FF Keeping Khushi Thread 9:Part 90 Page 138 - Page 12

Part 79

The next morning at breakfast, NK kept trying to call Aarti, but could not get her.

"There is something wrong, Khushi Bhabi.", NK was sure. The lack of his customary smile was enough to send chills down the spines of the other members of his family.

Khushi looked at Arnav, worried.

Arnav played with his slice of bread as his mind worked fast and furious.

"Khushi, I am leaving early. I need to talk to Baba."

Khushi nodded.

"NK, Khushi, call me if you can't get Aarti on the phone by afternoon."

They nodded.

In the afternoon, Baba and Arnav went to Aarti's house. The huge mansion lay deserted, looking more imposing than before.

"This is a house?", Baba asked.

Arnav smiled slightly.

They caught sight of Ram Singh, the elderly watchman who was feeding the fish.

"Where are Aarti, her mother, and Gopi Kakka?", Arnav asked urgently.

The watchman smiled, showing tobacco-stained teeth. "Memsaheb has gone on a holiday."

"Where have they gone?", asked Arnav.

"On a holiday, Saheb.", smiled Ram Singh.

"When will they be back?"

"Memsaheb will call when it is time."

Arnav looked at Baba, helpless. Baba touched his shoulder, silently telling him that they needed to explore other avenues.

NK and Khushi went to the main office of the Mishra's.

Tara smiled at them, recognising the family of huggers.

"How may I help you?", she asked.

"Where is Aarti?", asked NK, his face pale and his eyes stern.

Khushi held on to his hand.

Tara took one look at their determined faces, and took them to Nitin.

Nitin offered them seats.

"Where is Aarti?"

Nitin smiled. "Madam is on holiday."

"Where is she holidaying?"

"I am afraid I can't tell you that.", Nitin smiled politely.

"Listen, I can't get her on the phone since morning. There is something wrong, I am telling you. Tell me, where is she?", NK was desperate.

Nitin smiled. "Please don't worry about Madam. She called me last night. Said she wouldn't be in touch for a couple of days."

"Why?"

"She said that she and her family are travelling."

"Is there any other way to contact her?", Khushi asked.

"No, Madam.", Nitin smiled. "When Aarti Madam calls again, I will inform her that you are desirous of speaking to her."

"Please ask her to call me. I am Nandkisore, NK. And please let me know when Aarti calls you." NK gave Nitin his phone number.

As soon as NK & Khushi left, Nitin called Gopi Kakka.

"Gopiji, a Nandkisore and Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada came to the office asking after Madam. I told them that she would be calling us only after 2 days."

"Good.", said Gopi Kakka. "Arnav Singh Raizada and an elderly man cornered Ram Singh at the house today. You can expect a visit from more members of the Raizada family in the coming days."

"Ji. How are they?"

"I am waiting. I will call you as soon as I get news. Inform Jayesh Bhai too."

"Ji."

The Raizadas were frantic. It was as if Aarti, Amma, & Gopi Kakka had vanished off the face of this earth.

Repeated visits to the house and all the offices of Mishra's by Nani, Mami, Buaji, Baba, Arnav, Khushi, Payal, Akash, Mamaji, & NK had yielded nothing.

Three days later, Nitin phoned NK.

"Sir, Aarti Madam called me today. She is perfectly fine. I have passed on your message to her."

"How is she? How did she sound on the phone?", NK asked. The whole family was listening to his side of the conversation with anxious faces.

"She is fine. Perfectly fine." Nitin disconnected the call at the earliest.

The Raizadas, Baba, NK, & Buaji looked at each other.

Aarti called NK a little later.

"I heard that you were searching for me all over Delhi.", said Aarti.

"Aarti, are you alright?", NK asked, his voice reflecting his concern.

"I am fine. I told you that I wouldn't be able to call for a couple of days. Then why did you get so hyper?" He could hear her smile in her voice.

"I... I felt there was something wrong, Aarti."

Aarti changed the topic. "I asked you for 3 months. Give me the three months. I need it to settle my life."

"I want to see you, Aarti. Now."

