Here it is guys! Part 5! Now this is less serious than some of the previous chapters but I think a lot of you will like this one.ππ³ But I can't be sure if you don't tell meπ Right, now since only Ysh, Niyu and Rashmi are replying, I thought that I could just PM them the parts and stop posting here. Sorry guys, blackmail, but I have to do it.π Now read, enjoy and REPLY!
There were twenty-seven Lays chips hanging from the ceiling. Seven were tomato flavored, ten more, were "Classic Salted" and the remaining ten were "Magic Masala." The word "Cadbury" on the chocolates could be re arranged to form "buy card." Needless to say, Narayan was beyond bored. His uncle had gone on and on about his plans for the lodge and his aunt had been no better, praising their son Maitreya to the skies. If that wasn't enough, he had gotten lost AGAIN. He had had no money to pay the auto driver so he had hopped off at a small store hoping to find someone to help him. So far, no one had turned up and it was getting steadily hotter. What a way to spend the Sunday! He tried talking to the shopkeeper again. But he knew no Kannada and the shop keeper knew only the English numbers. The communication gap was frustrating. Narayan wiped his forehead.
He certainly hadn't bargained for this much when he decided to come to India for six months. He had never seen a more frustrating and intoxicating place. He was sure he'd get a sensory overload sometime soon. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes were all thrown together in this lively country. As he was thinking, he noticed a beautiful girl walking towards the shop. Finally! Hopefully she knew Kannada AND English and she'd have him out of this mess in no time. "Durga? It was Durga!"
Narayan found his legs running towards her of their own accord, his joy overflowing. "Durga!" Ignoring her surprised face he grabbed both her hands and spun her around, laughing. Caught unawares, she joined him. Soon they were both spinning round and round, their giddy laughter echoing in the empty street.
"Iβ¦I've never laughed so much in ages." Narayan panted after catching his breath.
"Nor have I, thanks." She smiled at him, completely genuinely for once. And she looked beautiful. He took a moment to just look at her, to take this new, free-spirited side of her in. Her inky hair was flying, framing her face like a halo. She was still laughing, her cheeks a rosy pink. Narayan held his breath. He had never seen someone look so beautiful. He had never noticed this side of her before, she never let him but when he did, he couldn't stop looking. So this was the Durga that her friends and family saw. This was the Durga he always wanted to seeβ¦
"Ummmβ¦you can let go of my hands now." Durga said quietly but Narayan was too deep in his dream world to hear her.
"Ouch! What was that for?!" She had slapped his hands. Uh-oh, it looked like the walls were back in place.
"You were holding on to my hands for too long." Durga almost whispered, blushing slightly. She widened her eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let go." She demanded and with a violent shake of her arms she freed herself. "Ok, time for the rapid fire. Why are you here? What are you doing? How did you get here?"
"Oh Durga it was awful." He took a deep breath. "Even with your grandfather's help I got lost on the way to my uncle's house. While returning, my aunty gave the auto driver the directions but, due to my lucky streak, the guy was deaf! Well a little bit anyway. So he didn't here most of what my aunty said. So, later, when we were in the middle of an empty road, he asked me! Guess in which language? Kannada!"
"If you come to the capital of Karnataka, people will be speakingβ¦ummβ¦it's a hard oneβ¦Kannada!" She said sarcastically.
"Listen to my story! I don't know a word of Kannada and that guy understood neither my Hindi nor my English."
"Obviously, you sound like you just stepped out of Buckingham Palace yesterday."
"Right, so we went round and round until I ran out of money β again! So I got off here, at this shop, hoping someone would help me find my way home. But again, there is a huge communication gap between me and the shopkeeper. And no one else came along, until you did of course. So I've been stuck in this shop for the past twenty minutes; counting the number of chips packets hung on the wall!" By this time; Durga was in hysterics.
"That was hilarious," she managed to say after she caught her breath. "Poor you, you're almost forgiven for holding my hand. Come, I'll find you an auto."
'Thanks Durga. Today, you saved me from going crazy. What were you doing here, by the way?"
"My grandparents live here." She said shortly and proceeded towards the main road. "Well, aren't you coming?"
"Ma," Durga was back in her grandparents' house but Alok was still out. "Ma, I think it's time for us to go now. I've still got to go for practice." She whispered so no one else would hear.
"Haan chalo. Ma, main chalti hoon."
Dadi simply nodded. Quietly, they both made their way outside.
"Durga," said her mother when they were back home. "I need to pick up some groceries. You go inside."
"Ok, sure ma. Shall I help?"
"No need, just coffee and other things. "
"Ok" Durga was pleased to discover that Tara had stopped moping in her room and instead was lying stretched out in the garden, busy stripping the daisies of their petals. "Busy in 'he loves me, he loves me not'?" she asked jovially, flopping down next to Tara.
Tara turned to her slowly. "No, not at all. I just thought the daisies would be more attractive without their petals." They both laughed at this and headed inside. It being a Sunday, ajji was most likely to have prepared something delicious for the whole family to eat.
Up in her room, away from the noisy game of Putti and Kranti, Durga breathed a sigh of relief. Peace was so wonderful. She decided to quickly change before she went down for lunch. It was when she opened her drawer that she got a shock. "ANU!!!!" She screamed for the maid. "ANU!!"
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