi said, "No, it's okay. I'll be fine." Her head always ached whenever she cried and it would be fine after she would have a steaming cup of tea or coffee. Her eyes fell on Arjun's laptop and she realized that he was up whole night. "You didn't sleep last night," she said, it was more of a sentence than a question. She felt guilty, because she thought that, as she was sleeping keeping her head on his lap, he could not sleep. "Yeah, I was reviewing the files and lost the track of time," Arjun said making it sound obvious. He didn't lie to her but it was not also the complete truth. He knew that she was feeling guilty, he could see it in her eyes and he didn't want her to feel guilty, there was no reason for her to feel guilty. After Arohi was asleep last night, he was stroking her head and was looking at her face for a long time, trying to find the answer to the question that, 'why was she crying? What had happened?' He replayed the events of the day in his head to see if something had happened but she had been happy the whole day, there was a sweet smile playing on her lips the whole day then what had happened? Whatever had happened, it was after they had gone to their rooms, he was sure about that. He will have to ask her, he had thought and had got back to his work as it is he wouldn't have got any sleep after seeing Arohi cry and would have only thought about reasons for her condition, so his work was a good distraction from his thoughts.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Arjun asked her when he saw her pressing her fingers again on her head to which she nodded. He was not convinced but didn't probe further. "Well, I think you should get ready then, you wouldn't want to be late on the first day of your university," he said reminding her about her admission. Arohi smiled faintly and nodded her head. They both then went to their respective rooms to get ready.
~*~
Arohi stood under the hot shower and the events of last night flashed in her mind.
LAST NIGHT...
She came into her room after wishing Arjun goodnight. The smile was not leaving her lips. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Purvi's number; she wanted to tell Purvi about her admission and about her joining Arjun's office. She pouted when Purvi's phone was unavailable. She then dialed Salil's number but he wasn't picking it up. Finally she called up at the landline number; it kept on ringing for a long time. She was just about to cut the call when someone picked up the phone and she heard, "Hello." The voice was a little strong and left her mum. "Hello," she heard again; she swallowed the lump which appeared in her throat, "Dad," she said in a soft and cracked voice. This was the first time she had heard her father's voice after she had come to Mumbai. She would always ask about her Dad to Salil or Purvi whenever she would talk to them but never got a chance or a reason to talk to him. There was silence for a sometime until Arvind spoke, "Salil and Purvi are not at home, I'll tell them that you called." By hearing his voice Arohi could say that he was not in a mood to talk to her but Arohi wanted to talk even it was for a few minutes, she wanted her father to ask how she was. "How are you Dad?" she asked and a tear escaped her eye as she waited for her father to respond but he didn't say anything. He was still on the other side, she could hear him breathe. "I had gone to the University of Mumbai today. I'm doing my masters Dad. Arjun took me for the admission today and also asked me join his office with him," she said sounding happy and hoping that her Dad would say something but he didn't say anything. She pressed her lips together to suppress the sound of her cry. "Will you not talk to me Dad? Will you not ask how I am?" she asked again with a hope. "NO" Arvind said in an ice-cold voice and hung up the phone.
Arohi clutched the phone tightly between both her hands as she heard the click of the phone which said that the line went dead and tears started flowing down her eyes. She was hurt, very hurt. The cold 'NO' by her Dad was echoing in her ears. Why does her Dad talks to her like this? Why can't he for once talk to her nicely? Why can't he for once ask her how she was doing? Was she asking for too much? It is too much to ask the love from her father? What has she done to deserve this? What has she done to deserve hate from her father? Why does he hate her? If he hated her than why did he adopt her? He could have just sent her to some orphanage. Arohi shivered as this thought crossed her mind; this was the first time she had been thinking like this. She would always think that why her father is rude to her but had never thought that he should have sent her to some orphanage. She wiped her tears, she will not cry, her father doesn't hate her; she explained herself, but... he doesn't even love her. She shook her head trying to brush off all the thoughts, she's been thinking way too much. Her father certainly doesn't hate her; he must have had a tiring day at his work and must have been exhausted, that's why he didn't speak to her nicely. She reasoned herself for her father's cold behavior. She took her night dress from the closet and walked to the bathroom to have a shower, ignoring all the thoughts but deep down somewhere she knew that her father hated her for some reason, he always spoke to her like this, he was not tired from his work and she would always reason herself and would bury the bad memory somewhere deep in her brain but she was not yet ready to accept the fact.
