OS: Shashikala and Suhana; Last Part on Page 4 - Page 3

Ishaan paced nervously in his room as he listened to the phone ring. It wasn't until after three bells had gone through that there was the click sound of someone answering his call. Ishaan smiled as he heard the highly incredulous voice of his father fill his ears. "Ishaan?"

"Ji Papa, it's me."

"You? Why on earth are you calling me? Did you do something wrong?"

Ishaan grinned and rolled his eyes. Alok had a rather snappy voice but anyone who knew him well could detect the underlying concern that was there. "What, Papa. Your own son can't even call you now without something being wrong?"

"Hmph, with your history as a troublemaker, I wouldn't even put it past you."

Ishaan pouted. "Papa, you always blame me for things that aren't even my fault. Anyways, forget this. I called because I wanted to talk to Shashikala Ji."

"Oh? So you can make her cry again?"

Ishaan sighed. "No, Papa. I...I wanted to say sorry to her. Please, if she's there, give her the phone."

There was a sudden moment of silence before Alok spoke again. "Alright. But you better only say sorry, okay? Don't say anything unnecessary or else I'll make sure you don't even remember yourself."

"Okay, okay. I promise."

Ishaan impatiently waited as his father handed the phone over to Suhana. The simple act seemed to take an extraordinarily long time to do during which Ishaan assumed that his entire family was most likely huddled together wanting to know the juicy details of his sudden desire to talk to Suhana. He chuckled inwardly, all too aware of his family's nosy nature. But the feelings of affection vanished completely as a dull yet oddly curious voice curtly addressed him over the phone. "What?"

A jolt of excitement ran through Ishaan's spine and his other hand free of the phone immediately went to clutch his collar out of habit. His voice cracking slightly in nervousness, he said, "H-hey Shashikala Ji...h-how are you?"

"Ill now that I've heard your voice," snapped Suhana without hesitation.

Ishaan winced. His wife was apparently not in the mood to forgive him any time soon. Biting the bottom of his lip, he gulped a little before venturing the courage to say, "Sh-shashikala Ji, I know that you're very upset with me but at least please hear me out. The thing is, I'm very sorry for hurting you so much today. It actually wasn't my intention to do so but I was feeling very uncomfortable around you so I had resorted to such a thing. A-actually, it was a very wrong thing that I did...b-but, I hope you can still find it in your heart to forgive me. Please?"

There was only silence on the other hand. Ishaan would have thought that Suhana wasn't even there had it not been for the faint sound of her gentle breathing emanating through the phone. He bit the bottom of his lip again, worried that she wasn't saying anything to him. "Shashikala Ji? Are you listening to me?"

Again with the silence. Ishaan sighed. "Please say something at least. You're really worrying me."

Suhana finally replied. In a sad voice, she said, "Since when did you worry about me, huh? If you had truly worried about me, Ishaan, you wouldn't have done what you did today. You wouldn't have abandoned me like a toy. You wouldn't have hurt my feelings. And above all, you wouldn't have been so inconsiderate about me. But you did. So now what do you have to say for yourself?"

Ishaan sighed. In a soft voice, he said, "Nothing. I have nothing to say in my defense because we both know that I wronged you. I'm guilty of having hurt you. I'm your culprit. But can't this culprit even have a chance of making it up to you? Can't I give back the happiness I snatched from you?"

"What are you saying?"

Ishaan smiled softly. Although Suhana had just said that in a controlled manner, he was still able to detect a tinge of excitement mingled with curiosity in her voice. She seemed to know that he was up to something and Ishaan couldn't help but feel a little proud that they could understand each other so well like this. "I'm saying that I, your very sorry Ishaan Kashyap, am waiting for you at home right now so that I can escort you to a trip in Boltenganj with myself."

"What?!" sputtered Suhana in shock. "You came home?! W-when? How?! What made you come?"

Ishaan smiled a little embarrassedly. "Who else but you?" he said in a quiet tone, ignoring her other questions.

Suhana was silent. Apparently, she was shocked speechless and Ishaan wondered if he had gone overboard with buttering her up. Hoping against hope that she didn't find his behavior strange, he said, "Well? Are you coming?"

In a voice that trembled with excitement, Suhana said, "I'll be right there."

With that, she hung up.

