PicOSthon: 39 OSes | Catch up with the ones u hv missed! :) - Page 89

"High windspeeds have already been recorded and flooding is likely in prone areas. Delhi residents are being advised to leave work early and stay home while the storm system passes through."

Raman turned off the TV and sat back in his office chair. It was going to be a messy commute. He took the next few minutes to text and call his family to make sure they reach home before the storm. Papaji and Romi said they would pick up Ruhi and Adi from school and everyone else had planned to stay in. He was speaking now to Ishita and asking her to go home early from the clinic.

"Aap bhi jaldi aa jao. Simmi aur main pakodey banayenge, chai ke saath. Maza aayega." [You come home quickly too. Simmi and I are going to make pakodey for tea. It'll be great]

"Lunch ke baad ek important meeting hain. Uske baad hi nikloonga." [I have an important meeting after lunch. Will leave right after.]

"Okay, see you."

"Love you."
He inserted quickly before she could hang up. After their initial confession a few weeks ago, they hadn't exactly gotten into the habit of saying the words regularly, certainly not over the phone.

"Me too" She responded after a momentary silence, her voice barely audible.

"Teekh se bolo na!" [Say it properly, na!]

"Ramann, log hain." [Ramann, there's people around.]

"Kaisi doctor ho yaar, sabki tarah apni office mein baith kar lecture nai deh sakti"
[What kind of a doctor are you. Can you sit in your office and lecture people like the rest of them?]

"Doctor nahi, dentist hoon remember? Humein baatein nahin, kaam karna padtha hai."
[Dentist, not na doctor, remember? We actually have to do work on our patients, not just talking]

"Toh tumhari lecture ki habit padayashi hai...mujhe yehi shakh tha. Kaash mein choti si Ishita Iyer ko dekh paata. Let me guess, pigtails, school uniform and buck teeth, amirite? Very tragic. Isiliye pediatric dentist ban gayi nai? Taaki aur bachche tumhare jaise losers na ho jaye."
[Ah so you're lecturing habit was something your were born with...thats what I always suspected. I wish I could have seen the little Ishita Iyer. Let me guess, pigtails, school uniform and buck teeth, amirite? Very tragic. That's why you became a pediatric dentist right? So other kids don't become losers like you.]

"Oh please. Chotu Raavan bhi mujhe bahot clearly dikh raha hai. Shaitano wale baal...below-average weight, below-average height and of course...well-below-average brains!"
[Oh please. I can also see teeny Raavan very clearly. Same crazy hair...below-average weight, below-average height and of course...well-below-average brains!]

"Below average weight toh main tha hi. Ghar mein Simmi aur school mein tumhari jaise motiyaan bahut thi. Lunchtime ko aajate mere paas. Lekin below average height! Madrassan, main tumhe chodunga nahi."
[That is true, I was below average in weight. At home there was Simmi and at school, like you there were these chubby girls who liked come over during lunch. But below average height! Madrassan, I'm not letting you off for that one.]

Ishita smiled as he finally hung up, her heart still racing from hearing the words he blurted out unexpectedly. She had been preparing for her last surgery of the day when his call came. Her assistant had been flitting about setting up as she had taken the call behind the curtain. She thought about it for a second and confirmed to herself that this was the first time he'd said those words over the phone. Of course she had messed up the moment. She slapped her head virtually...stupid Ishu. He'd definitely want her to make it up to him later. Her Raavan Kumar had become singularly obsessed with her in the last several weeks. Everytime she looked over at him, he would have an evil grin on his face, surely planning something for later. Her ears pricked as she thought about this but then she composed herself and returned to work.
------

Later at home, the Bhalla children had been safely delivered from school and Toshiji had set up the pakores that Simmi had made for them. They were still waiting for Raman and Ishita to return home.

"Romi puttar, yeh pakode woh Madrassan ko de aana. Apne coffee ke saath kha lenge woh bhi. Aur suno dekhna ke Ishita ke papa ghar aageye ke nahin."
[Romi, can you go give these pakode to the Madrassan. They'll also have with their coffee. And listen make sure Ishita's dad is home too.]

"Ji mummiji" [Ok, mummiji]

Raman arrived about an hour later as the kids were playing carrom noisily with Romi and Papaji. Ruhi and Adi appeared to be having lots of fun laughing at their Chachu's shor and their Dadu's anger at it. His daughter came to give him her usual greeting hug and he high-fived with Adi.