There was a pause.

"I am afraid that is not really possible now. I will be returning to Delhi in a couple of weeks. We can meet then.", she said casually.

"Why do you sound so different? Are you sick?"

"No. I am fine. I will see you later. I need to go now. By the way, don't call me. I will call you."

"Aarti, where are you?"

There was no reply.

A week later, all of them still had no idea where Aarti was.

The doorbell rang. HP opened the door to Anand & Anjali who had come on a visit.

After loving greetings and many hugs, Anand asked, "What is wrong? Why are you all looking upset?"

The family told Anjali & Anand the news about NK & Aarti.

"Aarti Mishra? The owner of Mishra's?", Anand asked.

"Yes. Have you met her?", Arnav asked.

"No. But I designed their guest house and two of their showrooms, and we built them. I didn't know that she was so young. From the respect with which her employees take her name, I thought she must be much older."

"She is 22.", NK said. "And her employees are fiercely protective of her. Trying to get information about her from them is next to impossible."

All nodded. They had much experience in this.

"So, she is not in Delhi.", Anand mused.

"No.", said NK.

"She is on holiday, apparently travelling around?", Anand asked to confirm the details.

"Yes. We checked in Kanpur. She has not reached Kanpur.", Arnav said.

Anand said, "I don't know if this will help, but sometime back, an official from the Mishra's contacted me and asked me if I was interested in renovating a house owned by Aarti Mishra in Mumbai. I told him I was. We met two days later, and he gave me the details of the house. A few days later, he called up and said that Aarti Mishra would like to postpone that particular project, and that he would contact me again when she gave the green signal. I have the details of the house, including the address in my laptop. Maybe...just maybe she has gone to Mumbai."

The whole family, including Anand, Anjali, Baba, and Buaji, travelled to Mumbai. They looked at the imposing but old building owned by Aarti in a quiet, posh, residential area of the busy city.

The watchman looked at the veritable army of men and women who were standing at his gate with wide eyes.

"We would like to speak to Gopi Kakka. I am Arnav Singh Raizada from Delhi.", Arnav said.

The watchman looked him over, and phoned Gopi Kakka in the house.

The door of the house opened. Gopi Kakka, dressed in his usual white dhoti kurta came out, and walked to the gate. The watchman opened it.

"Namaste.", Gopi Kakka said, as though he did not know that these very same people had been hunting Aarti & Kamla Mishra for the past one week.

"Namaste!", the guests responded, delighted to see him.

"Is Aarti here?", asked NK, urgently.

"Ji.", said Gopi Kakka evenly.

"Amma?"

"She is here too."

"How are they?", Khushi asked.

"They are fine.", said Gopi Kakka, leading them in.

Once they were all inside the house, Gopi Kakka said, "Would you sit down for a few minutes? There is something I need to talk to you before you see them."

The guests sat. A male servant was instructed to bring coffee for all, with sugar-free coffee to be made for Arnav.

As the servant left, Gopi Kakka said, "You have all been very busy lately, I hear."

Arnav smiled slightly. "We are entitled to, wouldn't you say, Gopi Kakka?"

Gopi Kakka smiled. "You are. You got nothing from the office and the house. Your private detectives failed. Then how did you find us?"

Arnav pointed to Anand. "Anand Dwivedi, architect and my Jijaji."

Gopi Kakka nodded as Anand greeted him politely.

"He had been offered the opportunity to renovate this building.", Arnav said. "An offer which was later postponed indefinitely."

"Because Aarti Bitiyaa found out that her mother was very ill.", Gopi Kakka said softly.

There was perfect silence.

"That nonsense about lightning not striking in the same place? It is pure bakwaas. Lightning does strike the same place, again and again and again.", Gopi Kakka said bitterly.

NK could feel his blood cool. "Gopi Kakka?", he asked.

"After Mohan Mishra died, Bitiyaa did her best to make her mother return to a normal life. Samosas. Sugar in tea. Stepping out of the house into the garden. Planning a garden together. Taking short walks in the garden..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Kamlaji is only 43 years old. Bitiyaa thought that she had more than half her life ahead of her, and that with great and long effort, she could be happy...

