"Arnav?"
"hmm'?"
"Baby, I got an awesome idea yesterday night and I thought of informing you first thing in the morning." He heard Lavanya's voice over the phone as he stood in his balcony leaning over the banister for a better signal reception.
"And what is it?" he asked curiously for a change, his mood quite uplifted after talking to Khushi earlier in the car.
"How about I pre-pone the trip to India? That way we could spend more time together." Lavanya said excitedly only to hear one word from him before she could even end her sentence.
"No!" Arnav was himself surprised with how fast he had responded.
"But why?"
And instead of answering her, Arnav's eyes suddenly focussed on a blue figure running wildly on the vast plain grassland in the middle of the valley beneath the Manor.
Was that'
He squinted his eyes tightly to confirm his answer.
"Khushi?" he didn't realise he had said it aloud until he heard Lavanya's voice on the other end.
"Who's Khushi?"
Arnav simply gazed with amusement and complete mirth at the blue figure's antics. Beside her were what he assumed to be three wild dogs and it looked like she was tossing something at them and they were excitedly jumping all over her.
One minute, she would disappear among the deodar trees at the border, the dogs running after her and the next minute she would re-appear, hopping along with the dogs, just like a butterfly prancing around from one flower to the other.
He was so lost in her that he didn't even realise Lavanya anxiously calling out his name on the other end.
He could hear Khushi's excited screams even from that distance and her laughter simply echoed throughout the silent valley, filling him with a kind of solace and comfort seeing her like that.
"Ahhh! Buajiii!" she suddenly screamed and ran away as one of the dogs began chasing her and Arnav simply couldn't stop himself from laughing. And within minutes, he saw her running up the valley towards the Manor, the dog still chasing after her and he himself was surprised when he began shouting loudly at her direction.
"Mussoorie Bhains! Run faster! Otherwise that Pagal Kuttha will bite your bum."
What the F*ck did he just say!
"What did you just say?" he heard Lavanya's alarmed voice on the other end and for few seconds, even he was astonished with himself. But after the words had finally registered in his mind, he felt a barricade suddenly open in his heart and he began laughing,
So loudly, like he hadn't laughed for the past fifteen years.
He laughed till his sides ached. He laughed till Lavanya panicked that her boyfriend had completely lost it.
He laughed like there was no yesterday, nor tomorrow. Just the present, untainted and carefree.
"I'm sorry. I'll call you later." Arnav apologised and disconnected the phone, the laughter still not subsiding within him. This day was turning out to be one of the best days after a long time in his life.
He kept on laughing, until he finally felt exhausted and fell down on his bed, staring at the white ceiling above him as his mind went back to one memory.
It was another random afternoon and the eleven year old Arnav and the eight year old Khushi, now a little older than before were sitting lazily on the front porch of the Raizada Manor after running out of ideas to entertain themselves, while his sister, Anjali had gone out to her friend's house leaving the two all by themselves for the afternoon.
"Kukku! It's so boring today. We have played ludo, checkers, backgammon atleast a hundred times now. And we finished reading all the story books too." Arnav had exclaimed, lying on the arm chair.
"You still have your homework to do." Khushi had lifted her head and mischievously smiled at him.
"Kukku!" he had growled with irritation. "If you have nothing better to suggest, then keep quiet. Don't remind me of my homework."
"Okay." She had continued to smile and crawled closer to him until her face was merely inches away from him.
"Why are you smiling? What's going on in that head of yours?" Arnav had pulled her on top of him excitedly.
"I have an idea." Khushi had said, winking at him. "if you are up for adventure."
"What adventure?" Arnav had excitedly asked.
"Follow me." She had said, and taking hold of his hand she had pulled him all the way down the slope of the valley, into the woods and after running for about fifteen minutes, they had reached a plain field.
"What is this place?" Arnav had exclaimed with surprise, seeing this green empty field for the first time. "And is that a buffalo there?" his eyes had widened with curiosity seeing the black animal tied to one tree.
"Not buffalo. Bhains!" she had winked at him.
"It's the same thing right?" Arnav had shook his head.
