Thank you all for you warm wishes and support. My daughter is feeling better but I am still fighting cold and soar throat. Fingers crossed.
Thank you for taking time to like and comment on my story. Your feedback's mean a lot to me. So please keep them coming.
anjs - You said monologues from both sides are making story slow. Thank you for your suggestion. It means a lot to me as a new writer. The reason why I did it was because when ever I read a novel it was mostly one sided (one person's POV) which always left me craving to know what other person felt. So this was a try to see how it will turn out. Also since I am trying to pass it as a 'Love At First Sight' from Arnav's side. I wanted to show how each of them depicted a single situation from their perspectives. It was meant to show their personalities and what they thought of other. Arnav right now doesn't know what his feelings mean while Khushi is still intimidated by him at this point to feel anything. One other reason being me, I really enjoyed writing their monologues. I will surely keep your suggestion in mind as to not over do it. I only meant writing this detailed for only first few chapters. Thank you again. Please keep reading my work and give your feed back.
This is the BIGGEST UPDATE I ever posted. Happy reading everyone. Please drop your comments and take time to hit like. Your love keeps me going. Thank you.
*************************
BEAUTY AND HER PRINCE
Chapter - 9
She threatened her Devi Maiya, "Aap hame aise nahi chod sakti. Aap ko hame iss Laad Governor ki gusse se is baar bachana hi hoga. Aap ko ek nahi doh kilo Jalebi dungi, bacha legia." (You can't leave me like this. You have to save me from this Laad Governor's anger this time. I will offer you not 1 but 2 kilo jalebi. Please save me.)
Khushi became nervous. She didn't want to get yelled at again. Not this time, when she was not at fault. "I will not sit mum if he shouts at me again. This time he will get a piece of my mind. But then again, what if he does something to me because I retaliated? Nahi Khushi, You can't take that chance. There is no one around to come and help if he does something irrational. Maybe its better I listen to his rant till he cools down and leaves. He does look like he is from a good family, so maybe he won't do anything other than shouting.", she sighed coming to a decision even though it was not something she wanted to opt for.
Coming out of her thoughts Khushi slowly looked at Arnav. But before she could fully look at his face, she saw his lips move and anticipating what was coming next, she reflexively closed her eyes tight while bringing her hands to her ears covering them with her palms as tightly as possible.
Arnav stopped before he even started and looked at her baffled. All that he could manage to say was, "What the?" After a small pause, he took a deep breath trying to control his bubbling frustration and asked in a sharp definite tone, "What are you doing?"
Even though he didn't shout as she expected him to, his cold voice was enough to run chills down her spine. She slowly opened her eyes confused and immediately bought her hands down realizing what she was doing. She never felt this embarrassed, nervous and intimidated, that too at the same time. She looked at him after a lot of hesitation and there he was standing frustration written all over his face, waiting for her to say something.
Khushi, trying to sound as normal as possible said, "Woh, mujhe pata tha ki aap chillane vale hai toh mai ' mera matlab mere haath bina meri marzi meri kan par pahuch gaye. Woh kya hua ki, mujhe kisi ke chalne ki awaz ayi thi, mujhe laga koi mera peecha kar raha tha. Main dar gai ki thi, socha koi chor hai. Nahi, nahi aap chor nahi hai. Woh mujhe bilkul nahi pata tha ki aap thy. Sach mein, Devi Maiya ki kasam, nahi pata tha." (I knew that you were about to shout at me. So I was'. I mean, my hands moved on their own accord to my ears. I didn't realize what I was doing. What actually happened was, I heard footsteps behind me and thought someone was following me. I was so scared when I thought it might be some mugger. No, no you are not a mugger. I truly didn't know that it was you.)
Khushi looked at him expecting him to say something but when he didn't she continued, "By the time I realized it was you, I was already pushing you. I mean, I thought I will push you, no not you, I meant the mugger who is definitely not you and escape. I really didn't mean to hurt you. Then I got more scared knowing you were following me and thought you might be a stalker. Oops! I didn't mean to say that. I know you are not a stalker. I do, I do. What I meant was...What am I saying?" Khushi inhaled deeply trying to compose herself and questioned, "You are understanding what I am saying - right?"