"Kya chal raha hai yahan. Carrom aur woh bhi mere bina?" [What's happening her. Carrom and that too without me]

"Bhai, aap bhi aajao. Main aur Ruhi toh Papaji aur Adi ko do baar hara chuke hain. Kyun Rooh?"
[Bhai, join us. Ruhi and I and already beated Papaji and Adi twice. Right Rooh?]

"Haan papa. Lekin main Adi Bhaiyya se bol rahi thi ki jab aap aur Ishima aayenge toh hum charo ek team mein khelenge. Chachu, Dadi, Dadu aur Simmi bua doosre team mein."
[Yes Papa. But I was telling Adi Bhaiyya that when you and Ishima come home, the four of us would play on one team. And Chachu, Dadi, Dadu and Simmi bua will be on the other team]

"Good idea Ruhi. Waise aapki Ishima kaha hai?" [Good idea Ruhi. Where is your Ishima anyway?]

"Maine Bhabhi se kuch der pehle hi baat ki Bhai, who raaste mein thi."
[I just spoke to Bhabhi a little while ago Bhai, she was just on the way]

Ishita had said she would come back an hour before him. Raman wondered if her surgery had run late. The rain had already started to come down strongly when he was driving over. Hopefully she was almost home.

Half hour later, Raman was pacing in worry outside their apartment cursing his pagal biwi for doing whatever she was doing. He had tried to call her a few times with no luck. But she could just be driving, probably a good thing she wasn't trying to answer the phone. He would have to be patient but this woman was going to drive him to an early grave.

----

Ishita drove through the heavy rain carefully. As much as she loved rain itself, she hated being on the road during it. Nothing could be worse in Delhi. On top of that traffic had piled up with everyone trying to rush home before the storm got any worse. She had ended up leaving the clinic late when the surgery took longer than expected; the boy was very afraid. After much soothing and distracting he had finally relaxed enough for her to begin. Before leaving the clinic she managed a quick call to Romi who assured her that the kids were home safe and that Raman was also almost there. Thankfully she was only 20 minutes away now. Her Raavan Kumar would be pacing up his own storm at home, she was sure. He needlessly stressed himself out. About her, his parents, kids, work...there was never an end to it. His hair would surely go fully white before he reached 50. She sighed, mentally preparing herself to be yelled at. She wanted to make a call or text him to let him know where she was but she didn't want to take her eyes off the road in these conditions. It was too dangerous.

A few minutes away from home, she was about to pull into a side street when she noticed the small makeshift shacks that normally lined the street there. Where part of the ground dipped, there was significant flooding which appeared to have invaded these small spaces likely destroying everything inside. One or two of the structures had even collapsed from the wind she noticed. Hopefully no one was inside. She could make out small strings of belongings floating about outside as the residents struggled to gather them. Her heart stung as she saw a small boy standing in water up to his knees in dirty shorts and a worn banyan outside his home. In fact there were quite a few children; some trying to help their parents, others looking about dazed and uncertain. It didn't take long for Ishita to decide on what to do. This storm was only going to get worse and these kids needed to be in a safe place to wait it out. She pulled over a little further up where the ground was higher and parked her car. Before getting out, she sent a quick text to Raman.

"Got stuck in traffic.
Almost home, stopped in front of Meena's Boutique to help some people.
I'm fine. See you soon."

As she got out, she noticed a few other folks trying to help the families with their belongings. There was a tall, burly man trying to check inside the collapsed shacks. Ishita waded through the water over to him without hesistation. Her saree was drenched in seconds from the rain and the street water. But this was no time to be self-conscious.

"Suno bhaiyya, yeh log kaha jayenge?" [Excuse me Bhaiyya, where will these people go?]

"Pata nahin madam. Hum yahan ke shopwale thodi si madat karne ki koshish kar rahe hain. Mere bas chala toh shop mein hi rakh letha lekin mera toh woh chota paan shop hai. TV mein kaha tha ke police kuch intezaam karenge lekin ab tak toh aaye nahi."
[I don't know madam. Some of us shopkeepers nearby are trying to help a little. If could, I would let them stay in my shop but it's a small paan store, no place for anyone. On TV, they said the police are making some arrangements for people in this situation but no one's come around here yet.]

"Achcha toh teek hain. Ek kaam karte hain. Main paas mein hi rehti hoon aur humare complex mein ek community hall building hai. Wahan le jainge. But aap ki madat chahiye mujhe. Aap in logon ko jaante hain, sabko ikatta kar kar sakto ho aap? Sirf paanch minute ki doori hain."