...But Kamlaji was sick all the time. Always tired. High BP. Her head and her body used to ache all the time. She was becoming thinner by the day...Bitiyaa was so worried...

Then came a full medical check up. We found out that Kamlaji's kidneys were damaged. She had been sick for years, the disease gradually becoming worse, but Mohan Mishra had done nothing about it even though she had informed him about her symptoms. And Kamlaji had said nothing to her daughter for fear that Bitiyaa would finally lose her self control and kill Mishra..."

Gopi Kakka continued, "The doctors have big names for it. They said that it was CKD that developed into ESRD. To us, it meant that her kidneys had failed."

All gasped. Buaji hit her head with her hand. "Hai Re Nandkisore!", she exclaimed.

"Her face was beginning to look puffy. She was having difficulty breathing...", Gopi Kakka swallowed with difficulty.

"The doctors said that it was either dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis could prolong her life but she would die one day soon. A kidney transplant could save her..."

The faces of the listeners paled. Those who knew Aarti well knew what was coming. Khushi bit her lip to stop her tears. Payal caught hold of her hand tight. Arnav put his arm around Khushi's shoulders, hugging her close. Mamiji looked at Buaji and Nani in shock. NK looked as though he were caught in a nightmare. Baba placed his hand on NK's thigh, silently asking him to take heart. Akash closed his eyes. Mamaji listened to Gopi Kakka, shocked.

"We couldn't wait for a kidney from a dead body. Moreover there was every chance that Kamlaji's body would reject the kidney. But if the donor was a blood relative, then, the doctor said, there was a high chance of survival."

Gopi Kakka swallowed hard.

"So...so Aarti Bitiyaa offered one of her kidneys... The doctor in the hospital in Delhi suggested that we do it here in Mumbai. He referred them to a specialist here. That's why we came here."

There was perfect silence in the room.

"How are...?", NK could not complete his question.

"They are fine. We were in the hospital for 7 days after the surgery. Both of them are resting here now. There are nurses to take care of them."

Gopi Kakka watched the women crying and the men trying to control themselves and comfort them at the same time.

He asked softly, "Would you like to see them?"

All of them jumped up.

Gopi Kakka took them to Amma's room first. She was asleep. The nurse sitting by her stood up as they entered the room.

They stared at her, unable to take in the change in her. The puffiness of her body was gone. She looked younger, at peace...

Gopi Kakka took them to Aarti's room next door. She was lying on her back in the centre of the bed, her arms at her sides, her eyes closed. She looked exhausted. NK swallowed his tears at the sight of that tiny figure, fully covered by a modest white nightgown.

The nurse sitting by the bed got up and left the room.

NK sat down by her, smoothing a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead. Her hair had grown slightly, he thought.

Unused to being touched in her sleep, Aarti woke up immediately. She looked at her Sunflower, unable to believe her eyes. Had she died and gone to heaven?, she thought.

Then she saw the crowd gathered around her bed. And Gopi Kakka leaning against the wall, smiling.

She sat up with difficulty, NK helping her by supporting her back.

Aarti looked at the big crowd of people who cared for her, and swallowed hard.

"Looks like we have guests, Gopi Kakka.", Aarti said in her customary style. The voice was feeble, but her spirit was strong, still the same.

Khushi, Payal, Buaji, Nani, Anjali, & Mami hugged her, all of them crying in relief.

"Why are you all crying?", Aarti asked. She patted Buaji's shoulder to comfort her. "Are you so unhappy that I am alive, Buaji?", she asked.

Aarti looked at the men.

"Will you be staying with us?", she asked Arnav.

"I don't think you are strong enough to throw us out right now.", Arnav smiled slightly.

She smiled, turned to Gopi Kakka, and said, "Gopi Kakka, please make arrangements for them to stay."

Kakka nodded.

"They must be tired from all this travelling and crying.", Aarti teased, a smile in her eyes.

NK caught hold of her hand. She let him. She pressed his fingers with hers.

"How do you feel, Aarti?", he asked, looking at her face.

