"I- I am... s-sorry!" She stuttered, "I didn't mean to intervene...I- I" She took a quick glance at him and noticed him gracefully changing his posture to normal. Eyes still trained on her. She felt beyond embarrassed. She should've just knocked before entering right through the door. Her eyes went downcast again as she hurriedly added, "Tiyasha gave me this envelope to give to you. I- I will just leave after giving this." Please don't be mad!

The last sentence she did not verbalize and prayed he'd just let her go without creating a scene. She lifted her eyelashes and saw him approaching her way. She suddenly felt trapped, and it didn't make any sense. She couldn't even meet his eyes and was already intimidated by him. It was absolutely unlikely of her.

A moment later he came and stood right before her, within an arm's reach. Her heartbeat quickened when he extended his hand towards her and held his open palm in front of her. Her eyes instinctively found their way up as she stared into his dark brown- almost black eyes, beautifully shining in their sockets. She was intrigued by the depth his eyes held. They looked mystic and one of a kind. Her gaze wavered a little when it shifted to his left brow. The cut must have been deep to leave his eyebrow split in half like that. She slowly placed the envelope in his hand. He blinked and quickly glanced at the envelope before his eyes traced back to her face. He said nothing, even showed no signs of annoyance, just stared at her quietly.

Shreya didn't know whether she should start a small talk or just leave. She hesitated, then murmured, "Okay. I- I should... leave now."

AR didn't respond but folded his arms against his chest, his eyes were focused on her but they looked nothing but indifferent.

She gulped, then took a few steps back until she was outside the door, then without looking back, she turned and left his room in one quick breath.

She didn't understand why she wanted to stay. He didn't even exchange a single word with her, but she wanted him to talk to her, and she didn't have any clue why.

She groaned at her nonsense thoughts. She must be wearing out from overtime.

~~~

Emotional needs and unfulfillment of the same. According to Maslow's theory, physical needs are the primary concern which makes you stay alive. Major portion of the people stay focused on their physical needs, say eating, sleeping and reproduction. It's just the way of surviving instead of living. But not all get satiated by these primary needs. Some souls crave more because they want to live instead of just survive. They want to serve the universe along with their own inner world.

Emotions are often overlooked because they don't serve the primary purpose of being alive. However, unfulfillment of emotional needs can destroy a person's inner self. It hits on the very base of life. Unfulfillment of emotional needs makes a person lonely. To meet a prolific inner life, a human being is bound to have an inner life where their emotional, mental, and spiritual needs are fulfilled. Lacking these, it's just an empty feeling which is comparable to 'something is always missing'.

"I told you many times, that I'm not going to Guwahati. Why are you postponing your journey for me?" Shreya cried out.

Trishna was now getting on her nerves. She kept on insisting that she should leave the job and go with them, which Shreya would never do until she had some self-esteem. She'd keep on fighting until she couldn't anymore.

"Because I want you to come with us."

"For heaven's sake, Maa, I am an adult and I have the full rights to make decisions about my life."

Trishna scowled. "Shreya! I'm telling you, you'll regret this. I want to marry you to a good husband. If you keep spending nights after nights in an unknown household, who'd even marry you?"

Shreya rolled her eyes. "Oh Maa! Stop being orthodox. Time is changing. Anyone who's updated to today's lifestyle and is discerning enough won't have problems with my profession."

Trishna was literally fuming now. "What is your problem if you do the job Rajesh Mama has found for you? It's nice enough, has good pay and is 9 to 5. You'll have a lot of freedom and time for your family after work. You'll be able to maintain your family's needs freely and keep on working."

"Maa!" Shreya exclaimed, "That is exactly what I do not want. I don't go by society's norms. Besides, it's not my job to maintain my family's needs all by myself. Don't be a sexist. Marriage doesn't mean I have to do the house chores. The one who's good with the type of job would do the job. It's just not my responsibility to cook and clean." She threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You're going out of hands!" Trishna matched her tone equally aggressively.

"Okay, fine! But now I need to leave. I don't want to be late for my work." She hurriedly picked up her bag and rushed towards the door. As she exited the door, she heard Trishna shouting at her from inside, "Mark my words, you inconsiderate girl! You'll regret this!"

As she got out of her house and started walking down the cobbled alley, she noticed someone waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in an undertone, looking around for any other person.

Naveen was leaning on one of the houses' boundary walls. When he noticed her approaching him, he straightened and took a few steps towards her.

"I was waiting for you. I haven't seen you in a week," he said softly.

She blinked, averted her eyes as she walked past him. Naveen followed, of course.

"I am going to work now. I don't have time."

"I am not here to stop you. Go to work. I just..." he trailed off.

Both said nothing until when they were about to reach the main road, he started quietly, "Shreya"

"What?" She clutched the straps of her bag tightly as she spun around and faced him. Good for them that there was no one else around but the two of them only.

"Is something bothering you?" Naveen asked softly.

She bit her lip, then looked down. A defeated sigh unknowingly left her as she felt her vision getting blurry. "Maa wants me to move to Guwahati with them. I don't want to go."

"Then don't go," he said casually.

"It's easy for you to say that because you're not going through the regular drama."

Naveen reached forward and cupped her left cheek. His touch was warm, and she instinctively leaned into his palm. He whisked his thumb over her cheek before lightly patting on it. "You'll be alright." Then dropped his hand, only to put it on her waist and pull her close.

She gasped at the sudden act. "Aren't you getting a little bold these days?"

"I don't care."

"Why?"

He brought his other hand up and brushed her lower lip with his thumb gently. "Because..." he drawled, "I want to..." he quickly pecked on her cheek, "comfort you."

Her eyes closed on their own, as if she had no control over them. She just wanted to feel comforted right now. It was what she craved at the moment, and Naveen was considerate enough to provide it. She didn't see any wrong in it as she let him do anything so that she'd feel... understood. Her needs were being understood and delivered. She not only wanted it, she desperately needed it. Naveen placed another kiss on her forehead before his lips met hers. They were warm and wet and tasted of mint. She gave in and responded immediately. Her lips parted and moved along with his. But the kiss ended sooner than expected. He let go of her lips as she chased after him, but he was quicker. He stepped away from her and smiled. "You should go now. I'll catch up with you later. Puja is coming."

She licked her lower lip. Yes. That was true. Six days left until Durga puja.

"You'll get leave for puja, right?"

She wasn't sure, but nodded anyway.

"Good. Now go. I've taken leave for banking purposes. So, I should leave now as well."

She nodded again as he flicked her cheek one more time before he was gone.

She bit on her lower lip once more. Why was she doing it again? Why couldn't she tell him no? Did she really want it? She wouldn't know until she really tried, and she knew she was too scared to do that.

