“That Unknown Feeling”- Chapter 13: Distance

Krishna stepped out of the washroom, drying her hair with a towel. Her face lit up, remembering that it was Yuvaan’s birthday today. She hurried over to her cupboard and pulled out the yellow sari, set it on the dresser, and continued to dry her hair, thinking about the gift she’d gotten for Yuvaan the previous day. She turned around to get her makeup from the drawer, and slipped, her feet skidding on the newly-formed puddle of water behind her.

Krishna felt a pair of hands steady her and glanced up, expecting to see Sayyam. Instead, she was startled when she saw Yuvaan holding her. She tried to stand and winced, realizing that she had sprained her ankle. Yuvaan face palmed, “Krishna, your hair is dripping wet; you should see where you’re stepping.”

“I was excited for your birthday- by the way, Happy Birthday,” Krishna smiled, hopping over to her bed on one foot.

“Thanks,” Yuvaan grinned, “What will you wear for the party?” Krishna automatically pointed at the yellow sari on the dresser, looking up from her ankle for a moment.

“This?” Yuvaan asked skeptically, walking over to the cupboard and pulling out a red dress, “Why don’t you wear this one instead?”

“But Yuvaan, I bought that sari for you, and you know I don’t like dresses,” she pouted.

“Yeah, I know, but this one is longer- and you never worn it before. I think you’ll look great in it.”

Krishna considered it for a while before nodding her agreement, “Okay, I’ll wear it.”

“Cool,” Yuvaan grinned, starting to walk out of her room, “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” she smiled faintly, grabbing the ointment from the nearby drawer and applying it to her ankle.

—–

Sayyam stepped into the house, a small gift in his hands. Some of the balloons he’d helped Yuvani blow up were strewn on her ground, and there was red ribbon lining the tables and wrapped around the pillars in the house. He stood where he was for a while, taking in all the decorations, when he heard someone open the door behind him. He turned, seeing Suhani and Krishna walk in, but his gaze was fixed on Krishna; she was wearing a red dress that went down to her calf, and her face was adorned with the barest of makeup. What caught his attention though, were her eyes. She had pale red eyeshadow on, which had a gold tinge to it, bringing out the tiny golden flecks in her eyes. Her lips were wine red, and her hair was poker straight. Sayyam had to force himself to look away, realizing where his thoughts were drifting off to and began to walk towards his mother.

—–

Krishna found herself waiting eagerly as Sayyam stepped closer to her. Perhaps he would tell her that she was in fact looking beautiful. Krishna wasn’t the type of person to pay too much attention to her looks; but this time, something had persuaded her to put some effort into her makeup. For some unknown reason, she looked down shyly as Sayyam approached her, waiting for his complement. Instead, he began to talk to Suhani Aunty, completely ignoring her.

Her mouth dropped open and she just stared in his direction, waiting for him to catch her hint, but it seemed as if he were purposefully avoiding her. She watched as Sayyam laughed lightheartedly at something Suhani had said, responding with a remark of his own. Irritation gnawed at Krishna as she watched Sayyam end his conversation with Suhani and walk away, barely sparing a second glance at her.

“Sayyam, wait!” she called out, trying to keep up with his fast gait, but he just looked away, pretending to think about something. At this point, she was extremely annoyed and hurried to stand in his way, preventing him from going any further. He tried to side step her, but she moved to the side with him, blocking his path.

“Why are you avoiding me?” she asked suspiciously.

“I’m not avoiding you,” he scoffed, as if she’d just said something completely ridiculous, “I’m just busy-”

“Busy with what?” she asked, irked. Sayyam turned away, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Forget it,” she exhaled, “tell me this; how am I looking?” Krishna stepped back, subtly gesturing to the dress.

“Normal,” Sayyam shrugged, looking away.

“Normal?” she sulked, “But-“

“Just leave me alone,” Sayyam cleared his throat, “Why don’t you ask Yuvaan?”

Krishna looked down, mentally asking herself exactly why she hadn’t asked Yuvaan. What was happening to her? She shook her head, coming up with a smart reply to what Sayyam had said; but by the time she’d looked up, he’d left. She sighed, walking towards the kitchen to get Yuvaan’s cake.

—–

As Yuvaan cut into the red velvet cake, all family members cheered. He lifted a piece of the cake to Suhani’s mouth to feed her, but not before dabbing a bit of the chocolate frosting on her cheek.

“Yuvaan!” Suhani exclaimed, smiling broadly, while Yuvaan just chuckled, turning to Krishna and feeding her a bite as well. Sayyam watched this from the corner of the room and folded his arms, feeling a bit insecure.

Suhani noticed Sayyam standing father away from the other and at once understood that Sayyam wasn’t used to family celebrations. She walked over to him and tugged on his arm playfully.

“Come beta, why are you standing here?” she pinched his cheeks.

“Maa,” he grinned, waving her hand off his cheek, “Don’t do that.”

“What do you mean? I still have twenty years’ worth of love to give you?” she smiled adorably, “I won’t let you go so easily.”

“Sayyam looped his arm through hers, a warm feeling coursing through him, and took her towards everyone else. Letting go of Suhani for a moment, he stepped towards Yuvaan.

“Uh…Yuvaan?” he asked gingerly. Yuvaan turned to him, clearly indifferent.

Sayyam held up a red box, “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks,” Yuvaan accepted the box, being over-formal. Sayyam looked away, knowing that this situation could not get more uncomfortable.

Out of the blue, Bhavna’s voice rang out throughout the hall, “Okay everyone, let’s dance!” Everyone cheered, but Sayyam felt unsure; he began to walk away slowly.

“First Yuvaan and Krishna will dance together!” Bhavna exclaimed, while Suhani clapped in excitement. Krishna cheeks turned red due to the attention she was receiving and she inched her way towards Yuvaan. Yuvani inconspicuously stuck her foot out to trip her, smiling when she saw Sayyam catch her just in time.

Both their eyes were wide open, and Krishna had wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Girnewali,” Sayyam muttered, setting back on her feet and gently pushing her back. Krishna stepped back, losing her balance, and accidentally put pressure on her sprained ankle. Krishna inhaled sharply out of pain, while Yuvani steadied her. Sayyam winced, noticing the gauze wrapped around Krishna’s ankle. Before anyone could react, he walked out the front door, heading straight for the outhouse.
*****
Hey guys!! First of all, I am so so sorry for leaving you all hanging! Like I said, I’m moving this Saturday, so my schedule’s gonna be a bit haywire for the next two episodes…but I promise: No more excuses

As a mini-apology, I made this chapter longer and stayed up late to write it…anything for you guys 🙂

I know…I know….there was more Krishna and Yuvaan scenes than Kriyam today, but I’ll fix that 😉 Also, this chapter was mainly for plot development, so it might have been a bit boring, but the real stuff starts from the next chapter 😉

Love you guys!!
-Shreya <3