Chapter 53-Frozen hearts..will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 53

“Kushi! Do you know what just happened??”, asked Anjali as she buzzed into Kushi’s room like a hurricane just when Kushi completed eating her apple and was discarding the waste into the trash can.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, “What happened Di???”, questioned Kushi,  seeing the excitement which was clearly evident on Anjali’s face.

“Arnav gave a good lecture to everyone and guess what, your parents are almost convinced to send you to London” said Anjali sharing the news to Kushi.

“Seriously, Di!! I can’t believe it. What made them change their mind”, inquired Kushi sitting on her knees.

“My brother and his awesome presentation”, replied Anjali proudly, throwing her hands in the air.

“Your brother??Presentation?? About what?”, asked a confused Kushi.

“About the college where you want to study”, replied Anjali taking a seat next to Kushi. She further gave a detailed explanation about what just happened in the home theater room and by the time Anjali was done, Kushi was all surprised. She couldn’t believe that he had spent so much time to make a presentation for her sake and tried his best to convince everyone.

“My brother does know how to deal with people. No wonder he is flourishing well in business. I’m so proud of him. You missed the show, Kushi”, concluded Anjali and Kushi was sure that she did miss a great show. She was imagining him, in his business suit, addressing the family, showing something on the projector, when the entire clan came to her room one after the other.

“I’m so sorry for behaving like that ,Kushi. My eyes were so blinded that I didn’t want to see where your true happiness lied. I was just being a selfish mother. Forgive me for that, my girl”, said Sakshi who came to Kushi and took her face into her hands.

“Maa, please don’t say like that”, replied Kushi who couldn’t hear an apology from her mother.

“No Kushi. I knew that I wasn’t being fair, yet I didn’t even want to think about it. What to do… I was scared with the very thought of sending you away. Wanted to keep you with me forever though I knew that it’s not possible. I forgot that you too have a life and would like to lead it your way”, continued Sakshi.

“But we realized that its high time that we let our little bird  flap her wings and fly high. We want to put our fears aside and let you experience what you want to, Kushi.”, said Shashi, joining his wife.

“Yes, Kushi. We don’t want to stand in the way of your dreams. Go lead your life the way you want to. We won’t stop you”, said Sakshi who was all teary.

“If it was just leading my life the way I wanted to, I would have done that even without your knowledge, Maa. But that is not what I wanted. I wanted everyone’s consent because you all are my strength and support. Had I known that you people are not okay with sending me abroad, I wouldn’t have even filled the application. I thought  you all would support me”, paused Kushi and she couldn’t speak further though she was elated to know that her family finally got convinced to stand by her decision.

“And we let you down. Sorry girl”, said Shashi placing his hand on Kushi’s head.

“Babuji, you don’t have to apologize for it. I knew, sooner or later you all would come around”, replied Kushi between her sobs.

“Seriously? Then who was the one who was crying in the morning saying that nothing is going to be alright?’, questioned Anjali, mimicking Kushi’s voice, to lighten the atmosphere.

“Di, you don’t have to pull my leg. I was little emotional in the morning. Okay!”, retorted Kushi, sniffing her nose.

“Ya right. Little. Seeing your tears I was sure that we don’t need water supply for a day”, teased Anjali for which Kushi threw a pillow at her.

” I shouldn’t have made you cry. It’s all my fault”, said Sakshi feeling guilty about her behavior.

“Look at the bright side, Maa. Now, I came to know how much you love me. Didn’t I”, asked Kushi throwing a wink at her mother.

“Silly girl. You  must be starving. I will fix a good meal for you.Now wash your face and step out of your kingdom”, said Sakshi as she gave way for Kushi to get off  the bed.

“Ya Maa. I was really starving. I would have fainted by now had he not”, Kushi paused midway looking at the confused faces which were waiting for her to complete the sentence.

“Nothing. You people move on. I will join shortly”, she blurted and dashed towards the bathroom to escape any further inquiry.

