||~Something About You~||#10 *COMPLETED* - Page 20

It was no secret to anyone who knew Arnav Singh Raizada even remotely, that his sister meant the world to him. Which was all fine & would have come across as nothing exceptional, except for the fact that, his sister not only meant the world to him, but as it had been for the past 14 years, Arnav Singh Raizada's sister was his whole world. He was ruthless, arrogant, insolent for the whole wide world, but for Anjali Gupta nae Singh Raizada, he was the most loving brother.. He was Chhote, whose cheeks she could adoringly pull anytime, anywhere. Well, almost anywhere. Since the day they had both been orphaned & thrown out on the street by their own blood, Anjali had seen how that slight, 13 year old boy had fought with the world for her. How he had slowly, painstakingly built an empire & also a world of their own, keeping her at the centre of it. Treating her both as his mother & also his sister. & today, when Anjali was going off to build a happy world of her own, with a generous, loving & honest man, towards her happily ever after, it really broke her heart to see her brother, her Chhote, still as alone, & as vulnerable in his own little dark world, as he had been that day 13 years ago. Or so she thought.

When Arnav finally reached Anjali, she was already crying with a more loudly crying Manorama trying to console her niece, while Nani stood close by crying silently. As soon as Anjali spotted Arnav, she lunged for him & sprawled over his chest, giving into more tears, while Arnav gathered her in his arms. Anjali pressed a kiss on his Kurta over his shoulder, still crying, & said between sobs, "If it wasn't the world's norms, I'd never live a day apart from you than you've already taken away from us, Chhote!" Arnav smiled slightly at the complain that he knew Anjali always had, but never voiced yet, till today, that Arnav had gone off to Boston, depriving them both of the comforting & strengthening force of each other's company. He held Anjali away from him to look at her face, & then said simply, "Ghalti ho gayi, Di. Maaf kardo?.. Aur jaane ki baatein kyun kar rahin ho aap? Bachpan se dekh raha hoon, jo log ekbar jaaate hain, wo laut kar nahi aatein hain. Aur waise bhi, mujhe iss duniya se koi matlab nahi hain, Di. Meri duniya toh aap ho! You just have to say the words & your Chhote will never let anyone take you away from him." ("I have committed a mistake, Di. Forgive me? & why are speaking of gong away? I am seeing it since childhood, people who leave once, don't ever come back. & anyways, I have nothing to do with this world, Di. You are my world!") Anjali abruptly broke into a laugh while fresh tears escaped her lashes, & she suddenly rushed into speech, as if trying to get something out before she lost her nerve, "Will you promise me something, Chhote?"

Arnav didn't even have to think for the fraction of a second as he said, "Anything, Di!" Anjali took big gulps of breaths to steady herself & to control her hiccups & then cupping Arnav's cheeks in both her hands, she whispered just for the two of them to hear, "You have done everything & more for me.. for all of us! Now.. will you try to let go our past? Will you search for your own happiness? Tum apni khushi dhoond loge.. can you promise me that, Chhote?" & Anjali couldn't understand the sudden alert look that came over Arnav's face, the look that kids had if they were caught red-handed with their hands inside the cookie jar, & then looking up uncertainly at her, Arnav raised her hands & held them over his cheeks & said cryptically, "Maine aapni Khushi dhoond li hain, Di! I have found my happiness." Anjali looked bemusedly at him for a couple of seconds & then she gasped loudly as understanding suddenly dawned with a sense of disbelief, & she started amazedly, "You.. didn't tell me! Tell me now! Chhote-" But Arnav shook his head sternly, silencing her up with the determination in his eyes & said firmly, "I promise I'll tell you when I am ready!" Anjali gaped at him unbelievingly for some seconds & then getting his intention, she punched his chest playfully, conceding defeat for now, & said pouting, "Pappad ka tukda!" & instantly a naughty gleam entered her eyes as she knew how to punish her brother for not confiding in her straight away. She ordered sternly & loudly, "Recite it, Chhote!"