She took a short shower and came out of the bathroom. She purposely took a short shower so that she wouldn't think about the talk with her Dad; she knew that if she would take a long shower, which she needed after a tiring day, all she would do was, think about the talk with her Dad. In order to avoid thinking about the talk she took a short shower. She brushed her hair and lay down on her bed after switching the lights off. The only light in the room was from the night lamp which was still on. She tossed and turned in her bed, the 'no' started echoing in her head. She shook her head and scolded her brain for bringing back the sad memory of the day. She lay straight and forced her brain to think about the good memory of the day. A smile came on her lips when she remembered Arjun taking her for her admission and blushed when she remembered her suddenly hugging Arjun. She still couldn't understand why did she do that? Friends do hug; it's not a bad thing she said to herself. She turned to her side as she thought about the time spent at the office. As she was thinking about the dinner, her mind wandered to the talk with her Dad. Her eyes became wet she immediately sat up, no she wouldn't cry she told herself and shut her eyes tight so that the tears wouldn't come out. This wasn't working, she couldn't help but think about the sad memory while thinking about the happy memories of the day; it was like, the memories were connected. She has to divert her mind completely; she'll read a book, she decided. Yes that will help; it will divert her mind completely.
She pushed the blanket aside and stood up to go to the study and grab a book. She walked out of her room and while closing the door she glanced towards closed door of Arjun's room and walked downstairs assuming that Arjun was fast asleep. As she reached down, she saw Arjun sitting on the rug in front of his laptop. She was a little surprised and a little happy. When she had glanced at Arjun's door a few minutes back, she had a small hope that Arjun was awake. She didn't know why, but at that point she just wanted to be with Arjun. And when she was sitting beside him after handing him the coffee she kept her head on his shoulder to make sure that he was right there besides her. When she felt his warmth on her cheek, she couldn't help the tears that flow from her eyes. She didn't try to stop them now. She had been holding these tears from a long time. It was not only from today but from years. And now by having Arjun by her side, she didn't want to hold the tears any more. She wanted to let them flow; she wanted to feel Arjun's arms around her and cry holding him. And that's what happened, Arjun had taken her in his arms and Arohi had cried holding him, seeking comfort in the warmth of his protective arms. She cried until she was sure that no more tears will come out of her eyes. And then had fallen asleep, keeping her head on his lap.
...PRESENT
Even in her glum state last night Arohi had noticed every gesture of Arjun. Through the blur vision of her eyes, because of the tears, Arohi had seen the worry in his eyes, the way they looked direct in her eyes. The way he had immediately pulled her in his arms, trying to calm her by asking what was wrong, rubbing her back so that she would stop crying and placing a kiss on her forehead every now and then. She couldn't help but accept, how protective and comforting his arms were, how soothing his voice and his kisses were. Somewhere deep down she knew that she would find comfort with Arjun; that she could cry and let her sorrows flow in front of Arjun, may be because of that she could not stop or wished to stop her tears last night and let them flow. And then she slept, keeping her head on his lap and his hand caressing her to sleep, it was the best sleep she had had. She couldn't remember the last time when she had had such a sound and peaceful sleep. She was glad that he didn't leave her alone; she didn't wanted to be alone. After many years she had found someone with whom she could not only share her happiness but also her sorrows, she wanted to be with that someone, who was her husband, Arjun. She once again thanked God for sending Arjun in her life. She shut off the shower and then got ready for the first day of University.
She went down to make breakfast and saw Arjun sitting on the sofa with his laptop in his lap. He was all ready for his work, wearing normal trouser and shirt, hair combed nicely. His watch in his right hand and his blazer was hanging on the sofa's armrest. He had a frown on his face while he was working on his laptop. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice when Arohi came down and prepared the breakfast, until Arohi had told him to have breakfast.
The breakfast was quite a silent one with very little conversation. Arjun tried his best to keep them engrossed in some or the other conversation like they normally did while eating but he didn't know what to say. He wanted to talk to her about last night, ask her what had made her cry; he kept on thinking of the ways to ask her keeping in mind not to upset her, but could not find any way. He then decided that he would not talk about it, but then he was curious, he wanted to know. Arohi looked towards Arjun when he didn't speak for a while. He was staring at his plate, lost in his thoughts. She had noticed how he tried to have normal conversations and had sensed a little hesitation in his voice as if wanted to ask something. And she knew exactly what he wanted to ask. She didn't mind telling him but... not now; she was not yet ready to tell him about her father.
