Intertwined Fates -- An IPKKND FanFic

Lavanya

***

Sanju knocked on Lavanya's door. As they waited for her to answer, Aunty Ji became interested in the peeling wallpaper in the hallway and began to scrape at it with her fingernail.

"No, don't do that, Aunty Ji."

She ignored him, walking a few steps away so she could continue her game, undisturbed.

He knocked again.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

Lavanya lifted her eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Lavanya, it's me, Sanju."

She was going to arrest him. How dare he show up to her house? But before she could say a word, her mother wandered into view.

"Lalita!" she exclaimed, wrinkled face brightening.

Lavanya slammed the door shut.

Sanju cursed and pounded on the door. "Lavanya, open the door. I can't take care of her anymore. You need to step up. Lavanya! LAVANYA!"

He didn't register the door opening behind him until a man went, "Hey, chill, mate. What's going on?"

Sanju turned to face him. "Do you know her?" He jabbed his thumb back towards Lavanya's door.

"Yeah, she's a friend. Why?"

"Can you knock some sense into her? Tell her she can't just abandon her mother like this. Look, I don't have much time. I've got to get to the train station. I only came to drop Aunty Ji off."

NK considered the situation. "Fine. You go ahead, Aunty Ji can stay at my place until Lavanya is ready to talk."

Sanju hesitated. He couldn't handle Aunty Ji's responsibility, but that didn't mean he would give her to the first stranger that asked.

NK pulled up a picture of Lavanya and himself on his phone. "Look, we really do know each other. And here's my ID." He pulled out his work tag.

"You're a doctor?"

"Yes."

"Aunty Ji has dementia. Are you sure you can handle her?"

"Don't worry. She'll be fine."

Sanju handed NK a bag. "This has all her important documents and medicines. There's some clothes in there, too, but not all of them. Lavanya can come pick them up whenever she has time. And please tell Lavanya that at some point, she has to deal with her father's house. I don't know if she knows, but he passed away last year."

"Thanks, mate," NK said, taking the bag. "I'll let Lavanya know."

"I have to go now. Okay, Auntie Ji. Bye-bye."

The old woman looked blankly at him for a moment before turning back to scrape at the wall again.

Sanju sighed and took his leave.

"Well," said NK, taking the woman by her arm and gently leading her to his apartment. "This is quite unexpected."

Inside her apartment, Lavanya leaned her head back against the door, listening to everything.

Unexpected? Understatement of the century.

***

At the knock on her door, Anjali called, "Come in, Aman Ji."

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked as he shut the door behind him and came to sit down.

"I recognized your knock," she said with a shrug.