If We Ever.

| 4 |

Vedant: 16, Aarohi: 19

* * *

"But grandma, I am worried about your health," she mumbled, her gaze fixed on the delicate porcelain cup cradled in her right hand. The steam rose in wisps, dancing like spectres in the finely lit room, casting fleeting shadows across her furrowed brow.

Her grandmother, seated opposite her, regarded her with eyes that held a lifetime of wisdom, now softened by Aarohi's tensed face, "I will be fine, Rooh." She said, taking another sip from her cup of tea, "Besides you've stayed over for a night or two with the Mehra's before too, so why are you hesitant now?"

Looking at the smiling face of Madhubala Singh, her lively grandmother, who, at times behaved as if she were a child, Aarohi breathed in the apprehension that whirled around her for a while now, "But it's been more than two years since I last stayed there," she expressed, her words gently woven to hide the hesitation in the quiver of her tone. "And what if you need something in the middle of the night?"

The room seemed to hold its breath, the gentle ticking of a clock was the only sound punctuating the silence until a crack of laughter burst into the said hush, her grandmother's infectious joy seemed to melt away the worries that had settled in Aarohi's heart like stubborn shadows. The flicker of light danced in her grandmother's beady eyes, highlighting the amusement in them.
Aarohi couldn't help but smile at her grandmother's gentle frown. She reached out, her hand resting on Aarohi's, a comforting weight. "Oh, my Rooh," she murmured, her voice a soothing melody, "life is not just about working and doing chores. It's about moments like these, shared with the ones we love." She paused, her gaze drifting to a distant memory.

"Rooh, you know you worry a bit too much," she huffed, adjusting her glasses, "you should live your life a little, you always work so hard and never give yourself a moment of peace, my child," she gently scolded, keeping her cup on the table, "you should enjoy more before you have wrinkles, and joint pain like me," she laughed, her eyes crinkling at the sides from the short movement.

Aarohi felt a tug at her heartstrings, rethinking those words. Her old woman wasn't wrong, she concluded. Still, even if she wanted to stay with Saloni and her family over the weekend for New Year celebrations, a part of her felt guilty for thinking of leaving her grandmother, no matter how hard she was urging her to go. The last time she stayed at her house, they had been tenth graders, and that too during summer vacation. She had had numerous memories with Saloni at her home, and some with her at Aarohi's home, but they were all from years ago when they were young. And her grandma wasn't getting any younger.

With a soft sigh, Aarohi leaned forward, "Okay, I'll go, Nani," she whispered, her words carrying the weight of a thousand memories. "But I'll keep calling and if you need something, tell me, and I will come right away."

Madhubala Singh laughed at the stern words pointed at her, nodding anyway, "Arey child, alright. But remember to sleep early there."

Aarohi chuckled at her cute expressions, slowly bobbing her head vertically.

***

"Oye, Roohi, take this and come with me outside for a minute," Saloni's voice cut through their previous chatter, her hands deftly arranging the fairy lights. She handed another pack to Aarohi, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she motioned for her friend to follow.
Outside, the evening air carried a whisper of excitement, awaiting the coming year in a few hours, and the gentle glow of the lights around the other houses illuminated their path, beckoning them into the enchantment of the celebrations.