"Arnav, it is been long since I last visited temple. I want to go today. Would you like to come along with me?" Khushi asked, after finishing the breakfast, eyeing Arnav who was sitting quietly near the window.
"I don't go to temples. But I'll drop you there." He replied staring outside the window at the neighbour's house opposite to his. Two kids around the ages of three and five were getting ready to go somewhere. He had rarely seen them, for the past few years he had been living here. All those times, he had been either disinterested or preoccupied with some work to notice who his neighbours were. But these days, something had changed about him. He was doing things which he previously never did.
A few minutes later, he saw a young couple, who he assumed to be the parents of the kids, follow them. The man went to the garage and reversed his car, while his wife and kids hopped onto it a few seconds later. He noticed how their life was all perfect. They had nothing to worry about when they would be hunted down or who they had to kill next or how they should hide their deadly secrets from each other.
For a minute, he imagined himself to be in that man's position. With Khushi as his wife and maybe two kids of his own. A happy family where their life would be perfect.
But it was futile to dream about things which were next to impossible. And his dream was shattered even before it could be etched into his memory.
"Why?" he heard Khushi's voice resound across the room, interrupting his thought process.
"Because I stopped believing in God, the day my mother died and left me all alone." He replied with immense ache in his voice.
"Arnav..."she strode towards him and sat down beside him, placing her hand lightly on his tense shoulders. "Do you really think it is fair to blame God for it?"
"No. But I cannot trust him anymore." He replied back staring ahead. "He left me all alone in this world." Even though so many years has passed, the sorrow and pain in his words were alive like it all happened just yesterday.
"Devi Maiyya had better plans for you. Maybe we would have never met each other if..." she tried to console him.
"You may be right. But that's not an excuse." He was adamant about his stance and not wanting to argue further, he stood up to move away. But Khushi wasn't done with this conversation.
"But Arnav, why..." she was left midsentence when he abruptly turned to face her.
"Why do you have a problem with me being an atheist? Can you not accept me for who I am? I have never objected to you following your religion." He replied furiously, a slight hue of anger bubbling in his eyes.
"Ofcourse, I can. And I don't have a problem with you being an atheist. I firmly believe that you have a right to choose what your heart feels right. I would never try to change you. If you are an atheist, you must be having good reasons for it. I never meant to judge you. I was just curious to know more about you." Khushi replied in a calm and soft voice.
The calm look in Khushi's eyes was enough to eliminate all traces of anger within him. "I didn't mean to..." he replied instantly, feeling apologetic for this sudden outburst.
"I know Arnav. It's alright." She replied, walking towards him and gently patting his shoulder. "So what if you don't pray? I think I can manage to pray on behalf of both of us, for both of us. Is that fine?"
"If it makes you happy." He replied back smilingly. He had been judged all his life. But here was Khushi, who was ready to accept him for who he was. Somewhere, he felt a strange sense of hope ignite the faintest sparks within his soul. "Come, let's go." He declared, going to the bedroom to get ready.
o0o
"So, what do you do when you are in some trouble, since you don't pray to God for help?" Khushi asked Arnav curiously. They were seated on one of the wooden benches in the temple's compound. Arnav had refused to step into the premises of the main temple, preferring to wait outside for her until her prayers were over. And now that she was done with it, Khushi had decided to sit around for sometime, enjoying the cool breeze and the magnificent view that came along with the elevated location of the temple.
"I don't do anything. I simply trust my instincts." He replied, gazing into her curious eyes. "But sometimes, I do ask my mother for help." He confessed something that he had told anyone before. "And she helps me."
"I'm sure she must be praying on your behalf." Khushi had always observed that whenever Arnav spoke about his mother, he would suddenly be transported to his childhood and an innocence would spread over his face, that would make her love him all the more.
"Yeah, my mother was a firm believer in God. Even Nana, you know. She used to take me to church sometimes when I was a kid. I liked playing football with the kids over there after the Mass, in the church compound."
Khushi did not miss the faint smile on his face that flashed for a second as he remembered his childhood memories."You know, I asked Devi Maiyya why she left you all alone." She said cupping his right cheek.
"And what did she say?" he asked amusedly.
"She said she never left you alone and that she still loves you." She replied, as her dainty fingers began stroking his stubble.
"Shall we go, if you are done with you and your Devi Maiyya's conversation?" he asked getting up from the bench.
"Ok." She replied and followed him. As they were walking down the stairs of the temple, they noticed a small crowd gathered at the bottom of the footsteps. Wondering what was happening, Khushi stopped a passerby who was coming in the opposite direction from the scene. "What happened?" she asked pointing at the commotion going on.