"Arjun," she called, bring him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" Arjun looked up. "You said something?" he asked. Arohi nodded her head; she wiped her hands with the napkin and walked towards him. Arjun's eyes followed her and he stood up from his chair and looked at her when she reached towards his chair. She looked much better now, there were no signs of tears, and her eyes were also okay now. Arohi chewed her lower lip and looked down at her fingers. She didn't know how to start the conversation. She looked up at him, directly in his eyes which were curious, waiting for her to speak. "Arjun, I... I know you want to speak about last night, you want to know why I was crying," Arohi paused while Arjun waited for her to continue, glad that she started the conversation for which he was finding ways to start. When Arjun didn't say anything, she continued, "I... I'm not yet ready Arjun, believe me, I want to tell you everything but not now. I know I promised you that I'll not hide anything from you but' It's just that... it's about something I cannot tell. I mean I want to tell you but' Give me some time, I'll tell you. I promise but just not know." Arohi sighed when she saw Arjun's lips curve from the side. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it lightly. "You can take as much as time you want, I'll wait till you are ready to tell me what had happened," Arjun said with a smile, understanding her. Though he was very curious but he was willing to wait. Arohi smiled back; she kept her other hand on their linked hand. "Thanks Arjun," she said, "thanks for understanding me and being there for me last night. And' And I'm sorry that because of me you couldn't sleep last night," Arohi bit her lower lip, he looked a little tired, his eyes were a little red due to lack of sleep. Arjun was about to say something but before he could say anything she said, rather rambled, "I shouldn't have... I mean I should have gone back to my room but I didn't realize at that time, I didn't want to be alone at that time." Arjun tried to speak but Arohi didn't gave him a chance, she kept on going, "I know you are lying that you didn't sleep because you were working; even if you were working you wouldn't have worked the whole night, you would have slept for few hours but because of me you didn't even get those few hours of sleep, and you even look tired. Arjun I'm-" "Arohi," Arjun said a bit loudly to stop Arohi in which he succeeded and then he laughed lightly shaking his head, she looked adorable. He removed his hand from between her hands and held her shoulders gently. "It's okay, you don't have to feel guilty," Arjun said, Arohi was about to say something but Arjun cut her off, "You needed someone last night Arohi. And like you said you didn't wanted to be alone in the same way I didn't want to leave you alone. I would never leave you alone. What kind of friend I'll be if I leave my friend alone when she needed me the most. Heard about the saying, a friend in need is a friend indeed?" Arohi smiled and nodded her head slightly. Arjun smiled back, removing the hand, "And, using of words like thank you and sorry are banned in this house, not only in this house, you are not allowed to use those word with me. Don't you get tired saying the same words again and again?" Arjun tried to lighten up the mood. "So it's decided, we are not allowed to use words like sorry and thank you, Okay?" Arjun asked. Arohi nodded her head like an obedient child and said, "Yes sir." Both Arjun and Arohi chuckled. Arjun looked at the time in his watch and said, "Let's leave or else we'll be late." Arohi nodded and said something about grabbing her bag from upstairs. But as she moved she felt a tug on her arm. She turned and looked at Arjun. "What?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Arjun smiled, "Just a promise," he said. Arohi laughed shaking her head, "A new promise? Okay what is it?" she asked. Arjun pulled her closer by pulling her arm and said, "A promise from me, a promise to always be by your side no matter what happens." He kissed her forehead as to seal the promise. "Arjun," Arohi whispered, she had slight tears in her eyes listening to his words; she couldn't say anything. She just moved forward and hugged him, glad to have such a sweet and caring friend in her life. Arjun smiled and hugged her back.
~*~
They entered the university and Arjun stopped the car in front of the building which was assigned for the course which Arohi was going to do. Both Arjun and Arohi looked towards the building. Arjun then looked towards Arohi, she was still looking towards the building; she had a wide smile playing on her lips and twinkle in her eyes. She was very nervous yet very much exited. She then looked at Arjun who was looking at her and smiling. Arohi looked down tucking the strand of hair behind her ear, she suddenly felt shy under his gaze. Arjun smile grew wide looking at her nervousness. He then pulled out the pen from his shirt pocket, "this is for you," he said, handing the pen to Arohi. Arohi knitted her eyebrows, giving him a questioning look and took the pen. "I couldn't get anything for you so..." he trailed off. "All the best," he then said, giving her smile. "Thanks," she said and smiled back. She noticed the faint dimple adoring his cheek and she felt like poking it. She mentally shook her head and looked at the pen. It had 'Arjun Singhania' carved on it and unconsciously caressed the name with her thumb.
She got down of the car after telling bye to Arjun. She stood there for a few seconds and then slowly started walking towards the building. Arjun couldn't help but laugh looking at Arohi. He leaned his head on the head rest of the seat and kept on looking at retreating figure of Arohi. He was very worried about her in the morning but after talking to her he was glad that she was fine now. He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, typed a quick message and sent it. He reversed his car and left for his office.
