Khushi walked into the living room with Buaji, Amma and Babuji and hugged everyone. Arnav was looking at her all the while, with an expressionless face. Then he turned to Buaji, "Buaji aap ne takleef kyu ki.. aap log ke lene main aane hi waala tha (Buaji, why did you go into all the trouble.. I was just about to come pick you all up)". Buaji and Amma looked at each other and smiled, "Nahi babuwa, is main kya takleef..(No son, there is no trouble)" Anjali smiled and added, "Buaji, aap samjhe nahi.. Chotte sirf Khushiji ke saat waqt bitaane ka bahana doondh raha hain (Buaji, you don't understand. Chotte is just trying to find an excuse to spend time with Khushi)". Buaji smiled watching Khushi blush. Nani playfully hit Anjali's arm. "Nahi Di, aisi baat nahi.. iss halat main Khushi ka auto main aana theekh nahi hain (No Di, that's not the case. I don't think Khushi should travel in an auto in her condition)" Arnav interrupted seriously. Buaji agreed, and Nani said, grinning, "Theekh hain toh kal se hum driver ko bejte hain (Ok, then from tomorrow onwards, we will send the driver to get her)". Arnav looked at Khushi and she giggled. Arnav looked upset.
Roy's assistant walked in at that point with the papers. Khushi helped Anjali walk to the couch and she and Arnav sat down next to Anjali, Khushi holding Anjali's hand all the time, while Roy's assistant explained the procedure. Anjali took the pen, but her hand was shaking. Arnav put his hand on his sister's shoulder, "Di .. remember, no pressure.. you don't have to do this if you don't want to". Khushi nodded her head, "Haan di.. (Yes, di)" Anjali looked at them with tear-filled eyes, "nahi.. main karna chahti hoon (No, I want to do it)". She took the paper, signed it and handed it back to Roy's assistant. He stood up, shook hands with Arnav and walked to the door. When Arnav looked back, Anjali was hugging Khushi. Khushi looked at Arnav and smiled and Arnav heaved a sigh of relief. "Di, chalo puja ke liye chalte hain (Di, lets go for the puja)". Khushi helped Anjali up, but Anjali remembered that she needed something from her room. So she walked to her room. Khushi turned to Arnav, but heard Buaji calling her, so she went towards the mandir.
NK walked in then. He walked to Arnav and said, "Nanav, mujhe Di ke baare main sunkar dukh hua.. I feel terrible, but I should have known. Woh Shyam, sangeet ke din .. (Arnav, I heard about di.. I feel terrible. but I should have known. That Shyam, on the day of the sangeet)" He explained how Shyam had gotten angry at him when he mentioned how good Arnav and Khushi looked together. Arnav's face clouded with anger, "NK, aur tumne kisiko bataaya nahi? (NK, and you didn't tell anyone about this?)" NK was about to react when they heard a scream, "Chameli.." They ran to the door and saw Khushi hugging Chameli. "Tum kaha chali gayi thi.. kisiko bataaya bhi nahi.. maine kitni baar tumhe phone kiya tha. aur tum udhaaya bhi nahi.. aur tumne sagai bhi miss kiya..(Where did you go? You didnt tel anyone.. I tried calling you so many times and you didnt pick up the call.. You missed the engagement)" Khushi was complaining to her friend, as she hugged her tightly. Chameli broke from the embrace and said, "Woh main inko lene gaya tha (I had gone to bring him)". Chameli was pointing to a tall well-built guy standing next to her. Khushi's face lightened up, "Bhai.. aap.. (Brother, you) " She hugged him and the guy hugged her back. "Chameli, bhaiyya.. aap log aayiye.. sab log mandir ke paas hain (Chameli, brother.. come with me.. everyone is at the temple)". Arnav and NK followed them to the mandir.
Khushi introduced the new guy to everyone. He was Chameli's brother, Rahul. He had been like a big brother to her and Payal when they were growing up, since he was much older than them. Payal hugged him too. He touched Nani's feet and hugged Buaji, Amma and Babuji. He said Namaste to everyone else, and to Arnav, he said, "Jijaji.. aap ke baare main bahut kuch suna hain.. pata nahi ki aap iss pagal ladki ko kaise sambhalte ho (Jijaji, I have heard so much about you.. I don't know how you control this crazy girl)" Khushi's mouth opened and everyone including Arnav laughed. Arnav's smile disappeared, as he watched his sister trip on the carpet as she walked towards them. He called out., "Di", but before he could reach her, Rahul moved swiftly and caught Anjali in his arms.
Anjali had closed her eyes, but when she opened them, she found herself looking into the most handsome face that she had ever seen. His eyes were brown and soft, but there were something deep hidden in them. His hair was flying in the light breeze and she could feel her heart beating fast; a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. He helped her up, said Namaste and turned to look up as Arnav and the others had come to Anjali's side. "Di, aap theekh ho.. (Di, are you alright?)" Anjali wasn't listening, so he put his hand on her arm, "Di.." Anjali suddenly came back to her senses and said, "Haa.. haa Chotte..(Yes, Chotte)" then she looked at Rahul. Khushi realized that she hadn't introduced them to each other. "Di, yeh Chameli ke bhai he, Rahul aur bhai, yeh humari Di hain (Di, this is Chameli's brother, Rahul and brother, this is my Di)". They said Namaste to each other. Nani asked everyone to sit down at the puja. Chameli remembered that she had left something at the door, she turned around and banged into NK. They rubbed their foreheads and looked at each other. NK said, "Hi.." Chameli looked confused, "Huh?" NK replied, "Namaste.. I'm NK". Chameli said "Namaste, main Chameli (I'm Chameli)".. NK replied, and smiled "oohh.. chikni Chameli (Beautiful Chameli)". Chameli blushed and runs to the door. NK ran his hand through his hair and smiled and walked to the mandir behind everyone.
During the puja, Anjali kept looking at Rahul. Her heart was still beating fast. He was so good-looking. But there was something about him, there was some sadness on his face, though he was trying hard to smile. She could sense it, because she herself was doing that.. struggling to keep her sorrows inside while smiling for everyone else. I wonder what sorrow he is hiding? Wait, why am I concerned about his sorrows.. why do I feel like I should try to help him out? why is it affecting me that he is sad? Why can't I stop thinking about him? She closed her eyes in prayer.
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A plea to silent readers : Like and/or comment if you liked the post, but if you don't like the post, please please feel free to criticize! It's kind of disappointing to see so many views and no feedback!
Part 30 : Love is in the air (https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/56833912)
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