Chapter 24

Mitali Jain

The temperature in the room had still been chilly as even after a few seconds turning into minutes I had not spoken a word. As my eyes took in Jai, waiting eagerly for an answer his legs perhaps aching a bit due to that awkward position, I let out a chuckle and finally opened my mouth, took in a deep breath and said,

'Yes!'

Moments it were, just a few moments and as if hell had broken loose when everyone began cheering, Vansh and Vanshika began dancing, my mom and Jai's began to yap around as from the corner of my eyes I saw Naveen walking off to the balcony.

And this person says he hates me!

I shook my head at his actions and then turned towards a very smiling Jai. The two of us were about to hug each other, when Vansh jumped in screaming loud congratulations.

And it was then the whole series of congratulations began to fall in. my parents seemed quite happy, my mom had that look in her eyes that screamed out so many emotions just at that one moment. Somewhere it made me wonder was it possible for someone to be as happy as she was at that moment?

May be I would never know about it till the time I would be where my mom was today.

"I was scared for a moment that you wouldn't say yes." Jai whispered in my ears. His words made me smile unknowingly.

"For a moment even I thought about it, but then I realized your need, you won't get as great person as me anywhere else... right?"

"Why is it that you always have to be this cocky?"

"I wish Daksh would have been here, he would have answered that for you very well... much better than even I would." At the mention of Daksh's name, I could see the way he scowled a bit. It might somewhere seem weird how I would notice even the minute changes in his features, at certain points it made me wonder how long do I have to look at his face to notice this, or did he really knew this weird thing about me?

"It would have had been great if Daksh, Shakti, Rey and Veer would have as well been here... but, where is Naveen?" the two of us parted from the close proximity in which we were standing as Jai looked around for Naveen. And it was as he mentioned about this so called brother of mine did I recalled the way he had sneaked out from here.

"I know where he is, just give me a few minutes, I will be back." With a quick peck on his cheeks, I walked out towards the balcony.

****

The balcony though had been our solace, a place where mostly I would seek comfort, for Naveen it was a complete different thing. He would always end up here, during the times when he would be happy and in mood to celebrate, or the other times when he would be so nervous to even look into his own eyes, or the times when he would be tense, or the times when he would just be him.

A difficult person to understand.

And hence, it had always been difficult for me or any one of us to realize, how is it, that we should approach him?

Though the summers had begun to approach us, it was difficult to say the weather was ready to keep its pace with what we wanted from it. The way the mornings were warm and humid, the nights were turning out to be chilly.

And Naveen, he had stood there, by the railing, my blanket wrapped around him completely as he looked upon the kids as they continued to bid their byes. A few held their skate boards, the others had their fancy equipment's whose name I couldn't recall, while a few looked at their filled hands with envy.

"our times were better, the only worries that we ever had were the number of times we would be able to come down here to play during vacations, was there even a hour to play during the exams and what new twists we could have in our hide and seek.... And you are using my blanket."

There was a deep silence I stood there beside him. It made me wonder what was it that was going on in his mind?

It were times like this that made me wonder if I really knew my brother that well. He seemed so foreign, aloof and a complete new person.

Was it true that somewhere I expressed myself more than what my brother did?

"I didn't knew that Jai would take this step this soon," he walked towards me and wrapped me up in the blanket, though it was quite small for the two of us, the purpose was served. I was safe, hidden from all the dangers out there.

"It seemed as if you guys are going too quickly for my liking."

"You don't want this nuptial to be commenced?" I asked.

"that sounds quite formal Mitali, all I am saying is that, it seems as if it was just yesterday that mom would stand here and scold us to not scream loudly else Buddha Mama would come and take us away during the nights, or the times when she would nag about how snakes would crawl into our beds if we would blow whistles after 7 in the evening."

"this all seems so delusional that the time has moved on so quickly that there is this idiot friend of mine, proposing to you, and you even said yes... you two are so in love, and somewhere it makes me wonder when did this happen? You were just that 8 year old who would jump in my bed because the sparkling stars in your room won't shine as bright as they would in mine."

The two of us let out a chuckle, but with it, I could feel this tight knot that was stuck right there into my throat.

Naveen was right, time had moved on so quickly and with that so had we, but then we didn't even bothered to stop for a moment, sit back and catch up on what all that had happened.

"We just grew up Bhai, we grew up and didn't bothered to see if we were okay with it."

"Do you still wish that you would grow up at the speed of cheetah?" Naveen asked as he planted a kiss on my head.

"That wish died the day I realized I will have to give a board exam, but on a serious note Bhai, do you think I and Jai are going too soon?" I asked, my words came out so confidently but I was scared... I was scared that, what if he really said that yes we were going to quick? What was I to do then?