-------------

Fifteen minutes later found Ishaan outside his home with two suitcases besides him, securing a different padlock on the front of the door. Nightfall had already set outside and the streets were void of any passerbys. When Ishaan was done bolting the front door, he leaned against it, crossed his arms across his broad chest, and looked off into the distance for any sign of a familiar sari-clad girl. Seeing none, he closed his eyes and inhaled, breathing in the crisp night air that surrounded him. A soft smile adorned his face; he really loved the night for its quiet, peacefulness, and serenity.

As Ishaan silently basked in his surroundings, he failed to notice several moments later a girl silently creep up towards him and place a pale hand horizontally across his eyes. Startled by the sudden contact of foreign skin, Ishaan gasped, pulled the hand away, and opened his eyes. Standing before him was none other than his wife Suhana Kashyap, looking absolutely stunning in her sapphire blue sari studded with silver sequins beneath the moonlight.

"Hey," said Suhana softly, the tiniest of smiles tugging the corners of her mouth.

"H-hey," replied Ishaan. "You came pretty fast."

Suhana gazed fondly at him. "Why wouldn't I when you called for me?"

Ishaan blinked and shied away from her intense gaze, feeling that familiar uncomfortable feeling he got whenever Shashikala went into her romantic moods. Instinctively, his hands went towards his collar and his mouth was just about to blurt out, "Chi! Chi!" in indignation when Ishaan remembered his personal promise to not distance himself away from her. With this in mind, he hesitatingly moved forward instead, closing the foot-long gap between them and said, "Well, I'm honored that a really sweet person as yourself would do that for someone like me who has been nothing but hurtful to you."

Suhana looked surprised. It was apparent to Ishaan that she had also expected him to act and answer somewhat in the negative towards her. But this time the tables have turned. Now I'll be the one getting closer to you, Mrs. Suhana Kashyap. Ishaan smiled sweetly at her while his eyes twinkled mischeviously. "Well then, since you have nothing to say, I'll assume that you have no objections to what I just said."

Suhana just slowly nodded her head, gazing softfully at him with wonder still written across her face. Ishaan felt a little uncomfortable and wondered why she wasn't saying anything. Are we featuring in a silent film or something? He cleared his throat loudly, hoping to pull her out of her daydreams. Upon hearing the noise, Suhana immediately snapped to attention and blinked rapidly, looking at anywhere but him with blushing cheeks. Stuttering, she said, "Um, um...s-so are we ready to go or what?"

Ishaan stared at her strangely. "Uhhh, yeah..." Why is she acting so odd? Deciding that it was better to ignore it than question it, he said, "I hope you don't mind that I already packed your clothes for you. I had nothing else to do while waiting for you to come, so I had gone to Ishika's room and took your stuff. If there's anything else you need, we can just buy at Boltenganj."

Suhana looked up at him and smiled widely, thrilled by the prospect of her husband willingly shopping with her. "No, no, I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm glad you did that. You're really very smart and efficient, Ishaan."

Ishaan blushed. Hehe, praise is always nice. Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, he said, "Well, um, let's go then." He turned and stooped down to pick up both his and Suhana's suitcases before turning back again.

Suhana, who was still grinning infectiously at him, suddenly linked one of her arms through his and said, "Yes! Let's go now! OMG, I'm so excited!" She started dragging him happily, ignoring Ishaan's cries of protests as he tried to carry their luggage successfully despite all her forceful jostling. When they finally reached the autorickshaw that Suhana had left waiting outside their block, Ishaan was panting and a bit disgruntled.

"Kya, Shashikala Ji. Are you trying to kill me here?"

Suhana childishly stuck her tongue out. "Ishaan, stop complaining for once and get in there already. I don't want to waste any time here."

Ishaan raised his hands and smiled. "Okay, okay, princess. Your wish is my command."

With that, he secured their luggage and waited until Suhana was comfortably seated inside the autorickshaw before settling in himself. Then he cast a look to the heavens to briefly pray for a safe journey.

With that, the two were off on their journey to reunite with one another.

Very nicely written and thought out👏, and welcome to the forum😊..

As mentioned, I really hope that they actually show something along these lines, rather than follow the original

I will be looking forward to reading your next part.

all parts were great! keep writing! like your way better than actual storyline!