Ek Duje Ke Vaaste

Part 10

The raizadas left after a while. As arnav was getting into his car, he felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him. He bent a little to get into his car but suddenly turned and looked up and saw khushi standing at the window looking at him. All this happened so quickly that khushi didn't get time to move away. She was extremely embarrassed after being caught off guard. She was already nervous but when she saw his lopsided smile she didn't know where to hide. Arnav started his car with a smile and drove away.

At night, both khushi and arnav couldn't sleep. Khushi kept tossing and turning on the bed for a while, then went and stood infront of the window and looked up at the sky with a smile on her face. She recalled how arnav had kept her hand on his heart, how he smiled when she was looking at him from the window. She blushed looking at her hand which was kept on his heart. Buaji saw from khushi looking at her hand and smiling from a distance. She quietly walked towards her and tapped her shoulders. Khushi was lost in her own world.

Buaji: haai rey nandkisore..sankadevi tum kaahey aise khari hokey apna hath dekh ke has rahi ho?? Puri pagla gaayi kaa? (why are you standing like this and looking at your hand? Have you gone mad completely?)

Khushi came back to her senses, looked at her hand lifted in the air and said: woh..woh ..

Buaji put her hand on her waist and raised an eyebrow and said: kaa haai??

Khushi smiled nervously and said: woh hum soch rahe they ki agar koi hamara hath kaat de to?? (I was thinking what if someone cuts my hand)

Buaji was confused than ever: kaat de matbal?? Kaa bak rahi ho??(what? What are you saying?)

Khushi: haan buaji, humne suna tha tajmahal banane ke baad shahjahan ne mazduro ke hath kaat diye they taaki woh waise dusra na bana saakey (yes, I know shashjahan had cut the hand of the labours who built tajmahal so that they can't make another one)

Buaji: haai rey nandkisore, sankadevi tum kaunsa taj mahal banane chali ho? (which taj mahal are you going to build?)

Khushi: buaji taj mahal nehi lekin aap hi to keheti ho ki hamarey jaisa jalebi koi nehi bana sakta..to hum soch rahe hai ki kahi hamara bhi hath koi kaat na de (not taj mahal but you say that no one can make jalebis like me so I was wondering what if someone cuts my hand)

Buaji batted her eyelids twice and said: sankadevi...humkaa lagat hai payalia ke shaadi ke baad tumhare dimag ka achhe se ilaj karna hoga!! (I think we need to get your head checked after paya's marriage)

Then she screamed: ab jaldi jaaike payalia pas so jao...thand lag jayegi..haai rey nandkisore..sankadevi aur uski sanak!! (she and her craziness)

Khushi went and lay down beside payal..then slept off with a smile on her face.

Same time arnav was pacing up and down in his room. Sleep was miles away from him. Something kept bothering him. Khushi-her smile, her eyes, her nervousness with their close proximity made him restless.

He looked down at his heart..the touch of her hand on it hours back was still very fresh in his memory. He himself couldn't understand why it held so much meaning for him.

Kyun uska chehra barbar mere samne aata hai, kyun aj uske pass aane se mujhe itna fark pada, aj jab woh mujhe dekh rahi thi... He clenched his fist and closed his eyes and said: damn it! (why does her face keep fashing infront of my eyes, why do I get affected when I am near, when she was looking at me today..)

He went back to bed and after trying for sometime finally slept off.

Next day the raizadas and guptas are kept busy for the engagement. Finally it was the evening of the engagement day. Aakash came down to the living area dressed in a sherwani.