710911_10151362901276598_737824388_n by IshiluvsBarun, on Flickr" />
credit : Maria (Dear i loved it thanks)
Part 31
They finished their lunch and Arnav led her back to his car. She got inside the car and he too settled. He started the car and soon his phone started ringing. He attached the Bluetooth to his ear and glanced an apologetic glance towards Khushi for the disturbance and started talking with Aman, ya ya his all time favourite AMAN. He continued talking and driving , while she started seeing outside the window , to see where they were going.
She didn't recognize the place but she understood one thing that , now they were out of the main town. She was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient , when he turned abruptly onto an unpaved road. It was unmarked and barely visible among the ferns. There were lots of trees surrounding the place , making it look like a forest , but she knew quiet well that it was not any forest. Soon he finished his call and turned his head a bit to look at her and saw amazement and confusion on her face and so he decided to enjoy it and keep mum.
They drove for another few miles and then , there was some thinning and then she caught a view of some walls and soon the car got parked in front of a beautiful, timeless , graceful house. The house was painted in a light or faded white colour . it was a single storied yet big , rectangular ,well proportioned house. The windows and doors were also each piece of some beautiful architecture. And soon a
"Wow" escaped her lips.
"You like it ??" he smiled and asked.
"Yaaa'. Its just beautiful' par yeh .. I mean kiska.. yaha.."
"Just have a bit patience Khushi !!!!!!!!!"
And she pouted a bit looking at him while he smiled and got down from the car and moved to her side and opened her side of the door. He offered his hand and she accepted it and got down from the car. As she was about to withdraw her hand he hold it a bit more tightly and nodded a no to her , and she smiled and they both went towards the porch infront of the house , hand in hand.
Khushi was still a bit confused , and perhaps feeling that Arnav , or rather his thumb rubbed soothing circles into the back of her hand. He slowly opened the door for her. And they together went inside the house.
The inside was ever more surprising and beautiful than the exterior. It was very big and bright, very open and very large too. It was a one storied house but perhaps was as big as a storied one. The back portion of the house , surprisingly didn't have and brick wall , it was covered or made with well glass wall , which gave the view of the backyard garden. At one side here was a massive curving staircase , probably leading to the roof of the house. She looked at the walls , the high beamed ceiling , the marbled floors and the thick carpets laid on them were all varying shades of white and light grey , showing his colours .
There was 3-4 guitars kept on a raised portion of the floor , along with two leather couches. She looked at those guitars and remembered how he used to play when their were mere child . She also remembered how he played and sang for her back in Mumbai. All these times , she was moving in the hall and was busy wowing at these things , while Arnav stood back near the sofa and kept on looking at her , enjoying her expressions and her amazement.
Suddenly Khushi turned to look at Arnav and found him standing near the sofa and observing her. She then with actions asked him of going further inside the house and of him showing the house , for which he slightly nodded and came forwards to meet her on the way inside.
"So tum baaki ghar dekhna chahogi ???" [So do you want to see the rest of the house ?]
"Yeh bhi koi puchne waali baat hai'" [Is it even a thing to ask'] she said all excited .
He laughed , then taking her hand , lead her towards the other rooms. Moving inside there was another hall , ya it was the dinning hall but then she noticed something and stopped on her way. Her hands raised automatically , one finger extended as if to touch the largen wodden photo frame, its dark patina contrasting with the lighter tone of wall. She wanted to touch it , but then she didn't fell all that confident to touch it. She just stared at the photo frame and at the hand drawn paint . She looked at Arnav and saw him looking at the photo too and he as if understanding her curiosity said
"Mere mom dad'.. yeh portrait maine uss time banaya tha.. jab mere mom dad ke death ke baad mai Delhi aagaya tha' I used to miss them a lot'" [My mom dad '. I made this portrait , after my parents death when I came to Delhi , I used to miss them a lot.]
Khushi looked at the painting for once more and then turning towards Arnav said
"Tumhe itni aachi painting aati hai ???"
"Mom ko bahut aachi painting aati thi' she used to paint , and perhaps I inherited it and even got inspired a bit . "
Khushi smiled hearing this , and this time she slowly traced the picture. Arnav looked at her and smiled seeing her face and the nsaid
"I want to show you something' jiske liye mai tumhe yaha laaya hoon'" [The thing for which I brought you here.]
Khushi looked at him and he smiled a bit and started walking towards a closed door. They went near the door and he opened it, and she stepped inside. The room was totally dark , no light and see was about to ask him to switch on the light , when all of a sudden the light was turned on and Khushi was shocked , to say she was shocked would be an understatement as she was more than shocked , she was speechless. The whole room was filled with her pictures , her sketches , her portraits , her paintings, but all , all were from her childhood . All were not same and that is when she realised that each one was different from the other as each was from a particular scene of their childhood.