[Ok, lets do this. I live nearby only and in our complex, there is a community hall building. We can take them there. But I need your help. You know these people so can you get them together? Its just five minutes away.]

"Aap zara yeh baaki check kar sakte hain? Lagta hain sab log bahar nikal aaye lekin phir bhi dekh raha tha koi reh nai gaye. Andar mat jaana, inke chat mazboot nahin hain. Mein ikatta karta hoon inhe. Aapki building mein koi hungama nahi hoga?"
[Can you check the last few? Looks like everyone got out but still I'm just double checking in case anyone got left behind. Don't go inside though, the roofs aren't strong. I'll gather everyone together in the meantime. Your building people won't cause a problem will they?]

"Woh sab mein dekh loongi. Aur haan, yeh akhree wale mein check karloongi."
[I'll take care of that. And I'll check these last few.]

----

Meena's Boutique?? Where on earth was that, was he supposed to know?! Raman was fuming reading her message. At least she managed to let him know she was alive. But his pagal Madrassan had of course taken it upon herself to make a detour into social service during this crazy storm. He had texted back immediately but that was 5 minutes ago and there had been no response.

"Are you crazy Ishita, why did you stop on the way?"
I have no idea where Meena's boutique is.
How am I supposed to get to you?"

He had moved his frantic pacing downstairs as he watched the gate from the stairs like a hawk, looking for a glimpse of her red car. Now he marched back upstairs into the apartment.

"Simmi, koi Meena's Boutique hai kya humara building ke aas paas?"

"Haan bhai, woh main road ki corner hain naa...wahi paan shop and the electronics store ke beech mein hain. Unke window mein bahut acchi designer Kurte dikhte hain. Aapne kabhi notice kiya nahin?"
[Yes Bhai, its on the corner of the main road...between the paan shop and the electronics store. Their window always shows really nice designer kurtas. You never noticed it?]

He shook his head in exasperation. "Main kyun notice karunga! Ishita wahi hai kisi ki madat karne mein lagi hai Jagat Mata. Main bhi jaa raha hoon. Na jaane kyar kar baithegi woh."
[Why would I notice that! Okay Ishita just told me she is over there helping some people, I'm going to go too. God knows what trouble she's getting into.]

"Bhai I'll come too." Romi piped up.

"Nai Romi, Simmi ke saath bacche aur Mummy, Papa ke saath rehne. Hum jaldi aajayenge. Tumhari Bhabhi kuch pagalpan karne se pehle main usse le aata hoon."
[No Romi, you and Simmi stay with the kids and Mummy, Papa. We'll be back quickly. I want to bring your Bhabhi back before she does something crazy.]

----

A crack of lightning flashed in the distance, followed by a low rumbling thunder as the rain increased in intensity. The water in this lower part of the street was up to Ishita's ankles. Her light green chiffon sari was plastered to her damp skin as she waded over slowly to the last few structures. They were empty. All of the visible belongings had been stored above water level. Inside one of them, the makeshift roof had partially collapsed from the weight of some branches that had fallen. Not a soul was in sight so she moved onto the last structure. This one had large holes in the roof from where thick branches had fallen through inside. Ishita looked around with sadness to see many of the things inside destroyed. It wasn't hard to imagine that it was a small but cozy place for the inhabitants. They would have to start over again.

As she turned around to walk back up the street, she heard a soft scratching noise, like nails on metal. She tried to peer inside from the entrance. The sound appeared to be coming from under a sheet of heavy roofing that was lying over some branches on the ground. Looking at Ishita with large, fearful eyes from a small gap was a tiny orange tabby. It was trying to hang onto the wood just above the water while attempting to squeeze in between the sheets of roofing. Looking at those giant round eyes, Ishita's mind went immediately to Ruhi.

Heistating for a long moment, she scoped out the inside to see if it was safe enough to enter. She would have to be quick but careful not to disturb anything large. She made her way in just far enough to reach the edge of the area where the cat was trapped and began to break some of the thinner branches to make enough room for the little guy to squeeze out. As she did this she heard a loud thud above her. The next few seconds happened in slow motion. Just as she saw the cat escape through the gap she managed to make, the remaining section of the roof in front of her began to slide down because of the new treebranch that had just falled on it. Ishita took her Murugan's name and turned in the direction of the entryway, crouching as her arms went in reflex around her head. As the sound of the roof enveloped the space around her, a singular thought materialized in her mind. Regret that she hadn't told Raman she loved him back on the phone earlier.

