"Sachi Mohabbat shayad wohi Hai jisme junoon Hai.
Per do Dillon ki yaari main bhi to kitna sukoon Hai.
[Maybe true love is the one which has the mania in it.
But how much peace is there in the friendship of two hearts.]
••| Epilogue |••
Eleana:
4 years with Aryan seem to have passed like wind. What I have with him is timeless and limitless. Today when I look back, I have nothing else to do except for being thankful for everything that I have. After I had fully recovered with Aryan's unmatched care, I decided to work in the same Hospital as him in the children's ward and did my specialisation side by side. We got married post my recovery, almost after three months. It was a destination wedding in New Zealand and it was a dream wedding. It was everything I could have ever asked for. Our honeymoon was even there. Now, we work in the same place and are together all the time. It gets annoying sometimes to be honest. Don't tell him that. We fight and argue but we still are going strong as hell. The advantage in our relationship was that we both had gone through the pain of what it felt like to lose your other half and that's why we never got into a big fight ever. Aryan had been the sweetest companion anyone could have ever asked for. He was a gem. My Gem.
I shifted uncomfortably in my place and turned around to face him. He was sleeping peacefully with all the burden of the world off his shoulders, his mud brown hair falling mercilessly over his forehead. His lips were slightly parted as if mock challenging me. His breathing was shallow. As I laid there looking at his perfect contours and features, it seemed like a dream. The man in front of me was a dream. I stroked his jaw with my hands and giggled slightly feeling ticklish due to his stubble. I palmed his cheek in my hand and took him in the most gentle of the kisses. He stirred, giving me the most cheesiest of his smiles. I giggled and pecked his cheeks while tracing his chiseled chest with my fingers. A sound coming from the device beside my bed startled me.
"Get up sleepy head!" I shook that lazy bum sleeping beside me with his arm over my stomach. I tried to push it away with all my strength but of no avail.
"Ughh. What!! It's Sunday." He groaned pushing his head inside the pillow. I smacked another pillow on his head.
"Ouch! Why are you acting so horny today?" He asked making me smack another pillow in his face.
"Idiot! It's Monday!" I reminded him.
He looked at the mobile screen with one eye open.
"Oh no, Monday again." He spoke irritatedly. "But Wifey, it's still 6 in the morning. We go to work at 8." He tried to act smart.
"Don't call me that!" I scrunched up my nose.
"What wifey?" He smirked, with his eyes still closed. I pushed him down from the bed and he fell on his butt on the wooden floor rubbing his bottom. I smirked at him wickedly. He shot me a confused look.
"What?"
"Let me do that!" I stated as I made my way towards him.
"Do what?" He asked.
"Rub your butt!" I giggled and he looked at me horrified.
"You're a very bad girl!" He spoke before hovering over me from the side but before he could do anything, I smacked him away.
"What's up with all this physical torture and violence today?" He asked making a puppy face.
"Idiot, the baby monitor went off!" I enlightened him and realisation dawned upon him. He quickly ran to the room that was joined to ours separated by a single curtain and seconds later, he entered with our little bundle of happiness wrapped in her pink blanket, cooing to her.
This father, daughter duo will be the end of me. I thought as I looked at him involved in a deep conversation with Arena. She was looking at him with a solemn expression on her face as if he was telling her some really interesting bed time story but the good thing was that she had stopped crying. She wriggled in his arms as he rocked her back and forth before bringing her to his chest.
"Princess, what's up with you today?" He asked her lovingly while nuzzling his nose with hers. She gave out a small innocent whimper and pouted her round lips in the most innocent of the ways.
"Aww Baby wants to go to Mommy!" He spoke as he ran across the room and handed her to me.
"What happened baby?" I asked in a baby voice as I rocked her back and forth while settling her in my lap. Aryan kneeled down in front of us and tried to cheer up her mood. She was all grumpy because apparently something must have disturbed her sleep. He rattled her toy in front of her as she stopped her whimpers and looked at him, suddenly interested. She leaned her tiny chubby arms forward and tried to reach towards the rattle. She grabbed it and put in inside her mouth, sucking onto it lightly.