Khushi was bewildered when she saw Arnav staring at her in amazement. Amazement was not even in the list of things she expected to see on his face. "Hey Devi Maiyya, What is he amazed about? Maybe he lost it. Am I am reading too much into his expressions? Why is he not saying anything now? Argh, this man is going to make me crazy."
Taking in her every word, Arnav at last muttered, "Unbelievable." without taking his eyes off her.
Khushi mind which was already on fast track immediately caught up with his remark. She hurriedly stated, "Ji, nahi. What I am saying is the truth, believe me. Let me go. I won't bother you anymore. You don't even have to tell me the reason why you followed me. I won't tell anyone you are a stalker." Khushi immediately paused fraction of second to bit her tongue realizing what she said and continued slowly, "You are not a stalker. I didn't mean it..." She went on with her chatter not realizing what she was saying in her panic state. All she wanted and thought about at this point was to reach cottage safe. (Oh, No.)
Arnav couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle listening to her explanation and sensing the desperation in her voice to make him believe her story. He was totally amused by her, forgetting all his anger in the process. Khushi's eyes didn't miss his smile. Her whole body relaxed in an instinct as Arnav observed her. "He is smiling. This is a good sign - right. Maybe, just maybe, I am wrong about him. Does it mean he is not going to shout at me anymore? Perhaps, I might go safely to my cottage, afterall. He looks so innocent and peaceful when he smiles. It is like, the person few minutes back and the person in front of me now are two different people. He should smile more often than being a Laad Governer.", she was still muttering non stop as her brain was occupied by her thoughts.
Slowly all her earlier actions made sense to him. Restraining himself from breaking down with laughter he slowly placed his right hand in his pant pocket to grab something and held it out for her to see.
Khushi who was still blabbering stopped instantly when she saw his right fist before her face. She stared at his face and fist couple of times confused, questioning him with her eyes. Arnav enjoying himself slowly opened his fist making the tiny key in his hand visible. Khushi let out a small gasp as she saw it and right away opened her pouch searching for something. When she didn't find what she was looking for, her doubts were confirmed. It was indeed her cottage key. She gave him a questioning look. Taking it as his cue Arnav briefly explained how he found her key right after she left. How she vanished before he could call her. And how he found her here after going around few other roads.
Khushi looked everywhere but at him feeling flustered for all her actions. She didn't know what to say. Arnav could easily sense from her fidgeting and downcast look that, for the first time since he met her, she didn't know what to say. And for some unknow reason her silence was making him uncomfortable.
Trying to ease the atmosphere he said, "I never saw anyone talk this much. I was just wondering, do you always talk this non-stop?" Soft talks were never Arnav's cup of tea and that was the best he came up with given the situation.
Khushi snapped her head up as their eyes met for a second. Offended by his remark, she rashly questions him out of nowhere, "You could have called me or something. Then I might have known it was you and we could have avoided all this confusion and explanation."
"It was so silent out here that I felt you might get startled if I shouted. At that time I thought it was best to approach and give it to you.", he replied calmly, smirking at her while enjoying the conversation.
Khushi found herself tongue tied once again. "He was just trying to help and you were thinking bad about him", her subconscious was shouting at her. With each passing second her guilt kept building up. Hastily she blurted out, "I am really sorry. You were trying to give my cottage key back and I was '.." Unable to say anymore, she lifted her hand and gently taking the key which was still lying on his palm softly whispered, "Thank you.. once again."
Taken aback by her sudden and sincere apology, he softly said, "It's fine. No need to say that." Her simplicity astonished him. "Here I am not able to say one sorry and there she goes pouring one sorry after another and one thank you over another with ease. And she does it with such elegance, how?" Even though he didn't want to completely accept that he was wrong, he did start doubting his own belief that only weak rely on sorry.
Both stayed quiet for few seconds lost in their thoughts. Khushi finally taking a deep breath whispered, "Bye. Good night." and started to turn away from him.
Panic taking over Arnav's heart went on overdrive and for the second time that day he blurted out without thinking, "Can I walk you to your cottage?"
