The Redux of RiKara

Daastan-e-Om Gauri Om

Hey guys!! I'm back with a bang! So, this one is an out and out romantic comedy one with a little tribute to SRK! Also, I tried something different this time, so I hope you guys like it! The song for this one is 'Crush' by David Archuleta.

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"Gauriii "Sahil shouted, hoping his sister would hurry up. He had been standing in the dim light of the hallway waiting for Gauri to get ready so that he could enjoy his evening of fun with his sister, like they always had. If it was up to him, they would go out everyday to escape the gloominess of the chawl that had plagued the house ever since Annika di had left, but Gauri thought otherwise. Gauri had seemed to think otherwise about a lot of things lately. She no longer played the board games with him or took him to watch SRK movies. And whenever he mentioned the long-haired hippie best friend' that had been an important part of her life, her face had crumbled into visible pain before straightening into a fake smile. He hadn't been a fool though, he knew something was wrong, but there was an extent to which he could annoy the answer out of his Gundi sister. So, instead he directed his efforts to getting Gauri out of the house to catch the train to Juhu so that they could have their planned Pav Bhaji date on the beach amidst sunset.

"Coming Sahil! Why are you in such a hurry?" Gauri exclaimed, clad in her classic red kurti and jeans. There was nothing special about the way she had dressed, but it oddly reminded her of the first time she had seen him. She had been wearing the same kurti on the train ride that day.

Before her thoughts could slip out of her tight leash and down the rabbit hole of misery that came about when she thought about him, she turned to Sahil and raised her eyebrows.

"Just" Sahil said and shrugged, but on the inside he was excited for the anticipation of this train ride. Trains had always been a favorite part of his evenings with Gauri because he got to cook up all kinds of stories about the places that he saw and the fields they ran through, but today was special. Why? Well, that was a secret...

Together the brother-sister duo made their way to the familiarity of the station and sat in anticipation of the train. Gauri could not help but reminisce the first time she had seen him on this very train months ago. Both of them were so new to each other then, not knowing and not caring about how messed up their relationship would become in the future. Gauri wondered if she would have still ogled at him if she knew how things would end up. Would she have still gone on the coffee non-date that led to their friendship? Or maybe the biryani lunch and the rain dance after that had pushed her to this pain? If her logical mind could just pick and tear at the broken pieces of their relationship and figure out where she went wrong then probably she would be able to handle the gaping hole in her heart that he had left when he left.

The sound of the train chugging towards the station brought her out of her thoughts. Sahil hopped up excitedly and literally dragged her to the far end of the coach where the seating was a little less crowded and the atmosphere was quiet. She had insisted on climbing into any available coach that would have seats for them, but he was adamant on getting on this very seat. If there was something strange about his behavior, she didn't pay much attention to it. Whatever made Sahil happy would be fine with her.

Together, they walked to the far end of the coach and found exactly two empty seats next to a young man who sat with his back to them. Gauri didn't want to disturb this peaceful stranger who seemed to be deeply engrossed in his music, but she had no choice as Sahil quickly tapped on his back and motioned for him to scoot over. When they had settled next to him on the adjacent seats, he smiled at her and said, "Hi! I'm Varun. You have a very cute brother!"

Isn't this how they had met? A simple compliment that had led to a beautiful conversation and a beautiful friendship. Probably way too beautiful which is why it was bound to break.