jhooti
Riddhima clapped her hands together to brush off the spices of the peanuts.
“chal, aunty bula rahi hai”
She said, tapping her best friend's shoulder; but he seemed to be lost in somewhere else.
“Chaand ke upar itna pyaar baras raha hai aaj?” Riddhima chuckled seeing him so focused in the sky.
She took a deep breathe, looking around the terrace. The winds blew hard, blowing her hair.
“Come on, Vansh! Utho! Dinner nahi karni?”
This time finally, he got up, and walked down weirdly. Riddhima wondered what flipped his mood within minutes.
___________
“Shaadi ke baarein mein kuch socha bhi hai?”
Ajay, Vansh's father asked in a deep voice, mixing the curry.
Riddhima looked up at him and Vansh exhaled, almost trying to hide his anger.
“Aap bhi na ji, itni jaldi kya hai shaadi ki?”
A female voice chirped.
“Tumhari wajah se bigaar gaya hai yeh, Uma.” He stated, tired, and looked at Riddhima “Beti, kuch le!”
“Nahi, uncle.” she smiled setting the empty plate aside. “Bas hogaya.”
“Yeh kaisi khaana hui? Baith, ab matt jaa.” Uma lovingly said to the girl she treated like her own daughter. When Riddhima refused politely, she gave Vansh the car keys to drop her safely.
______________
The ride was absolutely silent. Riddhima finally understood why her childhood best friend seemed so down and finally broke the ice.
“Shaadi karne mein itni kya problem hai?”
Vansh looked at her for a second and answered-
“Dil mein koi hai.”
A smile craved on her face, she merrily asked who it is. Never did she thought the answer would be “you”.
Just as the car parked in front of her apartment, Riddhima wished him a goodnight but he softly asked,
“Karogi mujhse shaadi, Riddhu?”
“Hah!” she plastered a huge toothy smile, and said with a laugh-“Shaadi, toh door ki baat, tumse pyaar bhi nahi hai. Find a nice girl, and marry, i'll be more than happz!”
Before Riddhima could get off, Vansh held her wrist and smiled,
“Jab jhoot bolti ho, aankhon mein paani aati hai tumhari..”
comment:
p_commentcount