There was a painting of her smilingly broadly while swinging high on a swing , then there was a one of her eating jalebi and another of her eating ice cream. Then there was a one of her while she was angry on him , and another of the time when he got hurt because of him. There was one of her standing under a mango tree looking upwards , and she remembered that it was from that time when he climbed the tree to bring mangoes for her and she was looking upwards.
The room was full of her paintings and she slowly started moving towards each one of them and started tracing them with her fingers remembering the old beautiful memories and each time a smile popped up on her face enlighting her face. She actually was unable to believe that Arnav had made all these painting and the best thing was all were just perfect , as if photos were clicked .
Arnav stood in the middle of the room and kept on watching her while she started looking at all of them with same amount of admiration and concentration. And soon she found herself infront of the last painting , she looked at painting and her brows furrowed as she was not able to recognize it. Every painting was from Arnav's view , as to what she looked , this one too was , but she was not able to understand of what it was . She was trying hard but was not able to remember, that is when Arnav chuckled a bit and came near her and stood beside her and looked at the painting. He smiled and asked
"Kya hua ???" [What happened ?]
She with a sad face turned towards him and said
"Mujhe samajh nahi aara hai ki yeh kab ki painting hai'" [I am just unable to understand , that of which time's painting it is.]
"Yeh uss samaye ki hai.. jab tumne mujhe birthday gift diya tha and you were looking at him with anticipation of whether I will like it or not."
And that was when Khushi remembered.
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Khushi "Happy Birthday Arnav!!!!!"
"Tujhe kaise pata aaj mera birthday hai???" [How do you know that its my birthday today???]
Khushi smiling "Aare pagal tu bhul gaya tune mere slam book mein hi toh likha tha!!!" [You stupid!!! You forgot??? You only wrote in my slam book]
Arnav smiled "Aur tujhe yaad raha???" [And you remembered it ???]
"Toh mai aapne dosto ka birthday kabhi nahi bhulti aakhir treat jo leni rehti hai unse aab khada kya hai chal mujhe mera treat chahiye!!!" [I don't forget any of my friend's birthday!!! I have to take the treats from them.. Now why are you standing come and give me my treat..]
"Khushi!!! Aaj nahi baad mein.." [Khushi not today later on!!!]
"Aacha bachchu treat nahi dega' mai toh aaj tujhe janamdin par jitna bhi paise mile hai saara khatam karwa ke rahungi'.." [So you will not give treat' I don't know I will have my treat today itself and will spend all those money you got today for your birthday]and telling this she hold his hand and pulled him towards the shops.
They ate gol gappe and then baraf gola , while she like her character always preferred khatta meetha , Arnav always use to avoid eating them as he had tonsil problems and it will choke his throat.
"Bhaiya ek khatta meetha dena'"
"Ek nahi do" [Not 1 but 2] said Khushi.
"Khushi itna mat kha warna tera gala baith jayega." [Khushi don't eat so much or your throat will get chocked]
"Haan haan pata hai.. toh mai thodi na 2 khaane waali hoon , 1 tu aur 1 main'" [Ya ya I know , and u am not going to eat two , I will eat 1 and you another 1.]
"Kya mai ??? nahi nahi mai nahi khayunga." [What me ??? No no I will not eat.]
"Par Arnav kyu khakar toh dekh bahut aacha hai'" [But why Arnav ? eat one na , its too tasty.]
"Nahi yaar mera gala baith jayega." [No yaar mai throat will get chocked.]
"Aare tu 11 saal ka hogaya hai'. Tujhe kuch nahi hoga.. chal yeh le kha'" [Nothing will happen to you , you are 11 now , so eat]and with that she handed him one and herself started eating another one.
"Khushi mai nahi kha sakta'.." [Khushi I cant eat] he said again and Khushi being Khushi said
"Thik hai mat kha mai hi kha lungi' phir baad mein gale mein dard hoga toh takleef hoga aur kya." [Ok don't eat I will eat it and later on when my throat will pain , I will bear it.] and with that she snatched it from his hands and wet to eat it while he said
"Thik hai thik hoi jarurat nahi hai' mai kha hi leta hoon , jo hoga dekha jayega." [Ok ok fine I am eating , will see what happens later on.]
And Khushi smiledand both enjoyed and ate that kala khatta. Arnav loved it and he even thanked her for making him eat it as it was two tasty.
Next day evening they met in the park and Khushi continued her rubbish blabbering while he sat quiet silent. She after talking a whole half an hour , not getting his response asked
"Kya hua tu kuch bol kyu nahi raha hai'" [What happened why are you not saying anything.]
And then he spoke in all chocked and broken voice
"Mera gala baith gaya hai' aur tonsil bhi barr gaya hai." [My throat is chocked and tonsil is also causing problem.]
Khushi looked at his condition and felt too guilty, and with a sad face said
"Mujhe maaf kar de.. mujhe samajh nahi aaya tha ki yeh aisa ho jayega." [I am sorry , please forgive me , I never thought that something like this will happen.]
