CHAPTER-43
BURGLAR
Naomi’s POV
I yawned aloud, stretching my hands in either direction, and opened my eyes. I smiled at the white pillow embroidered with black hollow circles on its surface. I rolled my eyeballs hither and thither.
“What! Where am I?”, I exclaimed, waking up and sitting on the bed. There was a long poster of a popular Canadian film actor, Keanu Reaves, in a handsome white suit, stuck on the wall on whose corners lay a study table, on a corner, and a big desktop seeming like a gamer’s adventurous platform, on the other.
“Urgh! How did I end up here?”, thought I, closing my eyes and pressing the tips of my forehead with the tips of my index fingers. I swallowed my morning of suspense, at the wardrobes, made of coffee brown furniture, on the right. I strolled from the attached loo of the bedroom to the curtains behind my bed, as I raised my eyebrows and bet the back of my head.
“What happened last night? I had a candlelight dinner with Akshat and then we came downstairs…What! Why did I want to taste alcohol?”, exclaimed I, shrugging at my mirror image on the opposite dressing mirror. I hurried to gnash my teeth and bulge my eyes to rebuke myself.
“Naomi, why did you lose control? Taste alcohol, seriously? Keep your crazy wishes to yourself…How dare you expose it in front of Akshat sir? Urgh! What’s wrong with you nowadays?”, asked I, banging the glass with a trivial force, using my closed fist, only to catch my hand and ail a bit with pain.
“What else happened last night? Urgh! Think, Naomi, think!”, I shouted within myself, as I looked up and sighed at the milky white ceiling. “Bloody brain, why don’t you work now? Urgh!”, said I, closing my fist and hitting the top of my head.
The scene of myself getting up from my seat and kneeling in front of Akshat flashed within me. “I love you, Kiku! I love you too!”, I recollected myself closing my eyes and yelling, in the lonely bar, last night. “But, no, I can’t love you!”, I had continued, shrinking my eyes and standing up erect. “How can I love you, sir? I can’t…but why do you affect me so damn much? Why? Why?”, asked I, leaning forward and grabbing Akshat’s collar. He blushed and chuckled.
“Naomi!”, he called me, as I then smiled and fainted for him to wrap me in his cozy arms. He then carried me.
“Kiku, please don’t leave me, you know? Please don’t go away…bear with me…”, said I, dragging like a typical drunkard. While he nodded and grew immersed into my eyes, I blushed, neared his cheeks, closed my eyes, and kissed him.
“What! No! How could I do that? Urgh!”, shouted I, grabbing the cushion from the study chair and throwing it on the bed, as if I was a shot put champion. I shook my head, remembering how he rested me in the back seat and drove his car.
“That’s so damn awkward! Awkward! Awkward!”, yelled I, leaning to grab the very same pillow only to throw it on the floor. Nope! I must clarify to Kiku that it was completely an accident; not my fault…I was drunk and I happened to propose to him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I pointed at my evil twin in the dressing mirror.
Isn’t it enough that you’re facing dilemmas over dilemmas within you? Why did you pester him too now, out of nowhere? He is already sinking into an ocean filled with hopes of our eternal romance, and you? Urgh! Why did you help him settle right there at the bottom?
Sorry, Akshat sir. But, I never wanted to fill your genuine heart with fake hopes….I had never meant to…Urgh! I’m so sorry…I seriously didn’t mean my alcoholic confession. When fake hopes of marks hurt, how much would that silly act of mine hurt my poor Kiku? My Kiku? Urgh! What do you mean, Naomi? There is literally no hope for our love story, from my side. It's final! Yes! Of course!
“Kiku!”, called I, hurrying towards the loo as soon as I heard the door open. “Listen, I’m very sorry for bothering you last night. Urgh! I feel so ashamed of myself. But, Akshat sir, please don’t take my words seriously. Uph! What have I done?...”, said I, finally lifting my head up from the floor. I threw my mouth open, witnessing Akshat, just in a towel.