After few minutes everyone assembled at the dining table to have an early dinner and by the time Arnav came downstairs, the girl of his interest was almost half done with her dinner. Looking at girl who was stuffing her mouth amid talking animatedly to Anjali, Arnav stool still near the foot of the stairs. It was the spark in her eyes and the happiness on her face which didn’t let him move forward. He felt content watching her like that and was glad to bring her smile back on her face. A strange feeling filled him up and though he didn’t eat anything since morning, he felt full with the very sight in front of him. He felt at peace and left a deep sigh of relief and that’s when his mother noticed him and called him to join the rest.

As he took a seat opposite to her, their eyes met and Kushi instantly opened her mouth to talk to him. But as she realized that they weren’t alone she shut it up and acted as if she had no such plans. At least for now. And this didn’t go unnoticed by Arnav.

Dinner was done but Kushi never got an opportunity to talk to him in private. And since he has to cross her room to enter into his, she thought that waiting for him upstairs would be a much better idea. She went to her room and waited near the door step hoping that he would come soon. And fidgeting with her dupatta she was thinking about how should she start the conversation when she saw him coming up the stairs. As Arnav lifted his head he saw her wearing a gentle smile on her face. But before he could reciprocate it, the smile faded away from her face and she looked disappointed.

“What are you doing standing there?”, Devyani’s voice from behind, made Arnav turn around and when he noticed that his grandmother was following him up the stairs, he came down few stairs and helped her to ascend the stairs.

“Was waiting to see who would pass this way”, Kushi muttered scratching her forehead and then said, “Nothing, Dadhi. Was just standing. Can’t I?”

“Of course you can”, replied Devyani breathing heavily as she climbed each step.

“What are you doing, Dhadhi? Why are you taking the trouble of climbing all these stairs right after dinner”, inquired Kushi on noticing Devyani’s state.

“I wanted to spend some time with my grandson. Hope you don’t mind”, teased Devyani as she ascended the last stair, hearing which Kushi jerked and said, “Why would I mind”, as her eyes grew wide in her face.

“By the look on your face when you spotted me on the stairs, I felt that you were highly disappointed to see me here. So just wanted to check if I ruined any of your plans”, responded Devyani as she watched Kushi pretty keenly.

Scolding herself for being so obvious,  “Nothing like that, Dhadhi”, replied Kushi giving way to the duo to walk past her.

Though he was amused to see Kushi’s uneasiness, turning his attention towards his grandmother, ” You shouldn’t have taken the trouble, Dhadhi. I would have come to your room had I known that you wanted to talk to me”, said Arnav.

“Don’t worry. I’m not that old to not make up these few stairs. Let’s sit in your room and chat”, said Devyani as she took the lead and entered into Arnav’s room. And though he somehow knew that Kushi had been waiting for him,  since he didn’t have an option, Arnav followed Devyani and went into his room after he gave one final glance to Kushi, who seemed to be lost elsewhere.

“Of all the times, does Dhadhi need to talk to  him NOW, when I want to talk to him so badly”, muttered Kushi as she went back into her room and closed the door.

“Should I wait for Dhadhi to leave?”, she thought but as her previous experiences with him in his room came back to her she thought that it’s a very bad idea to enter the lion’s den. She fell flat on her bed and blushed profusely as memories of his close proximity filled her head. “But I need to talk to him. How? May be tomorrow morning?“, she thought and then came up with a solid plan. ” This will work”, she said as she hugged her teddy and closed her eyes waiting for the next morning to arrive as soon as it could.

Unaware of the conversation that was taking place in the next room while Kushi was dozing off into a sweet sleep, Arnav was trying his best to convince his grandmother that she had got it all wrong.It all started with the elder woman appreciating him for convincing everyone.

“I did nothing, Dhadhi. Just kept the facts in front of them”, came the modest reply from Arnav.

“But still.. the way you did it was quite impressive. You made us realize how foolish our thoughts were and helped us to think and  look at the issue from Kushi’s perspective”,  Devyani tried to explain while Arnav preferred to remain silent.