"Very good.", Aarti smiled at him.

Then she looked at Arnav Singh Raizada. "So you decided to look further than Delhi."

"Yes. Your employees got tired of seeing us daily." All smiled at Arnav's small joke.

"Anand Dwivedi helped them find us.", Gopi Kakka said, looking at the bearded man in white. "Apparently he had the details of this house with him."

Aarti nodded. "I am very glad to finally meet you, Mr. Dwivedi.", she said.

"Anand.", he said.

Aarti nodded, smiling at him.

The ladies were still crying. This can't be good for Khushiji in her condition., Aarti thought.

"Mamiji, Naniji, Buaji, Khushiji, Payalji, you should start a detective agency.", said Aarti smiling. The ladies smiled at her through their tears.

"Please stop crying.", Aarti begged. "Or this room will be flooded and I will have to stay with Amma in her room."

All smiled.

The house help brought coffee and Gopi Kakka helped to distribute the mugs, taking care to give Arnav his sugar-free coffee.

"Why didn't you tell us, Nandkisore?", asked Buaji, still crying.

"We would have come with you and helped you take care of Amma.", Payal said.

Khushi nodded.

Aarti smiled slightly. "That's why I didn't tell you." The smile slowly vanished. She said, "It all happened very fast. It was a bad time for us. We thought why drag you into it?"

"Phamily ijj for that, Aarti Bitiyaa." Mami patted Aarti's cheek. "For dragging into it when times are bad. Aur naahin to kaa? Don't you remember?", she asked Mamaji. "When the doctor said that they had to pajj (pass) current through my watwaa (wart), I cried and cried and called my 3 brothers and 4 sisters to Delhi."

"I remember, Manno! How can I forget?", asked Mamaji, sighing.

All laughed through their tears.

"What did the doctor say, Aartiji?", askd Akash.

"Amma is much better. The kidney is functioning well. They will have to monitor it, but she will be OK.", Aarti smiled.

"She looks much better.", Khushi said. "Healthier."

"The waste in her body is being removed by the new kidney. That's why the swelling on her body has gone down. She will make it.", Aarti said, smiling.

"Aarti Bitiyaa...", Mami asked. "How will you manijj (manage) with one kidney? How can you drive a bike with one tyrewaa?"

"This bike needs only one tyre to run, Mamiji.", Aarti explained with a smile. "The second one was a spare one."

"Like my make up kitwaa! One in handwaa and the other in my bagwaa!"

"Ji.", Aarti agreed, smiling.

"Let NK Bhai and Aartiji talk. Let's wait out.", Anjali suggested. All smiled and nodded, and left the room. Gopi Kakka led them to another wing to show them the guestrooms.

NK looked at Aarti, and raised her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers.

"Does it hurt?", he asked softly.

"Not now.", she said, smiling.

NK put his arms around her gently hugging her. She rested her face against his, her arms around him.

"I was so worried, Aarti."

"I know. But it would have been worse if you were with me here."

NK cupped her face. "You didn't want me here with you, Aarti?"

"I did. But..."

"But?"

"This was my first surgery. My first hospitalisation. I was scared that something would go wrong. And to have you waiting outside the OP theatre...If it had all gone wrong...? No. This was better."

"Aarti!"

"Do you still want to marry me?", Aarti asked, sure of the answer.

"Yes."

"I don't need three months. Give me one month to look after Amma and to heal."

NK nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "As long as you need.", he whispered.

"Just one month.", Aarti said, touching his cheek with a trembling finger. "I don't think I can wait longer than that."

NK stared at her.

"I wasted 22 years without you. I don't want to waste any more time." Aarti was very sure.

NK laughed aloud in relief and joy. Aarti smiled.

Part 78: 72331390 Part 80: 72517950

Smita,😊

Here is my interpretation for Part 79.

It is the final unraveling of a plot. A complicated situation is being straightened.

It is DENOUEMENT.

When NK couldn't get through to Aarti he got worried.

"He felt like unusual. Filled with anxiety, dread, sure. But even that wasn't normal..."