“Sexy! When did you wake up, Kiku? How are you feeling now?...”, he enquired, blushing along. I breathed hard as he shrugged and began walking towards me. His hairy and handsome chest glittered at the traces of sunlight reflecting from the glassy balcony, freezing my heartbeat for a second. I closed my eyes and turned, as drops of water splashed hither and thither on my face, while he rubbed his hair.
“Hey! All OK?”, asked he, holding my hand and shaking me. I opened my eyes and turned away from him, only to breathe hard, gazing at the floor. “Talk to me, Naomi. Haloo!”, said he, grabbing my chin and forcing it up to look at him. Our eyes remained interlocked for the entire next minute. I released myself from his romantic imprisonment and began stepping back.
He shrugged while I rolled my eyeballs on his face. I was feeling shy for the first time in life-the typical lover’s shyness…It was such a beautiful feeling. Who said that one should never feel shy? That's when I wondered how feeling shy in love is a blessing. Akshat and I were closer than ever before, I felt, at that moment. Urgh! No way, Naomi. How can you love him?
Stop! Stop! Stop! I closed my eyes and shook my head along, as I walked back to stand a distance from him, like one practicing social distancing back during the global pandemic era of 2020.
“Aah, Kiku!”, exclaimed I, stumbling at the cot’s leg.
“Watch out!”, hurried Akshat. He caught my hand but lost his balance only to fall upon me as I fell with my back plunging upon the spongy bed. I pressed his left shoulder firmly, as his meek and hesitant pupils, light brown in color, dilated. I couldn’t stop my rosy cheeks from turning pinker and pinker at his eyes arresting me just me. He leaned forward. I closed my eyes and breathed hard as he kissed my soft cheeks. I recollected how he kissed me, for the first time, on my terrace, back on that rainy night.
He blushed, letting his hand down to wrap it around my waist and pull me closer.
“Aah! Kiku!”, exclaimed I, nearing his face. He hovered his lips to tickle my cheeks, making me blush more and more, only to turn into the pink panther. I rested my hands on his chest and pushed him. He shrugged while I turned away and blushed secretly.
“It's fine, Naomi. You can blush at me. I don’t mind”, said he. I turned back and shrank my eyes.
“No sir, I wasn’t blushing”, denied I, folding my hands and shrugging at him.
“Sexy!”, commented he, chuckling and blushing along.
“You are blushing. Look at you!”, I pointed out.
“Yes yes. I can and I was. I’m allowed to, because I love you but you can’t, right?”
I threw my mouth open and bulged my eyes. I bent down to grab the pillow only to hit his face.
“Aye! What are you doing, Kiku?”, chuckled he, catching the pillow like a bowler.
“Why can’t I love you? Who said it?” He pointed at me and chuckled. Urgh! What are you blabbering, Naomi? He was right. I don’t love him. Why should I blush then?
“I repeat my good old question again…Do you remember that assignment?”
“Assignment?Opinio Juris? I submitted it, sir…In fact, I collected the others’ too…”
“Sexy! Leave your law world and come to our world of love. Why couldn’t you stop me? Why do you want me to love you when you will never love me?...”
“No, never did I say this…”
“Yes yes, never did you. But, I can read your heart which always wants me to stay around you. Correct me if I’m wrong.” My eyes went over his sexy balls.
“Kiku, put on your shirt in the first place! Hmm!”, exclaimed I, closing my face with both palms.
“Done now!”
I uncovered my face only to witness him chuckling and expanding his hands sideways, gesturing for me to hug him. I shook my head and covered my face once again. “Kiku, please…”
“Trust me. Done now!”
“No, I won’t.”
“Why?”
“Oh, really? You did the same the last time…Not fair, Kiku! You should’ve worn it as soon as you came out of the loo. Didn’t you feel shy standing just with a towel, in front of a girl?..”
