Hearing the alarm ring, RK jumps up on his bed and looks at the clock. 5.oo. Big day. Quickly, getting down from his bed, he hurries to the washroom to get ready for the day.
Half an later, RK comes running down the stairs shouting for his mother.
"Maa... Maaa..."
"Rishu... what happened?" Radha comes out of her room sleepily closely followed by his father. "What happened?" Radha asks worriedly.
Seeing RK all dressed up, Mohan asks "Are you going somewhere?"
"Give me breakfast. I have lots to do today." RK tells them.
"Breakfast? Now?" Radha asks confused checking the time.
"What do you have to do today?" Mohan asks at the same time.
"Tomorrow is Madhu's birthday! I told you both!" RK reminds them irately.
"Oh yes... yes... it's too early to think." Mohan says sleepily and he turned around and walked back to his room as there was no danger.
"Patil and Mangesh wouldn't be up now." Radha tells him frowning. "You should have told me that you would want your breakfast early morning."
"I told you I would be waking up early." RK says astonished.
"Yes but you didn't say anything about breakfast."
"You know, I wake up hungry!" RK reminds her outraged.
"Oh God!" Radha moans. "Please, Rishu... from now on please open your mouth and say things out loud. Please don't assume that just because I am your mother, I can read your thoughts."
RK rolls his eyes hearing her as he followed her to the kitchen.
"I don't know, how Madhu manages with you." Radha tells him.
RK couldn't help smile and tells her, "She speaks for both of us."
"That girl does talk a lot... doesn't she?" Radha asks fondly.
RK smiles hearing that.
"Yesterday, she came home and talked to Mohan for an hour." Radha tells RK chuckling.
"And?"
"Mohan couldn't even speak a word in between." Radha tells him bursting out laughing and RK joins her.
"Cornflakes?" RK asks disappointed seeing her take cornflakes. "No egg white omelet?"
"I am not going to cook early in the morning."
RK sighs loudly and decides to sacrifice his diet for Madhu. She was worth it.
"So what are you planning?" Radha asks him excitedly.
"Surprise birthday party."
"That I know." Radha says rolling her eyes. "What are you planning to do?"
RK looks at her for a while then smiling he tells her, "I am going to ask her to marry me."
"FINALLY!" Radha says beaming. "Mohan and I were getting worried that you would never ask her."
RK smiles hearing her.
"Did you get a ring?" Radha asks him.
RK nods in reply as he continued to eat.
"Show me... show me..." Radha says excitedly.
"It is at the jeweler."
"Oh."
Seeing her disappointment, RK takes out his mobile and shows her a photo.
"Oh this is so beautiful." Radha says beaming looking at the ruby and diamond, platinum ring.
"No... no... it is going to be sapphire instead of ruby. And you see here, it is going to be protruding here..." RK starts explaining to her.
"Looks like you had been researching on this for a while." Radha says impressed.
"Two months."
"And you never even got me a gold coin." Radha teases him.
RK slightly blushes.
"Where are you going early in the morning?" Radha asks him curiously.
"Finish some work in office, then I have to go to the jeweler, collect her birthday gifts..."
"Gifts?" Radha asks curiously.
"22 gifts."
"Oh." Radha says then stops frowning, "but it is her 24th birthday, right?"
"Yes." RK says slightly turning pink. "23rd is the ring."
"Oh. What about the 24th gift then?"
RK starts blushing even more unable to answer her.
"Oh oh oh..." Radha says grinning ear to ear. "Didn't know my son was so romantic."
"let me eat, you go sleep." RK tells her as he looked down to eat.
"Then... tell me what else?"
"I have to go to the hotel to see the arrangement, caterer, check out the cake."
"Hmmm... busy day. Okay... I am going to sleep then." Radha says and walks off.
"Do you have any fruits?"
"In the fridge."
After putting the bowl in the sink, he opens the fridge and grabs two plums and leaves quickly.
Till 11, RK worked in his office, taking care of urgent works. At 11 sharp, he left the office to take care of everything.