~ John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In

He spoke about it to his confidant Kushi

"There is something wrong, Khushi Bhabi.", NK was sure.

His Sunshine smile was missing! His countanace had everybody worried!

"As a rule, what is out of sight disturbs men's minds more seriously than what they see"

~ Julius Caesar

When Kushi looked worriedly at Arnav, he being a quick thinker and decision maker said,

"Khushi, I am leaving early. I need to talk to Baba."

Khushi nodded.

"NK, Khushi, call me if you can't get Aarti on the phone by afternoon."

They nodded.

In the afternoon Baba and Arnav went to the deserted looking Mishra Mansion!

"This is a house?", Baba asked.

Arnav smiled slightly.

Their querry on whereabouts of residents only received that they were on a holiday and their date of arrival will be notified by their Malkin later, from the watch man. Arnav and Baba had to return and think of other avenues of finding out.

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work" ~ John Lubbock

Meanwhile NK and Kushi who went to the main office of Mishra's were directed by the receptionist Tara to Nitin on their enquiry of Aarti's whereabouts.

Nitin offered them seats.

"Where is Aarti?"

Nitin smiled. "Madam is on holiday."

"Where is she holidaying?"

"I am afraid I can't tell you that.", Nitin smiled politely.

"Listen, I can't get her on the phone since morning. There is something wrong, I am telling you. Tell me, where is she?", NK was desperate.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength" ~ Corrie ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook

Nitin smiled. "Please don't worry about Madam. She called me last night. Said she wouldn't be in touch for a couple of days."

"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow"

~ Swedish Proverb

"Why?"

"She said that she and her family are travelling."

"Is there any other way to contact her?", Khushi asked.

"No, Madam.", Nitin smiled. "When Aarti Madam calls again, I will inform her that you are desirous of speaking to her."

"Please ask her to call me. I am Nandkisore, NK. And please let me know when Aarti calls you." NK gave Nitin his phone number.

As soon as they left Nitin relayed the information to Gopi Kaka.

"Gopiji, a Nandkisore and Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada came to the office asking after Madam. I told them that she would be calling us only after 2 days."

"Good.", said Gopi Kakka. "Arnav Singh Raizada and an elderly man cornered Ram Singh at the house today. You can expect a visit from more members of the Raizada family in the coming days."

"Ji. How are they?"

"Affection is like the noonday sun; it does not need the presence of another to be manifest."

~ Isabel Allende, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon

"I am waiting. I will call you as soon as I get news. Inform Jayesh Bhai too."

"Ji."

"That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change,

but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent"

~ Chinese Proverb

The Raizadas' were a worried lot. It looked as though the Mishras' and Gopi Kaka had simply vanished at the wave of a wand! Their repeated forays to the Mishras' places by each and every member yielded no result! After a worry filled three days NK received a call from Nitin.

"Sir, Aarti Madam called me today. She is perfectly fine. I have passed on your message to her."

"How is she? How did she sound on the phone?", NK asked. The whole family was listening to his side of the conversation with anxious faces.

"She is fine. Perfectly fine." Nitin disconnected the call at the earliest.

The Raizadas, Baba, NK, & Buaji looked at each other.

When Aarti called NK a little later,

"I heard that you were searching for me all over Delhi.", said Aarti.

"Aarti, are you alright?", NK asked, his voice reflecting his concern.

"I am fine. I told you that I wouldn't be able to call for a couple of days. Then why did you get so hyper?" He could hear her smile in her voice.

"I... I felt there was something wrong, Aarti."

"Let me have a faithful account of all that concerns you; I would know everything, be it ever so unfortunate. Perhaps by mingling my sighs with yours I may make your sufferings less, for it is said that all sorrows divided are made lighter."

~ Hlose d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Ablard and Hlose

Aarti changed the topic. "I asked you for 3 months. Give me the three months. I need it to settle my life."

"I want to see you, Aarti. Now."

There was a pause.

"I am afraid that is not really possible now. I will be returning to Delhi in a couple of weeks. We can meet then.", she said casually.

