❝ Ye hajar bar kahe du ❞
- - ⚜️ - -
Sunlight streamed golden through the window in a well mannered announcement of the risen sun. In the soft white-gold light of the new day, the hues of the bedroom moved from impressionist pastels to brilliant pop art. The bedroom was just tidy enough to show that the couple cared about the space. In the background, on the wall behind the bed hung a neon sign that read - #Shijun.
Arjun walked in the room, with a towel wrapped around, his hair still wet. Picking the shirt, he took it out from the hanger, wearing the cloth around. The shirt was loose, with a neat trimmed edge rather than a collar. He himself had ironed it. The fabric had that linen look with a subtle stripe and pattern of flora, masculine and feminine all at once. It was gifted by his better half. She said that the shirt summed him up pretty well, the way he was - a strong and emotionally literate man. The way that made him beautiful, and so easy to love.
Buckling the belt around his trouser, he walked out of the room, making a beeline towards the kitchen. Putting the bread inside the toaster, he picked the coffee sachet. His day started with coffee - rich and dark, with hot water; and ended with tea - masala and kadak, with a creamy milk.
The sudden sound of the toaster, startled him, making him almost spill the coffee. Placing the half burned breads on a plate, he moved towards the hall. He had just taken a sip from his drink, when the sight in front, made Arjun choke, haulting him on his way.
On the couch, sat Aarushi, dressed in a red coloured dress. Her wedding dress. Their wedding dress. The frills of the crimson ankle-lengthskirt were placed neatly on the either sides of the couch. The dupatta, beautiful in gold zardosi work, was spread on the wooden table. Upon her lap, sat the laptop, on which her eyes were glued. Arjun noticed the thin liner, she had applied, layered above the golden eyeshadow. Forming a pout, her lips were coloured in maroon, the colour complementing her dusky face.
Arjun had been busy gawking at her, when Aarushi's voice snapped him out.
" I know I'm looking beautiful Arjun, but that doesn't mean you get to stare at me like this." She turned her head towards him, passing her cheeky smile. " Tum office ke liye late ho rahe ho."
Composing himself, Arjun was about to reply with some mushy pick-up line. But stopped midway, recalling yesterday's WhatsApp chats. As the chats recollected in his mind, the redness of his cheeks faded away and the shy smile, turned into a frown.
"Oh yah! I forgot, now only your fanboys have the right to stare at you." He muttered, words loud enough to reach her ears.
Ignoring her glares, Arjun sat on the couch, a good distance away from her. Picking the honey jar, he poured some on the bread, his eyes savouring it's sweetness. There was comfort in the toasted bread, the surface a homey caramel-brown. In the gentle warmth it retained, it melted the butter and took the honey right in.
" Fanboy se yaad aya, I didn't knew, I had a fanboy back in Dehradun as well." Aarushi smirked. Arjun's expressions turned into horror, as he saw the two black rings lying on the table. Both had the same engraving - together and forever. The only difference was, one had the original engraving, while the other was written with white pen. Some letters on the latter, had faded in the passage of time.
" Kâmëënî Heer." Arjun muttered.
Ofcourse only Heer knew about the ring and no one else. He was stupid back then to think that it was cool, to have an accessory as same as his crush. Arjun remembered how embarassed he had been, when Heer had confronted him, saying that it was Aarushi's mother's ring. The ring was a symbol of love, Mrs. Sharma had recieved from Mr. Roy. Aarushi had kept the ring with her, in remembrance of her parents.
" You woke, up early." He cleared his throat, taking a bite of the bread.
Aarushi stretched her arms out, cracking her knuckles and replied, " Hmm, did an early morning shoot. You know who sponsored it? " She asked, showing some makeup brands' products. It was a bridal shoot, sponsored by a reputed brand. Hence, she was required to dress in her own wedding dress, and re-create her own wedding makeup.
But Arjun was least interested about that, he took another sip from his coffee and spoke, " You could have woken me up. Main help kar deta." He pointed at her heavy dress.
" Couldn't help to NOT wake you up, when you looked so cute while sleeping." She chuckled.
Arjun had the habit of sleeping on his stomach and that's what Aarushi would always find cute. He watched her, as she undid her bun, letting her red streaks dangle on her shoulders. It took all his energy and the screaming of his inner ego, to not let his fingers run through her locks.