She froze as she heard his question. Mentally drained out to make any decision, she called for her Devi Maiya. "Why are you doing this to me? Are you not satisfied with two kilo jalebis?" With a frown on her face she turned back deciding to turn down his offer.
Looking at her face, as if reading her mind, he spoke before her. "Don't get me wrong. My cottage is past yours. I mean, I will anyway end up walking ahead or behind you, so I thought why not with you. I can surely help in case any really mugger turns up and also it will reduce the chances of you attacking me again, mistaking me for some stalker.", he completed with tight smile on his lips, trying hard to sound as casual as possible.
Khushi stared at him for a while deep in thought. She wanted to right away say 'No', but when he mentioned mugger the whole panic from few minutes back when she thought him to be one flashed before her eyes. She mechanically looked around hoping to find some people but the roads were deserted. The full moon was behind the clouds again adding more darkness. Suddenly the thought of walking alone in these roads gave her goosebumps. Assessing the pros and cons of walking with him, she decided it is better to walk with him next to her rather than worrying on where he is. "He did help me twice today. And if he tries anything I could always push him with all my might and run." Looking at him she nodded her head in acknowledgement with a forced thin smile.
While khushi was struggling with her decision, Arnav was lost in his own thoughts. He was beyond surprised by his request. Even the slight speculation of what if it was really a mugger in his place, what if her foolish strategy didn't work was devastating to even think. He kept telling himself that he asked only under humanitarian grounds but his heart knew otherwise. The truth, whether he acknowledged it or not was, his heart wanted to be with her, he wanted to be with her and wanted to know for sure that she reached her destination safe.
******
It has been 5 minutes since they started walking but neither spoke. Arnav quietly admired her as she slowly walked with her eyes straight on the road. He could easily tell she was nervous. Trying to ease the tension building around them, he spoke, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing alone at this time of the night?" There, it was out, the question that was bothering all this while.
Khushi looked at him and after a second her eyes were back on road as she stammered, "I...I came here to look at the stars."
"What ? You are here all alone at this hour to watch stars ?", he asked surprised.
Khushi instantly became stiff and started fidgeting with her hands. Arnav sensed her nervousness. Unable to pinpoint the reason behind her sudden change, he said, "You need not answer that. I was just curious, thats all."
They walked silently next to each other for few seconds. Then suddenly Arnav heard her speak. "I like watching the stars. When they twinkle, I feel they are smiling at me, and telling me everything will be fine. They give me strength. They make me feel safe, make me feel like I am home. I love watching them so much that sometimes I even lose track of time. Staring at stars is the best part of my whole day."
Arnav couldn't miss the warmth in her voice as she gently spoke of the stars. He could see her lips curl up into a smile as she spoke. She looked happy but also there was something else, something unsettling which he couldn't put his finger on. He looked at her, trying to read what he was missing.
After a few more seconds of silence, Khushi spoke again bringing Arnav back from his thoughts. "You must be thinking I am crazy?"
Still not completely out of his brainwork, he spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "No, its not that. I was thinking why you were alone?"
Khushi looked at him surprised and gently gave him a warm smile which mentally nailed Arnav to the ground. He gaped at her feeling impossible to take his eyes off her while she explained how her friends were tired and wanted to sleep, leaving her no choice but to come alone.
Swiftly cool breeze blew past them bringing with it the sweet smell of the flowers around them, also making Arnav aware of his surroundings. Khushi inhaled deeply taking in the scent and enjoying it. Her face looked so peaceful and beautiful under the streetlights that Arnav almost got lost in her again. But his reverie broke when he noticed Khushi shivering and draping herself with her dupatta tightly. Her involuntarily rubbing her hands suggested him of her failed attempts for keeping herself warm. He slowly took out his jacket.
Khushi stopped as he held his jacket before her. Stunned by his gesture she hastily spoke, "I am fine. I don't need it."
"I can see you are not fine. Take it. You need it more than I do. I am not that cold anyway.", he spoke sternly.