"Aww. My poor baby is hungry!" I spoke as I gently took out the toy from her mouth and cradled her to my chest. I gave her the feed which she had been wanting. After taking her feed and feeling contented, she extended her arms towards her daddy who was her most favourite. He settled her on his stomach while laying down on the bed beside me and faced her. She giggled uncontrollably as he made weird sounds and faces at her. She screamed in excitement and started cooing. She made adorable sounds and continued to play with her daddy dearest. After some time, she leaned down on his chest and fell there tiredly. Her eyes were heavy from the lack of sleep. He brought her up before kissing her forehead and tightening his arms around her as her eyes fluttered close in her daddy's arms, snuggled into his chest.
Arena Khan, our most prized possession had been born seven months back and was our first child. She had big round rosy cheeks that were so chubby that I could pull them all day long. Her tiny pink hands and feet were peeking out of her night dress. Her head was covered in her pretty pink woollen cap almost reaching her grey eyes. Her long eyelashes and her tiny little nose complimented her face very well. Her pink pouted lips and her golden brown hair were so adorable for me. She was my life.
When Aryan was sure that she was sleeping comfortably, he gently got up and placed her in her cot in the joint room. He tugged the soft blanket over her body and patted her. He came back and hovered over me with a cunning smile on his face and I knew what it meant.
Surprisingly, our Arena didn't wake up. She was a very patient girl and had learnt to cope up with Mummy and Daddy. She knew she was going to experience this with the kind of impatience that her dad possessed. He kissed the crown of my head before pulling me towards him and wrapping his arms around my waist. I snuggled closer into his chest.
"Don't we want an Aryan Junior now?" He smirked.
"No! Let Arena grow up a little first!" I mumbled feeling tired and sleepy together. He just chuckled in return.
"Are you tired?" He asked with his ever so loving voice.
"Mhmm!" I mumbled into his neck as he tightened his arms around me and I sighed in contentment.
"Ena---!" He spoke. "I love you!"
"I love you too!" I spoke and he kissed my forehead. I gave him the widest of my smiles before drifting off to sleep in my husband's arms.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
The buzzing sound of the alarm woke me up. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking several times and rubbing my eyelids to see the most beautiful sight in front of my eyes. Arena was in Aryan's arms and he was kissing her left cheek repeatedly. She seemed to enjoy his kisses as she kept her face still in its place. As he pulled away, she turned her face and leaned her right cheek in front of his lips, wanting his kisses there now. He chuckled and began to kiss there.
"My baby!" He spoke lovingly as he cradled her to his chest.
"When did she wake up?" I asked tying up my hair in a messy bun.
"10 minutes ago!" He answered as he threw her in the air and she giggled adorably.
"Careful!" I spoke suddenly alert.
"I know, princess!" He spoke as he kissed her forehead and she smiled adorably at him. He brought her cheek to cheek with him as he talked to me.
"She has totally taken after you. She's addicted to my kisses." He spoke, chuckling as she nuzzled her face in his neck.
"Now, aren't you, little princess?" He asked tickling her lightly and she cooed. "Baby says yes!" He spoke and I giggled at the adorable duo in front of my eyes. He brought her up and she leaned her mouth forward on his nose, trying to sick on it.
"Naughty baby!" He spoke as he pulled her away. "Get ready Eleana. You take hours." He falsely accused me.
"Oh shut up! I hardly take 20 minutes." I glared at him. Arena seemed to perform some karate tricks in air as she moved her arms and legs while Aryan was holding her from her waist and she was facing me.
"Shoo, Mommy! Go and get ready, we are having fun. Don't be a buzz kill. shoo shoo!" He spoke in his baby voice bringing Arena in front of his face as she giggled at her daddy's craziness. I kissed her cheeks before proceeding to take a shower. As I came out, my eyes widened in horror to see my daughter's face covered in her morning cereal mix. Her Dad was feeding her spoon by spoon, oblivious of the mess they were creating.
"Here comes a kitten. Meow Meow Meow!" He spoke in his baby voice as he shoved the spoon in her mouth and she giggled. She clapped her hands and threw some more contents of the bowl over her night dress. I went forward and placed my hand over my hips.
"Are you done feeding her?" I asked raising my eyebrow.
He nodded proudly before handing her to me and quickly making his way to the washroom.
"Handle your daughter!" He shouted and I glared at him.
"Shut up!"