"Koi nahi'" [Its ok] he whisphered slowly but still she sat with that gloomy face and then all of a sudden her face lighten up and she said
"Aare mai toh tujhe tere birthday ka gift dena hi bhool gayi thi kal." [Oops I forgot to give you your birthday gift yesterday.]
And with that she took out a tiny packet from her dress pocket and gave it to him. He looked at the packet and was shocked to see such a small gift . Arnav looked at Khushi for once and looked at how nervous and anticipated she looked. He smiled a bit and slowly opened it to find a black and brown combo plectrum inside it. It is always said na , that the gift doesn't matter but the person who gives and with the heart that person gives matter and so was the same for Arnav. Though it was a small thing but receiving it from Khushi made it a big thing for him and so he loved it.
holy by IshiluvsBarun, on Flickr" />
He looked at her and gave a broad smile and in that broken voice of his said
"Khushi yeh bahut aacha hai' thank you.. mujhe yeh bahut pasand aaya.. aur mai isse humesha sambhal kar rakhunga' humesha. " [Khushi its beautiful'. And I loved it' and I will keep it with me forever.]
"Sach ??? tujhe pasand aaya ?? Hai Devi Mayiya !! mujhe toh laga ki yeh tujhe pasand hi nahi aayega'" [Really ??? you liked it ??? Hai Devi Mayiya I thought you will not like it.]
"Nahi mujhe bahut pasand aaya'" [No I really liked it.] he wanted to sound happy but that chocked throat of his didn't allow him.
But then Khushi turned gloomy again and said
"Par tu toh aaj ga hi nahi payega' tera gala' I am sorry meri wajah se'" [But you cant sing today' because of your throat.]
"Khushi koi baat nahi jald hi thik ho jayega aur uske baad main gaa payunga.. ok ?"[Its ok.. soon it will be back to nomal and then I will be able to sing ok ?]
And with that Khushi smiled a bit and Arnav also smiled.
_______________________________________________
And with that Khushi said
"Yaad Arnav uske baad mai tumhe kabhi , kabhi bhi gol khaane nahi deti thi." [And after that I never asked you to eat gola]
"Haan yaad hai.. waise woh plectrum mere pass aaj bhi hai'" [By the way as I promised that plectrum is still with me.]
"Sach mein ???"
"Yaa " and with that he opened a drawer and took it out and both looked at it and smiled. Then Khushi asked
"Par Arnav tumne itni saari paintings banayi kab aur kyu ?" [But Arnav when you made all these paintings?]
"Khushi.. mai jab bhi sad hota tha , toh humare past ko yaad karta tha and painting banata tha' par aab kyunki hum saath hai' so mujhe tumhaari painting banana ki koi jarurat hi nahi hai." [Khushi whenever I used to get sad , I used to remember our childhood days and used to paint , but now its not needed anymore coz , you are here with me.]
They smiled and holding hands came out of the room and to the kitchen , Khushi made two cups of coffee and both went and sat in the hall , chatting a bit and then all of a sudden Khushi's phone started ringing she saw the ID and getting a bit confused looked at Arnav for once and picked up the call
"Haan Anjali ji ?"
"Khushi ji Chote koi important meeting mein hai kya ?" [Khushiji is chote in any important meeting?]
"Ji.. Nahi' kyu kya hua hai Anjali ji ?" [No' why what happened Khushiji ?]
"Nahi who chote ka phone switch off hai' aacha aap ek kaam karengi' pls chote ko jaldi ghar aane bol dijiye kyunki Nandkishore aa rahe hai , aur ho sake toh aap bhi unke saath aajayiye ga." [No actually Chote's phone is switched off , ok pls do 1 thing , just ask him to come back home as fast as possible as Nandkishore is coming , and if possible then you also come.]
"Ji ??? "
"Khushi ji mujhe jana hai bahut kaam hai.. aap chote ko bata dijiyega..aur jaldi aane boliyega, bye." [Khushiji I have to go , you inform chote ok??? Bye.]
Khushi kept down the phone and looked at Arnav who was sitting across him and said
"Arnav , Anjali ji ka phone tha woh koi nandkishore aa raha hai.. aur tumhe jaldi ghar jane bol rahi hai." [Arnav , Anjali ji called , some nandkishore is coming, and she wants you to reach home soon.]
Arnav nodded and said
"Ok then lets go' "
"Ok"
And they left for Shantivaan. While on their way Khushi asked
"Arnav hum baad mein bhi yaha aayenge na?" [Arnav we will come here again na.]
"Sure jab tum chaho." [Sure whenever you want.]
And Khushi smiled a wide smile .
Precap :
"Bhabhi !!!!!!!!!!" and NK rushed towards Khushi and hugged her.
Khushi stood there all shocked and looked at Arnav with confusion , while Arnav looked at her and shrugged saying I don't know.
DO COMMENT !!!!!!!!!!!
Edited by Miku - 12 years ago
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