Family
( Part 2 )
Shivaay sighed. She had slept waiting for him. Again. Will she ever stop? Obviously, no.
He gently tapped Bhavya on her shoulder. She woke up frantically, her eyes searching for her bade bhaiyya. And when she found out it was Shivaay who woke her up, she immediately got up. Shivaay was about to say something when Bhavya started to set up the dinner for him.
She already knew what he would say. ‘Don’t stay awake just to make sure I eat. Don’t spoil your health waiting for me. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Blah blah blah’.
Shivaay, understanding Bhavya’s gesture, shook his head. Just then something clicked inside Bhavya’s small little brain and she hurriedly turned over to Shivaay. Shivaay raised his eyebrows at her.
“Woh bhaiyya, Om bhaiyya and Rudra apkeliye pool ke paas wait kar rahe hai. Apka dinner wahi hai.”
(Actually, Om and Rudra are waiting for you near the pool. Your dinner is over there.)
Shivaay didn’t understand. Omru never waited for him in the poolside till this time. They had their obro moments only when they were free, not at the middle of the night.
“Par kyun?”, he asked.
(But why?)
Bhavya furrowed her eyebrows before replying, “Huh? Oh! Woh Rudy keha rahe the khi woh apke poolside parties and late night talks kho miss kar rahe the. Om bhaiyya neh bhi kaha. So, hum sabko laga we should have a party by the poolside tonight.”
(Huh? Oh! Rudy was telling how much he was missing your poolside parties and late night talks. Even Om bhaiyya said so. So, we all thought that we should have a party by the poolside tonight)
Shivaay didn’t say anything. But his eyes gave away his feelings. He missed spending time with his little brothers and sister in laws. He wanted to do something or the other to spend time with them and show how much he cherished their support.
He gave a weak smile to Bhavya who gave a nod understanding his turmoil of emotions.
“Chaliye bhaiyya”, Bhavya said gesturing Shivaay towards the poolside.
(Shall we go?)
And as they turned, they both saw Gauri descending the stairs with a hand over her baby bump. That instantly brought a smile on Shivaay and Bhavya’s face. The child was truly an angel. Even before his/her birth, the child has succeeded in making the elders of his/her household happy.
Gauri came down and approached Shivaay and Bhavya. Her eyes met Bhavya’s and they both shared some known words.
“Aap log pool ke taraf jaa rahe ho na? Hum bhi wahi aa rahe the” she said and they all started walking towards the poolside.
(Are you going to towards the poolside? I am also heading towards the pool.)
“Tum abhi tak soyi kyun nahi?”, Shivaay asked her.
(Why didn’t you sleep yet?)
“Woh.. Hume kuch meeta khaane ka mann kar raha tha” she replied cutely.
(Umm..I wanted to eat something sweet)
“Par bhabhi abhi abhi toh..matlab dinner kheliye hi toh aapne dessert khaaya tha”, Bhavya asked in confusion.
(But just now, I mean you ate dessert for dinner)
“Bhavyaaa..Mein pregnant hoon..Cravings hoti hai” Gauri whined.
(Bhavyaaa.. I am pregnant. Cravings are normalll..)
Shivaay shook his head at her cuteness and craziness.
“Bhavya, agar woh pregnant nahi bhi hoti tab bhi usse meeta khaane ka craving hota hai” said Omkara.
(Bhavya, even if she wan’t pregnant she will crave for sweets)
That was when Shivaay, Gauri and Bhavya realised they had entered the poolside. Gauri whined even more while Bhavya and Shivaay chuckled at Rikara’s antics.
Omkara got up and went towards the three. He hugged Shivaay tightly. Shivaay reciprocated the hug with equal affection and love. They pulled out of the hug. But the smile never left their face.
“Tu so raha tha kya? Sleepy lag raha hai”, Shivaay asked as he patted Om on his back.
(Were you sleeping? You look sleepy)
“Haan. Hum tumhara intezaar kar rahe the. Bohot late ho gaya na. Tho batein karte karte pata nahi kab ankein lag gayi”. Om said, reminiscing what Rudra and himself were doing a while ago.
(Yeah. We were waiting for you. And it got very late. We were just talking and I don’t know when we fell asleep)
Few hours back:
Omkara
Om had just completed his statue. Again there was something sad about this statue too. He couldn’t bring himself to carve an amazingly happy statue. How much ever he tried the smile didn’t reach the eyes. He sighed as he couldn’t do anything about it. He let his eyes wander over the walls of his confined art studio. Though his father was against his passion for art, his brothers, his bhabhi, his only sister in law, and of course, his beloved better half supported him. And he had succeeded in establishing a wonderful art studio.
Before that tragic day, everything was fine and normal. Now nothing is normal, nothing is fine. After his bhabhi’s disappearance, no one seems to be themselves. The whole Oberoi family, in particular the youngsters loved her so much. They loved her with all their heart. She was their best friend, sister, mother and what not. Losing her was hard than stopping talking to his father. If he had a chance, he would definitely rewind the time and never ever let her go. The family got torn. Shivaay no longer was Shivaay. He became so devoid of emotions scaring Om and Rudra very much. It was Omru and their family’s support that Shivaay was still alive. Anika disappeared. But Shivaay died. He died inside without Anika. It took them a lot of time to make him understand that he was living like a robot.
Om knew it was a tough time. He didn’t know whether he should be dejected or hopeful. Being a person who always had deep thoughts and an over analysing mind, Om was distorted by this incident. And it reflected in his art work. Paintings or statues, something was always missing. His works didn’t radiate positivity. It resembled him and his family. Devastated but trying to cope up.
