Marham Dard Par

Chapter Fifteen

The next few days are a blur for both Abir and Mishti as they settle into a new normal - a normal in which they're a part of each other's lives again, where they're together again. Abir had forgotten how it was like... having Mishti around all the time - the peace it brought him, the calm and serenity that surrounded him when she was near. He spent his days thanking god for giving him another chance at love, and never failed to thank Mishti for it either.

It was commonplace for Abir to randomly turn up in Mishti's cabin and pull her from her work, tugging her into some corner of the office where he'd pull her into his arms and hug her tight, repeating over and over that he loved her, and that he always would. In a way, he was trying to undo the damage he'd done when he'd broken up with her and told her he didn't love her, when he'd jerked her hand out of his.

Mishti was definitely not complaining. Abir had always been an affectionate boyfriend - holding her hand, hugging her, occasionally kissing her - and she'd loved that. But this... This was more. This was love and desperation and even a promise of what was to come. She knew that Abir was trying to make up for his mistakes and in a way, he was even trying to reassure himself that Mishti was back in his life and things were better for the two of them.

Not only Mishti, but Abir was trying to make it up to Badi Maa and Bade Papa too. He hadn't visited them again yet because the two of them had decided to keep a low profile for now, which is why no one but Kunal, Nishant, Badi Maa, and Bade Papa knew that they were back together again. Though Badi Maa and Bade Papa weren't privy to the exact details of what made Abir do what he had those months ago, they weren't stupid to not know that Meenakshi Rajvansh was somehow involved in it. Which is why, they didn't push either, giving Abir the time he needed to come clean on his own.

That did not stop Abir from making little gestures to remind them that he was here to stay and would not be leaving anytime soon. He'd send Bade Papa's favourite sweets over, or Badi Maa's favourite flowers. Bade Papa's regular medication would somehow be delivered home weekly, just like it was supposed to, without anyone having to call for it. Once, a mysterious package arrived with a spa day for all the women of the house to give them some time away from all their responsibilities. Long, handwritten letters would arrive every other day for Badi Maa or Bade Papa.

So, yes, Abir was taking this very seriously... trying everything he could to woo Mishti's parents... his parents. Mishti often joked about how he didn't try half as hard to woo her as he was for her parents. Belatedly, Abir did realize that she was right. Even though they'd been back together for almost 20 days, he really hadn't gone out of his way to do something for her after the time he spoke to Badi Maa and Bade Papa, and he wanted to change that. So, tonight was going to be all about his Angry Chorni, and him reminding her of how much he really did love her.

That morning, Mishti woke up to flowers. Abir had only presented her with flowers the one time they were on their way to Champaner. But back then, she'd been so miffed with him that she hadn't even enjoyed it properly. Now though... well, she hugged the bouquet to herself, smelling the divine fragrance of the violets that Abir had sent her. Knowing her ajeeb aadmi, she knew there was definitely a message there as well, and so she looked the flowers up, and wasn't really surprised when the search results threw words like loyalty, devotion, faithfulness at her.

In it, was a card that said, 7pm. Tonight. Be ready. Nothing else. Just the time. She wondered what he was up to now. Nevertheless, she knew it would be something amazing. She was really excited about it too.

As evening rolled around, Mishti got dressed in a beautiful baby pink gown Abir had sent her along with the flowers, ready for him to pick her up. Badi Maa had been all smiles when Mishti had told her that Abir was taking her out, knowing that the two had not been able to spend much time together in months. Even though they were working together on a project, she knew that their days went by talking business, leaving little to no room for personal interaction. For Mishti & Abir, who were each other's best friend, and had a habit of sharing so much, it was definitely a difficult thing. She knew that before the separation, the two used to talk almost the entire day, not really having any other person in their life who they could be so open and honest with. This change of pace must have been very difficult for them, and yet, they were trying to adjust to their new normal, and for that, she was proud of them. But, she was also very happy that they were spending time together, because getting back to where they were before the separation would take time, and to bridge that gap, they really needed to spend more time together.