When I woke up I looked around, feeling disorientated by the new surroundings. Suddenly, everything rushed back to me again. I noticed that the room had lights on so I figured that it was probably evening – night even. I slowly started to realise that all this was actually happening. The chase, the jump, the police officer, my supposed case – it was no nightmare! "Hey Devi Maiyya raksha karna (Hey Devi Maiyya protect me)," I prayed. "Hume kuch samajme nahi aarahaan hai. Ek ajinabipe hum vishwaas kaise karenge? Pathanahi voh sachmein hamaari mathath karnekeliye aaya hai ya phir... Koi tho raastha dikhao Devi Maiyya! Hamaari mathath karo! (I don't understand anything. How can I trust a stranger? I don't know whether he has actually come to help me or... Show me some kind of path Devi Maiyya! Help me!)"
Somewhere in my heart I trusted Arnavji quite strongly but that was the problem! Should I be trusting a stranger? It felt right but logic said pointed in the other direction. I was asking for some sort of sign from Devi Maiyya when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jerked to look at the person to find a young, kind-looking girl looking at me with a small smile lighting up her face. "Dariye math. Arnav aapki raksha karenge. Jab voh kisiko raksha karneka wada kartha hai, tho kithna bada toofanbhi aaye, voh unki raksha karkarhee rahenge. Aapko darneki koi zarurath nahi hai. (Don't be scared. Arnav will protect you. When he promises to protect someone, no matter how big a storm comes he will make sure that he protects them. You don't have to be scared at all.)"
Arnavji. Oh yes that was his name. He was the police officer who had saved me. Where was he? Even though the words of the unknown girl made me feel slightly lighter, there were still many questions running in my head. Who was this girl? And where was Arnavji...? Hadn't he been here the last time I had woken up in this very room?
As though she understood my wordless question, she started, "my name is Sheetal. My brother works with Arnav, and you are currently in our house. Arnav brought you here because he thought it was the safest place for you at the moment." That triggered a memory – oh yes Arnavji had mentioned something about a friend's house and safety. But where was he? "You might be wondering where Arnav is – well he thought that it may be less intimidating for you if I talked to you. I don't know how he acted with you but I just wanted to tell you that... even though Arnav looks arrogant and angry on the outside, he has a heart of gold. He truly looks out for those who he vows to protect. You're in safe hands Khushi, and you are really lucky to have him assigned to your case."
I slowly took in everything the girl was saying and bit by bit my doubt was starting to decrease. Maybe this Arnavji wasn't bad after all and he really was my hero... Her words gave me hope that maybe all was not lost. But then the thoughts of my Buaji and Jiji made me worry – had they been informed of all this? Or were they looking for me? My thoughts were interrupted as Sheetal continued to speak.
"Khushi I can understand how you must be feeling right now with all the information that has been dumped on you all of a sudden. But... I just want to let you know that we're here for you, and... we don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Think of this as your own house and you can think of me as a sister," she finished with a soft smile. She reminded me of Jiji and somewhere that gave me the comfort I was seeking. I slowly smiled back at her, laying my hand on top of hers.
"Shukriya, (Thank you)" I said gratefully. "Kya hum aapko Di bulaa sakthe hain? Hume apni Jijikki bohot yaad aarahi hai. Or aaptho bilkul unkithara hai! Jab bhi hum aise pareshaan rehthe hain, bilkul aapkithara Jiji bhi aisahi humse baatkarke humaare saare pareshaaniyaanko yunhi katham karthethe hain! (Can I call you Di? I'm missing my sister a lot. And you're just like her! Whenever I'm worried, just like you she also talks to me like this and ends my worries in a second)" I said, smiling with sweet memories in my head.
"Are ye bhi koi savaal hai?! Aap mujhe hamesha Di bulaasakthe hain, or aajse ye ghar bhi aapke ghar hai. Teek hain? (Is that even a question?! You can always call me Di and this house is also yours from today. OK?)" Sheetal said with her sweet smile again. I nodded in return and felt a full-fledged smile appear on my face. For the first time today I actually felt a bit positive. And I'd found a new sister too.
And I knew that there was only one person who I could thank for this. But where is he? I don't know why but I felt so anxious without him here with me. I don't know when it happened but somewhere along the line I'd subconsciously made him my personal saviour and maybe – just maybe something more too. It's funny because only a few hours ago I'd doubted this man, but at the same time, within a few minutes or hours, I don't know, he'd become a necessity for me. The room felt too empty without him in it...