~~~

"What happened after that?" Dev asked wide eyed.

Shreya pushed the spoonful of food into his mouth and answered, "Then? Then the huge demon Aghasura laid down on the path of Krishna and his friends. As his body was like a huge serpent, and he had expanded his forms upto eight miles long, he appeared just like a mountain." She pushed another spoonful of food into his mouth watching him already finish his previous bite.

"He opened his giant mouth and it appeared like a huge mountain cave."

Dev's eyes widened like round balls. He looked adorable.

"Have you ever watched mountains, Dev?"

The boy shook his head.

"Well, you should visit the hill stations then. You can see mountains from there."

"But I can't go alone," the boy said with a mouthful.

Shreya glanced at him and smiled. "Why would you go alone? Ask your mother. She'll take you."

He shook his head slightly and frowned cutely. Shreya looked down at his plate and saw it was almost empty. She smiled to herself when the boy asked again, "What happened to Krishna?"

Shreya looked up at him and put the last bite before his mouth which astonishingly he took on his own. Satisfied, Shreya continued with the story. "The boys thought they would go inside the cave and have some fun there. But Krishna already knew everything. He asked them not to go in there. But the boys trusted Krishna more than themselves. They had full faith in Krishna. They talked among themselves and concluded, no matter what, Krishna will be there to protect them. So, they went inside with their calves and Krishna had no other choice but to follow them. You see, Krishna is so loving towards his devotees. He never let any harm reach them."

Dev nodded as he chewed on his food.

"Then as soon as Krishna went inside, the demon closed its mouth, trapping everyone inside."

Dev gasped cutely, but exclaimed immediately as his eyes drifted towards the door. "Manyu Uncle!"

His sudden cry startled Shreya as she swiftly turned towards the door and almost had a heart attack. Abhimanyu was leaning on the door frame, watching them intently. When did he come? Oh my god! She stood up quickly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She ran her hand through her hair while putting the empty plate down. She felt even more jittery when he approached them with slow strides. She tugged on her top randomly, hoping she at least looked presentable. She was extremely bothered by his presence alone as he came and stood before her. Oh lord! He was tall. She glanced up and caught him staring at her. His expression was unreadable.

She suddenly felt obligated to be answerable to him. She stuttered, "I- I was just... fe-feeding Dev."

Dammit! Why the fuck was she stuttering? She was just doing her job!

She lowered her eyes, unable to hold his gaze for a long time. He was wearing a silver waistcoat with matching trousers, formal shoes and a white shirt. She noticed his tie was still tucked into his waistcoat. It was obvious he had only returned home. It was almost 10 pm and he came home this late.

She took a quick glance at him and saw his mouth twitch slightly while his dark eyes looked impenetrable. They still twinkled like morning, as if... they held stars in them. She grimaced at the thought and averted her gaze immediately. What was she even thinking?

AR shifted his focus to Dev, brought out a chocolate bar and gave it to him. Dev took it happily and thanked him cheerily.

AR turned towards her again, keeping his eyes on her for longer than normal. Then, just like that, he was gone.

She felt dumbfounded. Why wouldn't he talk to her? Was she that much unmatched to his status? Did he consider her unworthy of talking to the least? Was that the case? She suddenly felt small and inferior. Her existence alone felt insignificant.

True. She was forgetting her background. She belonged to a middle class family, and she should not expect more than she deserved. It was good that his behavior reminded her of that.

She didn't know why she wanted him to talk to her this badly. But it had started to frustrate her now. She should remember her place from now on. It would be better. Her eyes wavered for a moment until Dev tugged on her sleeve and asked her to tear the wrapper for him.

She felt like crying now. Great! A stranger had this effect on her now. What was she? A fantasizing school girl? She groaned and sat down grudgingly.

This was not good.