[A/N: Translations at the end of the chapter.]
ABHISHEK
"Dad!"
Rohan came running down the stairs with Kiara right behind him.
"Don't ignore my questions." He said.
My 12 year old son and 14 year old daughter stood right infront of me with their hands on their hips.
"Aren't you guys too young for this?" I asked them, raising my eyebrows.
They rolled their eyes at me in return.
Just like their mom, I thought.
"You guys want answers?" I asked, chuckling.
"Yes, dad." Kiara spoke this time.
I motioned for them to sit.
"First, no, I'm not cheating on mom, I'd never do that. Second, I love her more than words could ever say. Third, I have this as a memory. Fourth, I smiled at it as it brought back a lot of memories." I told my kids.
"Where's mom?" Rohan asked, all of a sudden, sitting on the couch.
"Grocery shopping. She'll be home in a while." I informed them.
"So this letter?" I spoke, showing them the letter which I still held.
"Yeah, that letter and who is Aish? Tell us everything about you and the Aish chick." Rohan said which caused me to laugh.
The boy is just 12 years old.
I started by how I met Aish in Bangalore. Then became friends and fell in love with her eventually. I told my kids everything till the day I left for Punjab.
"You know, she was the only thing after alcohol that could get me intoxicated."
"Don't you say this to mom too?" Rohan narrowed his eyes at me.
I just smiled at him.
"So, you just left Bangalore?" Kiara asked, getting back to the story.
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"You know dad, Aish seems like a cool bad girl." Rohan grinned.
"She was. A really cool bad girl for the world, but for me she was just Aish. My Aish." I smiled.
"So why did you let her go? Why didn't you chase her?" Kiara questioned.
"I did." I said.
"Then tell us the entire story, dad." Rohan whined.
"Well okay, little boy." I chuckled.
Unknowingly a smile found a way to my face thinking about the events which happened after I left to Punjab.
__
{Back to the past}
It's been a whole two months since I last spoke to Aish at the airport.
Right after I came back we had a cricket tournament and I was really engrossed in it.
Aish's contact was on the screen of my phone, but I couldn't press the call button.
How would she react? That too after two freakin' months!
I decided to call Dhriti instead.
"Hey, Dhri."
"Abhay! What's up?" She spoke.
"All good. You tell me." I said.
"Well, nothing much really. Riya and I are flying down to Punjab next week."
"Really?" Excitement rushed through me all of a sudden.
"Yup. I really miss Mayank to be honest. And yeah, it's a surprise for him, so shush, don't tell him." She chuckled.
"Yes, ma'am. But what about college?" I asked.
"Our first year final exams ended a week back. Holidays for about a month and a half." She informed.
"Oh that's nice. Uhm.. what about Aish? Isn't she coming with you guys?" I asked.
"She's already in Punjab."
"What?" I asked, totally shocked.
"Yeah. Ludhiana to be precise. Her grandfather is out of coma. Hence, she flew down to see him." She told me.
"Oh okay. Thank god he's fine now." I smiled.
"Yup, thank god. You know, I was wondering why you didn't call. I mean, you call almost everyday asking about Aish, but it's been almost two weeks since I heard from you. And, just when I thought about you, you called." Dhriti chuckled.
"Yeah, sorry. Was too caught up with the tournament."
"It's okay. Maybe, you'd want to call Aish and speak to her?"
"I don't know, Dhri. It's been two whole months. We haven't even texted each other." I said.
"Better late than never." She stated.
"Yeah." I sighed.
"You know how stubborn Aish is, and she can get really immature at times. So, you be the mature one, and call her." She said.
"Hmm."
"Don't 'hmm' you douche." She chuckled.
"I'll call her, Dhri." I smiled to myself.
"Good. Now, I got some shopping to do. So, bye lover boy." She said, laughing.
I chuckled at the nickname, before saying bye and hanging up.
I kept looking at Aish's contact on my screen, not knowing what to do.
"Call karega bhi ya nahi?"
I turned around to see Komal di standing with an annoyed look on her face.
"D-Di? Hi?" I stuttered.
"Call her Abhay." She glared at me.
"Who her?" I acted oblivious.
"Don't try to fool me, Abhishek Sharma. Let me just break a secret to you. I might've read the letter in your absence." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
I looked at her with eyes and mouth wide open.
"I found it in one of the books I took from your room the other day while you were at practice. I saw the letter and curiosity led me to read it. I kept the letter and the book right back at its place after I was done." She slightly smiled at me.
"Privacy, hello?"
She rolled her eyes, mumbling a sorry.
"But on a serious note, call her." She said.
"I will."
"Now." She demanded.
"No." I protested.
"Well well, I know you won't call her and you still want her to be yours. Wow." She said, sarcastically.
"Fine, I'm calling."
Aish's contact popped up on the screen the second I unlocked my phone.
I took a deep breath, before pressing the call button.
It took four rings for her to pick the call.
"Abhay?"
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Translations-
~ Call karega bhi ya nahi?- Are you going to call her or not?
~ Di- Sister