The sound of his ringtone brought Om out of his chain of thoughts. It was from his assistant. He picked up the phone and they talked about his meetings and other stuff. Then he decided to call it a day and leave his studio. Packing his stuff, he made his way out of his studio and then into his car.
As soon as he entered his home, he was greeted by a very happy Rudra.
On asking the reason, Rudra voiced out his idea.
A party by the poolside. All youngsters.
Rudra
Rudra was the only Oberoi who had no second thoughts about the return of his bhabhi. There was a slight possibility of her return. Why not hold on to it? He believed that destiny and miracles would eventually get them to Anika. Whether she will be in a good state or bad, he left that to fate.
He knew people believed him to be immature and crazy. That was actually how is brothers loved him. And why not be the way your loved ones love you. He loved many things. But his brothers, their wives, his wife top the lists. No doubt about it. He did everything he could to bring a smile on their face. He didn’t over think about the disappearance of his bhabhi fearing may be he would also feel dejected about the very little possibilities of her return.His positivity was the only thing that made himself happy.
He acted like a child as he knew others love pampering him. He behaved like a drama queen as he knew others enjoy his antics. If he had to, he would give up his life for his loved ones. He loved his family truly and dearly. And all his actions reflected his love.
Rudra was very much excited about the night out. Fascinated by the idea, Om agreed to it.
Om and Rudra went to the pool side and started making preparations. Soon they were joined by Bhavya. Gauri was obviously given strict to not even think about helping.
Food was prepared. Pillows and cushions were brought and placed in its desired position. And all the preparations were ready. Only Shivaay had to come. Bhavya and Gauri retired to the dining room to wait for Shivaay. Om and Rudra sat by the swimming pool enjoying each other’s company and waited for Shivaay. They talked, teased and did their work. Eventually they both fell asleep.
Present:
Shivaay gave an apologetic smile as soon as he heard Om’s words. Om shook his head sternly at Shivaay and placed his hand on Shivaay’s shoulder. Shivaay placed his hand on Om’s hand and smiled at him. Om gave him a nod smiling at him. They all looked at each other, smiling. Omkara ruffled Bhavya’s hair. He sidehugged Gauri and they all went towards the pool.
“What the hell!” Shivaay exclaimed when he saw the state of the pool. Something powdery was floating on the water. A bottle was floating at one end. The clean and neat pool was gone. In other words, the pool looked like a mess. Gauri widened her eyes while Om just sighed. Bhavya burst out laughing when she found the reason behind all the mess.
Rudra. Protein shake.
Rudra was sleeping on he edge of the poolside. One of his hands was inside the water. His protein shake bottle was floating on the water near to him. It’s lid was floating separately.
“What happened?” Shivaay asked joining Bhavya in her laughter.
“He was sleeping while cuddling the protein shake bottle. Apparently, it fell from his hand into the pool. It’s lid came off and the contents scattered all over. Even protein shake is done with Rudy”, Omkara explained making them all laugh their hearts out.
“It was his last protein shake bottle”, Bhavya said between her laughter,” he was talking about how much he was going to miss it today morning”.
“Why? Naya bhi tho khareed saktha hai” asked Shivaay. They were the oberois. Was there anything they couldn’t get?
(Why? He can get a new one, right?)
“It will take time it seems. There was some problem with the factory. So, they said it will take time for them to come up with a new set. Meine unse kaha khi hum koi aur company se khareed lenge. Par woh adamant the khi unhe ussi company khi chahiye” Bhavya said as they all shook their head at his silliness.
(It will take time it seems. There was some problem with the factory. So, they said it will take time for them to come up with a new set. I said to him that we can buy from some other company. But, he was and is adamant that he wants only from that particular company)
“Jo bacha tha woh bhi gaya. Ab ‘the Rudra Singh Oberoi’ ka nakra kon sahega”, Gauri said making them all chuckle.
(Even what was left is lost. Now who will put up with the antics of ‘the Rudra Singh Oberoi’)
And the hustle bustle woke Rudra up. He rubbed his eyes and saw his family standing and watching him amusedly. The sight of his big brother wore off all his laziness and sleepiness and he rushed to Shivaay.
“Bhaiyya!”, He exclaimed tackling Shivaay with a hug. Shivaay hugged him back smiling at his baby brother. He was, is and will always be a baby for him.
When Rudra came out of the hug he noticed the mess created in the pool. His eyes searched for his beloved protein shake bottle. And when he found it floating on the swimming pool, he let out a dramatic shriek with the usual,”Nahiiiii”.
(Nooooo)
And the night was followed by Rudra’s resentment about the loss of the true love of his life, protein shake with the others enjoying the drama. Then they had dinner and chatted about the updates of each and everyone’s life until they decided to head to bed. All of them enjoyed the quality time spent with their loved ones. After a long time they all were together. And they loved this small party. They all needed a break from everything going on. And this little party was exactly was they wanted. They wanted each other support’s and love. This party served that purpose. Everyone had a wonderful time. But every good thing has to come to an end. It was time to get some sleep. It was late already. So, after greeting good night when it was actually morning, everyone made way to their respective rooms.
Shivaay loosened the tie around his neck and went inside his bed room. There was no way he could escape the feeling of solitude when he entered the room. It was so full of Anika’s memories. The smile playing on Shivaay’s lips vanished and a strained expression appeared on his face. He took baby steps towards the master bed of his room and laid down on her side of the bed, imagining her to be by his side. He reminisced her fragrance, her love and everything about her. His eyes closed and eventually he went to sleep whispering the only name his heart was shouting.
“Anika”
**********
Hope you all liked the chapter.
Thanks to all the wonderful people who took their time out and read my story, liked it. Thank you!
Loads of love,
Hassi^_^