Chapter 34 - Frozen hearts..will they melt by Deepti
Chapter 34
“Ahhhh”, came the shrill from two souls at the same time which reached the ears of Arnav, who was just about to enter his room to get ready for the event.
He stopped in his tracks and looked over to see what happened downstairs, leaning onto the railing and found Devyani and Kushi rubbing their foreheads. He was able to see only his Dhadhi’s face as Kushi was standing right opposite her, with her back facing towards him.
“Sorry Dhadhi!!! I didn’t see you…was looking at those flowers…did you get hurt???”, inquired Kushi, who banged her head on Devyani’s.
“No Kushi….not that much”, replied Devyani , rubbing her forehead.
“Does she ever use her eyes?“, wondered Arnav looking at Kushi’s long lustrous hair which she left open.
He shook his head hopelessly and took a step towards his room when he heard his Dhadhi say, ” Look at you!!”
Stopping in his tracks, Arnav turned around and looked in the direction of the duo.
“Come closer! Let me have a clear look”, continued Devyani as she caught Kushi by her shoulders and turned her around, observing her from head to toe.
Since the women now swapped their places, Arnav got a better view of Kushi who was looking fabulous in her peacock-blue and green combination dress.Though he couldn’t make out what she did to her face from the distance where he was standing, he liked what he saw, a ravishing peacock.
He felt like thanking his Dhadhi for bringing her into his view but little did he know that his Dhadhi did everything on purpose so that he could see what he was missing.
He was staring at Kushi when he heard his Dhadhi say, ” You look just like a peacock in this dress! And look at your bangles!! They are lovely and a perfect match for your dress”, complimenting Kushi.
As Kushi moved her hands, making the bangles tinkle, a faint smiled danced on his lips, seeing the way her eye’s sparkled as she displayed her bangles.
“But what is this??? Why is your neck bare?? Why aren’t you wearing anything”, asked Devyani looking at Kushi’s neck.
“What to do Dhadhi… I didn’t find anything which would match these”, said Kushi tapping her fingers on the heart shaped ear rings.
“Wow!! They are so beautiful”, said Devyani, looking keenly at the ear rings.
“Aren’t they!! That’s the reason I didn’t feel like changing them”, replied Khushi.
“But, your neck” Devyani was interrupted by Kushi who said, “It’s okay Dhadhi! People will take it for some trend, wearing big ear rings and leaving the neck bare!!!!”
“What say??”, she added throwing a wink at Devyani and left from there as she heard her mother call out her name.
Devyani turned around to check on her grandson and found him lost in a deep thought with a frown on his face. But the next moment he rushed into his room as if he has to take care of some unfinished business. Sensing that something was going on in his head, Devyani walked towards the stairs, to witness what he was up to.
Once he entered his room, Arnav opened his ward robe and pulled out the blue velvet box out. He ran his fingers on the heart shaped diamond pendant, thinking about the day he bought it.
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It was his last day in London and he was busy shopping gifts for his family. He went to a jewelry store to get something for his mother, where his eyes fell on a sparkling heart shaped pendant. The store keeper noticed his interest in that chain and said, “That’s a magnificent piece Sir….will be perfect for that someone special in your life”.
He felt like saying that there was no one like that but since he was not of the types who would open up in front of any random person, he preferred to ignore the remark. As he stared at the pendant, a strong desire to buy it rose in him. But not understanding to whom he could gift that, he diverted his attention away from it. He finally selected two bangle modeled bracelets for his mother and Sakshi and got them gift wrapped.
But as he was paying at the counter the pendant once again drew his attention. And this time when his eyes landed on the sparkling jewel, he decided to buy it and said ,” I will take it.”
” Your lady love will love it for sure”, remarked the store keeper as he handed the blue velvet box which had the necklace placed inside it, to Arnav.
“For her to love it, firstly I need to find HER “, thought Arnav as he left the store.
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When he came back to India, he kept it safely in his cupboard and locked it there as it was not something which he bought for someone in particular. But somewhere he knew that he was saving it for that someone special.
But now, when he saw Kushi with those diamond ear rings and a bare neck he somehow felt that the necklace finally found it’s owner. He was running his finger on it, imagining Kushi wearing it when he heard his Dhadhi’s voice, “Arnav!!”.
He jerked with that call, closed the box and tried to shove it inside the wardrobe. But since he was too late in doing that, Devyani got a glimpse of the box. ” What are you trying to hide from me? I would like to have a look at it”, she asked, extending her hand towards him.
Having no other option Arnav gave it to her.
” It’s beautiful…whose is it??”, inquired Devyani.
“No ones”, replied Arnav with a shrug as he kept staring at the pendant.