Arnav instantly knew what she was talking about, but he couldn't believe she was asking her do it there & then, infront of all these people. He looked around at the interested audience; even Payal was looking up from her Babuji's chest where she had been crying for the last 5 minutes. Arnav shook his head in disbelief, & said under his breath, "Di, you've got to be kidding me! In front of all these-" But Anjali had been a Gupta for only 3 hours, & she had been a Singh Raizada & Arnav's sister all her life, so she said ominously, "Say it, or I am not getting in the car!" & the first sliver of a smile broke across Arnav's lips at the stubborn expression on Anjali's face, which actually looked uncannily like his own, & still smirking, he relented, "Toffee si meethi hain.. Chooran si khatti hain,. Khatti-meethi hain teri kahaani.. Anjali Di hain sabse sayaani!" & for some reason, as soon as Arnav had uttered the last word, everyone who was crying earlier, started anew, & those who weren't crying yet, joined the gang. Nani started crying like Arnav had never seen her crying, & even his Mamaji started wiping furiously at his eyes. Arnav knew his own eyes were moist as he looked at Anjali with eyes that said, 'Now look what you made me do!' & then he slowly started walking her towards the adorned bridal car.

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Arnav smiled encouragingly at Akaash as he sat down in front of the big bowl filled with milk & rose petals to find a ring dropped in it by his mother, competing against Payal. The elders of the family had thought it best that the Guptas & Raizadas should part ways from the farmhouse itself, in the fear that if they met up after reaching Chanakyapuri, both Payal & Anjali would most certainly get emotional again & the Bidaai ritual would start all over again. Hence, both the families had proceeded to their own family homes after reaching their area to get on with the post-wedding rituals. & that meant, Arnav Singh Raizada got no secret staring sessions with Khushi Kumari Gupta, much to his frustration & infuriation. Hence, once he saw that everyone in his family got busy with the silly little games they made the Bride & Groom play after their Pheras, he slowly got up from the gathering & slowly went up the stairs to his own room, away from the crowd & its noise.

He hadn't even crossed the threshold of his room when he started calling Khushi. When she didn't pick up his third call, as she was probably busy &, unlike him, actually enjoying the same rituals in her own home, he threw the phone off angrily over the bed & after pacing around the low table in front of the recliner in his room restlessly for 3-4 times, he wet out on the poolside, extremely agitated, & then thumped down on one of the recliners set by the pool. The fact that he didn't want Khushi to go anywhere near Sheeshmahal, was an understatement. Sheeshmahal. The whirlpool that had snatched every precious thing in his life from him. His Ma. His childhood. His innocence. His Di's happiness. He remembered when Akaash had sent pictures of the renovated Sheeshmahal to him after Arnav made him acquire it from his paternal uncle. The study, where he had once spent afternoons away, reading to his heart's content, when he had been 11-12 years old, had only reminded him of the ugly confrontation that he had accidentally come upon witnessing between his parents that fateful night. The winding staircase that led to the attic, where he & Anjali used to store their treasures, had only reminded him of his mother's disappearing Saree pallu, & then a gunshot. & the garden, his beloved sanctuary, where he used to spend hours, caring for his plants, talking to them, had only reminded him of how his own Chacha had made both him & his vulnerable sister stand out there in the chilling rain, only hours after he had come back from cremating his parents, until Nani had come to take them away.

Arnav suddenly sat bolt upright on the recliner from his relaxed posture. No! Nothing good had ever escaped unscathed from that place. & he wouldn't let his Khushi go over there. Never!

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The next day, as soon as everyone had finished having their breakfasts preceded by the newest Raizada family member cooking for the first time, fulfilling her 'lighting the stove' rasam, Arnav stood up & announced, "Let's get going!" All of the Raizada's around the table were more or less surprised by his eagerness, as Arnav Singh Raizada was seldom eager or excited about something, but then it was Manorama Raizada's inverted brain that saved Arnav from having to supply a lot of made-up justifications, "Lagta hain ki Arnav Babuwa ko apni Di ki yaad bahut hi sataayi rahi hain, kyun?? Abb kya baatye babuwa, bitiya ke gham mein humra bhi uhi haal hain..Humri saari make-upiya pe toh breakwa hi lag gaya hain jaisan!" "(Seems like, Arnav Babua is missing his Di very much, right?? Now what do I say, even I am pining for my Bitiya.. It's like there's been a break forced upon me putting on make-up!)" Payal looked apprehensively at her very new mother-in-law & said tentatively, "Well, you'll get to see Bhaabi once you come over to Nikunja for lunch.. Babuji did call up Daadiji to invite you all.. You'll come na?" In answer to her question, Manorama & her own mother-in-law shared a silent eye-lock.