“I was happy to see you support her. You do care for her. Don’t you?”, she asked finally and Arnav understood that his grandmother came to him with a purpose.

“Why do I have a feeling that you have developed a liking for her?”, she asked him straight on his face, watching him closely and this took him by surprise.

“There is nothing of that sought, Dhadhi.”, he finally replied as his silence would make his grandmother think otherwise. Though Devyani was disappointed to hear his answer, without giving up her hope, ” Then why did you take her side when all of us were against her decision?”, she questioned him.

How can he express what churned inside his heart  when he saw tears in those hazel brown eyes? How can he tell how disturbed he was throughout the day knowing that she wasn’t happy at all. How can he put into words what he underwent when he came to know that she locked herself in her room.How could he say anything to his grandmother when he himself was not clear about what was happening to him.  

Buried in his very own thoughts while Arnav paced in the room , ” Answer me, Arnav. Since childhood I never saw you taking her side. Then why now? All of a sudden?”,questioned Devyani.

“I think you have special feelings for her”, declared the elder lady when Arnav preferred to stay mum and hearing her declaration Arnav had to speak up. He can postpone his self-analysis to a later time but putting a break to his grandmother’s thoughts seemed to be more important to him at that moment. How can he let her come to a conclusion when he still isn’t there.

“Come on, Dhadhi. Had Rishi been in the same spot, I would have done the same. Will that mean  I have special feelings for Rishi too? The issue here was related to someone’s higher studies,Dhadhi. And you do know what importance I give to it. That was the only reason for which I stood by her. Nothing else. You please stop dreaming”, said Arnav , hearing which Devyani was highly disappointed. She stared at him for few moments and though he was opening denying her statement, she somewhere knew that,  that was not the case.

” Okay! I will. If you say so”, she said raising from the chair to take leave and when  Arnav escorted her out of the room, ” May be I was just dreaming. But to be honest, I do want my dream to come true”, she said before walking away from the door step.

He stood still watching his grandmother disappear down the stairs and once she was completely out of sight, he sighed and closed the door softly. He walked towards his bed and sat on it as he became blank for a moment. Lying on the bed, he stared at the ceiling recollecting the conversation which he just had. Though he didn’t let his guards down in front of his grand mother, now in the privacy of his room, he didn’t feel like he had to fake anything. He knew that he liked Kushi but now he understood that his liking was not just due to some physical attraction. He felt he was emotionally connected to her and the day’s events highly proved that to him.

“Yes, Dhadhi. I do have some special feelings for her.If not, anything related to her wouldn’t affect me to this extent. You are right”, he confessed to the thin air and dozed off, thinking about his latest discovery.

**************************************************************************

The next morning, as per her plan, Kushi got ready and made an early appearance in the living room hoping to find him there. But since there was no trace of him anywhere around, she got her coffee from the kitchen and sat in the living room, turning the pages of the boring newspaper. She checked the time and muttered, “It’s 8.30 already. Why is he taking forever. Or did he leave already”.

“What the news, Kushi’s”, asked Devyani putting a break to Kushi’s thoughts, taking a seat next to Kushi.

“Me, waiting for your grandson. That should be in the headlines of today’s paper”, she muttered and said, “Nothing special,Dhadhi. Just the regular stuff…politics,  strikes, rise in prices, accidents etc “, as she folded the paper and placed it on the center table.

Soon Anjali joined them and when the trio were talking some mundane stuff, Kushi’s eyes fell on the man who was descending down the stairs with his laptop bag in his hand.

“There he comes!”, she muttered and turning to the duo, ” Come, Let’s have breakfast”, she said, taking the lead towards the dining room.She went and joined him at the table but  neither looked at him nor tried to interact with him during the entire breakfast session. It was only when he vacated his seat announcing that he was leaving for work, ” Can you give me a ride?I have some work on your way to work”, said Kushi, shocking almost everyone at the table.

Giving a quick glance to the shocked faces,  ” Yeah, sure”, responded Arnav with a shrug.

