Udaipur Chronicles: SS :)updated page 24 - Page 8

===================Scene 2 Part 1======================

'Anandi aa gayi' said a beaming Ira

Anandi jogged inside. She was happy to see her family after hours of separation. She was not new to staying away for long hours from family, but, in Udaipur this was the first time. Away from the people who loved her, in streets that were unknown to her, it was a very different experience.

She felt content after coming home.

'Ghar - mera ghar' she thought to herself.

She was getting very comfortable with the idea that now, this was her home. The people around her were her family and she was theirs.

'Anandi haath muh dho lo, shayam ki chay tayyar hai' said Meenu

'Ji choti ma' Said Anandi

Anandi goes into her room's attached bathroom to freshen up.

'main naha lethi hun. Ithni dhoop thi bahar ki yahi behthar hoga' says Anandi thoughtfully

She goes back into her room and opens up the closet to get her towel and dress.

During the entire shower she kept thinking about her day. Somehow she felt much lighter than she had felt in days. The dread that she was experiencing had finally left her.

Then she stepped out of the shower and changed in the bathroom into a beautiful green and purple Ghagra.

With towel wrapped around her hair she gets out of the bathroom and stands in front of the mirror to dry her hair.

After drying her hair she puts on her bangles and finally covers her hair with the pallu.

'ye kya ker rahe hain aap' gasped Anandi.

Shiv had stopped her from wearing the pallu.

He then smiled at her and shook his head

'nahi abh nahi' he whispered

Anandi shuddered listening to his voice. It sent waves all over her body that made her tremble.

Shiv could feel her cold arms.

He pulled her closer towards him

'abhi nahi shiv' trembled Anandi

Shiv pulled her closer towards him. He held her arms tightly as she tried to make a feeble attempt to move.

Anandi looked meek under his piercing gaze

She tried to look at the half open door when shiv turned her face towards his. She once again found herself looking deep into his eyes.

'please' she managed to breathe out

Shiv took her hands and placed them around him and then pulled her closer. He could feel her heartbeat as their chests were rubbed together. Slowly he took his hands and put them on the bare skin of her tiny waist.

Chills ran down Anandi's body. Shiv gazed at her quivering lips and smiled

'mujhe aap ghaghray main bohot achi lagthi hain'

Anandi understood what he meant and tries one last attempt to escape. Shiv holds her, once again, closer towards him and slowly runs his hand on her back, and unwraps a dori.

Anandi gasps out loud and frantically looks out towards the open door.

The very next moment when she thinks of trying to get away, Shiv lets her go.

Anandi turns around in shock and stares at his face for five seconds.
Shiv smirks at her and takes a step closer towards her. Armed with better knowledge, Anandi makes a full attempt to escape and finally is successful.

With her heart beating faster than ever, she rushed towards the kitchen and found Ira and Meenu preparing fresh pakoras.

'Ma' stammered Anandi

'main aapki madad ker dun?'

'Han Anandi, thum na please ye pakoras bahar table per set ker do. Aur please sabh ko bula dena' said Ira

Anandi was surprised that no one noticed her ears burning. She then took the plate and placed on the table in the garden.

The family had decided to have tea outside as the weather had become cooler.

Anandi called out to Mahi, Dadu, Alok, and Sanchi. She then slowly staggered towards her room to call Shiv.

Once she came in the perfect view of Shiv, who was incidentally texting, she gathered enough courage to make a sound

'Shiv , m-ma bula rahi hain'

As the words came out of her mouth, Shiv held her tight yet once again.

'phir sey' said Anandi exasperated

She tried to get away from his grasp but to her vain , Shiv had her pinned on the side wall.

'Shiv please..' ma abhi aa jayengi.

'Dekhiye sabh aa gaye hain'

Shiv moved closer to her once again and held her arm locked on the wall.

He then moved his head closer towards her face

Anandi was breathing hard and had her eyes closed.