They all knew it was all unconventional. Today, the Bride's Moohdikhaayi rasam was supposed to follow the 'lighting the stove' rasam & then finally the brides could go on to their own homes with whoever would have come to fetch them from their families. But the double honeymoons, that too in different directions, messed up this tight schedule that the Gupta & Raizada ladies had carefully went over so many times. Now, instead of the Pagphere, the Raizada's were supposed to have lunch in Nikunja, so that they could see off Anjali, who would leave with Rohan & Khushi for Lucknow a short while after lunch. & Payal-Akaash's would leave for their Euro tour at 9 pm that night, so Payal couldn't have a Pagphera too. Hence, the lunch was kind of both families' see off to their kids on their way to their new life.

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No one could blame Arnav Singh Raizada of not cashing in on a ripe opportunity. No one! When they reached Nikunja, lunch was still a few hours away, so Madhumati suggested all of them together should open a few wedding present to pass the time in merriment. Arnav was just waiting for the only person who could bring him to be a part of this utterly feminine & cheerful pass-time as 'opening the gifts', when Payal came down from the 1^st floor, & informed all, that as usual Khushi had been procrastinating, & now she was doing some much needed last minute packing, so she'd join them once she was finished. Arnav used the F word very creatively by prefixing it with a very religious word, & then he immediately wished he didn't. & feeling extremely restless, he decided to not just sit around, & do something to help himself. & so he used his old, much used, & cliched excuse. Getting his iPhone out of his, he feigned answering a call, & then pressing his index finger to his Bluetooth he started rotating his head like an antenna, as if trying to catch a signal. Soon, Shahi spoke up as he kindly advised Arnav to go outside or up to the roof to get a better network, & even before he was finished, Arnav started climbing the stairs to the 1^st floor like a very obedient boy.

When he reached the open door of Khushi's room, the euphoric sight of her bent derriere, wrapped in daring Red with tantalizing Hot Pink, greeted him as she stuffed some of her frilly dresses into a trolley bag.

Arnav's fast brain cells did some rapid calculations of the pros & cons of trying to take advantage of her position, then & there, & then as the collective cheer from the downstairs hall wafted upto him, maybe as a result of some bet about what was inside a particular wrapped package, Arnav dismissed the notion, & immediately went down to business, "Unpack! You're not going anywhere!" Khushi instantly stood straight & turning around, she couldn't help but greet him with a bright smile, saying amusedly, "& it's lovely to see you too! What's wrong with you?" Arnav could see she was treating him like a moody child, & that didn't help his suddenly rising temper, "Nothing! You're not going to Sheeshmahal & that's final. Suna tumne? Khushi's chest slowly started heaving deeply & she said in a pseudo-calm voice, "Ha suna humne. & now explain it to me, why can't I go to your ancestral home?"

Arnav said nothing, but Khushi aw the way his breathing deepened, & suddenly walking towards the bed, he bent over her almost packed bag, & started throwing away some of the clothes she had put into the bag, saying, "You are not going there!" & suddenly his flinging hands stilled as Khushi spoke up, though it was not her words, rather the tear in her voice that froze him in his actions, "Why? Yesterday you said you love me, & today.. I am not even good enough to put a foot on your ancestral home?? What am I to make from that?" Arnav looked at her distressed face for a few seconds, & then he decided, he had to be the biggest monster of the world as he stepped closer to her & said gravely, "1^st of all, I am serious.. Don't ever wear red when we're arguing.. It makes me forget my point! & 2^nd of all, I don't want you going there, cos I am afraid that.. that house will devour you.. like it did every damn good thing in my life! It's cursed & I don't want you setting a single foot in it!"

Khushi looked at him bewilderedly for almost a whole minute, & then she abruptly came & hugged his torso, pressing herself to him like a plaster. Then she said, her voice pleading for understanding, "I haven't been to Lucknow since I was 2. I wanna go back there. I wanna see where I came from. I don't think I'll have the courage eventually.. but if possible I'd visit the home I was born in.. Where.." Khushi stopped, unable to continue past the lump in her throat. This was why she was tagging along in her brother's honeymoon. She new Rohan wouldn't deny her anything if she asked, & she also knew her Amma-Babuji wouldn't object as much if she went to Lucknow accompanied by Rohan. Now she even knew everything, so there was no need to detach her from Lucknow. & Shashi & Garima counted on the factor that Rohan would never give anyone the chance to say anything bad to his Bachchi, whereas Khushi counted on the fact that Rohan would also be on his honeymoon, & most probably wouldn't chaperon her each & everywhere. That's the sole reason why she had insisted on intruding on their honeymoon!

