Raman tried to talk to Ishita, roaming all around the house but all his efforts went in vain. She completely ignored him, not because she wanted to, but was extremely busy distributing Prasad and gifts to all the children.
Raman called her in a voice that only he can hear. Or maybe Ishita too, who always can hear him even if he mutely calls her. Such is their fire-water chemistry. He was getting frustrated that his every effort to talk to her was not even close to being fruitful. He decided to give it a final shot and then leave for work. Ishita was arranging the gifts and flowers to be given to the children. He stood across the hall, near the entrance of his room, and called in a husky voice, "Ishita!". That was his final attempt and she didn't pay heed to even that.
He lost the drive to talk to her after all these attempts, so decided to put on his jacket and leave. As he entered his room, Ishita walked across him to present gifts to the last child who was standing near Raman. He paused for a while and did not want to get into his room. Once the child left, Ishita turned around with her smiling face without knowing Raman was standing behind. His mind said no, but his heart said call. He mustered enough courage for one last time and called, "Ishita...". When she was about to nod at him, Mrs Bhalla too called her the very second. "Oye Ishita...idar aaja...". She said "Aayi mummy ji..." and decided to respond to her than Raman. She passed a look at him and stepped ahead towards Toshiji.
The very moment, Raman saw his mom bending in the kitchen to take something from the floor, he caught Ishita's arm in a jiffy and pulled her into his room. "Itne der se bula raha hoon na...dhyan hi nahi diya tumne...", he blurted out. She was surprised and said with a mischievous smile, "Kya? Aapne kab bulaya?" and tried to release his hold from her arm. Raman tightened his hold even more, "Bahut der se baat karne ki koshish kar raha hoon...dikha nahi?". She said, "Kisse baat karna chahte the?". He still held her close to him and said, "Meri nani se...". Ishita laughed and asked, "Accha baba, haan maine suna aur maine dekha bhi...aap bula rahe the..." and smiled. She still worked hard to remove his fingers from her arm and hence his hold. "To phir aayi kyun nahi?", he asked. "Arey main turand aa jati to aap mujhe itne baar bulate kaise? Bas aap bulane ki koshish kar rahe the, aur main enjoy kar rahi thi...bahut zyada try kar rahe the...nahi?...bahut mazaa aaya!". He frowned and said, "Nahi...bas ab aakri baar try kiya tha... tum hamesha ke tarah itna aur bhaav khati to main jaane wala tha...". She stopped trying to remove his hold and looked into his eyes, "Theek hai...ab to aagayi hoon...batayiye...kya baat hai..". He said, "Waise...yeh baat to sach hai ki tumne meri business bachayi...aur bahut logon ke naukri bhi...to maine socha, as a token of gratitude, tujhe kuch gift karoon...aur mujhe samajh mein nahi aa raha tha ki kya doon...so maine socha ki...". She asked, "ki?" with raised eyebrows. "To maine socha ki, tumhe kahin shopping le jaaon...tum jo chaho le sakti ho...". She exclaimed, "Arey wah! Token of gratitude! Is this Mr. Raman Kumar Bhalla...? Santa claus Bhalla to nahi hai?. Raman became extremely astounded with what she just said. The thought of their thoughts matching every wee bit brought a smile on his face. "Yes! Ab chalogi...?". She said, "Kya baat hai? Mata rani ke krupa hai yeh? Aap smile bhi karte hai mujhe dekh ke?". He said, "Ab bakwas mat karo, jaake tayyar ho jao...". She smiled, "Haan haan kyun nahi...par aap aise hi kass ke pakadke rakhenge to main jooongi kaise?". "Oh!", he released her arm. She said, "Waise aapki smile acchi hai...kabhi kabhi smile bhi kiya karo", and left the room. He looked for his jacket in his cupboard like every day, but he couldn't hide his smile under the skin today!
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