"No... No... I want light purple and white roses. If I wanted Orchid, I would have told you that. Madhu likes rose... so I want ROSE!" RK says furiously as he hung up the phone. Just as he cut the call, his phone starts to ring.
"PICK UP PICK UP PICK UP" Madhu's voice started shouting at him.
Every time he hears that ringtone, he couldn't help chuckle. Once when they had gone for coffee, he had left his mobile on the table while he had gone to pay the bill and after that whenever she had called that was her ringtone.
"Hello." RK answers smiling.
"GOOD MORNING!" Madhu wishes him excitedly.
"Morning."
"Are you in your office?"
"Just stepped out."
"Where are you going?"
"To a meeting." RK says truthfully.
"What meeting?"
"Meeting."
"Uff! Can you explain? Why do you always answer just to the point? Do you want me to be a questionnaire asking you question by question? Oh God! That is a very difficult activity. Can't you answer like I do? Hello Madhu... are you in your office? No, Rishu... I was in my office, then I stepped out as I have a meeting with my Regional Manager regarding our marketing budget as we are going to be launching a new product by the end of this month. By the way, we are launching a new range of lamp shades. It is a beautiful crystal piece with..."
"Madhu... Madhu..." RK says amazed at how she could talk like that.
"What?" Madhu asks as she stopped her blabbering.
"You were asking me something..." RK says knowing full well that she would have forgotten what she was asking him.
"I was?" Madhu asks confused. "I forgot... anyway leave all that... let's go for a movie."
"I have work." RK tells her.
"Uff... can't you even say, sorry Madhu, I have an urgent meeting today?"
RK chuckles, "I wish I could come, Madhu."
"If you wish, then you can definitely come!"
"Really busy, Madhu."
"Get lost! You never fulfill any wish of mine!" Madhu says pissed and hangs up the phone.
RK chuckles hearing her, I want to fulfill every wish of yours, Madhu. Starting tomorrow, I will be fulfilling your wishes, one by one. So movie, maybe day after.
RK thinks back to how they had met. His parents wanted him to get married and they had sent his proposal for Madhu who was the daughter of his parents' friends. He had felt that he was young to get married and had asked everyone for time and he had suggested that they meet and date for a while before either of them decided anything. His argument was that though he liked Madhu, their nature was such a contrast from each other that he was worried if it would work and their parents had agreed.
He initially used to call her every other day and meet her once a week, then it changed to everyday phone conversation and weekends he would meet her, now whenever they felt like, they met up and talked on the phone throughout the day. He didn't even realize that how soon he had fell in love with his chatterbox. He knew she loved him too, she was very expressive about her feelings towards him. He never had to guess what she is thinking. He thought with a chuckle. But she was always left guessing about what he was thinking, and the strangest thing was, she had no issues with it. RK wondered. Or maybe she didn't even realize it. RK thought with a chuckle.
He couldn't wait to see her reaction when he proposed her. god! He knew, she would be jumping and howling the moment he would go down on his knees. He could so imagine that. If it was someone else screaming like a hyperactive teenager, he would have been so embarrassed but with Madhu, he found it all that, charming.
RK spent the rest of the day taking care of every aspect of their big day. Finally, having everything to his satisfaction, he went back home.
He skipped his gym to pack her birthday gifts. He had the gift wrapper custom made with My love, My Madhu printed all over it with beautiful hearts. It was cheesy but Madhu was cheesy. But he didn't have very high hopes on the gift wrapper going to do anything for Madhu as she would be ripping it off the instance she sees it and at the end only she would realize that the gift wrapper was customized. RK decided to keep aside one gift wrapper as Madhu would want to keep it safe.
Tired after, neatly gift wrapping every gift and writing personalized message on each gift. RK then messaged the baker to remind her once again about the cake delivery. It was a red velvet cake with Madhu's miniature, in the middle. She quickly messaged RK with the photo of the cake and RK scrutinized it for 10 mins to make sure that Madhu's likeness was exact. Satisfied, he messaged her and finalized the time and location for delivery once again. RK decided to have dinner and check on his parents.