"Why do you sound so different? Are you sick?"

"No. I am fine. I will see you later. I need to go now. By the way, don't call me. I will call you."

"Aarti, where are you?"

There was no reply.

A week later when there was still with no clue about Aarti's whereabouts, Anjali and Anand came on a visit.

Seeing that the usual liveliness missing in the family

Anand asked, "What is wrong? Why are you all looking upset?"

The family told Anjali & Anand the news about NK & Aarti.

"Aarti Mishra? The owner of Mishra's?", Anand asked.

"Yes. Have you met her?", Arnav asked.

"No. But I designed their guest house and two of their showrooms, and we built them. I didn't know that she was so young. From the respect with which her employees take her name, I thought she must be much older."

"She is 22.", NK said. "And her employees are fiercely protective of her. Trying to get information about her from them is next to impossible."

All agreed with this. It was then that Anand told them sometime back he had been contacted to renovate a house owned by Aarti Mishra in Mumbai and had been given the details. But at a later date he was asked to postpone the work till confirmed. He said may be that could help them and gave them the address. Armed with the address, the whole family, including Anand, Anjali, Baba, and Buaji, travelled to Mumbai. It was in an upscale residential area. The watchman was surprised to see so many people there.

"We would like to speak to Gopi Kakka. I am Arnav Singh Raizada from Delhi.", Arnav said.

When the watchman called and informed Gopi Kaka about the visitors, he himself opened the door and welcomed them in.

"Namaste.", Gopi Kakka said, as though he did not know that these very same people had been hunting Aarti & Kamla Mishra for the past one week.

"Namaste!", the guests responded, delighted to see him.

"Is Aarti here?", asked NK, urgently.

"Ji.", said Gopi Kakka evenly.

"Amma?"

"She is here too."

"How are they?", Khushi asked.

"They are fine.", said Gopi Kakka, leading them in.

Once inside, Gopi Kaka asked them to be seated and said he would like to talk to them before he takes them to Aarti and her mother. Asking the house help to prepare coffee for all and a cup of sugarless coffee for Arnav Singh Raizada, Gopi Kaka said,

"You have all been very busy lately, I hear."

Arnav smiled slightly. "We are entitled to, wouldn't you say, Gopi Kakka?"

Gopi Kakka smiled. "You are. You got nothing from the office and the house. Your private detectives failed. Then how did you find us?"

Arnav pointed to Anand. "Anand Dwivedi, architect and my Jijaji."

Gopi Kakka nodded as Anand greeted him politely.

"He had been offered the opportunity to renovate this building.", Arnav said. "An offer which was later postponed indefinitely."

"Because Aarti Bitiyaa found out that her mother was very ill.", Gopi Kakka said softly.

There was perfect silence.

Gopi Kakka started narrating what he wanted to tell. He said bitterly,

"That nonsense about lightning not striking in the same place? It is pure bakwaas. Lightning does strike the same place, again and again and again."

NK could feel his blood cool. "Gopi Kakka?", he asked.

Gopi Kakka narrated that after the demise of Mohan Mishra, Aarti made sure her mother got everything that she had missed out and return to normal life.

Samosas. Sugar in tea. Stepping out of the house into the garden. Planning a garden together. Taking short walks in the garden..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Kamlaji is only 43 years old. Bitiyaa thought that she had more than half her life ahead of her, and that with great and long effort, she could be happy...

...But Kamlaji was sick all the time. Always tired. High BP. Her head and her body used to ache all the time. She was becoming thinner by the day...Bitiyaa was so worried...

During the complete check up it was found Kamala was ailing with kidney disorder for years and knowing it Mohan Mishra had not done anything! Kamala had kept it from her daughter lest in her anger, loosing her self control, not commit crime by killing him.

Gopi Kakka continued, "The doctors have big names for it. They said that it was CKD that developed into ESRD. To us, it meant that her kidneys had failed."

It had all stunned. Describing the symptoms he said,

"Her face was beginning to look puffy. She was having difficulty breathing...", Gopi Kakka swallowed with difficulty.

