Episode 11
Revelations
Naira waited for Karthik at their spot. It was 8 pm. She was a little scared as this area was secluded and she was alone but she was pretty sure Karthik had a reason for calling her.
Karthik never called her at 7.45 pm in the night to meet them somewhere so far away from her hostel. There must have been something really bothering him, enough to make him sound distressed over the phone.
She sat at the edge of the road when a hand touched her shoulder.
She turned to see a gigantic, gross looking hand on her shoulder. Wait a minute, this can’t be Karthik’s. She turned around to see a burly looking loafer.
‘what’s the matter, love? Waiting for somebody else? ‘
Naira began to walk towards the junction with the main road, where there would be a bigger crowd.
The ugly looking man kept following her.
‘ why are you running away sweetcheeks ? Tell me what you want, and it will be yours. Who’s this lover of yours that you’re waiting for? ‘
Naira’s temper was now flaring up. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would get subdued by anybody. Who does this man think he is? She turned around and tried to reign in her anger and sound as decent as she possibly could.
‘ look, sir. Bhai Saab. Who I’m waiting for, is none of your business. So, I think it’s better if you’d tread carefully. I’m known to have a short temper. ‘
‘ bhai saab is it? So I’m your brother now? Well you’re lucky, darling. Because I think incest is exciting. ‘ he said as he advanced towards her.
Naira couldn’t figure out what possessed her but she slapped him. Slapped him with all the force she could muster. And began to walk away.
‘ where do you think you’re going? You should get a return gift for the wonderful present you’ve given me! ‘
He grabbed her by the arm, twisted it and pushed her to the ground.
As Naira fell, her head hit the pavement. Her vision got blurred for a second. She couldn’t see him or anything around her.
All she could hear was the sound of brakes and tires scratching against the pavement.
‘hey you!’
There he was. He’d save her.
‘how dare you touch her, huh? How did you even lay a finger on her? ‘ the familiar voice swept a wave of relief through her. This was the voice that she’d recognize even when she was groggy from sleep or she was lost. It was his.
Her vision started to clear up and she saw Karthik beating the shit out of the man.
She tried to get up, but she couldn’t as she had twisted her ankle in the process of falling down.
‘Karthik! ‘ she yelled, wincing in pain.
Instantly Karthik, who was now kneeling, punching the loafer, turned around.
He was by her side in no moment.
‘ hey hey hey. Careful. ‘ he said as she tried to get up.
He helped her get up. The man was now running away from Karthik.
Karthik was about to run behind him when Naira pulled his shirt sleeve.
‘ no, don’t leave me’ she said. She was crying now.
Karthik pulled her in his arms as she cried her eyes out.
‘shh. I’m here now.’ he said, stroking her hair. ‘I’m an idiot for having called you here. What was I even thinking? This road, at this hour of the night, all alone? I’m so sorry baby. I should have thought better.’
‘it’s okay.’ She said between sobs.
A few moments later.
‘why did you call? Is everything okay?’ she freed herself from his grip, wiping his tears.
Karthik was a little reluctant to let go of her, but he did.
‘that’s not important. We need to get you back to your hostel. Is your head okay? ‘
There he was worrying about her more than himself. Again.
‘ Karthik, tell me! ‘ Naira said.
‘ I had a call from home today. ‘he said.
Whoa. Karthik never spoke about home, or his family. She’d asked him once or twice, but he never mentioned anything about them to anyone. He’d always said he likes to keep as little contact with them as possible.
‘ and? ‘ Naira prompted.
‘ my sister’s getting married. They fixed everything overnight. She was in love with some guy and they finally managed to convince both families. ‘
‘ you have a sister? ‘ Naira asked.
‘ Yeah. ‘
‘ why don’t you ever talk about them Karthik? What happened that you don’t ever want to go back to your house? It’s your family. Obviously they love you . They’re probably worried sick about you. Do you talk to them at least? ‘
‘ no. ‘ he said. He was starting to get impatient now.
‘ why? Karthik, please tell me. ‘
‘ I don’t want to do engineer Naira!! I want to be a singer. And my father! He thinks I need a degree first, so that his family name doesn’t go to the dogs. He’s always done that. Put family name before everything else, including my happiness and….. ‘ he stopped.
‘ and what Karthik? ‘Naira asked.
‘ my wishes. ‘ Karthik said.
His happiness and his wishes? This couldn’t be the only reason for him not wanting to go back to his family. Karthik was a guy who was capable of giving a lot of love and affection. Such love doesn’t get diminished by one incident. There must have been a bigger trigger that set him off. But what?
Naira knew that if she’d ask him now, he’d never tell her. So she decided to change the subject.
‘so when are you leaving? ‘ Naira asked.
‘tomorrow morning. There’s an early flight. My parents have booked a flight for me. Apparently the groom’s sister is also in bangalore. So the two of us are supposed to be traveling together.’
Groom’s sister? Naira was green with envy, yet again.
‘there. Another Aaru for you. ‘ she said.
‘ awww. Cutie pie. Jealous again, are we? ‘
‘ Karthik, I’ve to tell you something. She texted me this evening. And she told me……’ she was interrupted by Naksh bhai’s phone call.
‘bhai!! How are you? I’m so upset. You never call me these days. ‘
‘ Bacchi, I’m so sorry. I was busy these days. ‘
‘ busy enough to forget your sister? ‘ Naira asked.
‘ arey how can I forget you? I was busy convincing mumma and papa to agree to get me married to your sister in law.’
‘you’re getting married?!!!! ‘ Naira asked, shocked.
‘of course I am. You thought I’d stay bachelor forever?’
‘who’s the lucky girl? ‘ she asked.
‘ oh I can’t wait until you meet her, Naira. She’s amazing. I love her so much. Can’t wait for you to meet Keerti ‘
‘ Keerti. So that’s bhabhis name. So when Is this event happening?’ she asked.
‘in 10 days. Punditji only found this muhurat for us. The next muhurat is ages later and we didn’t want to wait for this long. You have an early flight tomorrow. Keerti’s brother is also in Bangalore. You guys are coming together. ‘ he said.
Brother? Wait a second. Wedding. Love marriage. Sibling studying in bangalore. Flight tomorrow? This was too much of a coincidence.
‘ what’s her full name bhai? ‘Naira asked.
‘ Keerti Goenka. ‘Naksh said.
‘ I’ll call you back Bhai.’ she said and turned to face Karthik.
‘Karthik, what’s the groom’s name? ‘ he said.
‘ Naksh Singhania’ he said. Realization struck him then.
Precap: the flight
———-author’s notes – – – – – – – – – – –
Hey guys. So this was the episode for today. Hope you liked it. I was sooooooo confused as to what plot line to use, because I had two in mind. Anyway, here it is.
Please let me know what you felt in the comments.
Have a great day.
🙂