“What do you mean by NO ONES??”, questioned Devyani.
“I found this in Lodon and bought it since I liked it. But it’s not for anyone in particular”, he answered.
“Hmmmm… Understood. But what will you do with it? Don’t tell me you will keep it in the cupboard and wear it at some point of time, said Devyani teasing him.
“Dhadhi..”, said Arnav widening his eyes.
“Can I have it, Arnav”, asked Devyani out of the blue, ignoring his looks.
Arnav who didn’t expect his Dhadhi to be interested in something like that diamond pendant at such an old age , was thoroughly shocked hearing her words.
“Dhadhi….WILL YOU WEAR IT????”, he asked looking incredulously at her.
“Is it my age to wear heart shaped pendants????”, countered Devyani.
As Arnav shook his head, ” Oh! So you think I’m too old for it. Don’t you?”, she asked putting him in a fix.
As Arnav looked back at her blankly, ” It’s not for me”, said Devyani, clearing his confusion.
“Then for whom???”, he asked instantly
“For Kushi”, replied Devyani.
“KUSHI????”, uttered Arnav, as various thoughts crossed his head in that fleeting second.
“Ya Arnav….this will be a perfect match for her ear rings and the dress she is wearing today. Why to keep it locked up in the cupboard when Kushi can make a good use of it. Shall I give it to her”, asked Devyani.
Though he wanted to say a quick YES, his big fat ego held him back.
“What do you say Arnav”, asked Devyani, looking at him who was lost in a thought.
” She can have it Dhadhi, but…….”, he paused thinking about how to frame the main words.
“Don’t worry, I’ll ask her to return it back to you at the end of the day”, said Devyani thinking that he wanted it back.
Arnav jerked hearing her suggestion and said, ” No no, I don’t want it back. She can keep it forever. That’s not an issue.”
“Then what is it Arnav?”, asked Devyani looking at him, trying to read his mind.
Searching for words, he said, “I….I.. I don’t want her to know…that..”.
“That you bought this from London????”, said Devyani completing the sentence for him.
Though he had no idea how his Dhadhi read his mind, he agreed with her nodding his head.
“Don’t worry about that. I will tell her that I bought it for her”, said Devyani.
“Not only to her but to everyone else too. Will that do?”, she added, for which she got a nod in response.
“Let this be just between us…no one needs to know about it”, she said while leaving his room with the blue velvet box.
“Sure Dhadhi”, replied Arnav. And once she was out of his sight he thanked her whole heartedly for making everything so simple for him. Closing the door, he rushed inside to get ready, as he now wanted to see the pendant adorn the peacocks’s neck.
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Devyani went in search of Kushi but it took her a while to track her down since the house was fast getting filled with guests. On spotting her receiving the guests, Devyani called her aside.
“What is it ,Dhadhi”, asked replied Kushi as she approached Devyani.
“I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes and turn around?”, ordered Devyani, who hid the necklace behind her.
Kushi got excited hearing the word ‘surprise’ and followed the orders obediently without uttering a word.
Once she was done clasping the necklace, which was now on Kushi , Devyani grabbed Kushi’s hand and took her near a mirror. Making her stand right in front of it, she asked her to open her eyes.
As Kushi parted her eyelids, her eyes landed on the jewel which adorned her neck. A heart-shaped faceted deep sapphire which was surrounded by a halo of sparkling diamonds.
“WOW!!! Dhadhi, it’s BEAUTIFUL”, squeaked Kushi in excitement feeling the pendent with the tip of her fingers.
“Do you like it?”, asked Devyani looking fondly at Kushi.
“LIKE IT!! I just LOVE IT Dhadhi….it’s super “, shouted Kushi.
“I’m glad that you liked it”, said Devyani.
Kushi smiled in response and asked, ” But where did you get this from?”, checking herself in the mirror.
“I bought it few days ago but totally forgot about it. This memory of mine is fast deteriorating, not that I complain. But when I saw your earrings I realized that I have something which would match with them and rummaged my room to get my hands on it. And guess what? I found it and here it is, finally in the right place”, said Devyani, cooking up a story though the last words were something which she meant in all senses.
“So is this mine?”, asked Kushi with sparkling eyes.
“Of course!!”, replied Devyani.
“Ooooo Dhadhi !! You are the best and I just love you!!”, said Kushi as she hugged Devyani and placed a kiss on her right cheek.
The duo was so involved in their conversation that they weren’t aware of the silent spectator, whose chocolate-brown eyes have been watching them all the while.
And when Kushi kissed Devyani, the owner of those eyes couldn’t help but wonder, “What if I was the one who gave it to her directly? Would she still do the same which she just did now?”
And that mere thought curled his lips.
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