"Some criminal gang war occurred and one of their men was shot down. He's lying there badly injured. Nothing special, you know. It happens all the time." He huffed and resumed his climb upstairs.
Khushi frantically ran down the remaining stairs and made her way through the crowd to get a better view of the scene, leaving behind a bewildered Arnav, who soon followed her. She could see the pathetic condition that the man was in. He was profusely bleeding from the gunshot on his abdomen, lying face down on the ground. Instantly, she was reminded about Arnav when she had seen him in a similar situation the first time she had met him.
Looking up around her, she observed that all people who had gathered around the injured man were either gossiping about the gang which he might belong to, or shunned him and moved away from that location, while some discussed about what might have happened to him. But one thing was clear. No one was coming ahead to help the dying man.
"What are you all doing? Help him and take him to a hospital." She blared at the crowd, suddenly furious at the indifferent attitude towards the injured man.
"Are you crazy? Do you know we would all be arrested by the police if we touched him or helped him out." A man who appeared to be in his thirties, replied back. "Do you even know who he is? He is a criminal and he is only suffering for his crimes." He replied coolly, before resuming his talk with another man beside him.
"I don't care who he is, but he needs help. Otherwise, he will die soon. Did anyone of you all, call the ambulance?" she shouted out frustratingly. But there was no reply from anyone. As if no one was bothered in saving that injured man's life.
She turned around to find Arnav, standing motionless, staring at the injured man ahead of him. "Arnav, we have to help him." She replied frantically, missing the colour drained face of his.
Arnav didn't know what was happening. But for a minute, he felt a chill travel down his spine. He had gone through this situation atleast four times now. He had exactly been shot like that man who lay on the ground there. And during the most recent one, he had nearly had a close call with death.
"Huh.." he replied not understanding a word of what was she saying. He tried to recognise the face of the injured man. It wasn't a familiar face. Maybe he was new around here.
Khushi didn't wait for him to respond. She quickly retrieved her mobile phone from her handbag and dialled the ambulance number. They informed her that they would arrive within few minutes. She quickly rushed to the injured man's side and caught hold of his hand, earning gasps from the crowd around her. But she was least bothered.
"Hang on there. Help is on its way." She assured the man, hoping that he would somehow make it, praying that it wasn't too late to save him.
o0o
Khushi walked out of the hospital, after giving her statement to the police. She was filled with utter disgust at that crowd's behaviour. Even though she had assured that nothing would happen to them, everyone had blatantly refused to help her out, until the ambulance arrived on the scene.
While still thinking about it, she didn't realise Arnav catching up behind her and sliding his hand into hers.
Arnav had tried his level best to steer clear from the police's way, while still helping out the injured man. Khushi's determination to save that man's life was something he couldn't back away from. And to be honest, he was simply awed by her actions.
"Khushi, come let's go home." He said, leading her to his car, trying to get away from this place as fast as possible. He knew he would be in deep trouble if any of that injured man's gang noticed him. It was an important rule of the mafia that one never helped another gang's member unless they had a deal between them. If they did, it would indicate that their allegiance had shifted and such people were considered to be traitors and hunted down.
Khushi quietly got into the car, while he drove off.
After a few minutes, when they were outside the vicinity of the hospital locality, he stopped the car near the roadside, deeply bothered with a thought that was nagging his mind for the last hour.
"Can I ask you something?" Arnav asked, breaking the silence between them. He could see from the corner of his eyes that she had nodded affirmatively. "Why did you help that man despite knowing that he was criminal?"
"Why? Should I have not helped that dying man? Should I have behaved like the rest of the crowd and be a quiet bystander to see the life disappear from his eyes?" Khushi replied furiously.
"No, I'm not saying like that. But you know he is a criminal. He could have been dangerous."
"So what Arnav? Isn't he a human? Just because he is a criminal doesn't mean that we can leave him to die, especially when his life can be saved. His profession has nothing to do with it. That man would have had parents, wife, siblings and children waiting for him at home. What do you think they would feel when they would see his dead body arrive in their house instead of him? I saved him the same way I saved you. If I hadn't helped you out that day, God forbid, but you wouldn't have been here with me and the mere thought of it, makes me frightened." She replied shuddering at the mere thought, leaping into his arms as her eyes moistened with tears. Death had always been a sensitive issue to her and after the recent loss of her Buaji, the whole feeling was magnified enormously.
"But criminals are bad guys. So don't you think death is their punishment?" he asked instantly, his guilty inner conscience taking over his mind.
