Dedicated to all those SRK and Hrithik Roshan Fans out there--including Shree (Shree.Nanda), Megha (naughtymallu) and my KIDDO (chotte097)
When they reached back home, they found a letter which had been pushed beneath their door. Both of them stared at it and gulped as if their life was dependent on it.
Mr. Gupta finally found the courage and picked up the letter, and saw the company's name in which he was employed, was written in black ink on the letter. He opened it in a hurry and found what he feared the most, his resignation letter. His worst of the dreams had come true. He had been fired from his job yet again. His face became pale as if he hadn't had any sleep for days. He sat on the couch, his hands pressing temples as he read the letter.
Khushi, all the while was looking at Mr. Gupta with anxiety and after seeing his state, she couldn't help herself and let out a yelp. Her teeth were busy chewing her t-shirt while her eyes were brimming with tears and were cheeks were red.
She knew what was coming. She had to leave behind her friends, school, home and the loveliest city she has ever lived in- Lucknow.
By the age of 17, she had lived in 13 different cities- none held anything which Khushi could hold dear and cherish, except for Lucknow which held her favourite sweet shop named Mithaas-E-Jalebi. It took Khushi no guesses to make out of the things which it specialized in. She loved the shop. Even though it had branches all over India, but she knew no one could ever make Jalebis like Milka Kaka. He was the best cook in all over Lucknow. Whenever she was in a bad mood and ingredients required for the Jalebis were not available, she would just her out of her house to the shop and used to have loads of them until her angry calmed down.
The fear of losing her beloved Jalebis had saddened her at first but experience had taught her to have a strong heart and accept the change with open arms when it comes her way as she had numerous heartbreaks in the past.
The only thing that concerned her the most was being able to fit in the alien city which her father was planning to settle in next.
For a girl like Khushi, life had been like a horrible dream. Her mother had died in a car crash when she was just 8 and her father had to go through a lot after that, he had lost the desire to live but survived only by seeing the eyes innocent of his little daughter every day.
Her dad had suffered in professional life too. He had tried his hand at an end number of jobs, from being a salesman to a bar-tender. But unfortunately he failed in all of them.
Now, when he had decided that he would finally be able to live in peace and call a city his home, another transfer had come his way.
Khushi being a single child couldn't see her father going through financial crisis. She had always tried to support him and love him as much she could.
Now, it was her time to do so again. Khushi sniffing and wiping her tears with the back of her hand and sat beside her father who in deep thoughts.
Suddenly, Mr. Gupta's phone rang and he took out the phone to see the caller ID and frowned a little and then answered it.
"Hello! Bhuvana, Shashi here" said Mr. Gupta pretending to be excited.
"Arey! Babua, tabiyat kaise hai tohri, arey ee chudo aur batao k job-sob theek hai na! Khuccche kaise hai? A hoarse voice demanded answers from him.
{Oh, Brother, how is your health? Well leave it tell me, how is your job? How is Khuccche?}
"Jiji, Khushi theek hai, ummm..ummm.. sab theek thak hai.." replied Mr. Gupta trying to find the right words so as to not give a hint about his job to his sister.
{"Sister, Khushi is alright, umm..ummm...everything is fine"}
Shashi Gupta waited for a while to hear his sister's voice, knowing too well that she would have caught him by now for telling white lies.
The sister-brother duo could always sense, if anything wrong was going to happen to either one of them. That was the sole reason why Bhuvana Mishra had called him today. She was feeling uneasy all morning because of the same fact.
"Babua, Bahla ho Nandkishore ka k Khushi theek hai, paar kahi tumahre naukri khatrey me to nahi padh gayi?" questioned Bhuvana who knew her brother too well.
[Brother, Thank God! Khushi is fine, by the way, is you job in danger again?]
"Haan, Jiji, ab pata nahi Khuda ko kya manzoor hai" replied Shashi Gupta disheartened.
[Yes, Sister, I doesn't know what God has in store for me.]
