Chapter 4
Shravan hurriedly ate his dinner. Kanchan's call and idea had left him both astonished and confused. Suman was easier to comprehend, he thought. He looked over from his balcony and the remaining lights in the Tiwari household were off too. There was no sign of any activity from either Kanchan or Bunty. It was still quarter to ten and he had some time to kill. He changed into his night clothes and slipped into his white running shoes.
Within a couple of minutes he was at the fence waiting for Kanchan to arrive. The neighborhood was quieter than ever. Even with no bustling around, no robber would've dare taken step into the army colony. Shravan stood against the wall, slightly camouflaged by the tree and not wanting his father's prying eyes looking at him the moment he returned home.
"Psstt...pssttt" came from across the fence wall and he jumped out of his skin! It was no snake hiss but Kanchan. Her petite figure hidden behind the ginormous wall made it seem like a video-less Discovery Channel audio.
"Oh Kanchan! Is that you! You had me scared!", exclaimed Shravan.
Kanchan gave out a hushed laugh from across.
"Now quick! Come around from the main gate, I'll open it for you. Do not make a sound if possible".
"Or best I'll just climb it", Shravan replied sarcastically. "That's even great", came back Kanchan's reply.
Why the army people wanted thrill in everything they did, was beyond his understanding.
He carefully latched open the already open-gate and slid himself inside. Kanchan was standing a few metres ahead of him and beckoned him to come closer.
"You look like a ghost on shoes", Kanchan said laughing hysterically at his all-white attire. Shravan made a face and asked her of Sumo.
"Oh yes!" she said and asked him to follow her. But instead of the main gate, took him around, from the garden to a backside wall. "There should be some secret back door", he thought.
"There", Kanchan said gesturing at the ladder rested against the wall. "I reckon climbing wouldn't be a problem at all, would it?", she said assuredly.
And then it finally dawned upon him. "Who in the blazes thought I will climb this ladder to Sumo's room! I ain't any burglar!"
"Shush now! You'll wake up the entire neighborhood! I thought it wouldn't be a problem. Since, you know, you're a champion of balcony sprints and jumps!", Kanchan said with her lips pursed, clearly trying to suppress a laugh.
"That's absolutely different! I was desperate that day!"
"I thought you were desperate to meet Suman. It's okay if you don't want to".
The truth was, he was dying to meet her. Her ill-health had left him worried-sick. A little thinking and Shravan had to give in to the idea whilst cursing Kanchan half-way through the scaling. "Oh I'm gonna regret it later".
Both landed on a neatly furnished balcony. Shravan noticed the Tiwaris weren't fond of anything flashy and instead preferred earthen lamps and pots which adorned their beautiful terrace. Kanchan lead him to her and Suman's bedroom.
Shravan had seen it twice, once when Suman had taken him around and the other time when he had to make a run. As far as he remembered the room seemed as if it hadn't aged a second in time. Everything in its place like it had always been.
His eyes went to Suman's bed which had what seemed like a sack lying in a pile of medicines and tablets. Kanchan went ahead and signaled of Shravan's presence to Suman.
"Shravan", Suman mumbled and took her blanket off disclosing her small, delicate face. Shravan thought she looked mesmerizing even with the dark eyes and that her face was robbed of any sickness symptoms. She was messy with hair sticking up from all sides which Shravan believed looked cute on her.
"Shravan", she repeated. Suman was clearly in a daze. The painkiller pills had the best of her.
"That's the 4th time she has mumbled your name in sleep. I couldn't help but ask you to come here", Kanchan said smiling.
Shravan looked at her in awe. The girl who had all his heart and eyes to, couldn't even lie in sleep. He hadn't encountered love before, neither was he sure how it looked like. But anything he could tell for sure was that the feeling was beyond his logical reasoning he had ever felt for any of the girls he had met or dated before.
Shravan sat besides her, eyes still fixated. He smiled, then brought his hand closer to her which Suman was quick to grab hold of.
"Why didn't you come before? I was waiting for you", Suman spoke in a semi-conscious state. Her authoritative tone despite of the weakness amazed him. Suman loved a hold over everything, even her fever.
"I didn't know you were waiting for me", Shravan replied.
"How won't I? I always do! I'm your buddy!".
Suman had passed out, still interlocking fingers with Shravan's. Her hands felt warm from the fever. She held on to his as if it were the only thing keeping her safe from a drowning world. For Shravan, If he could, he would've spent his life looking at her.
It should've been an eternity since Kanchan woke him up from his thoughts and he took a minute to be alert of his surroundings.
"I think you should leave now, Shravan. It's too late. I can keep you updated if you like", Kanchan spoke concernedly. Shravan uttered a slight hmm reluctantly, while carefully untangling the finger-hold. He left for the door before taking one last glance at his buddy and promising to visit soon.
"Godspeed Sumo! Get well soon".
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A/N : Hey, thanks for reading. That's about it for now. I'll update the next chapter in a day or two.
To say I am overwhelmed with the response to my work would be an understatement. Really grateful to everyone taking out their time to read through my scribbling.
Let me know how this one is. Have a great day! :)
Edited by Bucky - 3 years ago
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