Feeling Arnav still very rigid inside her arms, but his arms loosely circled around her, Khushi said in a small voice, letting him hear her pain, "Now even Nikunja is gone. & I have to find some roots Arnavji! Somewhere from where I can say I hail! & I bet, Lucknow can't be all murders & suicides.. The rest of our families came from there too!" She finished off in a high-pitched wail & felt Arnav's arms tighten around her, threatening to cut off her breathing.

Then, almost after a couple of minutes of just convalescing in each other's arms, when Arnav seemed just about to say something, after much grim deliberation, they both heard Payal calling Khushi by her name, & Khushi immediately pulled back from the embrace & after a brief look over at her appearance, when she started to towards the door past him, Arnav suddenly held her back by clutching onto her left hand, & said in a soft pleading voice, "Mat jao." ("Don't go.") Khushi felt her heart twist inside her chest as a few drops of tears finally escaped her thick lashes at the loneliness in his voice. She slowly raised his hand up to her lips, & kissed his palm deeply, & then slowly letting it down, she said in a broken voice, "Humein jaana hoga!" ("I have to go!") & then letting go of his hand, she ran off from the room, & from him.

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Khushi kept steeling glances at the stairs coming down from the 1^st floor for any signs of those sure, confident foot steps to appear, but when they came, she felt her heart sink deeper with each step he took. He strode straight to Rohan & Anjali, sitting now with his Nani & Mami, who along with his Mamaji had arrived some minutes back for the luncheon. He neither looked at her direction, neither did he give any indication that he was particularly aware of anyone at whom he was not looking. He said something curtly about an urgent meeting, instructed Anjali to call him the minute they arrived at Sheeshmahal, forbade Rohan to argue anymore about billings of the plain tickets he had booked for them, & then briefly nodding his courtesies to the elders, he was about to leave, when Anjali held him back by holding onto his elbow. He turned his head around, & reading the look on Anjali's eyes immediately, he wordlessly turned around & hugged her to him. They neither said anything, nor did they make any sounds, but to everyone present in the hall, it seemed like a gulf of words passed between them. & then pulling himself away, Arnav let Anjali press a kiss on his forehead, & after that he was out of the main door in hurried footsteps.

It was silly really how immediately the day of the Shagun came to Khushi's mind. That day when he had had to go, really had to go & not under false pretense like today, he had come to her first to let her know about it first & also schedule their next meet. & at this thought, she felt unstoppable drops of tears gathering in her eyes, & mumbling to Payal that she had remembered she hadn't put her phone charger inside her luggage, she stood up & ran up the stairs to her bedroom to cry one last time before they hit the road.

As soon as Arnav came out of the shower, he saw the phone flashing 'Red' again. & suddenly before his conscious mind could stop him, he went ahead & picking up the phone & he accepted the call. Instantly her agitated voice came along the line, "Arnavji?.." & as soon as he heard her voice, Arnav felt all of his resentment & anger toward her returning again. He had practically begged her not to go, & she had left him! Arnav almost barked out in his anger, "What is left to say now, Khushi?" & before he could finish her pleading voice interrupted, "Arnavji! Just listen to me once-" Arnav gritted his teeth, the muscle in his jaw twitching, as he barely got out through gritted teeth, "Kya sunoon, Khushi?! I specifically asked something from you! & you still went! Now you're there! & now what does it matter anyways?! Abb kya farq padhta hain?!" Saying this, he cut the call just as she was about to say something, & again flung the phone over the bed.

He stood uncertainly in the middle of the room for sometime. He was too restless to sleep & too tired to even stand up on his feet. In the end, he let out a long drawn out sigh, & just laid off on his side of the bed, thinking he would take some rest anyways. & he immediately fell off to a deep sleep.

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Arnav woke up with a start at the middle of the night. He was actually still half-asleep, his eyes drowsily drooping. He just laid there for a few seconds, trying to determine what woke him up, then he slowly reached for his phone to see the time. As he unlocked the screen, he saw it was 3.21am, & with that he saw that he had a new message in his voice mail. Furrowing his brows hazily, he automatically pressed the button & then held the phone up to his ear as he yawned elaborately, but his yawn turned to a sharp intake of breath midways when he heard Khushi's distressed voice coming out of the device.