CHAPTER 9 : BAATEIN KUCH ANSUNI SI KUCH ANKAHEE SI


Tossing and turning in sleep was a habit .Dreams were places she would visit to collect inspirations for her stories.Sometimes it would take her to a land far far away and sometimes it took her closer to herself. Today was no different.Her notebook of creativity kept flying away higher and higher. She chased it down through the gardens of poems and the castles of fictions . It eluded her all the way to a place called Land of Dreams.
Fallen maple leaves covered the landscape like a blanket. The unfamiliar land felt suffocating despite its vastness, cloudy despite the clear sky.Unknown sea of faces around .Land far away from home felt scary and lonely. Ready to foray in all alone ,she caught him smiling at her , easing her down in an instant. With him by her side the path felt smoother. He held her hand along the rocky landscape. She smiled at him with gratitude and lost vision of the rock ahead. Her leg twisted and she was about to fall when one word escaped her mouth..
" Neil "

....and she rolled off the comfortable sofa and landed on a fluffy cloud of blankets. Opening her heavy eyelids slowly she looked around . Did she just fall off the bed or fall on the bed? ...that was the question in her mind.Rubbing her eyes she looked again in disbelief.

" Are you alright Avni ?" She could hear Neil calling out from behind. Turning around she found him on the same chair ,he had been sitting the night before.

" Did you just sleep there the whole night ?" she asked ;though his posture, sleep laden eyes and the blanket screamed in affirmation.

" I...I ..." He fumbled while searching for a more logical and less cheezy answer.

" You were awake when the lights came back ? " She was ready with another question.

" Yes" he moved his lips to answer in details but was cut off by her bullets of questions.

" Was I? "

" What? " He was still half sleepy and half dazed to understand.

" Was I asleep by then ? "she reframed her question.

" Do you remember being awake ? " his sarcasm was back up. " Obviously not.You were asleep by then."

" Yeah right " she mentally reprimanded herself for asking ridiculously obvious questions." So why didn't you wake me up then ?"

" I...I.... didn't feel like waking you up.You looked so peaceful... I mean you were sleeping so soundly ,I didn't have the heart to wake you up. "

An awkward silence followed the answer.Neil tried to look away as he felt her eyes on him.It was embarrassing enough to admit it ,he didn't have to look into her questioning eyes right now.
There were no questions in her eyes for a change.What lay there instead was admiration and adoration for the sweet gesture.She was smart enough to know that the blankets that had acted as a perfect pillowy soft landing was part of his sweet gesture.The guy she had misunderstood uncountable number of times had spent the night in an uncomfortable position to look over her.She looked away the instance he looked up ,realising she had been looking on ,for a moment too long.

"I should get going." Picking herself up , she collected her belonging scattered everywhere and headed straight for the door.
She turned the door knob to open it. Before heading out, she turned one last time to see him standing and looking her way.
"Thank you ! " She paused looking at the blankets "...for everything." She walked out with an unexpected smile plastered on her face.

___________________

Same day.
8:15pm

Avni returned home after a hectic day at work .While blindly searching for the keys to her apartment, her eyes drifted to the next door as a habit ,only to find it unusually locked. The room seemed to be dark ,as no light seeped through under the door. Her fingers landed on the keys , turning her attention back to her own abode.

8:40 pm :

Lying comfortably in her pajamas ,on her bed ,flipping through the channels on her television set ,her mind was still stuck on the closed doors.

" Where the hell is Mr landlord Khanna.He is usually home by now. Should I go and check again? " She spoke her thoughts loud enough so that she could hear the insanity laden words clearly.

Sitting up straight immediately, she was about to follow her thoughts when few more of them came rushing to her.
" Why should I check ? Why ? I mean I don't really have any work with him.Oh wait...yes...we have to talk about the function at his house tomorrow " having found a reason satisfactory enough, she rushed to the door and opened it ,only to find Neil's door locked again.

For the next hour or so ,this routine continued; every fifteen minutes interval she would check on his door and finding it locked everytime just added to her anxiousness . She started crafting numerous reasons for his absence ,every single one less likely than the previous one, until she ran out of possible reasons.

"Should I call him ? Won't that be highly awkward ? He is never this late. It's way past 10pm now. Maybe I should just check one last time ?" Saying this she opened her door to peep for the nth time.To her disappointment his door remained the same way it was an hour ago. Frustrated and unexplainably worried her self-talking turned louder.