"Nobody is born a criminal." Khushi replied, pulling away from his arms. "There is a good side to every human being. It's just that certain circumstances force them to take up these things. I firmly believe that if they were given an alternative way to lead their life, no one would choose the criminal life. They can be reformed. We just need to give them another chance at life. And most importantly, nobody deserves to die like that."
"Aren't you scared of them?" he asked cupping her face, looking into her eyes, suddenly feeling all the hairs of his body stand upright, as if his entire life depended on her answer.
"I would be scared if they tried to hurt me, but otherwise, no. I'm not scared of them." She responded back.
"I would never hurt you, you know. Ever..." he whispered reflexively, not aware of what he had just said. He could only see a faint glimmer of hope shine in her eyes, maybe a reflection of his own.
For a minute, Khushi felt the entire atmosphere inside the car turn uncanny as his words struck her. "What are you saying Arnav?" she asked, completely puzzled at where this conversation suddenly diverted to.
"Nothing." He broke apart suddenly, realising the impact of his words on her face and turned around abruptly and started the engine of the car. "We better get going home. I'm hungry." He said trying to divert the attention and roared the car, causing Khushi to be utterly confused at the moment that just passed between them.
o0o
Khushi watched Arnav entering the house as she sat on the couch reading a magazine. Saying that he had some important work to complete, he had left in the afternoon and had finally returned back at 7:00 pm. She observed that he looked completely exhausted and weary as he plopped down on the couch beside her.
"Tired?" she asked looking at his face.
"Yeah," he nodded, resting his head behind and closing his eyes. He had been ordered to negotiate a deal with one of their suppliers by Khalid Bhai and that had been one tough deal with the suppliers bargaining on their terms instead of his, threatening to withdraw their offer. And after ten rounds of negotiations, they had finally agreed to supply the goods at a reasonable price, completely exhausting him in the process.
He had been ready to doze off, when suddenly, he had felt some weight shift over his lap, causing him to snap open his eyes. To his utter surprise, he found Khushi eyes staring directly into his.
"What the!" he freaked out, startled to find her climbed on top of his lap.
"Sshhh... Just close your eyes and relax." She said, her fingers making their way through his hair and slowly massaging his scalp and his forehead. Hypnotised by her gaze, he simply sat back at her command.
"Like it?" she asked, as she saw him relax down a bit as the creases on his forehead, started to vanish away.
"Mmm..." he managed to reply, as he felt the tension slowly releasing away from his body.
"Work stress?" she asked, gliding her hands down to the sides of his neck.
"Mmm..." he nearly moaned out. He never knew that this would feel so good. Slowly, he felt her fingers unbuttoning the first three buttons of his shirt and making their way to his shoulder blades and the nape of his neck.
"Oh God, Khushi! Where did you learn this from? Don't tell me you worked as a masseuse before." He exclaimed out alarmingly, opening his eyes.
"Ha ha! Buaji used to make me massage her shoulders when she used to get tired after working the whole day. And now many years of practice has led to this magic." She said winking her eye. "See, even I'm multitalented like you."
"I wonder what more hidden talents you have." He said, pulling her down on his lap and wrapping her arms around her neck, as he claimed her lips with a mind numbing kiss. "If I'm going to be treated like this, then I would prefer returning home tired everyday." He managed to mutter between her lips.
"Oh, I would love it." She replied back in a husky voice, totally lost in those molten eyes, while his hands made his way underneath her clothes.
Both of them had been so lost in the moment that they didn't realise the door being unlocked and opened, as someone stepped into their house.
"Charged up already?" Khushi whispered seductively into his ears, while she nibbled his earlobe, exploring her hands beneath his shirt.
And when Arnav was going to respond back with a witty answer, he was stopped with a noise of someone clearing their throat.
"Arnav Bhai?"
Instantaneously, Khushi jumped up completely startled on Arnav's lap, while he bent his head sideways to glance at the familiar face of his friend. "Aman?"
Khushi felt like she would combust any minute with the embarrassment that followed. Hey Devi Maiyya! He mentally exclaimed out in panic. Where her hands were and what was she doing? And what would that man, whoever he was, think about her? Shit!
"No problem Bhai. Carry on. I'll talk to you later." Aman replied, more embarrassed than the other two at interrupting them in their private moment, and straight away walked to his room upstairs.
"Oh God, Arnav! This is so embarrassing." Khushi exclaimed out, while burying her face into his neck, unable to bear to meet anyone's eyes.
