|| IshRa SS || Haule Haule Ho Jayega Pyaar ✔

03 | Munnabhai

The lines of glares that shot for her eyelids is the reason she woke up. The morning faded in like a scene from bad theatre production. The cast stomp about, slam doors and project their voices as far as their lips, then sulk because no-one replied. It would be funny if this same play wasn't repeated every morning at 7 am. But it does, and she had a small part to play with no lines. All she needed to do was rise, eat, watch tv, read something and repeat. No smiling required.

That wasn't her usual schedule though. She usually woke up with her appa serving her coffee. But now, She found no one around. Sitting upright, she glanced around the room and remembered the events of the past week. 

Running from the wedding. Coming to Delhi. Seeking shelter from stranger. 

The first morning she woke up here, everything was blank. She felt paralysed and in a state of trance. As if she had made a big mistake. She walked slowly to the dining table nearby to drink some water and think things over. That's when she noticed the letter.

Below the fruit bowl on the table, a sheet of paper was lying. She picked it up:

Good morning Miss Iyer,

Hope you had a good night's sleep. I didn't want to disturb you mid-sleep, so I'm leaving you this letter. Please, Don't worry you are safe here.

Today is my first day at the office. So, I'm leaving early. Consider my home to be yours and do anything you like freely but please refrain from misplacing or breaking anything. I cooked some breakfast- just plain toast (nothing to brag). I wasn't sure what you would like and you seem like a vegetarian. Please eat something. Bathroom is straight and right from the dining table.

Will be back soon but please don't go wandering off here and there in this new city varna I'll not allow you back to my house.

Raman Kumar Bhalla

After reading the letter, her mood improved. All her doubts and second-guesses were reduced. he really did seem like a decent guy. Considering that wouldn't even be in house major part of the time, so she had it herself - that calmed her even more. 

It was almost a routine thing, Raman hardly had food - so it was always toast in the morning and for the afternoon, he would send over some food with someone. There were many times that ishita considered to cook but it wasn't her house so she just let it go. He always came in late at night, usually when she had asleep. Rarely they would meet and have some small talk, if she didn't know any better she would think he was ignoring her. But of course she didn't know him, so that was out of the window. 

She and Mihika were in constant contact, she kept ishita informed of what was happening at home. as ishita was bored of isolation and was losing her mind, she called mihika yet again. 

"Akka, come back" Mihika answers the phone in a frustrated tone. ishita sighs and takes a seat on the nearby sofa, "What's happening in the house now, Miku?"

"Kya Matlab? Periamma ro roke thak chuki hai " [What do you mean by what's happening? Periamma is tired of crying]

"And appa? Did he say something?" ishita asks, concerned. her father was always someone she had been close with and shared all her secrets with. He had supported her in everything except for the Subbu matter. When she tried to reason with her father about Subbu, he was ignorant about it and told her that they were family friends and she was just making stuff up in order to delay the wedding.