"Has she woken up?" a voice asked from the door. As I turned to see the owner of the voice my eyes met a pair of caramel orbs.
And I was lost again. What was it about those eyes that made so addictive? I could gaze into them all day and not get bored. I could reside in their warmth all my life. I wanted to say so much to him but it was like he could understand my every thought. When I wanted to convey my apologies for misunderstanding him, his eyes accepted them. When I wanted to express my gratitude for everything he'd done for me, his eyes became even softer than before – if that was even possible. For my every silent question his eyes had an answer.
We were both lost in each others' eyes when the sound of footsteps interrupted us. Di walked towards Arnavji putting her hand on his arm saying, "She's woken up and she's feeling a lot better than before." I don't know why, but to me she seemed to look so stiff all of a sudden. Then she turned to me and asked, "haina Khushi?(Right Khushi?)" while smiling kindly at me. I nodded in response, smiling slightly. Ok I'm pretty sure I imagined that stiffening up part. This sweet girl was not capable of showing any negative emotions.
After Arnavji thanked Di, she smiled back sweetly – maybe too sweetly – and then left the room. I don't know why but that gesture of hers made my heart tighten just a little. Could it be that these two were together? I felt like my heart was going to break into pieces all of a sudden. But when I saw that Arnavji took a small step away from Sheetal with a neutral face, I consoled myself that I was imagining things. The warm look was no longer there, replaced by a blank look.
When he spoke to Sheetal he never had that look on him. Maybe he saved that look for me, my heart told me. Somehow the thought of him giving that look to any other girl, hurt me. But that was stupid. To him I was probably just another case. Just another passing cloud in his life which he won't even look back at.
"Khushi Kumari Gupta, how could you feel possessive of a guy who you just met?" I berated myself silently. "Khushi tumhe yeh kya hogaya hai? Jiji sahi kehti hai. Bilkul pagal ho tum! (Khushi what's happened to you. Your sister is right. You're absolutely crazy!)" I scolded myself.
"Do you always have to mutter to yourself?" he asked all of a sudden, giving me that 'you are so weird' look again.
"Voh... voh... bachpanse aadath hai. Badhal nahi sakthe, (Um... Um... it's a childhood habit. Can't change it)" I replied. He looked away shaking his head slightly with a 'what have I got into?' look. I pouted that. What could I do? This is how I am and I couldn't change it.
A loud grumbling sound interrupted both our thoughts, with Arnavji swiftly taking out his gun, looking around, and ready to shoot at the opponent. "Voh–" I started, but was cut off as he shushed me, looking around seriously, trying to figure out where the sound came from. "Nahi voh– (No it's–)" I started again but he gestured me to stop with his hand again. Urrrgh, why couldn't this guy just listen to me?!
"Arre suniye tho!!! (Please listen!!!)" I shouted. That caught his attention. "Voh...that was my stomach rumbling," I mumbled quickly, my words coming out in a rush. I could feel myself going red in embarrassment.
At first the words didn't sink into him, but then he looked at me with clenched jaws. For a second I thought that he was angry. But then I saw a tiny smile fighting to form on his lips. I could tell he was trying to keep the smile off his face but his eyes were filled with mirth. I smiled widely at him, my embarrassment forgotten in the feeling of having achieved something beyond limits.
I saw one side of his mouth tip up slightly in an attempt to return the smile, but it only lasted for a second. After that second, gone was the smile, gone was the mirth in his eyes, in fact gone was any expression on his face.
I sighed. Just as I was going to tell him that I was hungry, he said, "wait in here, I will get you some food." With that he left the room. A few minutes later he was walking back into the room with a tray of food. He set the tray on the bed next to me, waiting for me to start eating. I looked at the tray and saw that there was enough for three on it. I mean I knew that I generally ate a lot, but this tray had soooo much food on it that two of me could share the plate and still feel full. But then again I was hungry so maybe I would finish all of it. I was just about to start eating when a thought occurred to me.
"A-a-aap nahi kayenge? (W-w-won't you eat?)" I asked, hesitantly. He looked at me instantly with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. He looked like a lost young child who had just found his mother after a long time. But he was again quick to cover up his emotions.
"No, I will eat later," he said.