He grinned sheepishly before slamming the door shut and yelling "I love you both too!" from behind the closed door.
"Your dad is never gonna grow up!" I told Arena who was now in my arms, grinning sheepishly.
"You stink baby!" I shook my head at her and she pouted her lips in a frown. She didn't like my words.
"Aww. I am sorry honeybunch! You're mommy's princess!" I spoke and she cooed. I took off her clothes and brought some new ones from her cupboard. I took out her shirt and some jeans with a red hoodie over that. I took out her socks and tiny little sneakers and her diapers from the drawer. As I laid her on the sheets, her dad decided to grace us with his presence wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and placing his chin over my shoulder.
"Hi baby!" He grinned at Arena who was moving her arms and legs uncontrollably after seeing her dad. She was only in her dirty diaper right now, laying there naked.
"I am trying to dress her up!" I stated the obvious.
"Then who's stopping you?" He asked sniffing my freshly shampooed hair. "You smell so nice. Damn I wanna take you once again." He stated shamelessly.
"Go and shove something in your dirty mouth." I replied grumpily.
"But they don't taste even tad bit good!" He whined.
"Aryan stop! Go downstairs!" I glared at him.
"Okay, sorry!" He surrendered raising his arms above his shoulders and biting his tongue.
"Are you on your periods?" He asked suddenly.
"The fuck is wrong with you today?" I asked him with widened eyes.
"Baby, why are you so grumpy today?" He asked as he placed his hands over my shoulders.
"I am not!" I stated.
"You are!" He argued.
"Okay, then you're gonna dress up Arena today. Change her diapers too." I smirked at him.
"Okay, sorry! I am not going to tease you any further. Go and change her diapers." He surrendered and I chuckled picking Arena up in my arms. I carried her to the washing area and washed her up as Aryan turned on the heating system.
I brought her out, she was only wrapped in a large pink towel and playing peek-a-boo with her dad with her one eye peeking out of the towel. I gently placed her in front of the heater on a soft and comfortable sheet. I rubbed the towel on her head and she let out a cry. I quickly removed the towel and laid her down. She tried to get up, raising herself. Her dad was trying to make her quiet by rattling her favourite toy. I quickly applied the rash cream and put on her diaper. Aryan handed me her shirt that said Sorry Ladies, My Daddy is definitely taken ;) and jeans from the bed.
"I like her shirt." Aryan winked at me.
"Me too!" I grinned.
"Someone's so possessive!" He teased. "I like it!"
"Oh please. Get your head out of the clouds, Aryan Darling!"
"Whatever you say baby, whatever you say!"
I put on her red jacket and sneakers before all three of us headed to the dining room. I settled her in her dining chair as Aryan grabbed our hospital overalls from the room. I fed her the porridge and we took our breakfast together. Afterwards, we proceeded to the hospital taking Arena along with us. She was sitting on her car seat at the back and punching someone in the air. She moved her arms frantically and I chuckled at her activeness. She was such a jolly baby. Definitely she was a mixture of both of us. Today was a half working day at the hospital so we had decided to take Arena along with us. As we entered through the main area, we were greeted by our fellow doctors.
"Oh My God, Look who's here? The princess has finally decided to grace us with her presence!" My colleague, Doctor Nikita spoke as she took Arena in her arms. She kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. It was Arena's first time in the hospital since her birth.
"What's her name?" She asked.
"Arena Aryan Khan!" Aryan replied.
"Such a pretty little name for her. She's such a cute little munchkin. How do you guys resist eating her?" She giggled.
"Well, whose daughter is she after all?" I joked and she chuckled.