"The doctors said that it was either dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis could prolong her life but she would die one day soon. A kidney transplant could save her..."

All started to realize what Gopi Kakka would utter next!

"We couldn't wait for a kidney from a dead body. Moreover there was every chance that Kamlaji's body would reject the kidney. But if the donor was a blood relative, then, the doctor said, there was a high chance of survival."

Gopi Kakka swallowed hard.

"So...so Aarti Bitiyaa offered one of her kidneys... The doctor in the hospital in Delhi suggested that we do it here in Mumbai. He referred them to a specialist here. That's why we came here."

His disclosure let silence rule the room!

"How are...?", NK could not complete his question.

"They are fine. We were in the hospital for 7 days after the surgery. Both of them are resting here now. There are nurses to take care of them."

Observing the women crying and the menfolk controlling their emotions and consoling them, Gopi Kakka asked them whether they would like to see them? This resulted in a spring action of all wanting to see them.

Gopi Kaka first took them to Amma's room where they found her asleep but looking much healthier and younger.

Later at Aarti's room they found her lying on her back eyes closed looking exhausted. NK felt tears stinging his eyes looking at the pale Aarti.

NK sat down by her, smoothing a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead. Her hair had grown slightly, he thought.

Unused to being touched in her sleep, Aarti woke up immediately. She looked at her Sunflower, unable to believe her eyes. Had she died and gone to heaven?, she thought.

"Life is full of surprises, so you may as well get used to it" ~ Susan Meddaugh, Cinderella's Rat

Then she saw the crowd gathered around her bed. And Gopi Kakka leaning against the wall, smiling.

She sat up with difficulty, NK helping her by supporting her back.

Aarti looked at the big crowd of people who cared for her, and swallowed hard.

"The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family. If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all. Love is so supremely important. As poet Auden said, 'Love each other or perish'"

~ Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

"Looks like we have guests, Gopi Kakka.", Aarti said in her customary style. The voice was feeble, but her spirit was strong, still the same.

Khushi, Payal, Buaji, Nani, Anjali, & Mami hugged her, all of them crying in relief.

"Hugs are the universal medicine"

"Why are you all crying?", Aarti asked. She patted Buaji's shoulder to comfort her. "Are you so unhappy that I am alive, Buaji?", she asked.

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward" ~Kurt Vonnegut

Aarti looked at the men.

"Will you be staying with us?", she asked Arnav.

"I don't think you are strong enough to throw us out right now.", Arnav smiled slightly.

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces"

~ George Santayana, The Life of Reason

She smiled, turned to Gopi Kakka, and said, "Gopi Kakka, please make arrangements for them to stay."

Kakka nodded.

"They must be tired from all this travelling and crying.", Aarti teased, a smile in her eyes.

NK caught hold of her hand. She let him. She pressed his fingers with hers.

"How do you feel, Aarti?", he asked, looking at her face.

"Very good.", Aarti smiled at him.

"Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now"

~ Veronica Roth, Divergent

Then she looked at Arnav Singh Raizada. "So you decided to look further than Delhi."

"Yes. Your employees got tired of seeing us daily." All smiled at Arnav's small joke.

"Laughter is the sun which drives the winter from the human face" ~ Victor Hugo

"Anand Dwivedi helped them find us.", Gopi Kakka said, looking at the bearded man in white. "Apparently he had the details of this house with him."

Aarti nodded. "I am very glad to finally meet you, Mr. Dwivedi.", she said.

"Anand.", he said.

Aarti nodded, smiling at him.

Seeing the ladies crying and thinking that it is not good for Kushi to cry so much in her present state, Aarti tried to lift their mood.

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof"

~ Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

"Mamiji, Naniji, Buaji, Khushiji, Payalji, you should start a detective agency.", said Aarti smiling. The ladies smiled at her through their tears.

"Please stop crying.", Aarti begged. "Or this room will be flooded and I will have to stay with Amma in her room."

All smiled.

"The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter" ~ Mark Twain

Once the coffee was served,

"Why didn't you tell us, Nandkisore?", asked Buaji, still crying.