He scoffed, " Say it a clearly na, that I wouldn't be of any help. Just a boring engineer. That's what I am." He was about to put the last piece of bread in his mouth, when a hand stopped him.
" Let's talk it out Arjun. What's bothering you since yesterday?"
"As if you don't know."
" I really don't." Aarushi crossed her arms, across her chest and shifted a little on the couch, folding her legs.
Like everything else in the room the couch told a story, a testimony to the personality of its owner. It was a piece made more for style than comfort, a moderately priced copy of some truly talented designer. Another sponsored product by some furniture brand. Underneath the blotches from casually dropped food it had been cream. Aarushi had aspired to a clean look, minimalist, pale, but lacked the self discipline not to eat fish curry and naan on it, glued to her Bollywood movies.
Imitating her actions, Arjun replied, " I read Darshan's message before he deleted it."
It was now Aarushi's turn to gasp, her expressions turning into horror. She blinked at him, while he blinked back at her. After what felt like an eternity to him, she finally spoke, but not what he had expected.
" Kâmëënâ Darshan."
" He knew about your project, and I didn't. You are going to Mumbai aur tumne mujhe batana bhi sahi nahi samjha? " He said, popping the last piece of bread in his mouth.
" Are you pissed because I hid it from you, or that Darshan knew and you didn't? " she squinted her eyes.
"Both." Arjun announced. Ofcourse he was pissed by the fact, that Aarushi felt it right to tell Darshan first, and not him. Behen bol-bol ke sar pe chhad chuka hai. He thought to himself.
Aarushi huffed, "Listen, I was about to tell you-"
"-when? Jab tum Mumbai chali jaati. " He cut her inbetween. Gulping down the coffee in one go, he put the mug down.
" I'll be back in a month." She stated the facts.
" Exactly! A whole freaking month. How on earth will I manage without you?" He raised his voice in alarmingly. " And you didn't even discuss it with me."
Despite, her anger, Aarushi found the panicked-stricken Arjun too adorable. Suppressing her smile, she asked, " so now I need to ask for your permission?"
Clicking his tongue, Arjun shook his head. " I'm just saying, that I atleast deserved to know. It has always been about you, Aarushi. Your parents, your fears, your life."
He stood up and continued, " But what about me? What about my choices, meri opinions ka kya... Don't they matter? "
" You know what? Just admit it that tumhare male ego ko hurt hua hai. Afterall I'm earning more than you. And no, it's not only about me. It's about us Arjun. But you won't understand." Aarushi stopped.
She stood up and grabbed her laptop. " And yeah, stop behaving like a possessive husband."
Saying this she headed to her room, closing the door with a loud bang.
Arjun stood, there dumbstruck, before speaking, " What do you mean by BEHAVING like a husband? I'M your husband."
• •
Arjun had just put the file down, when his phone pinged, recieving a notification. Rubbing his temples, he unlocked the screen, opening the green app. His screen showed an unread message from the group, 'St.Maria ke teen bandar'
Darshan, 12:01 pm
@ArjunKanungo, dimaag thikane mein toh hai tera??
Arjun rolled his eyes. He wanted to shout at this person and tell him that it was him, whose brain wasn't in right senses. Well it never was. Arjun thought. He looked down at the phone screen as another message followed.
Darshan, 12:01 pm
What the hell did you do bro!
Looking around at his busy colleagues, Arjun typed furiously.
12:02 pm
I never did anything.
It's was YOU WHO DID EVERYTHING!!
Darshan, 12:02 pm
Wah bhai!
Ulta chor kotwal Ko daante.
Arjun let out a scoff. If he hadn't blurted anything, there wouldn't have been the chances of his and Aarushi's fight. If he had kept his mouth shut, he wouldn't have been this pissed off. He stopped for a while, and suddenly muttered, " why do I sound like Heer?"
He looked down at the screen, reading a new message.
Armaan, 12:03 pm
You know very well, that Arjun doesn't like it when Aarushi shares things with you before him.
Toh why the hell did you blurt it out?
