Chapter 35

Games

One week had gone by. Khushi couldn't stop thinking about Anjali's advise to forgive Arnav. They met in the office daily and had lunch together, discussing about various things like the web series, their childhood etc...

Lavanya's wedding was just a day away so Anjali and Khushi were totally busy with the wedding preparation. Niall, Lavanya's fiance worked in the same office as these three so he was quite close to all of them.

" Khushi! Darling, you don't know how excited I am that mummy accepted Niall and my relation. I am going to get married to him today! I am feeling so excited! " Lavanya said excitedly as Khushi helped her with her gown. It was a beautiful, shiny white gown that Niall had bought for their wedding day.

Aashi came running into the room and gaped at Lavanya's beautiful gown .

" La! Why are you wearing this gown?" she asked with a pout.
"I am the beautiful girl na. I should wear beautiful gown. "

"Aashi doll, it is my wedding with your Niall uncle. So, I need to look more beautiful than you." Lavanya giggled cutely.

Aashi frowned at that.

"You are playing ghar ghar ( home-home) with Niall uncle and you didn't invite me!" Aashi frowned.

Khushi and Lavanya giggled at this.

"Sorry Aashi but now only I and Niall will play ghar ghar. You can't play that with us. You can play other things with us like ludo?"
Lavanya bent to her and smiled.

Aashi pouted even more on that.

" Accha baba! Stop pouting! How about I get you a gown more beautiful than Lavanya's?" Khushi suggested to Aashi.

Aashi smiled brightly, held khushi's hand and went towards her room where Anjali had already kept out Aashi's dress.

" Wow! This is beautiful! I am going to wear this! But what about mum and Ma? What are you going to wear?" Aashi said holding the dress to her chest .

" Don't worry Aashi! I promise I won't even try to look half as beautiful as you." Khushi giggled and turned to go back to her room.

"Khushi... "Anjali nudged her. "What have you thought about life ahead?"

"You were right, Anjali! Trying to forget the past has helped me a lot. My relation with Arnav has become a lot more cordial. In fact, I am able to sleep more peacefully now. Also, I think I want to give Arnav another chance." Khushi smiled.

"Really?" Anjali exclaimed. "That's so great! I am really happy for you! I hope everything goes great!"

"What's great?" Aashi asked.

"Your mum has agreed to give ASR another chance!" Anjali smiled.

"Another chance? Mum, you were playing snakes and ladders with ASR and you didn't call me to play?" Aashi asked innocently.

Khushi smiled and went back to her room not able to control her blushing cheeks.

**********

Papa had visited me last week. He wanted to meet me before he went to a pilgrimage with his cousin. I consulted him regarding the turbulence in my mind. He too advised me the same as Anjali. He said that whatever happened was my past but for my future I had to move on from my past. I had to do whatever I felt would make me feel good. I was very soothed hearing his advice.

Papa was mentally stable now thanks to the treatment Arnav got him in a good hospital at Mumbai.

I locked my room and opened my cupboard looking for my dress.

Ghar-ghar and snakes and ladders were some games which Arnav and I had actually played in life .

When I was five years old I used to force Arnav to play ghar ghar with me. We would pretend that he was my husband, I was his wife and my teddy bears and dolls were our children. Arnav as a ten year old boy naturally didn't like playing this game but he would never say no to my pleading smile.

I remember one day, I had arranged a mat in the hall of his mansion and brought my kitchen set there. I had enacted making tea for him. Then I told him to enter the mat which according to me was our house. I shouted on him to remove his shoes outside the mat even though he was barefoot.

He got angry on that and plumped his face like a pumpkin. I came near him, giggling and pinched his cheeks with my fingers.

" My cutiepie shona mona baccha!" I exclaimed kissing his cheek.

I served him a cup of water in the name of hot tea and forced him to say that the tea is very tasty. I then pretended that our baby i.e. my doll was crying and handed her to him like if she was some precious jewel.

Arnav got confused as the doll wasn't even actually saying a word and I said that she is crying very loudly.

Amma, who was amusedly watching our play from a distance, came and took the doll from his hands and patted it slowly.

"Chhotte, you don't even know how to make your daughter sleep! You are so useless!" she teased him.

"Amma, it's Khushi's fault! Her doll doesn't even blink her eyes! How will she sleep? Khushi should have brought a doll who blinks her eyes." He was annoyed on being teased. He broke the doll in anger just like he broke my beautiful dreams of marriage.

"I don't own such a doll who blinks her eyes! You broke my only doll!" I cried. Even amma couldn't console me at that time.

I remember that day quite well. had not stopped crying for about five hours. At last he had wiped my tears, held his ears and apologized for his rude behaviour. He did all that not because amma told him to apologize but because he had realised his mistake. I had agree at once, forgiving him for everything.

The same had happened 5 years ago, he was pretending to be someone else in front of me. He broke my beautiful bubble of a perfect relationship very rudely. Then he was back here unintentionally meeting me. He was repenting his anger again this time but forgiving him took a while,this time. Forgetting his anger took a while, this time.

I put on my light blue coloured gown and stared myself in the mirror.

My whole life had been like a game of snakes and ladders. Initially Dev and I were going step by step together, him being five years ahead of me by virtue of age. Alas! Indrani became the snake of the very first block and took him out of the picture.

Yet he returned, in the form of a snake named Arnav Singh Raizada who came to bite me and Indrani. Before he could bite me, he was transformed into the ladder to take me towards the final steps by the downfall of the snake called Indrani. Now I and Arnav were on the same pace to reach the final spot.

Would our steps be together?

Would he accept me again ?

I sighed.