Bhalla House - the next morning, Saturday July 28th, 10 am
"Ruhi! Utho baba. Kitna soyegi baby? Dekho, dus baj gaye."
[Ruhi! Wake up. How much will you sleep baby? Look, it's already 10.]
Ishita shook her sleeping daughter who refused to leave the land of dreams. She had come by every 15 minutes to wake her up but she always bargained 5 minutes of extra sleep for herself which turned into much more than 5 minutes.
"Abhi tak nahi uthi Ruhi?" Toshi had walked in by now. [Is Ruhi not awake yet?]
"Nahi na mummyji. Main kab se jagaa rahi hu." [No mummyji. I've been trying to wake her up for so long.]
"Oye Ruhi, sun. Dekh, maine abhi Simi bua se baat ki hai. Woh, Pulkit fufaji, aur Ananya aa rahe hain lunch pe. Ab to uth jaa."
[Ruhi, listen. I just talked with Simi bua. She, Pulkit fufaji, and Ananya are coming for lunch. Wake up now.]
Ruhi instantly shot up. She loved playing with her toddler cousin.
"Ananya aa rahi hai, Dadi?" [Ananya is coming, Dadi?]
"Haan. Tujhe khelna hai na uske saath?" [Yes. Do you want to play with her?]
Ruhi nodded.
"To phir taiyyar hoja. Dekh, Ishimaa kab se tujhe bula rahi hain."
[Then get ready. Ishimaa has been calling you for so long.]
Ruhi climbed out of bed and ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth, with her mother at her heels. She was up all right, but she still took her sweet time getting ready. By the time she was ready, it was close to lunch time. So Ishita gave her a tall glass of strawberry-flavored milk instead of a heavy breakfast lest her lunch get ruined.
"YES! SIXER!" Applause...
The commotion came from the living room where Raman, Rinki, Romi, and their father were gathered to witness the latest India-Pakistan cricket match. It had become a rare occurrence over the years but not anymore. Ishita hated to break up the party.
"Suniye sab!" [Listen up everyone!]
"Arey kya hai yaar? Tujhe dikh nahi raha hum sab match dekh rahe hai?" Raman muttered.
[What is it? Can't you see we're watching the match?]
"Simi, Pulkit, aur Ananya aa rahe hai thodi der mein. Bas yahi kehna tha."
[Simi, Pulkit, and Ananya are coming in a while. I just wanted to let you know.]
"Haan, thik ha." Raman waved a hand at her in a dismissive gesture. [Ok, fine.]
"Jab dekho tab kud kud," Ishita mumbled. "Kud kud kumar."
[Always muttering and ready to fight.]
"I heard that." Raman glared at her and Ishita turned her eyes away.
.....................................................................................................................
"Thoda aur lijiye na, Pulkit," Ishita urged him. [Have some more, Pulkit.]
"Nahin bhabhi bas. Maine already bahot kha liya hai. Sach mein, aisa Punjabi aur South Indian fusion khaana maine pehli baar khaaya hai."
[No bhabhi. I've already eaten too much. Seriously, I've never had such good Punjabi and South Indian fusion food.]
"I hope aap ko accha laga ho." [I hope you liked it.]
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Connected: A YHM Story ✔️
FanfictionFour separate souls -- Raman, Ishita, Ruhi, and Adi -- in four separate cities; but somehow CONNECTED. How? Read to find out.... Ishita Iyer has been dreaming of a life as a dentist, wife, and mother, but destiny plays a cruel joke on her, as her dr...