“Aye, not just a girl. You’re my life, my everything…Why should I bother being shirtless at you?” I felt his cozy palms upon mine to release my face from my own capture. I smiled at him in a white casual shirt with a dotted collar.
“Aww, you are very cute, Kiku. There is no question of distrust when it comes to you”, said I, hugging him hard. He hugged me, in return. I opened my eyes as sharp as one would, on waking up from a nightmare. I released him. While he continued to stare and blush at me, I wondered why I just hugged him.
Naomi, this is too much. You’re crossing limits now. Stay away from him. Urgh! Guru Devo Bhava! No, you can’t love him.
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?
“Akshat beta! Beta!”, called a commanding female voice from the door. I nodded at Akshat.
“Let me open”, said I, heading towards the door. He caught my hand and pulled me towards him.
“Sir, have you gone mad? Let’s open the door. Someone is waiting…”
“Aye, Kiku? I must ask you the very question. Have you lost it? Have you forgotten where you are?”
“I forget everything else when you are around, Kiku…” I narrowed my lips wondering how my tongue had broken up with my brain and gone astray. He blushed and chuckled. “Hmmmmmmm!”, he let out a long and deep sigh to blast my eardrums.
“Kiku!” I took my right palm to let it stand an inch above my ear, in an attempt to protect it from my man…I mean, my boyfriend…No, I meant my lover…Urgh! Fine, I meant from Akshat sir. Phew!
“Sexy! If you still want to go and open the door by yourself, proceed. I have no issues! But, my mom will fix our marriage at the earliest. If you’re ready, I too, as always, am in!”, he pulled my legs, as he sat back on the bed and began whistling softly.
“Marry?!”, exclaimed I. “Akshat sir, I can’t even imagine falling in love with you and you are talking about our marriage. Kiku, I…”
“Sexy! Naomi, I’m not talking about our wedding. I understand your policy but of course, parents won’t.” He blushed, pulling my nose, at which I shrank my eyes, as he completed, “What else will elders do, on finding a girl and a guy in the same bedroom? Above all, you stayed with me throughout the night…”
“Kiku, don’t scare me. Nothing happened, I know…I remember…”
“What? Oh, you mean, sex?...”
“Urgh! Kiku, please…”, squealed I, closing my ears with both hands to imitate one of the monkeys that the father of our nation used to keep talking about: Don’t hear something bad. I began to sob when Akshat patted my shoulders.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I brought you safely to my house last night. Nothing more happened. Calm down!”, he hugged and reassured me. I hugged him, in return and sobbed.
“Arey! Akshat beta! How long will it take to open the door? Beta! I’m getting late for my kitty party”, said his mom, knocking the door once again. Akshat released me and gestured for me to hide under the bed.
“Kiku!”, whispered I, “No! I am not a burglar. Why should I?” He placed his left palm upon my mouth.
“What’s that sound, beta? Are you good?”, ailed his mom.
“Uhhh..Hmmm…Yes, Mom. I just got out of the shower”, he replied. He hurried me under the bed and wrapped my pallu to close myself. “Shhh!”, said he, placing the finger on his lips and heading towards the door. I swallowed my anxiety at the gap from the floor.
“Good morning, Mom!”
“Morning, beta!” I smiled at his mom kissing his sweet cheeks, as I lay on the floor as if I were waiting to undergo massage therapy at the spa. His mom looked chic with a buff cut, colored brown, and in a long maroon kurti paired with white leggings. She wore a black netted shawl around her neck. She chuckled, patting her gentlemanly son. Wow! I wonder if she was just thirty! I blushed secretly at my future mother-in-law’s passion for fashion.
“...No, beta. How could they force you to drink? Going forward, don’t hang out with such friends. Got me?”, I heard her advising Akshat. I frowned secretly.
“No way, I want Akshat. Unbelievable! No sooner did my mother-in-law step into my life than she began working to accomplish her aim: keep her son away from his beloved wife…”, thought I.
