Abeer had left his college and was walking towards a nearby cafe to sit in peace for some time. He knew Girisha's cafe would be closed; anyway, he did not feel like returning home. With an off mood, he adjusted the long rolls of paper in his handbag and kept walking beside an always-vacant road.
Soon, he heard some tiny, hasty footsteps of a kid. Looking up, he saw Kush running up towards him with the widest possible smile on his face. He was carrying a bag too big for him on his back.
Abeer's expression turned into that of utmost joy after seeing Kush after a long time. The last time he met Kush was when he saved the kid from the accident. Since then, it was as if Kush had disappeared somewhere.
Kush came running and crashed into Abeer's legs and hugged them tight. He looked up to see Abeer smiling at him with an equal, probably more, fondness. Abeer picked him up in his arms and let him hug his neck.
They couldn't converse because of Kush's inability to speak and hear. His hearing aids seemed to have been missing, too. None of it mattered to Abeer as the hug melted all his exhaustion.
Abeer gently patted Kush's back as if to let the latter know that he was glad of the meet-up. He was so engrossed in the hug that he didn't notice someone else slowly walking up to them.
"I visited his home this morning. Thought you'd be happy to meet him, too..." Aashna spoke up as her eyes met those of Abeer. She had purposefully kept Kush's hearing aids out of his reach so she could include herself in the conversation between Abeer and Kush.
Aashna had thought of making them interact and simultaneously initiate a conversation with Abeer that otherwise would have been an awkward situation. Her visit to Kush's residential society that morning seemed to be paying off well. Her idea was working. Thanks to Kush, Abeer was wholeheartedly smiling after meeting him.
She was of a belief that men usually become the best version of themselves when they are with kids. She had seen how passionate and excited Abeer was while talking about his niece, Nitya. Back at the rooftop, his smile full of admiration for Nitya and his mobile phone full of her photos, proved how much he loved being around kids. He would visibly melt. This conversation, according to her, would at least allow them to talk with a light heart. Nothing could be better than making a sunshine boy meet a sunshine kid to melt his anger away.
Hearing Aashna's words, Abeer pulled away from Kush and made him stand on the ground. He was happy to see Aashna there but his smile dropped when he sensed the awkwardness between them. The fact that Aashna had to bring in a third person to make things right between them, bothered him to the core. Arguments happen. disagreements happen. Misunderstandings happen. But using a third person to get them to merely interact, was not something Abeer would have been a fan of. Yet, he was equally happy to see Aashna putting in effort to talk to him.
"He made some sketches in the sketchbook you had gifted to him," Aashna said with a smile towards Abeer. She looked at Kush and signed to him, <show him your sketchbook.>
Abeer was still as mesmerised by Aashna's fluency in sign language as he was the first time he saw her doing it. As Kush brought out the sketchbook from his bag, Abeer kneeled to match the level of Kush's height, and yet, somehow stayed taller than the kid.
Kush kept turning pages and showing Abeer the sketches and Abeer kept showing his expressions of amusement at each landscape sketch. "You draw so well! All the sketches are very pretty! Just like you!" Abeer said and glanced at Aashna.
She quickly tapped on Kush's shoulder to catch his attention and signed again, <he said that you've got a skill for drawing. He called you pretty, too.>
YOU ARE READING
His Favourite Book
General Fiction*MATURE BECAUSE*: It contains serious, sensitive and triggering topics like self-harm, unhealed trauma, assault, murders, etc. Reader discretion is advised. We are all flawed in some way or another, aren't we? How far can we go into our real persona...
