Love is so blind that it just happens unexpectedly.
You may fall for anyone!
Would you let go of your policy if you fell for someone you shouldn't? What would you choose-your policy or your beloved?
I looked at him and asked him to get up at once. We stood up and I told him that my parents had been back home!
“How do you know?”, whispered he. I explained that I had been waiting all day long to hear their car’s horn since childhood and thus had been very familiar with the arrival of their car. He grew serious and I stood scared.
“Akshat sir, come with me and hide”, said I. He shrugged at it but I convinced him that there was no other alternative.
While he still hesitated, the doorbell rang thrice, at a stretch. I dragged him inside, closed the door of the terrace, and rushed him towards my bedroom. I heard the doorbell again; this time, my mom called my name.
I left him in my room and begged him to stay there until I returned. He enquired curiously,” Kiku, why are you so scared of your parents when you could handle the intruder? “I smiled at him, speaking out, “Both of us are drenched loads in the rain. Do you think anyone will believe us to have not played wrong?”
“But appearances may be deceptive…”, justified he but I cut him off, concluding, “None are so broad-minded in life. After all, they are my parents. Just imagine how they would feel seeing their daughter with a guy all alone in their house…No, no, I shouldn’t hurt them”, said I, closing the door, gesturing him to be silent again.
I ran downstairs and opened the door. My mom screamed at my drenched dress and wet hair. I was damped throughout. “With no worries about your future which has reached the peak of risk, you were spellbound playing in the rain. What a silly daughter I have, great heavens!”, wondered my spectacled dad, removing his shoes and dusting his socks near the shoe rack.
“Wow! You finally played in the rain despite our warnings…So bad of you! Viraj and I do everything for your welfare, right? When will you understand, beta?”, worried my mother.
My dad sighed, complaining to my mom,” Keerti, she will never understand. Forget it…Her future and ethics are all gone…We too are ruined along with our foolish daughter…”
“Papa, no. I would like to inform both of you that Janki University has approved my transfer. I will be going to college, continuing my law studies from tomorrow”, announced I, conveying everything in one breath.
They smiled at each other and hugged me. I could see tears of happiness in my mother’s eyes while my dad concealed the same. It had been quite long since the three of us had ever spent time together. The very moment was more than special to me for we hugged. I don’t even remember when my parents hugged me last. Akshat, you deserve all the credits.
“All the best, beta! I feel very proud of you!”, said my dad, patting my cheek, as I smiled. My mom asked me to dry my hair properly and come down soon. “Viraj let's also refresh quickly and come. I want to prepare her favorite Puran poli along with parathas for dinner”, declared my mom.
After she left, my dad thanked me because he had got to taste something other than the usual bindi and beans we used to eat every day. We chuckled as my mom overheard and frowned. My dad made a cute gesture of apology, touching his ears, at her who had been halfway through the stairs.
We too followed her upstairs. Just as we passed by my room, I breathed in and out as if I were exercising. I prayed for silence every single moment.
But, naughty Kiku didn’t let me stay in peace. We suddenly heard a sound from inside my room. We stopped there at once. My mom shrugged, asking me what had happened. I shrugged back, suspecting it to have been a pen.
My father was about to open the door. I stopped him, consoling him that it mustn’t have been anything serious. “No, I cannot risk your life”, decided he and mom nodded too.
I was going to be dead!
He opened the door and we walked inside my cell. My mom opened the loo and checked inside while my dad checked in the balcony and below the bed as well. I spotted my notebook on the floor. I took it and consoled them.
Mom happened to see the official admission notice on the table. She showed it to dad and they congratulated me again. I faked a smile for I had been more anxious about Akshat’s disappearance at that moment.
They left and I closed my door once. “Akshat sir!”, called I, in tears, looking around.
I was distracted by the smiling big white dustbin, having ‘USE ME’ written on it, behind me, at a silent corner between the door’s entrance and the loo. I turned behind and squealed at Akshat popping out from it. When my parents enquired from their room, I held up my breath and replied that it was a tiny red ant.
We laughed at each other, as he stepped out of the dustbin. He wondered at me, “How come your dustbin is empty and clean? “I explained that I had never used it. He chuckled and asked me why.
“I used to tear papers and books during my childhood. Once, my grandfather gifted me the dustbin on my birthday. He asked me to tear all my notebooks, books, and everything made of paper that I had. That’s when I realized my mistake and got rid of my uncivilized habit. It’s still here as a sign of memory!”, explained I, with tears of happiness flooding my eyes.
“Wow! He is smart indeed!”, acclaimed Akshat. I sighed, as he wiped my tears before they could roll down my cheeks. “I miss him. He is in Singapore now with my Taiji”, recalled I. He patted my back as I cried, “It has been more than five years since I last saw him.”
I returned to reality and insisted to leave my house immediately. He nodded and we hurried outside, down the stairs, and reached the door. “Bye Kiku! It was a very nice and memorable time with you!”, remarked I. He too added that the evening had been such a roller coaster ride and a circus. The intruder, the rain, and finally my parents had made the evening very eventful, we reflected and chuckled.
I opened the door. He looked around my house, smiling. I patted his shoulder asking him to leave for I had won goosebumps on both my hands by then.
“The way I hid in your room and now the way I am sneaking out of your house, I feel as if I were your boyfriend indeed!”, correlated he. Aww! Its the first time I kind of acknowledged a guy to be my boyfriend!
We blushed at each other and hugged.
“Aww see you in college tomorrow, Kiku”, said I.
He informed me,” Kiku, don’t call me Kiku within the campus premises. It’s my personal nickname that I rarely share.“I nodded. He was about to leave, at last. I too went outside to bid him adieu. The rains had stopped except that it was drizzling a bit.
He turned back, asking, “Naomi, weren’t you in the middle of something? “I shrugged. He blushed, pointing at his cheek. I blushed back and asked him to leave. “I am leaving now but I won’t forget to take your kiss of gratefulness. Remember?”
“Shhhh!” said I, putting the finger on my lip. I looked inside my house. My parents had not yet come out of their room. I begged him to leave.
“This is cheating! Naughty Naomi, I won’t until you tell when you will kiss me”, whispered he.
Targeting the momentary escape,” Tomorrow”, managed I. He smiled and left. We waved at each other as I closed my door. I blushed and chuckled to myself, saying, “Akshat sir, you are naughty not me.”
It was bright and indeed the freshest morning, at fifteen minutes past eight. As Vyomi and I walked towards the last class of the corridor, on the fifth floor of our Law block, I was rubbing my palms restlessly and looking at the few colleagues roaming the corridor. She shook me, asking what was wrong. I displayed the goose-bumps that had appeared on my hands by then.
“Dude, chill.Good that both of us are in the same section. I am here for you! My friends are here!Come!”, convinced she, in her hurried tone. She slipped. "Dude, help!", she cried, as she lost balance and was about to fall backward. I caught her hand and helped her stand erect. My eyes went over a hibiscus fallen beside her feet. I bent down and showed it to her.
What's the secret message embedded in the hibiscus? Who left it for Vyomi?
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