"Why aren't you both sleeping?" RK asks curiously seeing his parents talking.
"We thought we will wish Madhu at 12 and sleep." Mohan informs RK.
"NO! you can't wish her!"
"Why?"
"it is a surprise party and if you wish her, then she would get suspicious why I am not wishing her." RK tells them outraged. God!
"Oh."
"Only Malik uncle and Padmini aunty are going to wish her. no one else." RK tells him father.
"You should have told us your plan then." Radha says irately, as she got up to go to bed. It was 11:25 already and she sleeps at 10.
"What is there to tell?" RK mutters as he went to his room.
RK took the speech he had written to propose Madhu. He had been working on it close to 3 months now.
Madhu... Maa says that I am very kanjooos with words, so I thought for the first time in my life, I would tell what's in my heart. You are in my heart, Madhu. I love you. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you. My world revolves around you. It is strange that at first when I met you, though I liked you, I was worried that we are so different from each other. I felt you were a little childish and thought that we could never work but there was something in you that wouldn't let me say no to the proposal. The time we spent together, each passing second I realized what that something' was, it was my love for you. now, I can't wait anymore, Madhu... I want to spent the rest of my life with you. I would have wanted to propose you when we were alone, but you did mention once that you wanted a filmy proposal. Your every wish is my life's mission. I love you, Madhu. *takes the ring and go down on knees* please accept this ring and me as your birthday gift and marry me and make me the happiest man in the world.
RK started scratching his head in irritation. There was something missing in the speech. His Madhu deserved the best and something was lacking. Nothing was good enough for Madhu.
Checking time, he realized that it was 11:45. He usually would be on the phone with Madhu at this time. He knew she was upset about the movie issue with him, that is why she hadn't called. He was happy of her anger as he couldn't tell her why he was out of office the whole day and he didn't want to lie to her. He had thought of not calling her today but then if he didn't call her today, she would definitely get suspicious of him not wishing her tomorrow. He decided to call her and talk for a few minutes or rather, listen to her talk for a few minutes and hang up. Then he would work on the speech again.
"RISHU!" Madhu picks up happily.
"I thought you were angry with me." RK says smiling as he lay on the bed and looked at the ring, he was going to give her. he had engraved it with their initials too.
"But you called and I know that is as close as to you apologizing to me. So I forgive you. anyway, the movie was crappy."
"You went for the movie?" RK asks upset that he couldn't go with her. she was fun in the theatre passing comment and reacting loudly to everything.
"No... I read the review. Anyway, leave that how was your day? My day was a little boring. I went out with Mama and Papa to a friend's house. How boring! They have a daughter. God Rishu! You won't believe Rishu, she is so snobbish! She couldn't even spare a smile. Idiot girl, Rishu! I was so bored but then they had a cute doggie. I played with the dog then. Dog was so fun..."
RK with a smile listens to Madhu go on and on about her rest of the day. Seeing that it was 11:59, he decides to hang up.
"Yaaawn... Madhu, it is late, I..."
"OHMIGOD! IT IS 12! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MADHU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME." Madhu happily starts singing shocking RK completely.
RK stops breathing as he closes his eyes in disappointment. He had expected her to be angry with him for not wishing and wait for him to wish her like every typical girl. He had forgot that his Madhu was not a typical girl. Okay... no problem, he will wish her and act as if he just found out now that it is her birthday and still have the surprise tomorrow.
"Did you know; it was my birthday? Have you planned anything? Even if you have, cancel all that. Give you as my gift. Let's get married on my birthday. You propose me, or wait, no better, I'll propose you. Rishabh Kundra, My Love, I LOVE YOU, I want you as my birthday gift. WILL YOU PLEASE MARRY ME?" Madhu asks excitedly.
And with a heavy heart, RK realized that he can never marry Madhu. How can he marry a dead girl as he was going to KILL HER NOW!