“That Unknown Feeling”- Chapter 11: Choices

Hey guys, sorry for the one day hiatus, here’s the next chapter 😉
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Sayyam sat down on a bench nearby, a victorious smirk on his face. He wasn’t his mother’s son just for show- he never backed away from a challenge, and his name wouldn’t be Sayyam if he ever accepted defeat, especially to that ‘Girnewali’. He held up a wallet in front of his face, holding in a sinister laugh.
“This’ll teach that ‘Girnewali’, how can she pay for her Sari without her wallet? Now she just has to call me for help.” With that thought, he leaned back in his seat, waiting for her call anytime now.

—–

Krishna was having trouble selecting one out of the two saris she liked. One was yellow with a golden and crème border and the other was red and black with miniature sequins. Her eyes were drawn towards the yellow one, and she held it, a smile on her face. She remembered then that Yuvaan’s favorite color was red, and it only made sense that she choose the red one. She nodded, as if to agree with herself; she would take the yellow one some other day, and she’d buy the red one for Yuvaan’s birthday now. She opened her bag and reached for her wallet, feeling around for it. When she couldn’t find it, she opened the bag completely and looked through it. “I remember bringing it,” she thought aloud. Suddenly, her challenge with Sayyam popped into her mind, and she narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly where her wallet was.

—–

“Khadoos! Hello, Mr. Khadoos!” Krishna called out, revisiting the place where she’d last seen Sayyam. “Where is this idiot?” she grumbled to herself, not wanting to call him. She stood where she was for a couple seconds, then sighed, realizing that calling Sayyam was the only option she had, but she wouldn’t accept defeat so easily…

—–

Sayyam’s phone began to ring, and he glanced at the phone. The name ‘Girnewali’ flashed across the screen and he let out a short laugh, his plan falling right into place. He casually picked up the phone, holding it to his ear, “Hello?”

“Hello?” Krishna’s panicked voice sounded from the other end.

“Yeah?”

“Can you come here now?”

“For what? First say please.” he said smugly, though he was wondering why she hadn’t called him ‘Khadoos’ by now.

“Arrey, hurry, come quick!” she whispered harshly.

Sayyam sat up, somewhat concerned by now, “Why? What happened?”

“Actually, some boys are there-” she stated. Sayyam’s eyes widened.

“Wait, I’m coming okay? Stay where you are,” he answered, darting in the direction at which he’d last seen Krishna.

—–

Sayyam rushed to the place so fast, that he almost bumped into Krishna.
“What happened?” he panted, looking Krishna up and down to make sure nothing had happened to her.

“My wallet,” she extended her hand, impatience written on her face.

“But-” he drawled, confused, “you said…” he stopped speaking when he saw the grin on her face. “You idiot! What kind of dumb joke was that?”

“You wouldn’t have come if I’d asked you for my wallet,” she shrugged carelessly.

“Are you mad?” he stood in her path, refusing to let her walk away, “You told me boys were troubling you-”

“I didn’t say that,” Krishna interrupted, “I just said that some boys were there.”

“So what? What if something had happened to you? How would I face your Suhani aunty?”

“Calm down,” Krishna raised her eyebrows, seeing him so hyper, “Nothing happened. Anyways, why are you scared? Tell me the truth, has any girl ever taken advantage of you?” Krishna smirked, remembering their previous conversation.

Sayyam closed his eyes, remembering the look on his mother’s face the day she’d told him the truth of his birth. “This isn’t funny,” he gritted his teeth, stepping towards her “I don’t want you to ever make such a joke again- understood?”

Krishna frowned, wondering why he had suddenly become so solemn. True, he’d always been a serious person, but she’d never seen him this stern. It was almost as if he were scared…but why? She nodded slowly, letting him know that she was taking him seriously. Sayyam turned around and walked towards the counter, while she followed behind quietly, deep in thought. On the way, Sayyam remembered that he still hadn’t won the challenge; she’d called him up herself, but she hadn’t asked him for help…yet.

They both reached the counter, where the red and yellow saris still lay. Krishna picked up the red sari, while her gaze resided on the yellow one. Sayyam immediately understood the situation and grabbed at his last opportunity to win this challenge.

“So…” he spoke sneakily, “have you selected your sari yet?”

“Yeah…” she said obliviously, her eyes still fixed on the dandelion-yellow sari.

“Are you sure? Is that the one you want?” he implored her, silently urging her to say what he wanted to hear.

“Uh, I need your help deciding,” she mumbled thoughtlessly.

Sayyam’s eyebrows shot up and he smirked triumphantly, “What did you say? Repeat it again.”

“Arrey, I said I need-” Krishna paused as realization hit her.

Sayyam pursed his lips in mock sympathy and leaned on the counter, resting his chin on his palm. “Since you need my help, I’m ready to help you” he lay emphasis on the word ‘help’. He picked up the yellow sari and held it up to Krishna. “Choose this one; it brings out the golden flecks in your eyes.”
Sayyam handed her the sari and walked away, proud of himself. Krishna purchased it, all the while wondering to herself how he’d noticed something about her even Yuvaan had never observed.

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Sorry for the late update guys, my family is shifting to another house, so I was helping with all the packing. Thanks for all the positive comments on the last chapter. So far, Kriyam has been having some sweet moments, but there’s gonna be some rocky road from here on out. I’ve got a lot of plot twists planned for you guys 😉

Love you all!
-Shreya <3