"Still not there!!! Ok now I'm officially tensed. Where are you? You could have atleast informed .But why would he inform me ? Why not? What if I have some important work with him? Yes I do have to discuss tomorrow's plan with him.Stupid . Maybe I should just call him up. And say what ? That I was worried?? No no... ... he will just mock me ? I'll just ask when will he be returning ....cause I have to discuss something important with him.That's it." Still debating on 'to do' or ' not to do' ,she unlocked her phone and started scrolling through her call list for his number.

" Tum mere liye pareshan ho? " The voice that came from the top of the staircase ,a few feet away from her apartment ,startled her.
( Are you worrying about me ?)

She turned to face the person she was searching for all this while , standing there calmly ,looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Worried ?? No " she faked a laugh " why would I be worried ? I .... I was just..."

" You were what? " the tiredness on his face had been replaced by a subtle smile. The fact that someone had been waiting for him to return felt unexpectedly warm . Something about that irrational yet familiar concern ,felt special.

" I had some work with Sarita aunty.So I was out." Her inner concern was masked by her smug look.

" Oh ! At this time ? " he dramatically looked at his watch to check the time " the lights in her apartment are still on .What are you waiting for? For her to come out and invite you in ?" he smirked.

" On second thoughts , I'll talk to her tomorrow" she replied .

" I'll leave you to your thoughts then " Neil swiftly walked past her and marched straight towards his door ,a mischievous smile hidden underneath his pretentious seriousness. He could very well picture Avni's infuriated face and that was enough to generate a smile on his face.He pushed his key through the keyhole , deliberately not acknowledging Avni's presence behind him.

" Where were you ? " She asked ,desperate for some answers for her discontent mind.

" Me ? " He turned around to face her ,suppressing the but -so -obvious smile. " I was at work.Why? "

" Argh ! Why are you late ? Your firm closes at 8. " she finally threw away the question that was biting her away.

" Oh ! I had a meeting out of town.I just returned from there. " his smile made a comeback " So you were worried about me." this time it wasn't a question.

" I never said that."

" Okay if you say so " he got back to unlocking the door .He had already gotten his answer ,her denying it wasn't going to change that.

" We need to discuss about tomorrow."

" Tomorrow?" he looked at her clueless.

" You have a puja at your house tomorrow."

" So ? " He looked at her intently trying to read her " You want to go there !!Are you Serious ?"

"Yes ! It's just a few hours .I know we are just pretending to be in love but ...Neil... I can't break your mother's heart....atleast not before it's required " she sighed " She just asked me one thing....one little thing. Can't we do this for her? " She batted her eyelids making an innocent face " please ? "

" Don't make that face .I'm not falling for it " as much as he didn't want it to ,the puppy dog face had already worked it's magic on him " Are you sure you can handle my whole family ?"

" I'll do my best." She smiled " Aur baki tum ho na "
(And you are there for the rest )

" Okay then. Be ready by 10 am tomorrow."

" See you tomorrow .Good night "

" Good night."

Avni walked back to her apartment as Neil moved inside his.With one last look at each other they closed the doors behind them.

____________________

Neil waited outside his car, dressed in a casual black t-shirt and blue jeans , black Raybans covering his eyes from the glaring sun, slightly leaning back on the side of the door. He had been waiting for about 10 minutes now.It was his day off ,so there wasn't a reason to hurry but sheer idleness made him check his watch more often than usual.As he lifted his head up from his timekeeper , his relatively long wait ended.Avni walked out of the building, dressed in a sunkissed yellow salwar suit.She hurried towards him knowing that she was late.

Without further ado , they drove off to their destination.

" Why are you dressed like..."

Avni's question made his head turn towards her.
" Like what ?? I'm dressed like my usual self.You on the other hand look a bit unusual... " he trailed off as he took a right turn on the cross-section.

" There is a puja at your house. That's why the traditional attire ." She explained the change in her look. " and by the way, your usual dress code is suits and ties....not this "

" Oh you know what I mean !"

A grumpy face is all he got as a reply.

"You are such a kid !!" he remarked " Just so you know ,my mom is going to be rather pleased with her future daughter-in-law.Be careful alright, you don't want to overimpress her .Trust me !" he smirked.

