all my stars lead to you

chapter 27

ishita fiddled the food on her plate with the spoon, which her grandmother noticed. 

"dieting pe ho?" she asked, as ishita looked at her with bewilderment. 

"nani...."  responded ishita.

"nahi, ho dieting pe?" she repeated. 

"nahi..." she answered. 

"toh kuch khaati kyun nahi ho dhang se? dekho, kitni kamzoor ho gayi ho....kuch khilate nahi the tumhare papa!" she remarked. 

"arre, nahi nani, aisi baat..." detested ishita. 

"arre, pata hai mujhe riaan ka, kuch na hota usse..." she intervened. 

"aur kaisa baap hai, huh? mahine ke liye beti akele ghar chodne waala tha! aisa kya kaam aa gaya..." she argued, as ishita swallowed hard upon hearing her lie. 

she was aware of the fact that she needed to get away, and she knew her grandmother wouldn't let her stay home alone for a month, perhaps she found it easier to lie. 

"acha dekho, mera ho gaya, mujhe neend aa rahi hai..." said ishita as she got up. 

"arre par..." she protested. 

"good night!" said ishita as she gave her a hug and left. 

                                                       ***

satish walked into kavin and dushyant's room, the lights were off and kavin was asleep. a smile came on his face, watching him sleep so peacefully. 

"it's creepy..." murmured kavin, with his eyes closed, as satish walked closer to him. 

"jaag rahe ho tum?" asked satish, as kavin got up. 

"jaag toh aap bhi rahe ho..." quipped kavin, as satish scoffed and sat beside him. 

"meera ki chinta ho rahi thi, ghar nahi ab tak..." he responded. 

"call karlo." suggested kavin. 

"i think after 6 calls, i might seem a bit crazy..." remarked satish, as they both shared a chuckle. 

"yeh dushyant, kahan hai?" asked satish. 

"phone pe baat kar raha tha, ab mujhe toh samajh nahi aata aise kaunsi confidential baatein karta phone pe, ki ya toh mujhe nikal deta hai ya khudh hi chala jaata hai...." replied kavin. 

"arre, woh hai hi aisa, pehle mujhe lagta tha ki main uska baap hoon isiliye nahi chahta main uski baatein suno, but i have realized he just needs space...a lot..." commented satish. 

"main aur maa toh kuch bhi nahi chupate the ek dusre se...." informed kavin. 

"the?" questioned satish.

"ab bas hum dono thodi hain....it's ok though...ab dushyant hai na bakwaas karne ke liye..." stated kavin. 

"chalo, kam se kam tum dono ki toh banne lagi..." concluded satish. 

"thik hai, phir, tum toh so jao...main bhatakti aatma ki tarah ghoomta hoon ab ghar mein..." joked satish as kavin chuckled. 

"good night." said kavin, as satish too smiled and left. 

                                                             ***

Meera returned home tired and everyone was already asleep, and who could blame them, it was already eleven. She locked the door from inside and seated herself on the couch just to breathe for a second, when suddenly, a coffee was presented in front of her. She looked up to find the server to be dushyant.

"le lijiye, you'll feel better." He suggested, as he seated himself next to her.

"thank you." she said, still gazing at him.

"peene ke liye banayi thi." he remarked, as she had been gazing at him for a while now

She quietly sipped her coffee, not knowing what to say.

"i don't hate you...." he said in a lower tone than usual.

"ok....." she attempted to comprehend the situation.

"i tried not to like you, i thought i should..." he elaborated, as she shook her head in acknowledgement.

"i guess, main sorry kehna chahta hoon." He said with his head down, as she smiled a little.

"coffee buri nahi banate ho.." she complimented, as he too smiled at her.

"seekhne padhi, apne liye. Mom aadat daal gayi, aur jab woh chali gayi, khudh hi banana seekh liya....dad ko aate nahi thi, mujhe kabhi mangana acha nahi laga. i guess, dobara aadat nahi dalna chahta tha kisi aur se coffee lene ki..." he explained, as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"tum mat daalo, kyunki ab main toh nahi banaungi....." she retorted, as he looked at her, puzzled. 

"kyun? Ab tum banaoge na mere liye..." she joked, as he chuckled slightly.

"maine daal li hai ab aadat..." she said, as he shook his head. 

                                                                 ***

meera walked into a dark room, with satish asleep, while sitting on the bed. she tip-toed to him, and covered him with a blanket. but sometimes, it is the sweetest of intentions, that go bad. 

"arre, aa gayi tum?" he asked, as meera felt bad for waking him up. 

"haan, late ho gaya na aaj.." she responded. 

"main jaga hi hua tha..." he stated. 

"arre, so jaate...abhi bhi kyun jaage, so jao tum..." said meera. 

"meri neend chodo, kuch khaaya bhi hai tumne?" he questioned, as she nodded in agreeement. 

"haan, baba, bataya toh tha, tumhare chate call pe!" she remarked. 

"tabhi, jab tumne mujh pe cheekha bhi, ki dobara phone kiya toh phone se nikal ke maarogi..." retorted satish, as they both shared a chuckle. 

"good night!" she exclaimed as she playfully slapped him in the arm, and got up, to get her clothes changed. 

                                                            ***

"idea kam kar gaya tumhara..." remarked anjula, to the receiver on the call. 

"chalo, purvi khush hai phir?" asked shivani from the other end of the call. 

"sab ki ban gayi ab toh...kitne paise dene pade uss guard ko?" asked anjula. 

"arre, itna sasta aadmi tha, haldiram ke rasgulle kaafi the.." joked shivani, as they both shared a chuckle. 

"ajeeb hi hai na, ek jagah band karna padta hai logon ko, ki woh apne issues baat karke solve karein...." stated anjula. 

"chalo, ab lagta hai, i should go back to puna...my work here is done." informed shivani. 

"ek baar milne to aaogi na?" asked anjula. 

"of course.." replied shivani as she hung up.