Three days… exactly three days have passed that Shivay went to New York, exactly three days have passed that Anika is seriously missing him, exactly three days have passed that these new, very new friends have spoke to each other over phone. Well… just the hi, hello and how are you and their conversation ended. Both of them didn’t know what to speak so they had to hung the call every time unwillingly.
Anika is checking her phone since half hour now as his calling time passed away thirty minutes ago and he has not called yet.
“This stupid human… ami mere phelbo eke ebar… I will eat him alive for sure now, is he mad that he has not called yet… what if… what if he got someone and he is busy dating a foreign girl, no Anika ki bhabchis eisob… don’t think like that” so Ms desperate is getting very desperate as the man for whose call she was waiting didn’t call her still.
She dialled his foreign number and pressed the call button only to hear the same response ‘the person you are trying to reach is unable to receive your call, please call back after sometime‘ she was going to throw the phone when at last her phone rung.
‘Shivay buddha’s foreign number’ yeah that was the name displayed on her screen, yeah that was the only name she got to save his number.
“You stupid, idiot, no sense creature… do you even know how much tensed I was, OmRuPriknu are also tensed and all you were doing was fun, what do you think of yourself huh? I won’t speak to you” but wait she didn’t cut the call and kept mum.
“I called OmRuPrinku and they are relaxed now, I got busy in a meeting as the scheduled time exceeded for thirty more minutes… I am sorry Anika” he apologised, but as she said that she didn’t want to speak so no response turned up.
“Okay then I should cut the call, it already charges high on ISD’s, so bye Anika good night as it is almost night over here.” he too held the call as he knew that she would definitely speak up now.
“Hey listen… you are dating someone from foreign right? I hate you for this, go away” what the hell, she spoke up the exact thought that was dancing inside her nerves.
“Are you mad? When my parents have chose such a nice girl for me then why would I date someone from here?” came his instant reply as an electron moving inside a wire.
“You sure you aren’t dating?” she asked to confirm.
“No my D…” he sweetly said.
“D? What’s that?” she was thinking hard, and all that came to her mind was “you called me doggy? I am doggy… you stupid, idiot, I won’t marry you… go to hell… no actually go to New York and settle over there”
“Arre… meri maa… D means darling, why will I call you doggy?” from when this Mr Rude Singh Oberoi became so cool… I am wondering too. Now it was the most unexpected shock.
“You… you called me darling?” she blushed.
“Now don’t blush and let me go… I am very tired today” he didn’t want to hung up but… her office is waiting too.
“Okay bye, and I will call you to wake you up tomorrow” she said.
“Okay… chalo bye” and the line got cut from both sides.
A contended smile appeared on both’s face as they happily kissed their phones.
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“Good morning Mr. SSO… get up” she chirped.
“Arre… it’s not yet morning… it’s just 5 am here, let me sleep” he peacefully snored.
“No… we will talk now, so get up” she argued back.
“Mummhheeyyy… let me sleep please, I am very tired” he tried once again.
“Okay fine… bye, we are not going to talk next two days, so enjoy… bye” she instantly cut the call and he instantly sat up.
She definitely knows tricks to wake him up soon. But what did she mean by not talking next two days. Is she going for any work related to her office, why won’t she talk to him? He dialled back her number but only to get no response. Was it his punishment for asking to let him sleep? But she is not that insensible. He dialled her number again and same, no response.
He instantly dialled Om’s number so that he get to ask him to check her if she is fine or not.
“Yeah Shivay say” as Om answered some music sounds, wait rock music sounds started to play at the back.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“No one is there at home today… so we youngsters, I mean Anika, Ishana, me, Rudra and Prinku are doing party over here… and believe me we are not even missing you, Anika is enough to entertain us and along with her our own Rudy baba… Shivay you should have been here” to be true everyone was missing Shivay.
“That means she pranked me… ugghh… I will surely pay back to her, and enjoying without me right? Okay fine… carry on, but the moment I return you all are going to get punished for enjoying without me” Shivay cut the call and threw his phone in anger.
He was seriously angry, actually no… he was jealous… there were valid reason though, first was his brothers and sister are enjoying without him, Anika is not receiving his calls and she is enjoying with them too, thirdly he has no meeting that day and fourthly he still has one long month to return back to his home.
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Two more weeks hardly ended for everyone and as promised she did not speak to him. What has suddenly happened to her. If she was pranking then she should have received his call definitely, something seemed really fishy to him. But he can’t ask anyone, his brothers and his sister would get unnecessarily tensed if they ask them, he doesn’t have Ishana’s number and he is hesitating to ask for it.
He dialled her number eighth time now.
“Yeah Shivay” thank god she picked up… but… but her voice is sounding so different, that chirpiness is missing. Is it because that she is over working or something else.
She, her happiness, her blush, her wide lips, her brown eyes… every thing, every damn thing has started to affect him very badly and now suddenly something has happened to her which she is hiding from him.