"Fine" said the grumpy face besides him ,more looking more cross with her arms crossed against her body.

He thoroughly enjoyed teasing her and the annoyed grumpy look on her face was like icing on the cake.She looked like an adorable kid while doing so.'Kid!' he smiled to himself. One hand on the steering wheel ,he searched his cabinet with the other hand and found the thing he was looking for.

" Here! This is for you ! " his words fell on deaf ears " I know kids love it !"

She turned towards him ,still annoyed, to see the a big chocolate bar sitting on his palm .Her expression softened in an instance ,though she efficiently suppressed her excitement.

" Take it." He titled his head and gestured her with his eyes. Without much pursuasion ,she took it ,as a compensation for his teasing.

Minutes later, Neil pulled up his car into the long driveway of an huge and elegant mansion....The Khanna Mansion.

Avni stepped out of the vehicle and looked at the beauty in white.The mansion was a perfect blend of modern and contemporary architecture.While the finer details looked modern , the pillars and portico had a royal contemporary feel to it.

Interrupting her exploration , Neil's hand tapped on her shoulder promoting her to move .
" Let's go inside "

Nodding her head she followed him into the house.No sooner had she stepped into the foyer that Neil's phone started ringing.Looking at the screen he uttered a "Have to take this.. it's urgent.Wait here" to Avni ,before walking away and leaving her unattended in this unknown place.

Not knowing what to do or where to go, she turned her attention to the beautiful garden outside.Hundreds of flowers of various kinds enhanced the beauty of the carefully crafted grass.The flowers gave the illusion of a rainbow ; every colour of the rainbow present there. Butterflies found their way to their beloved flowers enhancing its beauty by settling on top of it.

Lost in the view ,she couldn't hear the person who came from behind her talking to someone over the phone " Han (yes) I got the book.I will read it soon and let you know "

As her backward glide collided with the person's forward walk ,a book landed on the floor with a thud ,drawing her attention both to the book and the book owner.The man looked in his mid fifties ,dressed in formal office wear ; white shirt ,brown pants,matching waistcoat and coat. His hair and French beard had streaks of white in the midst of black. He greeted her with a welcoming smile as she picked the book up and handed it over to him.

" Thank you beta. " Mr Khanna smiled warmly at his unacquainted guest.

Avni worked up an awkward yet genuine smile.

" It's a good book " she said pointing at the thick book in his hand.

" The essence of life '' he let out a laugh '' The author is a close friend of mine.He has been persuading me to give it a read and I have been making excuses day in and day out.Today he just mailed me his book to me" he laughed again.

"It's a good book ...but....a lengthy one.Its a little ..." she hesitated " preachy....only in some parts" she corrected herself " ..but his life experiences keep the narrative going."

" Ha ha. Dar mat ! Mujhe bhi pata hai ki book boring hi hogi.Isiliye toh pareshan hoon ki isse complete kaise karun.Dost hai ....toh mana bhi nai kar paa rha" Prakash let out his dilemma.
(Don't be scared.Even I know that the book must be boring.Thats what my problem is.I don't know how am I going to complete this.He is a friend... ....so I can't let him down .)

" I can get you the footnotes if you want. It's short and compact." She suggested enthusiastically.

" You would do that for me? "

" Sure."

" Thank you so much beta.You don't know what a big help you have been to me. " Prakash blessed her by putting his hand on her head.

" You have already met my father I see " Neil's voice came from behind them.

Avni stared at him in disbelief; the person she had been talking to all this while was infact Mr Khanna, Neil's father .

Neil walked past Avni to hug his father and take his blessings,before making introductions.

" Papa ,this is Avni " he introduced her formally to his father.

" Your girlfriend !!" Prakash's smile broadened " Now I can see why Shweta likes her so much.Good choice son !" he proudly patted his son's back before bestowing his blessings on his son's choice.

" Welcome to Khanna house Avni beta."

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A/N :
Hey guys.
How are you all ?

First of all...a huge sorry for the inconvenience caused in comment section in the last chapter.WP acting clumsy 🙄

Thank you for all the votes and comments on last chapter.
Keep them coming.

A special thank you for hitting a century(of votes) on chapter 7.

Love you all.

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