"Daddy is definitely taken?? Huh?" She asked as she cradled her to her chest. Arena seemed to hesitate in her hold and looked longingly towards Aryan with a pout on her rounded lips and watery eyes. She was getting ready to start crying. Aryan sensed her problem and extended out his arms for her. She wriggled in Nikita's hold and jumped up and down trying to reach her dad as soon as possible. Finally she got into Aryan's arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She looked up slightly with one eye to see if Nikita was still there or not. When she found her still there, she again buried herself more into Aryan trying to hide from her. Nikita chuckled at her antics and patted her back before leaving. Aryan handed her to me as he went to his office and I went to mine. I settled her in her stroller beside my chair and waited for any patient. Arena was cooing and talking to her sponge bob toy that was hanging down her stroller. She had her eyebrows furrowed and was in a very important meeting with her sponge bob. I clicked her picture through my phone and observed her lovingly. Finally, a patient came and after examining her, I went to the children's ward taking Arena along. The children were very happy to see her and Arena too was very excited to see all the little fellows surrounding her. Some pinched her cheeks, some kissed her, some took her hands in theirs. Arena enjoyed all the attention that was being showered on her. Finally, the duty hours came to an end. I picked up my stuff and put it inside my hand bag. Aryan arrived in my office in the meanwhile. He picked Arena in his arms, who had gotten all crazy seeing her Dad after about four to five hours. We proceeded out and were met with Varun and Shraddha.
"How's my baby girl?" Varun asked as he took Arena from Aryan's hold.
"Da Da!" She cooed cutely as Varun kissed her cheeks.
"Nope Princess, No going to Dada yet!" Varun grinned at her and she fake glared at him.
"Oh my cutie! You have definitely taken after your Mommy in glaring." He nuzzled his nose with her and she giggled feeling ticklish at his touch. Out of all my friends, Arena was most familiar with Varun and Shraddha since they were our next door neighbours.
"Where's Karan?" Aryan asked. Karan was Varun and Shraddha's son who was now three years old. Varun and Shraddha had gotten married the same year as Aryan and I and they had Karan a year later. Karan was a total entertainment packet. He was just like his father, Chota Packet Bada Dhamaka. [A total entertainment package.]
"I dropped him at Mom's! We will pick him on the way." Shraddha enlightened. Aryan nodded at her.
"By the way Elly?" Shraddha nudged my shoulder mischievously, grinning at me widely.
"What?" I asked her confused.
"Seems like somebody had a very very very good morning!" She grinned and I gasped loudly.
"Shut up Shradz!" I glared at her, trying to hide my embarrassment but both of the boys had seen the tint of red on my cheeks.
"Yeah, Shraddha we had a very good morning." Aryan grinned at her before wrapping his arm around my shoulder. She winked back at him. I couldn't be more embarrassed. These idiots had no shame at all. Varun was oblivious of everything as he continued to play with Arena otherwise he would be one step ahead of Shraddha in all the teasing.
"Elly, I think the entire neighbourhood now knows what's the name of your dear husband!" Varun blurted out making my eyes widen in horror.
And here I was thinking that he was not paying any attention.
"Shut up Varun."
Aryan took his princess from Varun and we proceeded to our car. We stopped by Shraddha's mom's house and they picked Karan from there. The day before yesterday we had received an E-mail from the Ace Academy, our old school informing us about the reunion of our batch. The function was supposed to be held in Ace Academy itself. I had literally screamed when I received the email and I couldn't wait to go back and revisit our lost and most cherished memories. Therefore, we were all ready to go back.
"Hey Aryan Uncle, Hey Elly Aunty!" Karan beamed at us.
"Hey Champ! How are you?" Aryan fist bumped him and picked him up.
"I am fine. How's Arena?" He asked searching for her. Arena had slept on the way so she was sleeping on her car seat.
"Arena baby is good too. She missed you!" I told him stroking his cheeks lovingly.
"Oh. I misshed her too!" He spoke in his baby voice.
"Are you excited to meet your many new friends?" Aryan asked him. He knew that he was going to meet a lot of people of his age today.
"Yes! Mommy told me about Annie Dee and I also talked to her on Skype." He spoke enthusiastically.
"Okay then, let's go!" I grinned at him.