In the next millisecond she felt a force grip her shoulders and yank her out with a jerk just as the roof crashed into the ground. Before she could collect herself out of her savior's arms she heard a familiar ringing in her ears.

"Pagal Madrassan!! Kya kar rahi thi andar!" [Crazy Madrassan!!! What were you doing inside!]
Raman was standing in front of her, drenched, his hair and face dripping rain water. Ishita just stared at him, still dazed by the last few moments. He stared back at her in anger waiting for a response.

"Raman...woh ek billi" [Raman...there was a cat]
Instantly Ishita felt like a fool. She thought she would be out in a flash and didn't expect anything like this to happen. Admittedly she took a stupid risk.

"BILLLI!! Yeh sab billi ke liye!!! Kya karoon mein is pagal ke saath. Samaj seva ki bhi haddh hoti hain!"
[A CAT!!! All this for a cat!!! What do I do with this crazy person. Even social service has a limit.]

Even with the rain falling heavily in between them, she could feel the blaze of the rage, love and concern emanating from his eyes. Normally she would yell back, fighting him somehow but she just stared at him for a second while he continued shouting. The idea that the one thing she thought of in that last moment before the crash was not returning his I love you had surprised her. She had always been guarded, private and often shy about her emotions regarding him. Their recent grand confession was supposed to have stopped all that but Ishita had still felt a barrier within herself. She realized now that anything could happen at any moment and she wanted him always to know how much she loved him, in every moment, every day of their lives.

"Ek second ke liye bhi tumhe akela nahi chod sakta kya?! Agar tumhe kuch ho gaya toh! Ruhi toh..."
[Can't I leave you alone for even one second?! What if something happened?! Ruhi would...]

His words were interrupted as Ishita flung herself into his arms, embracing him tightly.
"I love you."
Raman wrapped his arms around her slowly, a little surprised. He was still breathing heavily with the fear that was pounding through him. He shuddered to think what would have happened to her if he had arrived a second later than he did.
"Sorry...sorry I didn't say it earlier." She whispered into his ears.

He withdrew her from himself and looked into her eyes, cupping her cheek.
"Pagal ho lekin I love you too. Please aage se aisi harkat mat karna. Waise bhi meri heartrate bahut tez chalti hai tumhari kaaran. But please don't make it go fast for this kind of reason."
[You're crazy but I love you too. Please don't do anything like this again. My heart anyway beats faster because of you but I don't want it be because of something like this.]

Ishita smiled, her blush hidden in the rain.

"Ab chalo ghar chalna nahi kya" [Okay now, we should get home]

Quickly Ishita explained the situation to him and how she had offered their community hall up as refuge for the night. Raman shook his head in exasperation but knew there was no arguing with his Jhansi Ki Rani. He went with Ishita to help gather everyone together and head over to their complex. Half an hour later everyone had settled into the community hall safe from the storm, trying to dry off. On the way, a local news reporter who was covering the storm for the area happened upon this strange group and followed them, smelling a story.

After letting his family upstairs know what happened Raman had spoken to the building council and the management while Ishita was easing the fears of the few residents who had come out in concern. He dried himself off quickly and came back downstairs with a dry towel for Ishita. She was talking to some people under the stairs still. Although shaking his head on the side, Raman felt a sense of pride. She never failed to surprise him with the size of her heart.

She was still dripping from stepping out of the rain a few minutes ago, her sari plastered to her curves. In all the hubbub, he hadn't noticed her condition till now which wasn't helping his condition. His madrassan apparently was too occupied to care either. Otherwise normally she would have been embarrassed to be walking around like this. As she finished speaking to the group, he walked over to her with mischief in his eyes.

"So lecture se tang aake, raazi ho gaye sab?" [So they got tired of the lecture and agreed?] She rolled her eyes at him as he draped the towel over her shoulders.

"Ab ispe bhi joke. Upar chaliye, kapde change karna hai."
[Joking about this too. Lets go upstairs, we have to change clothes.]

"Haan chalo, main tumhare kapde change karta hoon." [Yes lets go. I'll change your clothes.]
Ishita simply smacked him in response.
"Waise uss billi ka kya hua? Tumhe thank you bhi nahi bola usne"
[By the way, what happened t o the cat. It didn't even bother to thank you.]