"No, buffalo is like your Dadi says, an English animal. Whereas, Bhains is Indian. And this fella here is a Mussoorie Bhains." Khushi had explained, making Arnav to giggle at her explanation. "And you know, we are right now, just like this Bhains."
"And how exactly?" he had asked, with amusement.
"See this Bhains here does nothing at all for the entire day. It just sleeps, eats, poops, eats some more, poops some more, chases dogs and cats if they go near them and then sleeps again. In other words, it is a very lazy animal. It has no tension, no worries about anything in this world. Even if it rains, even if it snows, it will simply be taken to its shed without having to worry for itself. It doesn't even have to go to school like us." Little Khushi had explained, her eyes widening with awe at the wonderful life of the buffalo.
"So now my Annyav, you and I are becoming just like this Bhains!" Khushi had looked at him. "Neither you do your homework, nor do you allow me to do mine. You just eat, play, sleep and poop too, just like this Bhains." She had giggled earning another fit of laughter from him.
"But it is still fun right?" Arnav had nudged his arm at her and she had nodded her head.
"We are Mussoorie Bhains! Come let's lie down like it on the grass." Khushi had suggested and run towards the Bhains to lie down beside it.
"But I can see some dogs over there." Arnav warned her sceptically about the whole idea, seeing some wild dogs at some distance.
"Annyav, they won't do anything." She had brushed aside his fear and leaving him behind, run into the field, only to come back screaming a minute later as the dogs had suddenly sensed her and began to chase her.
"Annyavv! Ahhh!" she had screamed with fear, coming running towards him with the dogs behind her and Arnav had immediately grabbed her hand and began running along with her, his laughter simply rolling out of him seeing his friend's state.
"Mussoorie Bhains! Run faster! Otherwise the pagal Kuttha will bite your bum." He had howled with laughter and pulled her along as they had run all the way back home until the dogs had finally stopped chasing them.
He didn't know whether she had managed to hear him amidst all that running, but for a change he felt really good today. He felt free from the chains of his past.
He felt wonderful to relive his old memories where he didn't need to struggle to block them out.
He felt nice to once do what his heart was telling him to do.
To let go of everything and live life as it was.
o0o
"Chotey Saab!" he heard her voice as he sat on the wicker chair of his lawn and replied to some official mails on his laptop. Raising his head, he noticed her observing all around her and only after making sure that no one was around them, she finally approached him.
"You wanted something?" he asked, as he observed her hand holding some kind of a folder.
"Kind of." She said, as she strolled towards him and kneeled down on the lawn beside his chair. "Actually, I spoke to the florists right now and they promised me that they would supply the flowers on time. You don't have to worry about it." She explained to him, stressing on the last bit. "If you have any other work to do, just inform me. I'll do it for you. You needn't have to lose your temper over such issues."
"Oh!" Arnav finally understood what she was referring to. "Thank you Khushi, but I can manage on my own." He replied back.
"Dadiji told me that you would say the exact same thing and that I must not listen to you but persuade you to give in." She said, smiling cheekily at him.
"Oh! So Dadi's words trump over best friend's', is it?" Arnav asked, quirking his eyebrow.
"Ofcourse Chotey Saab. Dadiji was there for me when you didn't even bother to send me a single letter for the past fifteen years. So naturally, my loyalty lies in her." She explained, her smile not faltering a bit.
Those words'
They were innocent yet enough to pierce his already guilt filled heart every time she spoke. They made him realise the injustice he had done to his friendship in these past fifteen years.
"Is that it?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.
He didn't have any answers to her unasked questions.
Khushi's smile drooped down just a little, but her spirit didn't. "Chotey Saab, actually, I brought a catalogue of flower designs for the Church and the house. And Dadiji told me to ask you for your opinion."
"You seem to be good at everything. Why don't you select them by yourself?" Arnav challenged her.
"If it was for my wedding, I would have selected the designs myself, but since it's Anjali Memsaab's, I think you would be in a better position to judge an elite society's expectations. Afterall, what would I know about them?"
One thing that had changed about Khushi in these fifteen years was her ability to retort that simply made her opponent at loss for words. And right now, he was on the losing end. But Arnav Singh Raizada was not someone who gave up easily.