"We would have come with you and helped you take care of Amma.", Payal said.

Khushi nodded.

Aarti smiled slightly. "That's why I didn't tell you." The smile slowly vanished. She said, "It all happened very fast. It was a bad time for us. We thought why drag you into it?"

"This is part of what a family is about, not just love. It's knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work"

~ Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

"Phamily ijj for that, Aarti Bitiyaa." Mami patted Aarti's cheek. "For dragging into it when times are bad. Aur naahin to kaa? Don't you remember?", she asked Mamaji. "When the doctor said that they had to pajj (pass) current through my watwaa (wart), I cried and cried and called my 3 brothers and 4 sisters to Delhi."

"We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break"

~ Marquise de Svign

"I remember, Manno! How can I forget?", asked Mamaji, sighing.

All laughed through their tears.

"There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor"

~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

When asked, Aarti said that her Amma was much better, her kidney was functioning well, she's being closely monitored and the swelling has subsided.

"Aarti Bitiyaa...", Mami asked. "How will you manijj (manage) with one kidney? How can you drive a bike with one tyrewaa?"

"This bike needs only one tyre to run, Mamiji.", Aarti explained with a smile. "The second one was a spare one."

"Like my make up kitwaa! One in handwaa and the other in my bagwaa!"

"Ji.", Aarti agreed, smiling.

"My body needs laughter as much as it needs tears. Both are cleansers of stress"

~ Mahogany Silver Rain, Ebony Encounters

Leaving NK with Aarti, Gopi Kakka led the rest to the guest rooms.

NK looked at Aarti, and raised her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers.

"Does it hurt?", he asked softly.

"Not now.", she said, smiling.

NK put his arms around her gently hugging her.

"Sometimes it's better to put love into hugs than to put it into words"

She rested her face against his, her arms around him.

"Never wait until tomorrow to hug someone you could hug today,

because when you give one,

you get one right back your way"

"I was so worried, Aarti."

"I know. But it would have been worse if you were with me here."

NK cupped her face. "You didn't want me here with you, Aarti?"

"I did. But..."

"There is some kiss we want with our whole lives, the touch of spirit on the body.

Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell,

and the lily, how passionately it needs some wild darling!

At night, I open the window and ask the moon to come and press its face against mine.

Breathe into me.

Close the language door and open the lovers window.

The moon won't use the door, only the window."

~ Rumi

"But?"

"This was my first surgery. My first hospitalization. I was scared that something would go wrong. And to have you waiting outside the OP theatre...If it had all gone wrong...? No. This was better."

"Aarti!"

"Do you still want to marry me?", Aarti asked, sure of the answer.

"Yes."

"Life is a series of pulls back and forth... A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. Most of us live somewhere in the middle. A wrestling match...Which side win? Love wins. Love always wins"

~ Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

"I don't need three months. Give me one month to look after Amma and to heal."

NK nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "As long as you need.", he whispered.

"Just one month.", Aarti said, touching his cheek with a trembling finger. "I don't think I can wait longer than that."

NK stared at her.

"I wasted 22 years without you. I don't want to waste any more time." Aarti was very sure.

"Would you mind repeating that? I'm afraid I might have lost my wits altogether and just hallucinated what I've longed to hear"

~ Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave

NK laughed aloud in relief and joy. Aarti smiled.

"She had never imagined she had the power to make someone else so happy. And not a magical power, either--a purely human one."

~ Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

It is the time Raizadas' and their extended family unravelled the enigma Aarti.

It is the time Raizada's finished their frantic search for Aarti and her family.

It is the time Aarti was able to give new life to her mother.

It is the culmination of Operation Wooing Aarti!

It is time for NK to reap the harvest of his efforts.

It is the time that the direction of the life of Aarti changed!

It is the time Aarti made her choice! And let NK know about it too

It is the time Aarti finally consented to be his life partner.

DENOUEMENT! Amen!

That's it from me. Hope you enjoy it!

Originally posted by: monsi08

Smitaaa... vl u b my santa today n gift me an updt 😳

Originally posted by: -NishaSobti-

lovely work!

you are still not able to post?