"If you would ask your Bhai, he will always say yes, but if you ask Naveen, he will say its perfect time. If you are scared of that very question coming out to be true and wondering what would you do, but then if you know what is it to be done while going ahead with this next step in your relation than nothing is wrong."

Naveen made me look at him and said, "Mitali soon dad will be asking this, but I want to know, do you know what this would cost you?"

His question had left me flabbergasted. It had been years that anyone had asked me this. What was this next big step that I was going to take going to cost me... did I know just yet what it was, or was it that I never had given much thought to it.

Many would just go by the myth that young love didn't had thoughts, it would just live by and die with time. But with Jai, I had everything running in my mind, my subconscious questioning me day in and day out... what if something went wrong?

What would it cost me then?

"Naveen, is it really necessary?" I asked.

"It is," he stated. Without any second thoughts. And because I knew what this meant to me, him and dad, I answered.

"I will lose everything. But more than that I am scared of losing jai."

And the way my brother gave that sadistic smile of his, I knew our decision was right, we haven't done anything wrong.

It was a proven fact. I am a human, a human who was scared of losing something, a human who knew what something meant to me, and if I were to lose it, I was ready to go to any measures to save it... to be with it till the time were to come to an end.

*****

As the two of us walked back into the leaving room, we were quite shocked at the way the events had turned out to be. The small party that was organised for me had somewhere got vanished, as Vansh and Vanshika sat on the floor, by the sofa with laptops in their hands, our dads seated on the chair with a glass of whiskey in their hands talking about god knew what, while our moms had a completely different scenario for us.

I looked at Naveen with my eyebrows raised as if to ask him what he had to say about him, to which he just let out a chuckle and bent a bit down and whispered in my ears,

"I can bet all my earnings that by tomorrow morning that irritating aunty with whom you tease me, she will be here banging her chest as to what a great nuisance mom has done with her by not informing her that you are getting married."

"But Jai proposed me just an hour ago?" I said.

"The way things are going on here, you might get married by tomorrow morning."'

It surely had to be the ghost like face of mine that made him laugh like a beast. I could actually feel it as well, for how absorbed it was to even think that my family would go to this extent.

But then they can surely do that as well.

I quickly left my brother to suffer for anything that might stop him laugh, towards my mother who seemed to have been busy in a serious discussion with Jai's mom and Dadi.

"In our times, these things were done by the elders, but anyways, we love Mitali a lot... now all I want to get that guest list prepared so that the other arrangements can be done." Dadi said as she smiled at me. I returned the same, and was about to speak, but my mom beaten me at that.

"We don't have much family, it's just my aunt and Mitali's dad's aunt who had taken care of us and a few our business associates. Not many people are there that we know and meet."

"no its fine, as it is what the use of having huge families, now look at ours only, we have so many relatives, but now a days for us as well, it's the funerals that have become an occasions for family get together." Jai's mom said as she looked at dadi as if to confirm it. The old lady nodded her head and said,

"Right, calls are made asking who is going and who isn't, and if someone whom you are close to is there, the way you dress is different, and the worst is the way people show off even during the funerals. It's been a while that we had a wedding in our family, I can't even imagine how the weddings are done, during Our eldest daughter's wedding, it was more of a fashion show over something as good and pure as getting two individuals married."

The ladies mourned over the unfairness that the society showed towards each other as a deep silence engulfed the whole room. Once again I was about to say something, when Jai walked into the leaving room from Naveen, as the later followed him behind.

The way he looked at me, his eyes a bit unsure and shoulders stiff didn't gave me a good feeling.

I was about to ask what was wrong when Dad beaten me to it once again, making me wonder why was it that none was letting me speak? But what Jai said made me go utterly speechless.

"Mitali, I just got a call from Veer, it's about Shakti."

He waited for me to say something and even though everyone was waiting for me to speak something this time, I couldn't. I was scared, my heart was beating so loudly, hence I just nodded my head and waited for him to deliver the message.

"Shakti's Dad died this evening, it was an accident."

Hello Everyone , 

Belated Happy diwali. 

there is a small issue with my P.C because of which i was not able to post last week, i dont know when i will be posting the next chapter, as the rest of the chapters already framed and written, i dont want to spoil the flow, i had to rewrite this chapter and i  tried my best to keep it in and around all the stuff that i had previously written, this chapter is good, as compared to the previous one, but i liked it the way i had ended the earlier one better than this. 

any which ways, i am trying my best to get that old p.c of mine to be replaced and retrieve all the chapters safely. till then you all can enjoy this chapter, tell me how is it that you liked it. and as i was suggested by a our new fellow reader, i am collecting the pictures of the paintings. 

so you all can have a small idea about it, the painting will be added up in the respetive chapters within a week, so do tell me what you all think about it as well. 

thank you 

Happy reading 

Yadni Bagwe. 

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