Hey guys!!
Happy Lohri!!
Happy Bhogi to all the Telugu people out there!!
I am going to be caught up with the celebrations. Hence I am posting this earlier than I planned to.
Have fun!!
Happy Reading!!!
Lots of love!!
Manisha Krishna!!
At Soha's House:
Roohi bugged Neil to take her to Soha's house because Soha hadn't answered a single call of hers nor replied to at least one of the hundred messages Roohi sent. That meant only one thing. Soha was enraged and that was dangerous to Roohi's health. Soha has always stood by her through thick and thin. She was naturally mature. So, she often saved Roohi from making impulsive decisions and landing herself in trouble.
Soha Dev Dixit
Soha Dixit was her only friend and someone she can blindly trust from forever now. For Roohi, she was family and even the Birlas treated Soha with a lot of love and care. They have been in the same school from 5th grade and have been inseparable from then onwards. Soha's family was very sweet, and the Dixit Residence was the only place Roohi was allowed for a night out.
Abhimanyu found it very hard to send his daughter away to someone else's house for a night stay but with the Dixits, he was relaxed. Here, the problem was different. He was rather worried of Roohi visiting them a bit too much and he didn't want to trouble their privacy. That's the only reason why he would stop Roohi from hanging out there because he was very fond of Soha himself. The Dixits on the other hand always welcomed Roohi with open arms.
Sonakshi Dixit
Sonakshi Dixit, Soha's mother has always been very sweet to her, and Roohi liked the vibe of the Dixit household. They were just four of them in the family, Soha, Shubh and their parents. All of them were very warm and loving just like Soha. Soha was a very patient girl until a point where she finally loses her temper. Even then she believes in silence and sarcasm, something which she claims to have inherited from her father.
Dev Dixit
Dev Dixit, is apparently a very gentle man who never needed to raise his voice with the kids to make them listen.
Shubh Dev Dixit
Even Shubh Dixit wasn't a brat, not even remotely. Roohi assumed that the Dixits didn't have a bratty bone in their body except for very rare occasions. But they were so negligible that no body minds letting them slide. Naturally Soha found Roohi's behaviour very bratty initially. Much more than what Roohi actually is because she had no idea about what being a brat actually meant. They were both chalk and cheese when it came to that.
But Soha warmed up to the idea, courtesy Roohi Birla. But she was smart enough to just tolerate it rather than imbibing it. No one back home will appreciate Soha's bratty side and she herself couldn't get herself to do things she herself wouldn't approve of. So, she steered clear of it. This very personality became a bane of Roohi's existence.
She was already going to get it from Soha that day for having a fight in the College, but Soha has been kind enough to let it go. Now that she has committed a bigger blunder than that, Roohi had nowhere to hide. In fact, for Soha, this has to be the biggest crime she has ever come across. That too when she was the one who realized her absence first. From the information Neil gave her, Roohi knew how frightened and worried Soha was.
Soha genuinely hated even crashing at anyone else's place except hers. She occasionally didn't mind hanging out at the Birla's place but that's about it. She was too close to her mom and her room was her safety haven. That is also one of the reasons why Roohi went to her place more than Soha visiting the Birlas. Soha was just wired that way. Roohi on the other hand had run away from home and didn't even feel the need to inform the family. Knowing Soha, she would never let that slide. At least Roohi believed so.
Roohi has mentally prepared herself to grovel in front of her best friend and earn her forgiveness. The bell rang and Sona opened the door. Neil called up and informed her of their arrival. He even dropped a message to Abhimanyu about taking Roohi over to the Dixits so that she could meet Soha. Neil was trying to be as responsible as possible and trying his best to not mess anything anymore for anyone.
Sona smiled warmly at Roohi and welcomed her. Neil dropped her at the door, greeted Sona and left from there. He had already asked Roohi to call him when she was ready to leave so that he could come to pick her up. As soon as she entered, Roohi started looking around to see if Soha was anywhere near. The troubled expression got to Sona and she couldn't stop chuckling. Roohi looked at her with a pout and Sona pulled her cheeks gently.
"Aise mat dekho. Tum itni dari hui lag rahi thi aur itni pyari lag rahi thi toh mujhe hasi aagayi. Couldn't help it.
And if you are looking for Soha, then she is in her room. College se aake seedha room mein gayi" Sona spoke casually.
Roohi was apprehensive. She had no clue how to approach Soha. She had apologized to Soha for serious issues, only a hand full of times earlier because she rarely got angry. Soha was always very patient and forgiving with Roohi, but this was really serious. Soha never really stopped responding to her before. She would at least chat if she didn't want to talk. But this was a whole different case. Sona saw the apprehension and side hugged Roohi. She spoke softly,
"Soha hain woh Roohi. Woh chaah ke bhi rude nahi ho sakti. She can just give empty threats. Don't worry. She will come around.
Abhi toh she is afraid of losing her friend to her friend's stupidity.
Give her some time and assure her. She will be fine. Experience se bol rahi hoon. Darne ki koi baat nahi hain. You can do this."