They began to walk up together with Raman taking the opportunity to slip his arm around her waist. Just then the reporter who just came out of the community hall accosted them, making them jump apart.

"Sir, Ma'am, please ek quote de dijiye na? Suna aapne hi sab organize ki aur in logon ki itna madat kiya. So kind of you both. Please can you say a few words for the news?"
[Sir, Ma'am, can you give us a quote please? We understand you were the ones who organized all this and helped those people out so much. So kind of you both. Please can you say a few words for the news?]

"Main nahi, meri biwi, Dr. Ishita Bhalla, ne yeh sab kiya."[Not me, my wife, Dr. Ishita Bhalla did all that.] Pride surged within Raman as he looked down at her standing next to him.

"Actually wahan ke dukaandaaron ne hi yeh sab start kiya tha. Maine sirf yeh jagah ki suggestion di thi."
[Actually, the shopkeepers from nearby were the ones who started all this. I just suggested a place.]

Raman chimed in again "Haan bilkul, I hope aapne unse bhi baat ki. Lekin meri patni bahut modest hai. Unke saath Ishita bhi waha bahut kar rahi thi. Aur woh bhi kanjivaram pehen kar!"
[Yes definitely, I hope you've spoken with them already. My wife is being modest though. She was there right along with them, helping everyone. And that too in a kanjivaram saree!]

"Raman yeh kanjivaram nahin hai." [Raman, this isn't a kanjivaram]

"Achcha?" [Oh?] He lifted the corner of the towel to look at her sari underneath. Her eyes locked into his as his hand stilled. Completely forgetting they were in front of a camera, they gazed into each others eyes for a long moment.

The reporter coughed discreetly. Ishita reddened as Raman let go of the towel.

"Ahem...haan toh saree hi toh hain. Isme hi bhaag dor kar rahi thi wahan."
[Ahem...yeah but still a saree right. She was running around in this over there]

The reporter managed to get a few more bites out of them before they made their escape from her and back home.

----

After telling everyone the long story and quieting the kids' excitement about the evening's happenings, Ishita left the hall to get into dry clothes. Raman followed closely behind her as his family settled down for some more games. He closed the door, locking quietly behind himself. She was drying her hair in front of the mirror as he walked over to her.

"To kya kaha tha...below average height, below average brains!" He grabbed her sideways.
[So what were you saying... below average height, below average brains!]

Ishita backed away into the room, laughing. "Nahi Raman. Maine kaha well-below-average brains."
[No Raman. I said well-below average brains]

"Oh really..." He pulled the towel from her hands as they neared the bed.

"Aur kya kaha...chotu Raavan..." [What else were you saying...chotu Raavan...]
He grabbed her into his arms finally. She was still wet, but no longer dripping. Her green sari was just damp now. He held her tightly and backed them towards the bed. Ishita had circled her arms around his neck, fingers playing with his moist hair.

"Nahi, Raavan nahi. Aap toh mere chotu se cute se Ramu honge na?"
[No, not Raavan. You would have been my small, cute Ramu right?]

As she spoke Raman took the towel and gently wiped the wetness off her neck, throat and shoulders, taking his time in some cherished spots rubbing the cloth in a circular motion. They were both entranced by the movements, her following his hand and the sensations the fibers awoke within her and him savoring her every angle and curve. Slowly he used the towel to wipe the pallu off her entirely; her breath quickening at this action. He looked up to capture her eyes and she shivered involuntarily at the desire she saw in his. Using an even slower pace, he journeyed a corner of the towel from the hollow below her throat to her chest and underneath, blowing through a couple of hooks of her blouse as he continued drying her body.

"Chotu Ramu se chotu Raavan hi teekh tha. Waise main dikhadu kitna chotu hai Raavan ab."
[Little Raavan was better than little Ramu. Anyway, shall I show you how small Raavan is now.]

Ishita blushed deeply as he pressed himself closer to her still. Her legs were up against the bed frame, with no where to go and she felt the truth of his assertion.

"Ramann, sab neeche games khel rahe hain. Humein bhi jaanna chahiye."
[Ramann, everyone is playing games downstairs. We should also go down.]

"Humein kapde badalne the na? Unhe games khelne do, hum bhi khelenge thodi der"
[We have to change our clothes right? Let them play their game, we'll also play for a bit]

With those words, he took her mouth in a searing kiss that made her forget everything else.

Originally posted by: peace..