"Lekin hume akeleme khaaneki aadath nahi hai. Aap bhi hamaare saath kaayena?(But I'm not used to eating by myself. Please eat with me?)" I asked. Even though his face was blank, I could see that his eyes were confused on whether to accept my request or not. "Please?" I tried again, putting on my sweet face. He nodded curtly and was about to leave again – probably to get his food – when I stopped him by holding his hand.
I took my hand off as soon as I had touched it. It was those weird spark things again. Why did I get that feeling every time I came into contact with his hand? I was still trying to get over the tingling in my hands when I realised what I'd just done. I'd held his hand! I looked up at him to see him gazing at me intently. My face started to burn as I felt self-conscious – partly because of what I'd done and partly because of the way he was looking at me, as though he could look into my soul.
Trying to get rid of the awkward silence, I cleared my throat and said "voh... aap bhi issmehi kaa sakthehain. Itna saara khaana hum dhono keliye kaafi hai,(umm... you can eat from this tray too. There's so much food that it's enough for both of us)" I said looking down, waiting for him to reply. He didn't say anything but after a few seconds of considering my words, he sat down slowly in front of me.
We ate in silence but weirdly enough it wasn't awkward. It was a comfortable silence and both of us ate from the same plate. Somehow it all just felt so intimate to be eating from the same plate, in such a calm manner. The funny part was that it all just felt so familiar. I didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable sitting so close to this almost-stranger and sharing my plate with him. It felt like we were a couple who had been doing this for years.
It was kind of scary to think that I trusted a stranger who I'd met only this afternoon to this extent. But it just felt so right. I could get used to this.
After we cleared up he went down to take the tray back downstairs. As soon as he re-entered the room he said, "You should go to sleep. Today's been a long day. You can ask your questions tomorrow." I nodded in response, lying back in bed, snuggling into the blanket.
I was so anxious about how I was going to sleep. I didn't know whether I should tell him about my fear of the dark or not. And what about my fear of sleeping alone? It just didn't seem right to ask him to stay in the room with me... And I didn't want to disturb Di either.
"Tum teek ho? (Are you alright?)" he asked all of a sudden. Did my apprehension show on my face that much? How did he read me so easily? "Tum teek ho? (Are you alright?)" he repeated, looking concerned. I realised that I forgot to reply as I was lost in my thoughts.
"Ummm... I'm scared of the d-dark," I stuttered, "and I'm scared of sleeping alone. When I'm at home I sleep with Jiji but here..." I looked down not knowing what to say next.
Normally people would have questioned why I was scared or they would have laughed at me for such an absurd habit, but he didn't do any of that. He just stood there thinking for a second before he turned and left the room. I knew that he hadn't just left me hanging because I trusted him and I knew he wouldn't do that to me.
He returned a minute later with slight worry in his eyes – the only sign of emotion on his otherwise blank face. "Sheetal is not around – so she's asleep..." and he left the sentence hanging there. For a few minutes he just stood there in the doorway not leaving but not entering the room either.
We couldn't stay like this all night long so I came to a decision. I wasn't sure whether it was the right thing to do or not. If it had been someone else in his place I don't know if I would have done this, but this was my Arnavji. So hesitantly I asked, "k-k-k-kya a-ap hamaare saath iss kamre mein so sakthe hain? (C-c-can y-you sleep in this room with me)" He looked shocked at my suggestion and I hurried on to explain "I know a girl of my age shouldn't ask a boy of this but I really can't sleep in a room alone. Could you please stay in this room with me? You can..." I looked around to see if there was a comfortable place for him to sleep, but there was no other bed in the room. There was only a sofa close to bed, and I wasn't going to suggest him to sleep on that small thing so I changed my mind. "You can even sleep on the bed! I'll sleep on the sofa but... please stay in the room with me... please" I pleaded him. There was no way I could sleep in this room alone.
There was no change in his facial expression and I started to lose hope but then he walked to the sofa silently and sat down on it. All he said was, "I'm here."
And that was all that was needed. I knew nothing would harm me when he was there with me. But where would he sleep? "Meri chintha math karo – main yahaan teek hoon. Tum so jao, (Don't worry about me. I'm fine here. Go to sleep)" he said, as though he read my thoughts.
I obeyed him silently and lied back in bed closing my eyes. Eventually sleep took over my senses and I dreamt of a pair of caramel orbs...