We all decided to go together in our car. Aryan was driving whereas I sat at the front with Arena in my lap and Varun, Shraddha and Karan sat at the back seat. Karan was mostly jumping and now Arena had also woken up. I turned her face back as she saw Karan and she immediately got excited seeing him. Karan was jumping up and down, making Arena giggle. She started mimicking him and jumped up and down in my lap. Aryan leaned forward and kissed her cheeks. Arena was all stuffed in her woollen cap, jacket, jeans and sneakers. She looked like a little snowman with her tomato red cheeks. We decided to stop by Mom and Dad's. Arena's grandparents were missing her very much and were eagerly waiting for her. I reached there and both our parents were there. They immediately took Arena from my arms and showered her with all the love they had. She was happy to get back to her Dadi and Nani. [Grandmother] Ever since Arena had been born, all my and Aryan's parents love had been diverted towards her. Our value had decreased, not that I am complaining. Whenever I am at Mom's place, I have no idea where Arena is because Mom is always treating her like she has gotten a little me in the form of Arena. She takes care of her everything and I sleep peacefully all day long. Same is the case with her Dadi. [Grandmother] She loves Arena so much. Whenever Aryan and I had to go somewhere, we used to drop Arena there without any tension of her food, clothing or anything else. Her Dada and Nana [Grandfather] were no less in showering their love for Arena. In short, my precious little princess was loved by everyone and why not? She was the most precious gift of my life. In fact, she was my life. I couldn't imagine that I would be able to love anyone to this extent but Arena proved me wrong because when she was born and when I held her in my arms for the very first time, I instantly fell in love with her. Her first cry was like the most beautiful symphony that my ears had ever heard. Her delicate hands and feet were the most amazing and softest things I had ever touched. Her beautiful scent was the most amazing that I had ever sniffed. Her beautiful little eyes were the most beautiful thing about her. They were full of shine and full of life. When I held her in my arms, I knew she was mine. I knew that she was my most precious little angel, our Angel.
How beautiful is the feeling of seeing half of yourself and half of the person you love in the form of your babies. She was the most amazing blessing in my life. She was half me and half of Aryan, whom we had made with so much love. When I felt her for the first time, I couldn't stop my tears at the beautiful feeling. I was her mother. I was going to raise her. I would make sure that she would be proud of her mum one day. Aryan was delirious when he came to know that our precious little creation was a baby girl. He had always loved baby girls and he wanted our first baby to be a girl. His wishes were granted the day, we went for the ultrasound and came to know about the gender of the baby. For the first time, I saw the tears of happiness in Aryan's eyes. When she was born, Aryan Khan had vowed that he would provide her with all the love, care, affection and fulfill all her needs and requirement even before they rolled off her tongue. And he was true to his words. Arena was his dad's princess who intended to spoil her by every means. My daughter was already a spoilt one and guess what she was not even one. But I on the other hand also kept spoiling her because she was my life. Aryan was also Arena's first love and a hero for her.
"Meri Jaan, Meri Bachi!" [My daughter, my life.] Mom kept kissing Arena and playing with her. Arena was enjoying the warm embrace of her Nani Jaan. [Grandma]
"How's my princess?" Aryan's mom asked Arena and she replied in her baby language by cooing.
"Ta Ta Ta!" She kept making adorable sounds.
Dad brought her chocolates and even though she couldn't eat food properly, she was very much fond of chocolates. Dad opened the wrapper and she instantly latched onto the chocolate bar, devouring every bit of it. After she had done eating her favourite food, her face was a mess. She had chocolate spread all over her face and Aryan instantly snapped a picture of her in his phone. We stayed there for some time before proceeding towards our destination for today. About half an hour later, we were standing in front of our old school. Our precious journey started from this wonderful place. I met a lot of wonderful people here. The same old tall iron gates still stood proudly in all their glory. I got all the nostalgic vibes of my first day here when Aryan and I first came to Ace Academy. The gates opened and we drove through the pavement surrounded by thick lush green trees on either sides.
"Karan Look! This is our old school. We studied here." Shraddha told him and Karan clapped enthusiastically.
"I also wanna go to school, I also wanna go to school, school, school, school!" He said in a sing song voice making all of us chuckle.
Finally the car came to a halt in the front of the old white building that was a great representation of the old Mughal architecture. It was supported by enormous tall white pillars. We got out of the car and Arena looked at the building in Awe. Her eyes lit up seeing the huge building and the trees. We all got all the nostalgic vibes as we stood there. We went through the corridors and our old class rooms, our labs and the places that were our bunk spots. The canteen and our most favourite cafeteria. We met our old canteen lady. She was able to recognise us instantly as we used to be present in the cafeteria most of the time. She loved Arena and Karan. After sitting there for sometime and taking a mango shake on her insistence, we went to the ground waiting for the other people to arrive. Soon many people gathered around us. We met many of our old class mates, our seniors, our juniors. It was so amazing to see them all successful in their professional and personal life. Soon we spotted a cute newly wed couple making their way towards us.
