(Image: Alana)
From where he sat, I could hardly see the face of the boy who had saved me the night of the accident. That boy, whom I had only known as Fatso from the few times I had seen him with Harsh, had been plump and a soft person by nature. He had also been highly skilled in sculpting and making things, which explained how he was the Head of the Prop Committee in his last year of school. However, after the accident, it was almost as if he had vanished in thin air.
In a stark contrast to that boy, the man who sat before me, was taller, better built and far from being associated with Fatso. This was Dev - the man who ran his father's real estate company as the Chief Architect for two verticals. This was Dev - intriguing, smart, handsome and exceptionally annoying. This was Dev - who was looking at me with guilt so intense, that I almost wanted to reach out and comfort him somehow. Almost.
"Deeksha..." he began and for a second, it was as if I was watching my favourite hero in a movie, about to cry. It took everything I had to keep a straight face and nod.
"Deeksha... I.. I don't know what to say to you. I know... You're right. I should have stayed away to begin with. But I don't know. I simply couldn't know that something happened to you and not get there. I... I'm so sorry!" apologized Dev.
"We will finish this later", I involuntarily whispered as movement at the door caught my eye and Alana walked into the house. Thankfully, she didn't notice any trace of the conversation we were just having and came by to kneel close to me.
"Dee... Um.. Can I call you that?" she asked. I smiled and nodded, despite the tornado of confusion in my head, encouraging her to continue. "Yeah.. Thanks.." said Alana, while she looked at me tenderly.
"I'm so sorry about the whole episode. Umm.. Sneha called me upstairs and I heard about your spell of dizziness. How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm okay.. Don't worry. It's just that I skipped my breakfast and ran around in the sun. It caught up with me, I suppose", I said, returning her smile. "Plus, Sneh is making me some porridge so - I should be okay."
I felt Dev's presence leave the room and from peripheral vision, I could see that he was making his way into the kitchen.
"I see.. I'm glad you're okay" she said and moved into the seat that had been previously occupied by Dev. "In the meantime, while Sneha's grabbing you some food, is there anything I can help with?" she asked.
"I don't think so - but hey.. Could you possibly put my phone for charging somewhere? I'm down to 5% of battery," I said. Smiling, she stood up before turning back to ask, "Ermm - where is your phone?" awkwardly.
"It's in the white and blue striped bag" I said, pointing to where Sneh had dumped my bag with all the others near the dining table. "Main zip" I added for her benefit.
With a slight skip in her step, Alana was off to find Sneha's charger since she and I had the same brand of phone while I called out "Thanks Alana" to her retreating figure.
Momentarily forgetting the realm of confusions and complications that Dev was, I pondered over whether or not Alana, with her sweet disposition and seemingly harmless nature was indeed the cause of chaos in my brother's life. If yes, then her tears and reaction at the picnic after Harsh lost his cool is explained. But... was she really that evil? If she was, why is she being so nice now? Which side is fake? Why did she do it? Does she hate my brother? Of all people, Harsh, who knowingly doesn't harm a mosquito - let alone a person?
I was pulled out of my thoughts as Sneha reappeared from the kitchen, holding a tray with a blue ceramic bowl and a glass of an orange coloured juice. What struck me as odd was that Dev was nowhere in sight and I wondered what he was up to, alone in the kitchen.
"Eat up - and then we can get going and you can have some real food," said Sneha setting the tray of porridge and juice on my lap while Alana came back into the hall.
"Yes Doctor", I said with a mock salute and this sent Alana into a fit of giggles while Sneha smacked my bare shoulder. I shake my head and gulp down my juice in seconds, before digging into my
"Sneh - don't you think she should change into something more comfortable?" Alana asks when I'm almost done with the porridge and Sneha immediately agrees.
"Umm... If you aren't forgetting, Sneh - you're waay shorter than I am - and I'm not carrying any spare clothes," I mumble as Alana lets out a chortle. "Okay - point." Sneh says, before jumping out of her seat, saying "One Second."
As I spoon the last bit of porridge into my mouth, she comes out holding a charcoal coloured turtleneck saying, "Throw this on". With its super soft material and style that isn't really Sneha's - not to mention that it looks four times her size - I can't stop myself from asking while slipping it on, "Who's is this?"
"Oh.. It's Vish's. He forgot it here one day a few weeks ago and I had it lying in the cupboard", she says - her nonchalance turning into embarrassment before adding, "And... you weren't supposed to know that."
Alana throws us a very suggestive grin and Sneha looks very interested in her phone; but my eyes involuntarily latch on to the unreadable negative expression of Dev, who had just walked in from the kitchen and looked like he wanted to burn down a village. Did I dare convince myself that I was unaffected?