“Let me get my bag. I will be right back”, replied Kushi, dashing towards the stairs.

“The last time I asked her to take a ride from Arnav, she just walked away  and now, she is asking for a ride all by herself? This girl never stops surprising me”, mumbled Sakshi, who was clearing up the dining table and the duo who were happy to witness this development exchanged a smile without anyone’s notice.

Kushi came back in no time and when the duo stepped out of the house, ” Isn’t that a good progress”, asked Devyani staring at their disappearing backs, addressing Anjali.

“Of course, it is”, replied Anjali giving a high-five to her grandmother.

*************************************************************

Once the car was out of their gates, while his eyes were glued to the road ahead, Kushi’s were directed in all directions except for his. She was fidgeting with her dupatta, rehearsing the various ways she could open a conversation with him, when she heard him say, ” Why don’t you just say it?”.

Hearing this when she jerked and looked at him in surprise, he gave her a glance and shifted his focus back to the road.

“How did you know?”, she couldn’t help but ask.

“Anyone would know, had they noticed the way you were behaving since yesterday. You want to say something to me yet you don’t want to say it in front of others. Am I right”, he asked calmly.

“Hmm”, she responded nodding her head.

“I know that you chose this ride to talk to me. Then why the delay? Speak out. I’m listening”, he said encouraging her to talk.

“Actually”, she said and paused tucking a strand of hair behind her right ear and he waited patiently giving her time to frame her words.

“Thank you so much”, she finally managed to say and then looked at him.

“For what?”, he asked pretty casually without looking at her.

“For convincing everyone for my sake. Actually, not just for that but for everything you have done for me so far. For helping me in that Abhay’s matter, for taking part in the fashion show”, she was going on and on when he interrupted her saying, ” You don’t have to thank me for the former part since I did nothing there except for stating the facts to everyone. And coming to the latter part, you have already thanked me enough for that. So you don’t have to say it again”.

“Me??? When?”, she asked puzzled, not understanding what he was referring to.

“In the note which you sent me with THIS”, he replied coolly, showing his wrist  watch to her.

“He knew it. He knew it was her all the while yet he didn’t let..”, her thoughts got interrupted when she heard him say, ” You know something. There is this girl who”.

“Who??”, she prompted him to continue, without masking her curiosity.

“Who said that she would never thank me. At least not in this life”, he said repeating the words which she once said to him.

As a  flashback of Arnav pinning her to the car came back to her memory she blushed recollecting how tensed she was when he brought his face so close to hers.

“Did it ring a bell?’, he teased for which she preferred to remain silent.

“Why are you so mum now? Don’t have an answer?”, he said with a smirk on his face.

She gaped at him and seeing the look on his face she realized that he was indeed teasing her.

“It’s not possible to stick to some words when circumstances and people change”, she replied finally looking at her finger nails.

“Oh! So you mean to say you changed?”, he asked

“I was talking about you”, she instantly replied.

“Do you think I changed?”, he asked arching his eyebrows.

“May be!”, she replied with a shrug, without looking at him.

He laughed as if he heard a joke and said, ” I didn’t, Kushi. I have been always the same”, though he wanted to say,” Yes quite a few things have changed”

There was certain depth in his voice when he spoke that but before she could analyze what it was, they reached the place where she needs to get down.

“Can you stop the car near that red building. I will get down there”, she told him showing the building to him.

He nodded and stopped the car where she wanted him to and as she got down the car he stared at the building. ” I need to drop some documents here. They are related to my visa. Will drop them and go home. Shouldn’t take long”, she told him as if she read what was going on in his head and owed him some explanation.

He gave her a slight nod and as his mobile buzzed at that moment, he took the call and realizing that he was getting late for a meeting, shifting the gear, he raced the car leaving a startled Kushi behind.

“So true. You haven’t changed at all. Didn’t even care to say a bye. Grumpy fellow”, she said looking at his disappearing car and blew the fringe on her face.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016