Ricky and Geet!
Are you surprised? Well, we were too when we came to know about them being in a relationship with each other. I first had an intuition about them being into each other. The way they instantly clicked with each other and their mutual punjabi-ness. Their loud talks and their same non-veg jokes. They were on the same wavelength and that is why they decided to give each other a chance. We all played cupid for them, even Alia, whom Ricky had recently broken up with. They dated for about four years and finally got married this year. They were perfect for each other. They had recently returned from their honeymoon in South Africa.
"Mere jigar ke totay!" [My lifelines.] Geet screamed enthusiastically on seeing us and ran towards us, instantly letting go of Ricky's hand that was intertwined in hers. Ricky looked amusingly at his crazy and adorable wife. They were so cute. Geet engulfed me in a hug and then she hugged each one of us.
"Oh Oh, My Princess Arena. All grown up." She picked her up in her arms and kissed her. She cooed adorably at seeing her. "Oh I know baby, I am your favourite aunt!" Geet winked at her. In the meanwhile Ricky joined us. He hugged everyone. "No Wifey, I am her favourite uncle!" He teased Geet as he took Arena in his arms. He came to stand beside me.
"Hey Love!" He grinned at me.
"Hey cutie!" I grinned back.
"Your daughter is such a cutie. I am gonna eat her. Nom Nom." He made weird sounds which Arena responded with adorable giggles.
"Get your own bro. She's my darling!" Aryan jumped in our conversation.
"Get away fixie, it's between me and my Elly." He snapped.
"As if I am gonna allow you to do something to my daughter." I defended and Ricky frowned. He was still the same adorable Ricky that I had met on the first day of Ace Academy. Arena was the last born child in our circle so it was natural that she was everyone's favourite.
After them Ashar, Khirad, Annie and their 1 year old son Aahil joined us. They were the most perfect family I had ever seen. Ashar and Khirad were still very much in love with each other. Their children were the cutest little creatures and I had a special bond with Annie ever since I had met her on Naina and Kabir's wedding. Aahil was literally a very cute little chipmunk and he had taken all the traits of his father. I was very much in love with that little boy. We greeted them and hugged each other.
Then, Naina, Kabir and their twin sons Sameer and Samar who were two years old now arrived there. After them, Maya and Obi arrived. Obi had finally got the guts last year to confess his feelings for Maya. They were stupidly and crazily in love with each other. Their stupid little banters were still the same. When Obi asked out Maya, she was ecstatic. Turned out she had a crush on Obi for 7 years. Obi couldn't believe her at first but then she swore and used her Mantra which compelled him to believe her words.
As we stood there, our group seemed the loudest of all. Now only Alia was missing. I texted her and asked her where she was. She replied that she was coming in a while. This girl would never change. She was the still same old fashion diva who took hours and hours to get ready but she was still very much pretty and fun to get along. I was meeting all of them after quite a time. We had last met on Ricky and Geet's wedding and now we were meeting today after almost eight or nine months. All of us had gotten busy in our own lives but we still didn't let anything come between our precious and irreplaceable friendship.
"Da Da.....Da Da...." Arena wiggled in Ashar's hold. He looked at her in confusion.
"She wants to go back to her Daddy dearest!" Khirad cleared his confusion and he instantly gave her to Aryan. Arena was more than happy to get back to him. She leaned forward and planted her lips on Aryan's cheek, sucking the spot. That was her way of kissing and expressing her love. After she was satisfied with the kiss, she placed her cheek on Aryan's cheek while making continuous sounds from her cute little mouth. "Aaaaa!"
As we talked, she kept snuggling into Aryan trying to get his full attention towards her. It was not acceptable for her that he talked to someone else while holding her. She wanted him to talk to her and play with her only. She moved her arms frantically and tapped Aryan's shoulder.
"What princess?" He asked her lovingly.
"Da..Da.." She pouted. Aryan brought her closer to himself and she wrapped her tiny little arms around his neck. Aryan kissed her cheek and she placed her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder. Now that she had his full attention she was satisfied. My heart soared to see the way they bonded with each other and how they couldn't live without each other.
My husband and daughter were the most adorable things on earth. Period.