"Aye, Babua, humne toh pehle hi bolt the k humre saath aakar par tum hamari sunat kab rahe! Delhi mein raho, tum kahi bhi jao, kahi nahi theko gay, Delhi me aake bas gaogay. Dilli walo ka dil bahut bada hota hai, tum paka aake yahan tik jaogay!" said Khushi's buaji as tried to convince her brother to come and stay with her so that she could have atleast one male member in her house to take care after her and her daughter,Payal.
[Oh! Brother! I had already told you that come and stay with me but when did you ever listen to me! Come stay in Delhi with me or else wherever you will go, you will not be able to stay there even for one second! People of Dilli have a very big heart and I'm sure that you will be able to settle here!]
Both brother and sister, Shashi and Bhuvana had lost their loved ones. While Khushi's mother had died in a car crash, Bhuvana's husband had divorced her after learning that she wouldn't be able to bear more children after a girl was born to her.
Both of them raised their daughters single-handedly and took care of their each and every need.
Both of them were against getting married again as both of them loved their long lost partners. None was willing to move on with their lives.
"Ok, Bhuvana, I'll call you later. I need some time to think about it. I'll let you know once I have made a decision" said as he hung up and again drowned in his thoughts.
Khushi, with tears in her eyes which were flowing at an uncontrollable pace, was listening to the whole conversation while sitting beside him. She placed her left hand on her father's should so as to reassure him while he stared at the floor with a blank expression on his face.
Mr. Gupta astound by her gesture looked up at her, while she managed to speak without breaking her voice,
"Daddy, everything is going to be OK, just believe in Devi Maiya!"
She wiped the tears her hands and continued,
"Daddy, I'm going to decorate our new home just like I decorated this one. I hope our new house has a balcony so that I can put a wind chime there and remember about mother." She paused for a while to swallow and pressing his hand, she spoke again
"Daddy, it doesn't matter wherever we go or wherever we live because as long as we are together, I'm not going to be afraid of anything, not even..dd.y..ing" She said as she broke down.
Hearing such words of wisdom from the little mouth of his daughter which just knew to say crazy stuff and order him around, left him mesmerized.
He hugged Khushi tight and told her,
"Sweetie pie, never ever say anything about dying, we have to live till eternity don't we? Who will stand by your side at your wedding and who will be there in the photo frame when you have your Prince Charming and two twins in your arms with a baby boy in my arms and who will be standing with an arm around your Prince Charming's shoulder?" Mr. Gupta tried to reassure his little princess.
Khushi smiled hearing the story about how her Prince Charming will came and take her away. She had told him this story numerous times, and she knew that every time she would tell him her made up tale with dreamy look in her eyes, tip-toed and hands clasping together placed above her head, he would just laugh it off and would say,
"Khushi, baby, live in the real world. Stop watching SRK movies"
And she would just make a face and go away to her bedroom to day dream in front of life-size posters of her favorite heroes- SRK and Hrithik Roshan.
But right now, her dad who always disliked the idea of her dreamy world sat there, hugging her and telling her dream to her.
"Oh! My cupcake! You have always helped me through hard times like these and have made me realize that hope is a good thing and we should never lose it. You are my only hope and I can't afford to lose you! I will take care of you with all I have." Shashi Gupta said it while kissing her hair and trying to make her feel better.
"So, tell me do you want to stay with Payal? Do you want to go to Delhi?" asked Mr. S. Gupta excitedly.
Khushi couldn't believe what her father had just said and when she did believe, a sense of familiarity rose within her, increasing her heart beat. But then, she hit her head with her hand as she realized it wasn't going to be like one of those movies where the lead lady's heart beat increases after listening to everything related to her Prince Charming. And as if her Prince Charming lived in Delhi, she thought to herself.
Next chapter Khushi is going to be in Delhi, I shapath.
Wait people! Arnav is standing just around the corner, he is coming don't you see I already mention him!
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