Chapter 9
Nivi directed Viren to the flower market by patting his shoulder and pointing whenever he needed to take a turn and they managed to get there quite quickly. She was glad his bad mood had gone and he seemed genuinely interested as she explained that simple flowers would be more suitable for a pooja. As they walked around though, he must have gotten bored because he started asking her totally random questions like what her favourite colour was, whether she liked ice cream, who had she made the halwa for before he'd eaten all of it and why had she gone for a job in a bank when she'd been so bad at Maths and used to hate it?! Nivi answered all his questions as she walked and laughed at the Maths question saying she needed a job and they had given her an interview so she'd gone.
Viren watched Nivi as she picked out flowers and told the stall person how much they'd need delivered and where. He'd asked her lots of things he was curious about but felt like he had barely started when Nivi said 'Bas Viren, sab kuch aaj hi pooch lo ge kya?!' Viren laughed and picked out a little blue flower which was a couple of shades darker than the suit she was wearing; he leaned over and placed it in her hair carefully while Nivi watched him with wide eyes. 'Sorry Moti, it's been so long, I feel like we have to make up for all the lost time...' he hadn't meant to get so serious and was expecting her to tell him off for calling her Moti again so was surprised when Nivi asked in an equally serious voice why he hadn't come home in so long.
He explained that at first he hadn't liked going to Boarding School at all but then he'd made friends and had just gotten used to being on his own and making his own decisions. When he'd missed his family he'd come home for a few days but always knowing he would go back. He didn't go into detail about why he'd stayed away when he'd got older since it didn't seem like the right time. Nivi listened quietly and then said 'It must have been really hard...' They were walking back to the bike and Viren watched her, she seemed lost in thought and they'd reached the bike when she asked him how long he was planning to stay in Shimla this time.
Nivi turned and looked at Viren after she asked the question and he blinked in surprise even though it wasn't that strange a question after all of his. She'd purposely not asked what had upset him earlier, thinking he could tell her in his own time. She watched as he considered his answer and realised her heart was beating fast as she waited, She didn't know why it mattered so much since she'd only met him yesterday only that it mattered a lot.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Viren said 'I wasn't sure to start with but now I think I'll stay for a while...' He smiled at her suddenly and the serious tone in his voice disappeared as he said 'There's no way you're getting rid of me any time soon, you haven't even made me tea yet!' and Nivi started laughing too. They got on the bike and this time Nivi felt fine putting her hands on his shoulders lightly as she got on.
When they got home Nivi told Viren to stop at his house and she'd walk from there. As she got off the bike, she told him the flowers would be delivered in an hour or so to the house and Viren thanked her and asked when they were coming for the pooja. Nivi gave him a rough time and turned to go when she remembered his flute. 'Viren, I just remembered, I have something of yours!' Viren looked a little puzzled and asked what but Nivi just laughed and said 'Soch lo, what have you lost in the past 2 days..?'
Viren couldn't think of anything so Nivi said, 'I'll bring it with me tonight but if you don't remember what it is before I give it to you, you'll owe me...' Viren laughed at her excited expression and agreed, thinking he was so glad he hadn't cancelled on her. As Nivi carried on to her house, Viren watched her thinking about her condition and what he might end up oweing her; she turned at the door and waved and he waved back thinking he didn't really mind losing this one.
Edited by anjaani07 - 12 years ago
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