After a while, Alia came there but she was not alone. She had also found someone. Someone we all knew very well. It had been a year since they started dating and that someone was none other than Karthik. I had no idea how they ended up together but well, everything happened for a reason. As they arrived there, hand in hand, they looked like a young teenage couple falling in love. I smiled at that sight. They reached us and we hugged them both. After that as we chatted standing in a circle and waiting for the function to start, all the guys started teasing Karthik. Apparently Karthik had some lipstick smeared over his face.
"Hey, Karthik there's something on your face." Varun pointed out first.
"What?" He moved his hand all over his face.
"Apparently your lips." Ricky smirked. As realisation dawned upon him, he looked totally flushed and so did Alia.
"Now I know what took you guys so long to get here." I teased her and she mouthed me to shut up. I raised my arms in fake surrender. All of us chuckled. Suddenly there was some shuffling in the crowd that had gathered at the ground. It was almost 5 in the evening. The crowd dispersed and there entered our dean in all his glory. He was wearing a magnificent crisp black suit that was going very well with his old yet handsome features. There were flecks of grey in the black of his hair. I was seeing him almost after 9 years and he looked quite old than what he looked like years before. The dean came towards our group and greeted us all separately.
"Oh, my star batch!" He had said enthusiastically as he proceeded towards us.
"My Dear Eleana Kapoor and Aryan Khan. Varun, Shraddha. Still crazy 4 huh?" He joked.
We chuckled.."Very much Sir!" Varun answered for us.
"Where are you four now a days?" He asked.
"Sir, we work at the same Hospital." Aryan answered.
"I am so proud of you my children. You have made me a proud dean today." He spoke as he patted mine and Shraddha's head lovingly.
"And Hey, My Eleana's mini version!" He waved at Arena. Arena instead of shying away smiled at him adorably, giving a toothless grin. I guess she mistook him for her Dadu. [Grandfather]
"Baba Baba, I also want that. Samar is not giving that to me." Karan suddenly appeared on the scene tugging on to Varun's pants.
Varun bent down to reach his height. "What do you want?" He asked.
"I want that Ben Ten watch. Samar is not letting me play with it. He's a bad boy. He's not my friend." He complained.
"Ahan. No. He's a good boy. He will become your friend. C'mon let's make him your friend?" Varun proposed and Karan nodded. He wrapped his hand around Varun's forefinger as the father son duo proceeded towards Kabir's twins, Samar and Sameer.
"Hey Samar! I am your Varun uncle!" He introduced himself.
"Hi Varun uncle." He waved his hand at him.
"Hey, Sameer!" He grinned at him. Sameer waved back enthusiastically.
"This is my son Karan." He introduced Karan who was shying away and hiding behind his father's leg.
"Hello Karan!" The twins spoke in unison.
"Hi!" Karan spoke shyly. "Will you be my friend?"
"Yes!" They nodded in unison.
"Okay kids, now shake hands and hug each other." Varun ordered and they did as Varun looked proudly at his son.
"Hey, I like your watch. Will you let me play with it?" He asked reluctantly.
"Uhh. Okay But give it back to me after playing!" Samar spoke sternly. I giggled at their little banter.