Arohi was walking towards the office when her cell phone buzzed. It was a message from Arjun telling her, not be nervous with a smiley in the end. She smiled and walked in the office to ask about her class room and the time table. The peon escorted her to her class room. She looked around while walking towards the class room, the color of the paint, university logo's painted on the wall with few other designs and the building was fully air-conditioned. She entered the class room and all the eyes were on her. She was as it is nervous and everyone's gazes only increased it. She bit her lower lip and looked around the class in search of a vacant seat. The class had 2 seated benches and there was only one seat vacant, but the problem was, there was already a guy seated on the one side on the bench. It was a like a common thing for a girl and a guy to sit together, she had seen that in her college but for her, it was uncomfortable, especially when the guy is a complete stranger, which was the case out here. The girl, who was seated just in front of the guy, exchanged her seat with him, as if she sensed Arohi's un-comfortableness. She then smiled at Arohi and patted the seat next to her, asking Arohi to come and sit beside her. Arohi smiled back and went and sit beside her. Before Arohi could thank her or say anything else, the professor came and the lecture was started.
After the first few lectures got over, it was break for some time and all of Arohi's classmates left the class with the group of their friends. But not before glancing at Arohi weirdly. To avoid their gazes Arohi looked down at her book and started going through it. She thought of staying in the class; she didn't know anything about the building except for where her class was neither did she felt like going anywhere. The only thought going in her mind was that the people out here are really weird. "Hi, I'm Shefali," the girl who was sitting beside her said suddenly bringing her hand forward for a shake. Arohi looked at the hand and then at Shefali's face who was giving her a wide smile and was waiting for her to say something. Arohi smiled back at her, "Arohi," she said shaking hands with Shefali. "So, friends?" Shefali asked to which Arohi nodded. "Great!" Shefali said, still smiling widely. "Arohi this is Sanchit," Shefali introduced the guy with whom she had exchanged the seat. "Hi," Sanchit said, shaking hands with Arohi. "And this in Romit," Shefali introduced the other guy. Romit said hello waving his hand. "Come we'll show you around," Shefali said, standing up and pulling Arohi with her. Shefali linked her arm with Arohi and showed her around. While Shefali was showing her around, she again received a message from Arjun asking her if she was fine and telling her that he wouldn't be able to pick her up, instead the driver will come to pick her up. And she replied saying that she was okay and that she'll see him in the office with adding a smiley in the end.
The first day of college for Arohi passed in a blur all thanks to her new friends especially Shefali. Her constant blabbering had kept Arohi entertained all the time. At first Arohi was amused seeing Shefali talk so much; she had never met anyone before Shefali who talked so much, there was Archana, who once started talking would not stop but Shefali was one step ahead from Archana, not only one step but more than one step, maybe five, this is what Arohi had thought and had also chuckled at her own thinking. But she really liked Shefali; her talking made Arohi feel as if they've known each other from a long time; no one could look at them and say that they have just met today. Shefali also helped Arohi with the notes she had missed previously so that she could cover up fast. Arohi also learnt that Shefali and Sanchit were twins and they have known Romit since their childhood and that Romit and Shefali were in a relationship.
Soon enough Arohi reached office she was very excited to meet Arjun and tell him about her day at college. But to her disappointment Arjun was busy in an important meeting and no one knew how long the meeting would take. Her face fell but soon she got busy with her training.
After some time, Arjun came out of the conference room, after finishing off his meeting. He was discussing something with Dhruv, when an employee came and told him that Arohi was here and was in her cabin. Arjun told Dhruv that they would talk later and went to meet Arohi. He knocked on her door and went in when he heard her say come in. He saw her busy with reading something, a cute frown on her face and the end on the pencil between her teeth. She was so engrossed that she didn't even bother to look up and see who was there. Arjun closed the door and leaned against it. He kept on looking at her with a small smile on his lips. He cleared his throat to gain her attention and Arohi's face jerked up. She looked at him for a moment and then removed the pencil from her mouth. "How was your day?" asked Arjun. Arohi smiled her widest smile ever; she had been waiting for this from so long. She stood up from her chair and walked towards Arjun. She pulled him towards the couch in her cabin by taking hold of his hand and then started narrating about her first day at University. Arjun listened to her carefully while she spoke about the professors, then how her classmates were giving her weird glares, then about her new friends Shefali, Sanchit and Romit. How Shefali showed her around and then her constant blabbering and so on. The smile on her face and the glint in her eyes never left, and the way she was using her hands while telling him everything with excitement, was enough for Arjun to know that the decision which he took about making Arohi complete her studies was the right decision. He turned towards the side by folding his one leg on the couch and rested his elbow on thigh and then resting his face on his palm and kept on listening to an excited Arohi.
Naagin 7
Health and Fitness