Urgh! Wait, what? No, Naomi. How can she be your mother-in-law? She is Kiku’s mother. Neither can she be your mother-in-law nor can Akshat be your husband. Never! Never! Very soon! Urgh!... What’s wrong with my bloody brain box? I frowned, closing my eyes and beating my forehead hard with a closed fist.
“Naomi! Mom has left outdoors. Come!”, invited Akshat, extending his right hand as he peeped under the bed. I opened my eyes and blushed, offering my hand to his. He slowly helped me come out and stand up.
“This is for you”, revealed he, pointing at a glass of whitish-yellowish juice constituting a few pieces of yolk in it. He rested his hands on my shoulders and walked me to take a seat on his study chair. He offered me the glass, insisting I have the drink. “Kiku, it helps one overcome the dizziness after an alcoholic night…”
“Didn’t you drink last night?”
He shook his head. “If I did, who would look after you?” Our eyes lost in each other for the next couple of seconds until he waved. “Drink it in a single go, Kiku! Come on! Don’t bother about its taste. Start! Start! Let me then drop you back in your PG before mom returns”, said he, hurrying to wear his casual pants.
“Blue! Blue! Blueeeeeeee!”, yelled I, forcing the drink into my mouth. I breathed hard as he chuckled. “How do people drink it? I quickly developed a vomiting sensation halfway.” We shared a round of laughter at my realization. I stood up and walked towards him as he continued chuckling. I sat beside him on the bed. I leaned forward and kissed his cheeks.
We looked into each others’ eyes as I caught his palms, thanking him, “Thanks for the healing drink, Kiku. None have ever cared for me, more than you, ever before, and will never.” I kissed him again on his forehead.
“Anytime, Kiku!”, said he, hugging me. He released me, asking, “I have a small doubt.”
“Wow! It was the first time I see a lecturer asking a doubt to his student! Proceed, sir!”
“Why did you kiss me just now? Two kisses…” I stood up and turned away. I blushed, struggling to find absolutely no reason within me. Akshat is such a sweet gentleman: too sweet to handle. Urgh! How could I kiss him like that? I have a reason every time- the kiss of gratitude and so on.
“Aah!” He pulled me closer, making my loose hair oscillate in front of him. “If you kissed me without a reason, it means that you love me. Have I won your heart, Naomi?” I shook my head.
“You were very sweet and…”
“So, would you kiss every sweet person who comes your way?”
I shook my head once again. He chuckled. “Then, why just me?” He grabbed the car keys from his drawer. “Think about it, Kiku. Don’t let your policy arrest your emotions for emotions have always been free birds.” I was lost as I followed him downstairs. I looked around at the beautiful Malhotra mansion, as we walked
“Your bungalow is splendid. Just like a heavenly palace on Earth! Wow! Sir, are you from a business family?”
“Yes yes. We are the Malhotras.”
“But, why didn’t you pursue your family business and become a businessman?”
“If I had walked along the typical path, how could I have met the lady of my life?”
I turned away to blush secretly as he turned at me and winked.
“Law has always been my ambition. My elder brother and father look after our businesses. My elder sister is doing her Masters abroad, after which we are planning to expand our businesses overseas.”
“That's cool! Glad to hear that, sir! All the best!”
“Sexy! Wish my bhaiya and paapa. Why me?” We chuckled at it.
“Yes, Mona. I’m on the way! Cakes? Sure...Hmmm…” Akshat and I swallowed my fear at his mother coming downstairs, as she spoke over the phone. Akshat pulled me to hide in a cozy corner at the junction under the stairs. Tears accumulated in my eyes. He shook his head and placed his finger on my lips. I breathed hard as he stood closer to me, as we heard his mom’s high heels cracking the metallic stairs painted alternatively white and black.
Oops! Will Akshat and Naomi be caught?
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