Sona gave her a pep talk. Roohi didn't know how to react to it but gave her a sweet smile in return. She didn't believe a single word what Sona said. Soha can be curt and brutally honest if she wished to but maybe she never had to be that way with her sweet family. That doesn't qualify as being rude though. So, Sona might actually be right about that. She just prayed to God to be on her side and took the stairs.
She was almost at Soha's door and she just stood there contemplating. She took a deep breath and barged in because she knew if she thought much, she wouldn't speak a word out to Soha. The guilt of worrying her best friend and making her feel guilty for giving the idea in the first place were both not cool in Roohi's dictionary either. Soha looked at Roohi and was shocked. She wasn't counting on her friend to turn up but Roohi surprised her.
Roohi's giving nature and the way she freely loves people is what attracted Soha in the first place. She found her brattiness adorable and she eventually fell in love with the fun side of Roohi Birla. It's just that she wasn't ready for the scare that her friend gave her especially not after she had just warned her to not make her miss her friend. She didn't know if she was angry or upset but nothing stopped her from reaching out to Roohi and giving her a tight hug.
Soha started crying the moment she embraced Roohi. She was genuinely scared that day and all those memories came back to haunt her. Roohi tightened the hug and tried her best to calm Soha. Soha's reaction baffled her. Here, she was ready to grovel and take a good scolding but all she got were tears and those hurt worse. Roohi couldn't stop cursing her fate as she mumbled,
"Yaar koi toh waisa react karlein jaise maine expect kiya ho. Sab ko kuch alag hi karna hain. Meri preparation ki kisiko kadr hi nahi hain. Itne unpredictable kyun hain sab meri life mein."
Soha composed herself and pulled back. She looked away and didn't speak a word. Roohi spoke cutely,
"Soha meri jaan! Please maaf karde yaar. Main kasam khake kehti hoon. Kabhi nahi karungi aisa kuch bhi. Please maaf kardo." Roohi waited for a response, but Soha just looked on.
"Soha! I am sorry. Kuch toh bolo babe" Roohi tried again.
"Kya bolun main? Maine kahan tha don't make me miss my best friend and within an hour, you pulled this stunt. Tumhe pata bhi hain main kitna dar gayi thi jab maine dhunda aur poori College mein tum kahi nahi mili?
Hum sab kitna pareshan the aur Abhir aur mera, ro roke kitna bura haal tha? Ghar aake pe bhi mera rona band nahi hua. Papa ne mujhe gussa kiya. Tab jake chup hui main."
Soha poured out her anguish. Roohi felt like a terrible person for doing that to her. The tears were way more unforgiving than getting yelled at. The fact that Soha got pulled up because of her made Roohi feel very guilty.
"Sorry yaar! Meri wajah se Dev Uncle ne tujh pe gussa kiya. Woh kabhi aise nahi karte na. Sorry" Roohi was quick to apologize.
"Aisa nahi hain. Unhone bahut pyaar se samjhaya tha but I was being stubborn toh unhone mujhe glare kiya aur main aur rone lag gayi. He hates my tears.
Isliye unhone mujhe chillake CHUP karne bola aur main chup hogayi. Itna hi hua. Main hi over sensitive hogayi thi tab because of everything. But uske baad he took care of me. Lori gaake sulaya." Soha gave an account cutely.
Roohi was just amazed by how sensitive Soha actually was at home. She was definitely a tad indifferent at College in comparison.
"So don't be sorry for that. Agar sorry feel karna hain toh do it for the right reasons." Soha explained calmly.
"Roohi! I am not angry ki tum audition dene keliye bhagi. You went after your dream. I get that. I will always support you if that's the case. But you need to keep someone in the loop baba.
Mujhe bolti na...hum kuch na kuch manage karlete aur Uncle ko mana lete to send you. He is damn sweet. Maan jaate woh. Tumhari kaunsi wish unhone poori nahi ki?
This is your dream. You would have had his full support. Aise bhagke jaana is not an option. Tumne soch bhi kaise liya ki you will go away from family without informing? That's so not done." Soha reprimanded her.
"I know Soha. I know maine kya kiya hain and that's not acceptable." Roohi admitted sadly. Soha observed the realization and relaxed. Her friend's family had it all covered just like they should.
"Iska matlab tumhari bahut class lag chuki hain abhi tak. Am I right?" Soha exclaimed. Roohi didn't understand her excitement.
"Why are you so happy about it?" She asked curiously.
"Because mujhe bilkul man nahi hain tumhe kuch bhi kehne ka. I missed you so much yaar. I am super proud ki you got through to Top 15. Humein celebrate karna chahiye.
But as a true friend I am also expected to give you a reality check. Lekin agar sabne already dedi hain toh mujhe stress lene ki zarurat nahi hain.
All thanks to your amazing family. We can skip through that and hum seedha celebration start karsakte hain. That will not kill our mood and also won't make me a bad friend."
Soha gave her weird logic. Roohi was glad for Soha's happiness and understanding but she knew that if and when Soha will know the real reason, she will get upset. Especially when she will realize that she was the reason behind Roohi seeing the video which triggered her eventual reaction. Roohi couldn't get herself to ruin the mood and decided to keep that thing to herself. She didn't want to let Akshara Sharma hurt anyone else.
To be continued........