More Than A Miracle

2. Family is everything

Ashish

For me, family is everything. My parents, my sister, my friends - are the ones who make me want to be a better person. What do I have if not them? A human being without companionship, what can he achieve in life? Companionship doesn't necessarily mean a life partner; family members are also companions in life. I believe that every person you come across is there to accompany you even if it's not for your whole life. Some people are just meant to be passers-byes while some are your life long companions.

I came to pick my sister from her university hostel because she is having a summer break. She is doing her masters in management. It has been nearly two and a half months since we last saw each other because she was swamped with her course work. Usually, if she is not busy, she tries to come home every two weeks but this time it was a busy semester for her.

I saw her waving at me from afar beaming as she spotted me in the crowd. I grinned back at her and started walking towards her. A girl bumped into me on the way, I helped her up and she smiled seductively at me.

"Oops! I am so sorry. I am a little clumsy." She purred at me keeping her hand on my shoulder in a flirty sort of way. I smirked at her and removing her hand from my shoulder, walked away from her. Ha! I have seen a lot of people like her, these things never worked on me. She just stood there dumbfounded as I left without giving her any reaction.

"I missed you." Khushi jumped on me as I reached her.

"Missed you, too." I hugged her back tightly. We pulled back and I kept my hand on her shoulder as we started talking.

"You know bhai (brother), last night my roommate, Shivani asked me if you were coming to take me home. I told you about her, right. She has a big crush on you. She hasn't stopped asking me questions about you since the day she saw your pictures on my laptop. I mean she is not even my friend but she tries to be sweet to me so that I introduce you to her. Wait till she sees you in real life." Khushi teased me and giggled. I looked at her with a smile. She is the most precious human being on earth for me. I probably love her more than I love my parents.

"Whatever. Shall we leave now? Papa has called me like five times on the way to know if I reached or not, whether you are with me or not. Our parents are too much I tell you." I muttered taking her bag from her. She chuckled and then smirked seeing someone behind me.

"What?" I asked looking at her creepy expressions.

"Oh, see. Shivani is here. Hey, Shivani." Khushi waved over to a girl. I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm to annoy me. Her friend came running to us while grinning. She gave me a once over and started blushing. What? I didn't even do anything.

"Shivani, this is my brother, Ashish. Bhai, this is my roommate, Shivani." Khushi introduced us with a small smile.

"Hi, Ashish. Khushi tells me a lot about you." She murmured, acting like a shy girl but still trying to be frank with me.

"Hi," I replied coldly. Khushi was trying to hold her laughter beside me.

"I heard you are a restaurateur. Do you mind inviting me someday? I am a big foodie." She said with a flirtatious smile.

"Yeah, of course. Khushi will give you the address, you can visit anytime," I replied with a fake smile and glared slightly at Khushi.

"Great. Thank you so much. So, why don't you guys come and meet my parents." She asked looking at both of us with expectant eyes. Parents? No effing way! I looked at Khushi with wide eyes and gestured her to save me. She finally jumped into the conversation and made an excuse.