“Why weren’t you picking up my calls?” he asked desperately.
“I was busy” she answered which is obviously a lie.
“No Anika… something happened, tell me yaar… why hiding from me?” his concern increased and she were left into sobs.
“You… you are crying?” his concern increased more. How badly he wanted to soothe her, calm her down.
“Shivay… we don’t know each other completely, here our family… both of our family is planning our marriage… and to be true I am afraid… I am afraid to commit to anyone, I am afraid that whether I will be fulfilling the duties of a daughter-in-law, I am afraid that whether I will meet up to your expectations or not… I am afraid Shivay, you are the first one with whom I agreed to tie the knot but… but now as I am seeing our family getting excited I am getting more and more afraid, what if I let them down?” she sobbed in between.
Her tears… though he just heard her wet voice but his heart became heavy. This was true that they don’t know each other and their family want them to tie the knot soon. Both their families loved each other and has already accepted each other as in-law but… what about these two souls? For some or the other reason Anika couldn’t say no to her mother this time when her mother asked her that is she ready to marry Shivay or not, but… but now she is afraid.
“I promise you Anika… we won’t be the perfect couple if we marry but we would definitely try to become one” how wrong he knew, who said that they are not perfect for each other.
But why was she running away from him, she knew that she has the space to share these fears with him.
“Anika… something else is bothering you too, please say what is that” he made sure that she didn’t deny and she couldn’t stop herself from sharing.
“My… my friend Mahua, you can call her as my best friend of college days… she… she called me the day after that party” he listened carefully straightening his back “the thing that… that shocked me was, she got married one year back and she didn’t even inform me… she called me that day… to… to say that she hated being my friend, as… as because of me… the boy whom she used to tie rakhi in college days is not speaking to her” she paused.
“After that Nik…” he used to call her Nik inside his mind, but now… he involuntarily spoke that on her face, she did not realise though and continued.
“She showed her attitude… I was… I was really very attached to her, we used to play pranks together and even tease and beat boys… but now she is saying that her college friends are going away from herself only because she was close to me… I didn’t do anything Shivay” she sounded so vulnerable that all he wanted was to hug her tight, tighter way more tighter.
“You have not done anything Nik… I am your friend right? Will you give me a chance to become your best friend?” the missing strength inside her heart returned back a little.
“D… speak up please… will you accept me as your best friend?” two souls who are yet to get connected together are reading each other’s heart by now.
“Hmm…” she replied and wiped her tears “you won’t hurt me ever okay?” she sounded so childish that he could not help but say an awe.
“I won’t hurt you ever D…” D… short form of darling, it sounded so perfect that her missing strengths came back to her.
“You call me D… so what should I call you in return?” her innocent voice sounded way more beautiful as compared to any lullaby.
“Start thinking a special name for me and call me by that on the day of my return” he assured her saying this sentence that he will always be there with her, now the marriage didn’t matter… because if they didn’t marry then also they will be friends, maybe best friends.
They cut the call, she relaxed and went to bed to sleep as it was night for Indians. But her words didn’t leave his mind. He was stuck at only one place and that was her friend Mahua… why would she abandon her best friend suddenly, he tried to let go off the thoughts but those thoughts didn’t let go of him. He went for his meeting with the thoughts roaming inside his head.
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“You spoke to Shivay bhaiya?” Ishana asked brushing her elder sister’s forehead.
“Yeah… he is such a nice person” his Nik… no… his D… complimented.
“Why didn’t you tell him that you are suffering from viral since three days now?” Ishana wanted him to know but she strictly stopped her from saying anything.
“He is at a work Ishu… if he starts to worry about me then how will he concentrate? Let him come back and then I will definitely tell him” she assured cupping Ishana’s cheeks.
“You know di… you both would make a perfect couple, you both would develop such a relation which no one… not even you both will get to break ever… thank you di for meeting Shivay bhaiya once on my insistence” Ishu became emotional and held her tears at bay.
“I had faith on my sister’s choice pagli, so yeah… the credit goes to you” she tried to cheer her Ishu’s mood up.
“I will miss you di… a lot after you get married” Ishu broke and hugged her sister tight.
Tears occupied Anika’s eyes too. She remembered how she used to change her sisters diapers willingly at her childhood and used to get scolded by her mother for not fixing the diaper nicely. Their childhood days have passed seriously very fast, why did they grow up… why can’t anyone stop the time or reverse it… she pulled back and wiped Ishana’s tears.
“Arre pagal don’t forget that you are going to get married to Om… if I get married to Shivay then we both would rule Oberoi Mansion” Anika completed the sentence moving her hand royally and seeing that her sister giggled and at last laughed.
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Thank You so much to everyone who read, voted and commented. Hope you have enjoyed this part as well. If so then please do hit the like button and leave your comment or criticism down.
-NILANJANA