The dean announced everyone to proceed towards the marquee and all the kids along with their parents and some single ones too proceeded towards the desired place. The marquee was brightly lit and set up in the sports ground of our school. There were three huge silver chandeliers at the centre. A wooden platform was present at the centre that led all the way towards the main platform. There were round tables set up on either sides of the wooden platform. The tables were finely laden with the white silk cloth and the same was with the chairs. They had a cute pastel pink silk bow at the head of the chair. We spotted a huge round table that would be enough for our group to settle there. I settled Arena in her stroller as her big sister Annie took her to enjoy with the kids. Annie had turned into one sensible kid almost hitting the age of nine. She was taking care of all the kids and making sure that everybody behaved nicely. As the group of our friends settled around the table, the dinner was served. First there was soup and crispy finger fish for the appetizer. I settled Arena's stroller between mine and Aryan's chair and tied the napkin around her neck. The fish was soft and well cooked and it was not very spicy so I decided to make Arena taste something different other than her everyday routine boring food. As I blew on the piece of meat to cool it off and then I fed her, she immediately gulped it. I waited for her reaction to see if she liked it or not. When I was about to take my own bite, she started moving her arms frantically in front of her stroller. She liked it and she was impatiently waiting for the next bite. Aryan noticed her impatience and pulled her out of the stroller. He settled her on his lap and fed her morsel by morsel after blowing onto the bites. She seemed to enjoy that delicious meal very much. After that, I fed her the chicken corn soup that was also according to her taste and she was done with her dinner for tonight. I pulled out her stuffed toy from my bag and gave it to her. She played with it calmly as we had our dinner. The dinner was delicious with many delicacies from around the world. The sweet dish was Ras Malai. It was really really delicious. Even Arena loved it. After the dinner as we sat there waiting for the next segment, there was a distribution of medallions and souvenirs for the alumni of the Ace Academy. Each one of us got a memorable souvenir. After that, there was a presentation displayed on the projector screen titled "Down the Memory Lane." It had lots of pictures of us, the events, the class room presentations, projects, cafeteria food fights. What came as a surprise for us was that even our bunk moments were caught in the camera. We laughed whole-heartedly as the kids watched their parents having the time of their lives. Afterwards there was a dance segment. A very famous band was called to perform on different songs. The music created a wonderful aura and vibe all around. The boys took the lead and took their girls to the middle of the hall as they swayed along the soft instrumental tunes. Our kids were enjoying themselves together and giggling at their little innocent mischiefs. They were embarking on the same beautiful journey that we had taken years ago. It was a start of a new era of wonderful friendships, love, care, affection, giggles, laughter, cries and a roller coaster of emotions. As I swayed with Aryan on the soft melody, he whispered in my ear.
"I see many couples in the making there." He pointed towards the kids and I chuckled at him. "Sure enough!"
"Ena?" He whispered softly, his voice mixing with the hum of the music.
"Hmm?" I replied monotonously as I rested my head on his shoulder.
"I love you!" He vowed once again.
"I love you too!" I reciprocated and he sealed our never ending love with a beautiful kiss on a beautiful night of reunion where the stars were reunited to their moons and the luminosity of the moon was returned to it. This is how our life was, teasing each other, getting on each other's nerves but at the same time loving the heck out of everything. That's how one should live life. Life is too short for making decisions. Take the chance that is given to you, go on adventures and embark upon the journey that life offers you and just remember one thing that when you think you've exhausted all the possibilities, just remember that; you haven't. I took the chance, I made stupid and foolish untimely decisions and I don't regret even a single bit of it. If it were not for my foolish decisions and the chances that I took I would not have been probably seeing this day, seeing my husband bonding adorably with our precious little bundle of happiness, our Arena. Because in the end, we only regret the chances we did not take. Life with Aryan was perfect. It was everything I could have ever imagined. He was my husband, my boyfriend, my best friend, my saviour, my crime partner, the one who stood by me through thick and thin, who was my pillar of strength, who believed in me when the rest of the world had given up. Our love continues to grow with every passing year. If there is something that I regret in my life, it's just running away from Aryan 8 years back when I could just have stayed with him and made a lot of precious memories. But what's in the past is gone. We cannot change it but we definitely can shape our future. So that's what we are doing. The obstacles and problems in our life have not decreased our love, in fact our love has been sharpened by the stones and pebbles on the way. It is like the sunshine that will never fade away as long as the world continues to exist. We are one family and we will remain one till the end of time.
Just one little free suggestion for you;
Marry your best friend. I do not say that lightly. Really, truly find the strongest, happiest friendship in the person you fall in love with. Someone who speaks highly of you. Someone who you can laugh with. The kind of laughs that make your belly ache and your nose snort. The embarrassing, earnest, healing kind of laughs. Wit is important. Life is too short not to love someone who lets you to be a fool with them. Make sure they are somebody who let you cry too. Despair will come. Find someone who you want to be there for you through those times. Most importantly, marry the one that makes passion, love and madness combine and course through you. A love that will never dilute - even when the waters get deep and dark.
I married my best friend. There's nothing wrong in that. There's no better feeling than that even. In fact I am living a happier life than anyone else of my age seems to be. Good luck with your adventure of finding true and once in a lifetime love.
With all the love and gratitude, Mr and Mrs. Aryan Khan with their little bundle of happiness, Arena Khan.
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