secrets woven in moonlight

chapter 22

The clock struck two at midnight, as the darkness sweeping over the sky was slowly lightening with the time of dawn arriving soon. Gentle winds blew in through the window, sweeping across the room with the air from the fan. The fan oscillated continuously as ishita's glance remain fixed on that, while she lay on her back on the bed. 

Dushyant, who also lay beside her on his back, with his head resting on his arm placed on the pillow. He turned to look at her, both of their eyes lacked sleep. 

"Ishita..." called dushyant softly, as ishita only remained lost, turning her gaze listlessly towards him. 

"coffee peeyogi? main banaunga..." offered dushyant, leaving ishita bewildered. 

"huh?" responded ishita, utterly perplexed, as dushyant just chuckled slightly looking at her, while he turned to his side, such that he was facing her now. 

"neend toh aa nahi rahi hai...ab raat toh kaatni hai...toh coffee banata hoon...saath baithke peeyenge...baatein karenge...aise sanaate mein lete rehne se toh acha hi hai..." explained dushyant his suggestion, with a light smile on his face, as ishita couldn't help but shake her head while chuckling slightly. 

"saath mein bana hi lete hain..." retorted ishita, lightly smiling too. 

"bhai do logon ki coffee banani hai, pure mahole ki thodi hai ki do log lagenge..." remarked dushyant, as ishita couldn't help but laugh in response. 

"acha, toh, kitchen mein toh chal sakti hoon aapke...saaman bhi maine idhar-udhar kardiya hai thoda...aapko puchna hoga toh bata dungi..." stated ishita, as dushyant nodded. 

"chalo phir..." commanded dushyant, as he got up from the bed, and so did ishita, following him outside the room. 

                                                                        ***

Kavin sat on the bed, his laptop resting on his lap as he typed rigorously. Purvi who was sitting beside him, was busy sitting with textbooks and a register. They both were too consumed by their own work, only for purvi too take a break, when she reclined her head on the back of the bed, closing her eyes and pressing on her forehead, sighing deeply, making kavin look upto her. 

"solve nahi ho raha kya?" asked kavin, concerned, as purvi shook her head in no. 

"hua, badi mushkil se..ab baaki problems kaise solve karoon samajh nahi aa raha...i'm sooo tired..." replied purvi, as kavin could only empathise. 

"seriously yaar, main bhi yeh excel formulas pe sarr khapake thak gaya hoon....par kaam pura hota hi nahi..." grumbled kavin too, as purvi only shook her head in disbelief. 

Kavin too had rested his back on the bed, as he only sighed at the computer, only for a thought to strike his mind. 

"hey...ice cream khaaogi?" asked kavin, as purvi immeidately opened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief. 

"iss time?" asked purvi, as kavin nodded, passing a smile at her, signaling her to come along with him, which he did. 

                                                                    ***

Ishita and dushyant sat on the bed, with their backs rested against the pillows placed at the back of the bed. The coffee mugs placed in their hands, as they took small sips from time to time. 

"kya baat kar rahi ho? tumne statistics mein bsc ki hui hai!" exclaimed dushyant, pleasantly surprised, as ishita raised her brow at him. 

"ismein itna hairaan hone ki kya baat hai!" reacted ishita to him, as he just chuckled. 

"i mean...tum lagti nahi ho...studious types...you know..." remarked dushyant, sipping on his coffee. 

"kyun? aisi kya lagti hoon main..." queried ishita curiously, as dushyant took a proper glimpse of her before responding.

"honestly...tum na, apni college ki beauty queen hogi...pakka heroine banke jaati hogi hamesha..." stated dushyant, as ishita only glared at him. 

"sabko yahi kyun kehna hota hai mere baarein mein..." expressed ishita her dissatisfaction. 

"arre ismein galat kya hai...sach kahoon toh itna time joh tum yahan rahi ho, maine tumhara kabhi ek baal bhi idhar-udhar hote nahi dekha.." remarked dushyant, as ishita just rolled her eyes. 

"aisa toh nahi hai...abhi dekho mujhe..." remarked ishita, as dushyant looked at her with bemusement. 

"i wish tumhara point prove ho pata...but...tumhare baal jaise bhikre hue haina, iska koi youtube hairstyle tutorial hoga pakka..." joked dushyant, as ishita just gasped. 

"aisa kuch nahi hai...aap bas chidha rahe hai mujhe..." stated ishita, as she pouted, before sipping on her coffee, making dushyant laugh. 

He leaned forward, moving his hand close to her cheek, only to pull it, making her glare at him. 

"khaash tum dekh paati kitni cute lagti ho tum aise..."remarked dushyant, before he took a long sip of his coffee, while he continued to laugh. She took a moment to just adoringly look at him, lovingly hearing carefully the sound of his laughter, which brought odd sense of comfort for her. 

He noticed this, turning to look at her, as he ended up glancing at her too. 

"kya hua?" asked dushyant, as ishita shook her head in no, going back to sipping her coffee while smiling to herself. 

Dushyant couldn't help but smile to himself, something about her that he can't help but find loveable. 

Silence took over the air, but with comfort as the distress started to fade away. 

                                                                      ***

Kavin and Purvi stood by the fridge, with a cup of ice cream each for them to eat away from. 

"why have you just kept dozens of ice cream there?" asked purvi, amazed. 

"you should, when you know you have to pull an all nighter... maine toh saare college exams aise hi nikale hai..."  remarked kavin, as he continued to eat the ice cream, while purvi shook her head in disbelief. 

"honestly, it's so weird how much this helps..." remarked purvi, as kavin chuckled. 

"it's ok...you don't have to thank me..." stated kavin coyly, as purvi glared at him. 

"i wasn't going to you know..." commented purvi snarkily, making kavin chortle.

"don't lie..." retorted kavin, as purvi instead of saying something back, she just made kavin's spoon fall from his hand, making him glare at her, while she only laughed. 

He too gave it back to her, by just throwing hers away too. They both were now entering into an odd staring contest, only to end it with bursting in laughter together. 

"i'll just pick them up and get new ones...." stated kavin, as purvi nodded, looking over him carefully, feeling like that's all she ever wanted to do.