His voice was so authoritative that Khushi couldn't help but get intimidated. Grabbing his jacket, she slowly wore it thinking, "What is with him and his mood swings? Just a few seconds back he seemed fine. And the way he bosses around - Laad Governer." But soon all her annoyance melted away as the warmth in her body returned. She couldn't help but be grateful and say, "Thank you."
Suddenly looking at the sky she squeaked, "Clouds are gone. It's beautiful isn't it?"
He observed that she was no more nervous as she walked next to him. For some reason he felt happy about it. He gazed at the sky and enjoyed the full moon, taking in the light reflecting on him as stars twinkled around it. He couldn't remember when was the last time that he enjoyed this view of night sky as it shined bright in the dark. No, no, he couldn't remember when he last looked at the sky.
He inadvertently smiled broadly as he kept looking at the sky. Khushi seeing him enjoying and smiling asked, "Isn't it beautiful? I can keep staring at it forever. Stars give me hope, because even with their tiny sparkle they try to illuminate the entire sky as much as they can. It makes me realize how important it is to hold on to even a tiny ray of light in my darkest hour."
Abruptly she stops talking realizing she is blabbering again. Feeling like an idiot, her eyes back on ground and her hands fidgeting again, she mutters, "I didn't mean to say all that. I mean I shouldn't have said all that. Now you must really be thinking I am crazy."
Arnav, who was till now looking at the sky, looks down at her and calmly says, "I am happy you said that. I never thought of stars that way. Seriously speaking, I hardly ever look at the sky. I can't say much about that hope and stuff but I can surely say that the view is beautiful. I don't think you are crazy. I think you are '. different."
"Different - good or different - bad?", Khushi blurts out, curious.
Arnav, at first was taken aback by her unexpected question but then he couldn't help but chuckle by the way she asked it. Still looking at her as she looked at him waiting for his answer, he said huskily, "Different - good."
They walked under the bright fluorescent street lights the exact moment he replied. He for the first time saw her face turn crimson as she blushed profoundly. He smirked watching her reaction while Khushi looked away trying to avoid him. Noticing the surroundings she came to a stop bringing Arnav also to a stop. Before he could ask she said, "My cottage is here."
Arnav looked at the gate few feet from where they stood and figured out why the street light was suddenly so bright. It was coming from two big lights placed on either side of the gate. Couple of meters away from the gate were lights flashing from the cottages. As he turned to her with a heavy heart she said, "Thank you for giving me company. Also, sorry for all the trouble. I can go from here. Oh! I almost forgot..."
She started to take out his jacket when he spoke in cold absolute tone, "Keep it. It is really windy." Khushi by now knew that it is better not to talk to him when he uses that tone but this time she couldn't keep quiet. "My cottage is just few meters away. I can manage. You still have to walk to your cottage. Also I don't know how to return it..."
Before she completed he interrupted her with his voice carrying finality to it, "Keep it. You don't need to worry about returning it to me. I seriously don't need it."
Khushi mumbled, "Laad Governer" to herself. Letting the issue go she finally said, "Goodbye and goodnight. It was nice knowing you."
Waving her hand at him she turned her back to him as he robotically muttered, "Goodnight." He couldn't get himself to say the other word. "No, this can't be goodbye, can it?", he spoke to himself.
Khushi reached the cottage building and turned back to see him. A huge smile made its way on her face as she saw him standing in same spot and waved to him once again before disappearing into the building.
Arnav stood still replaying the last glimpse of her. She looked spectacular as the moonlight fell on her and radiated through her body making her glow. Adding more to the scene was her dupatta which danced with the wind. And finally her heartfelt smile. She was surreal, just like an angel from the sky. His heart started feeling heavy as he stared at the spot where he last saw her. He was unable to comprehend what he was feeling. "Why am I feeling restless? Why do I lose myself when I am with her? Why did I give a damn about returning the key? Why was it important to drop her till the cottage? What is wrong with me? I never acted this stupid about a girl. Arnav, you are losing your mind. Don't think about her. Forget her." But his heart hardly listened to what his mind had to say. He slowly walked towards his cottage in daze.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Tum Se Tum Tak
Cricket
12