"No, don't worry. He is Aman, my best friend who lives along with me. He's not the type who would be bothered about all this." Arnav replied calmly, helping her to get down on her feet, while he arranged his dishevelled state. "We will resume this in the night. I'll go upstairs and talk to him. Okay?" He started to walk upstairs, not before her pulling towards him for one more, quick kiss.
o0o
Aman had been busy arranging the cash in his safe locker, when he heard Arnav knocking on
his door.
"Aman!" he heard his friend call out, while he turned to face him. "After a long time, huh? Where have you been?" Arnav asked, stepping inside the room and firmly closing the door behind him. From the time he had been to Mumbai, he hadn't been able to converse freely with his friend. Either of them would always be caught up in one task or the other.
"I went to Chandigarh. Khalid Bhai gave me orders to collect the consignment from Khanna. So I returned back just now after dropping it at the headquarters. How have you been? Looks like you have a new girl in your hands?" Aman asked casually.
"Yeah. About that. Well, she is Khushi. She is my... umm... friend." Arnav struggled to find the right word to describe his relationship with her.
"Friend?" Aman laughed, quirking up an eyebrow. "From what it seems you were doing just now, she looked more than a friend."
"Ok, she's more than a friend." He admitted. "Actually, she's been staying with me for the past few days and will be staying here in this house indefinitely." This was so awkward for Arnav. Even though they were best friends, they hadn't really spoken about the women in their lives. It had been a silent pact between them.
"Uh huh... Does she know about what you do?" Aman asked quickly.
"About that... Nope. I'm in a big mess." Arnav confessed.
"Look who is talking. I thought you could handle all the women's matter smoothly without any help." Aman replied, suddenly taking an interest in his friend.
"Aman, she's not just an ordinary woman. She is now a part of my life. You know, what I mean. I love her." Arnav said it out aloud, something that he hadn't been able to do with Khushi.
"Bhai! Are you serious?" he asked sitting down on his bed. "You know the consequences of this, right?" Aman replied panicking knowing what exactly would happen if anyone else in the mafia knew there was a new woman in Arnav Singh's life. Here, they were trying to hunt him down and now, Arnav had provided the perfect bait for them to blackmail him. "And Khalid Bhai is going to be outraged at this. Do they already know about this?"
"No. And that's why I need your help Aman. I want you to steer clear all our gang members from this house. See that no one visits here. Conduct all the meetings at the headquarters. I want this news to remain between the four walls of this house."
"But that's impossible, you know. Someday, they will find out about her." Aman replied back, knowing very well how fast news spread in the Underworld.
"Aman..." Arnav hesitated, wondering if he could share these plans with him. But frankly, Aman was the only person whom he could trust the most in this Underworld and he knew his friend would never disappoint him. "I'm planning to move to Bangkok. As soon as Khalid Bhai returns from South Africa, I want to talk to him about it."
"Arnav Bhai! You know it is impossible. He would never let you go. You are his right hand man." Aman cried out in absolute shock, outraged at what his friend had planned. "See, this is why Abbas always tells us to stay clear of women. They mess up your mind and now, that girl in our living room has messed up yours."
"Aman, you could take up my position. You could be the next right hand man of Khalid Bhai. And Abbas himself had offered me a place in Bangkok under him. I cannot stay here. You know it. People are after my life. I can be killed any minute. I won't survive everytime I'm shot. I barely cheated death the last time." Arnav tried to convince his friend like a mad man, completely losing it.
"You know me very well. I've always wanted freedom. I was never meant to be in this life. I want a life with her, Aman. I want to spend my life with Khushi. You have your parents, siblings who love you. I don't have any. Don't I deserve a chance at love?" he pleaded like a dying man, hoping that someone would hear his prayers. "I know I'm hoping too much, but that girl down there has given me a hope and I cannot let it go."
"Arnav Bhai! You are not thinking practically. You, of all people should be able to differentiate between dreams and reality better than anyone else. Anyways, we will talk about this after some more days. Hopefully, by then, you would realise that what you are dreaming of is next to impossible." Aman said firmly, indicating an end of their conversation. Sensing it, Arnav turned around and opened the door and walked out of it leaving behind Aman all to himself.
He didn't know what was happening. But he knew one thing for sure. If Arnav took this relationship ahead, that girl would lose her life in the process, along with Arnav's. As it is, he had already given up the hopes of saving his friend.
But then, she was just another girl. If he was ready to sacrifice his best friend, that girl was worth nothing for him. If destiny had plans of her death, then so be it.
CHAPTER 37
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
37