Her heart was racing, she waited and waited with her eyes shut tight

'Anandi, aap kahan reh gayi' came Shiv's voice from far

Anandi jerked open her eyes and found herself pinned to the wall with no one in front of her.

Her cheeks flushed but this time with anger.

'Yeh ker kya rahe hain aaj' she thought angrily

Few minutes later the entire family was sitting and having Tea. Anandi was avoiding shiv's glances and animatedly talking to Mahi about her first day. The whole family was very interested in knowing about her two new friends. Meenakshi was specially elated with the news.

'Abh Anandi apnay gaon ko thoda kam miss karegi ' she said fondly

'Ma mujhe aur cookies mil sakthay hain please' asked Mahi

'han beta ek min' said Ira standing up

'Ma rehnay dijiye main ja ker le athi hun ' said Anandi as she started heading towards the haveli.

Anandi took out the jar of cookies and then started placing the cookies in a proper line on the plate.

As she placed the jar back into the closet she felt strong hands touch her waist again. She jumped instantaneously. She saw shiv catch the jar with his right hand just before it was about to hit the ground.

'Dekha.. aapki wajah sey kya ho jatha' cautioned Anandi

'hua tho nahi na' remarked Shiv

Worrying and knowing about what's to happen next Anandi quickly tried to make an exit.

Shiv had a naughty smile

He once again moved closer to Anandi

'Mahi bhaiyyah' yelled Anandi

Shiv looked amused

a few seconds later Mahi appeared

'ji Bhabi' he said

'BHaiyyah kya yehi cookies chahiye thay aapko?' asked Anandi nervously looking at Shiv

A smirk appeared on Mahi's face.

Nahi bhabi, mujhe tho voh cookies main zyada interest hai jismay Shiv bhaiyyah ko interest hai' He sniggered

Anandi's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.

'Thum chalo yahan sey Mahi' snarled Shiv as he shoved Mahi out of the kitchen.

Anandi came out to the garden with the cookies and placed them on the table.

After 30 minutes the entire family retreated to their rooms. Upon Meenakshi's order Anandi reluctantly went to her room to rest.

'Anandi aaj thum thak gayi hogi, ek ghanta rest ker lo phir aa jana dinner preparation ki help kernay main' she suggested

Her heart started to race once again as she stepped into her room. She sat down on the sofa besides her bed and pulled out her laptop.

She had gotten a task to create a username and password for her account on blackboard online. It was not something new for her. She had completed her studies using such methods.

As soon as she logged in she saw messages from Saritha and Harsh.

Anandi looked at some of the other things on her account. She found that a new assignment was posted already. She immediately opened it and saw a message from the instructor Mr. Joseph Gardner.

They had been asked to choose 'the most important social issue in their view'.

'hmm sirf choose kerna hai ya likhna bhi hai uskay baray' she thought to herself.

She immediately emailed Saritha asked for clarification.

'Hi- are you on? came the message on the student chat that was scrolling on the side

Anandi waited and saw the name saritha besides the message

'hi saritha, nahi abhi aayi hun' she wrote back

'oh I am sorry I mean yes I just came online' she corrected immediately

'lol thanks' said saritha

'Yes you have just choose. I think its better if we do a bit of research as well in case sir asks us to elaborate tomorrow' suggested saritha

Anandi agreed and then said her goodbyes.

It had been 25 minutes since she was alone in the room.

'Shiv aaye kiyun nahi andhar' she thought to herself

'Kahin naraaz tho nahi hai, '. lekin voh kiyun naraz hongay? Naraz tho mujhe hona chahiye na. tch..ye kya baat hui' she thought irritatedly

Anandi then decided to peep outside and see where shiv was.

She saw that Shiv was comfortably sitting outside in the living room and working on his laptop.

Irritated by his behavior , Anandi went inside the room and slumped herself on the bed

'unka bhi na...kuch pata nahi hotha. Kabhi... ithnay...'

as the very thought came she turned red and sat up

'Teekh hi hai, lekin mujhe kiyun baichaini ho rahi hai' she thought to herself once again and looked at the door

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