Poor Armaan, Arjun thought. It was a relief for all of them, that he hadn't read Darshan's deleted message. Else things would have gone pretty much bad. After all, nobody knows what Inaya would have done. For now the 'not so innocent lad' knew that Darshan had typed only about Aarushi's work project and nothing else. Atleast someone's surprise was kept a surprise.
Arjun heaved a sigh. Finally someone was on his side. He couldn't say, with whom his relationship was better, between Armaan or Darshan. The banter, teasing and jealousy towards each other, was what, had formed the bases of friendship for him and Darshan.
On the other hand, the bond between Armaan and him had grown from books, to a sense of understanding they both had towards each other. If one was an annoying friend, the other had become a little brother. And they both had been a major part of what he called, his pehli Mohabbat. Friendship.
Darshan, 12:03 pm
SHE NEVER TOLD ME!
Aarushi was actually talking to Heer, when I just had happened to overheard the conversation.
"What the-" He stopped midway, realising the surrounding he was in. Arjun reread the message again. His heart beating fastly. He had been a nut the whole time. Muttering beautiful words, he typed a message.
12:04 pm @DarshanRaval,
Tu pehle nahi bata sakta thha yeh.
Darshan, 12:04 pm
Kisine poocha hi nahi.
Arjun smacked his forehead. He could imagine, Aarushi's chandalika roop, awaiting him back at home. He was in a deep mess.
12:04 pm
Okay I am in fix now. Help me yaar?
An hour passed and he didn't recieve any reply. Putting the phone back on desk, he focused himself on the computer screen. But his mind was busy ransacking all the romance novels he had read. Where were those cheesy story plots, when he needed them the most?
Arjun was about to get up for the lunch break, when his phone ringed. It was a group call. Swiping the green icon, he brought the phone near to his left ear. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by two male voices on the other side, who spoke together.
" Ab sunn humara plan."
- - ✉️ - -
Aarushi felt the grass in her soles soft, warm, and a gentle tickle as she sat on the cushion of green. Each strand moved in the winter breeze as easily as her red hair, and rustling as alive as her steady breaths. Spending her day hours inside the house, working on the deadline, talking to the sponsors, all had added to her migraine. Who said, being an influencer is easy?
Her hands stopped at a particular grass, as she started plucking the leaves out. Despite having a busy day, she couldn't get the morning argument out of her mind. Probably, Arjun was right. She might have had become a little selfish. She might had forgot, that now it wasn't about her only. They were as much a part of each other as anything else. All her decisions and choices required an 'us' now. So how could she take a decision all alone?
But then, wasn't this what she wanted from her life. The independence of making choices on her own. Independent of all the ifs and buts, independent of her fears, her past. To take decisions that would make her proud, her parents proud and more importantly, make him proud.
Ever since a child, Aarushi had received dejection form her life. She had lost her parents, her major lifeline. At growing age, she got diagnosed of PTSD. Those miserable days, had become an unforgettable experience of her life. When she grew up, she swore to never visit the place, again in her life, that had snatched everything away from her. But then, he had entered in her life, and she started believing that life was not always the way, a coffee tasted.
You just need to add sugar and milk into the coffee powder and before you know, the bitterness is gone. Not entirely though, it will come, if you add more coffee to it; and again would vanish, if you add a little sugar to it. Just like the sugar, Arjun had come into her bitter coffee-like life. The creamy milk? She had people whom, she called her loved ones, already supporting her.
Fresh faces of her small family back in Kolkata flashed in front of her. Her Bua, grilling fish while Paritosh and Kaki, busy with eyes glued on the football match. Aarushi looked up at the pink sky, and she could see the two smiling faces of her parents. Involuntarily her own lips curled upwards. She craned her neck down, opening her phone's screen. Her smile spread wide, looking at the wallpaper- the people she met in Dehradun.
And thus, these people added the sugar and milk in her life's coffee, turning it from bitter to sweet. Giving her the hope to live, that she had lost. Letting her live her life, on which she had almost given up. Making her fall in love with life, whom she had started hating. It was life, that had made her fall in love with Arjun, and thus it was life, she loved the most. Hence, it was life she fell for. Her pehli Mohabbat. Life.