"Assume it is indeed your wedding. And creativity is never bound by class or status." Arnav replied with one of his victory smirks.
He had expected her to atleast say something. But instead, she remained silent, her eyes now lowered on the catalogue.
"I think the third one would be wonderful." She pointed out without raising her eyes.
"And I wouldn't doubt your choice." Arnav didn't know what made him say those words. Maybe it was his conscience talking but it was definitely unexpected and she immediately raised her eyes to meet his.
It was certainly mere seconds, but it felt as if the entire world had stopped for the two of them. Everything else was forgotten. Only two pair of eyes, one hazel while the other molten brown gazed into each other's depths, as if their souls were talking.
Neither could blink, neither could look away.
It was comforting and anguishing at the same time. It hurt and soothed simultaneously if that was even possible.
She was kneeling down while he towered over her. But her gaze was stronger than his, unwavering, unflinching, unblinking.
As if she had braved the most abysmal of all storms and traversed through a thousand miles to reach here, to him.
"Does it still pain?" she was the first one, once again to break the barrier of silence between them.
Ofcourse, that memory still pained him and he wanted to hold her and cry.
But when he felt her fingers slide over his palm, he realised that she was referring to the injury of his palm.
"A bit." He confessed and didn't move his hand when her fingers grazed the bandage.
"You didn't change it from yesterday?" she asked, observing the edges.
"You didn't change it for me." Arnav stated, an indescribable pathos haunting his voice as he spoke.
"Chotey Saab, don't get used to my presence. I won't be able to come all the way to London to take care of you when you leave after a month." She let out a laugh, and he found her getting up from her place.
"I'll be right back." She said, running towards the house and Arnav stared at her disappearing form, as the sun set on them, the daylight vanishing within seconds, leaving behind darkness in its place.
He could see the Venus glimmering at the horizon, the constellations faintly appearing one by one. By the time he could recognise them, she had come running towards him with a box in her hand.
And panting for breath, before she could ask for his palm, he had outstretched it for her and slowly she had begun to unwrap the soiled bandage and tend to his wounds.
"Chotey Saab, you should learn to control your temper. Anger is only known to cause destruction in its path." Khushi said, applying the medicine on his bruises.
"And you should learn to stand up for yourself. The silent are always suppressed." Arnav replied, causing her to raise her eyes for a second, stunned at his words before she immediately looked away.
"You have become wiser, Chotey Saab."
"And you have become stronger."
"Do you remember'"
"I do." Arnav immediately replied before she could proceed.
It had been just another random day, but this time, the nine year old Arnav had returned home with a huge bruise and wound on his knee after crashing down on the ground while playing football with his classmates.
It had been too painful even for a boy to withhold his tears and he had wept and cried, howled with the pain for the entire next hour, worrying the entire Raizada family with his injury.
Whatever his father, mother or sister had done to console him hadn't worked on him and he had continued to howl with the pain panicking them to call a Doctor.
But then, something else had happened.
Something that had made him silent.
A little six year old Khushi had walked into his room, hearing him crying and standing at the door, her eyes had widened with fear seeing his wound. But she had still braved and walked towards him and her doe shaped hazel eyes had soon welled with tears seeing his state.
She had begun to cry along with him, silencing him with her unexpected behaviour and little Arnav had soon forgotten all about his injury and instead begun to console his best friend from crying.
She was still the same, even after all those fifteen years. She still possessed the ability to make him forget his own pain when she was around him.
"The pagal Kuttha didn't bite my bum." He heard her say as she stood up in her place. He raised his palm to observe it neatly bandaged once again by her and eyeing her, he noticed an amused smile on her lips. And seeing the slight confusion on his face, she added. "I heard you in the afternoon." And continuing to plaster the smile on her face, she walked towards the house, oblivious to the pair of eyes hidden in a corner, who had observed her and a smiling Arnav left behind, a huge smile adorning his own face too.
CHAPTER 9
And you are free to judge Ranvijay as you like. Love him or hate him or be indifferent to him, but you cannot ignore him.😆
Arjun
Cricket
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