• •
Aarushi was about to get up, when out of nowhere came a golden retriever, playful and quick, galloping over, towards her. She smiled, as the small pup, sniffed her toe, licking her socks. She ran her hand, along its furry body, patting his head simultaneously. It was pawfect... The sort of dog she wanted to hug until the world felt right again.
" What's your name, kidoo? " She asked, tracing the strap around it's neck. Turning the bone shaped tag around, she read the engraving - Simran.
"Simran!" She exclaimed. Picking a stick nearby, Aarushi threw it at a distance and watched as the golden retriever ran behind it.
About three seconds later Simran leaped through the trees, and lined the path with a stick in her mouth. With those big brown eyes and her golden tail swishing like she just got all her birthday wishes at once, Aarushi knew what she wanted. The pup wanted that slimy stick thrown down the path, and not once, but over and over.
So she curled her fingers around the stick, feeling the cool dampness. Simran released it at once and sat. As Aarushi's arm wheeled backwards, the pup ran forward fast. Then she threw the stick back down the path behind her as far as she could and the pup hurtled after it. Aarushi walked all of the six paces and Simran was back in front of her, eyes still dancing... But this time, she didn't bring the stick with her. Instead, she was carrying a paper in her mouth.
Aarushi frowned, she crouched down in front of Simran, taking the paper out of her canines. Opening the half wet paper, she read it - Sorry :")
Her lips, formed a pout. Her eyebrows squinted up as she reread the word. As if on que, Aarushi felt someone standing behind her. She craned her neck around, looking up to meet with a very familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. A hand stretched towards her, as she willingly took it in support to stand up. She instantly felt a sudden tug, and before she knew, Aarushi fell forward on the broad chest. Her hands placed on either side.
" I'm sorry Aarushi." She heard a low whisper near her left ear. " For being a nut in the morning."
" I'm sorry too." A smile spread across her face, as she snuggled into his chest. Two muscular arms, wrapped around her waist, and she tugged him more closer.
" And no, you are not a nut. And definitely not a boring engineer. You are just the way I like you. " Aarushi moved back, looking up at him.
" I hyped it all, behaving just like a possessive husband." Arjun stated.
" Nopes. You're perfectly annoying husband. That's what you are. And it's okay, because it's as much a reflection of me as anything else. Those days, when everything goes right I find you so cute, and those days the world bites me I want to bite you. So really, it's the pressure and stress that messes us up, you and me. " Aarushi moved her finger back and forth, between them. " Because when I see you properly I soon find that you are annoyingly perfect." She pinched his nose.
"Really?" Arjun smirked.
" Really." Aarushi grinned back.
A soft bark, broke their trance and the couple looked down at the golden retriever. She was carrying the same stick in her mouth, looking up at them with puppy eyes.
" I think, we should look out for her owner. Maybe she's lost." Aarushi picked Simran.
" Why? The owner is right here."
The words made Aarushi turn her head towards Arjun, who passed her a knowing smile. She looked down at the pup, in her lap, fallen asleep. A lone tear, rolled down her cheeks, as she hugged the doggo closer, her cheeks hurting from the outstretched smile on her face.
Upon the path, where they were standing, new year eve's dappling light made a merry morphing mosaic of nature's gifts. A winter sunset stole the stage, with a flourish of romantic hand the sunset blossomed red and gold. The laughter of children, in the park, brought the colours of the evening to an ever more heartwarming hue.
❝Meri pehli mohabbat, pehli mohabbat, Pehli mohabbat hai woh ❞
- - ✉️ - -
Hey guys!!
Well, Wattpad has been acting weird for a while. I'm neither able to message on anybody's message board, nor the device is saving my drafted chapters. Anyways, I have messaged them regarding it and really hope the issue gets resolved soon.
Apart from that, my new year has been going quite okay. And I guess that's the least we can expect from the year 2022...
Coming to the chapter, I really hope you all liked it. Again, thank you so much for reading.
Quick question: Now that we know what pehli Mohabbat means to the first four, any guesses what Inaya and Armaan's pehli Mohabbat will be??
Let's see if you can guess it. And oh if there's any correct answer, I'll dedicate the next chapter to them. Will be fun to read the responses.
Lastly, please take care of yourself and your loved ones. Stay safe, stay healthy.
Keep spreading love!