Aditi's POV
Radhika's birthday was perfect, just as we wanted it to be.
Today, Ruhi has asked everyone to meet her on the terrace, everyone except Siddharth. We had to wake up early just so that we could do whatever Ruhi had called us for, before Siddharth would wake up.
I freshened up and went to the terrace, but no one was up yet. I sat on the swing, resting my head back, I closed my eyes. How can everyone be this late?
I still had my eyes closed, when I felt someone sit beside me, and I know, somehow, that it is Naman. I opened my eyes and saw him looking at me with a soft smile. It looked like he was... admiring me? I looked away and cleared my throat.
"Where are the others?", I asked.
"Rishi is coming in a few minutes."
"How can they be so late? At least Ruhi should have come on time, she was the one who called us. I should have checked on them before coming up!", I sighed.
He said with a teasing smile, "At least we got a few minutes to be alone, just the two of us."
"Yeah, we are not able to spend time these days, everyone's always around."
He was about to say something, when his phone rang. The name 'My World' flashed on the screen. My expressions immediately changed. He smiled, looking at the caller id and picked up the phone.
He said, "Good morning!". Why is he speaking in such a sweet tone?
'His world' said something to which he replied, "Yes, everything is fine here, tell me, how is everyone there?"
I narrowed my eyes, where?
He continued talking, "I miss you, too, but you know na, I can't come there!"
Who the hell is this person? Why is she missing my Naan?
Naman became aware of my twisted expression and said, "Hey, talk to Aditi, she's with me, too!"
What? Why would I want to talk to whoever his world is?
However, I had to take the phone from his hand, I raised my eyebrows, to which he mouthed 'Mom'
My eyes widened; heat rushed to my face. What was I even thinking? Ugh!
I greeted her mother, "Hello m- aunty! Remember me?"
She replied, "How can I forget you, Aditi? I still remember how well-mannered you were when I met you at the annual day. You were the brightest student!"
I chuckled, "I can't forget that day either, aunty! My parents couldn't make it to the annual day, but you didn't give me a reason to miss them!"
I could feel her smile, when she said, "I wish I had a daughter like you!"
I smiled, "Why? Am I not like your daughter?"
She chuckled, "Yes, yes, you are! Come on, now you guys have fun, bye!"
"Yeah, bye!"
I turned to Naman to give him his phone, and saw that he was again, admiring me. I sighed, "What?"
He just shook his head, saying, "I am so lucky to have you, Adi!"
I tried my best to hide the pink hue that had formed on my cheeks at his words. I was saved as Ruhi and Radhika finally came, followed my Rishi.
"Aree, why did you guys come so early? You should have come in the evening!", I said, sarcastically.
They rolled their eyes and Ruhi said, "It's okay, dude! Come on now, I want to talk to you guys about something, more like someone."
We sat in a circle and Ruhi said, "So we are here to discuss the prank we are going to do on Siddharth."
We all sighed. Radhika said, "Can't you just leave him alone?"
Ruhi replied, "See, while coming to the trip, he said that he won't work and will have fun with us but look at him! Yesterday, he left mid-film to work! That's cheating!"
Rishi said, "He can't live without work, Ruhi! We can't do anything about him, I've tried a lot."
"Yes, but you didn't have me, did you?", Ruhi replied.
I asked, "Oh, self-obsessed praani, tell us what you want to do."
Ruhi shrugged, "I just want him to watch a Bollywood movie, I mean, he is always cursing movies as a waste of time, so I want to waste his time!"
Naman said, "So you are saying that you are going to do the impossible task of making Siddharth watch a movie, and how are you going to do that?"
Ruhi smirked, "With the help of you guys!"
She then explained her plan.
We were just discussing the plan, it was simple, when my phone rang, it was my elder sister, Isha di. I excused myself and received the call.
Before I could greet her, she started shouting on me, "God Aditi! I was supposed to give you guys a surprise! I am here in Mumbai, where is everyone?"
"What? You should have at least called me before coming! I am here in Lonavala and mummy, papa must be at work!"
"Ugh! What am I supposed to do now?"
"The keys must be under the shoe rack, open the door and sit quietly at home. Mummy and papa will come late as always!"
Ruhi and Radhika came towards me mouthing 'All okay?'
I nodded and said, "Isha di is in Mumbai! "
They gasped and said with excitement, "What? Isha di is in Mumbai? For how long is she here? Let us talk to her! "
They put the call on speaker and said, "Hello, di! You are in Mumbai? We will have a lot of fun when we are back there! "
Isha di answered, "Yeah sure! I can't wait to see you guys after so long! "
They continued talking to Isha di with so much joy, it made me smile. It seems like she is not just my sister, but theirs too.
They talked with her for some time and then gave back the phone.
"Hello, did you get the keys? Go in and rest for some time. I don't think Mummy, papa will come soon. So, the house is all yours! "
"Yeah, let me see what to do, you enjoy there, bye!"
"Yep, bye", I cut the call.
I sighed. What was the need to give us a surprise? Anyway, she will manage.
I went back to the group, and they were just going downstairs.
Radhika came by my side and whispered in my ear, "We have to lock Ruhi along with Siddharth!", she smirked, I smirked back.
We went down and ordered breakfast, no one was in the mood of cooking. As we were eating, Siddharth came and sat with us. We casually chatted and ate out food.
After that Naman excused himself and went somewhere.
We were sitting in the living room, when we heard Naman's voice, "Guys! Help!"
Ruhi, recognizing the direction said, "Theatre!"
We all rushed to the theatre room and Siddharth opened the door, as soon as he did that, Ruhi pushed him in and was about to close the door, when I pushed her in, too and immediately closed the door.
She shouted, "What the hell!"
We said, "Enjoy, guys!"
Ruhi again shouted, "Guys, this is cheating!"
We ignored her and went back to the living room, giggling at her reaction.
Ruhi's POV
As soon as I pushed Siddharth in, Aditi pushed me too.
Before I could process what was happening, they all started singing,
"Socho kabhi aisa ho toh kya ho?! Hum Tum... Ek kamre mein band ho, aur chaabi kho jayeeeee!"
I groan, "Shut up! Open the door and let me out, you idiots!"
They only laughed.
Ugh!
After cursing them for a few minutes, I realized that it was of no use. I turned back to see Siddharth looking at me, I rolled my eyes, "This was supposed to be a prank on you! They pushed me in too!"
Confused, he asked, "What prank?"
I sighed, but wait, it's good for me, I mean, I love Bollywood and annoying him would be cherry on the top!
I said, "Come on, the movie is going to start!"
"Can you explain me what's going on?"
"No"
I sat down on a seat and signaled him to sit too, he didn't.
Siddharth said, "So, I am guessing that you guys were going to trap me here and torture me with a movie?"
"Why are you making it sound so dramatic, we just wanted you to watch a movie!"
"I am not going to watch anything, let me out!"
"You think I want to sit here with you? They are not going to open the door until the movie ends. So, sit quietly and watch the movie!"
"Listen, just open the door or it won't be good for you! "
I huffed, "Listen, the movie is about to start, so sit and watch it, you don't have any other option!"
"I would rather watch a lecture online or listen to a podcast than watch this bullshit!"
I stood up, my eyes furious, "Listen, I don't care if you watch this movie or not, but don't you dare call my movies bullshit! Do you even know how much they mean to some people? How these movies make people's day? Huh? They are made for entertainment, but you don't even know the definition of entertainment! "
"Yes, I don't! Because IT IS a waste of time! You won't go anywhere by getting yourself entertained, you need to work hard for it! "
I scoffed, "Do you even know why we did this prank on you? Because even though you said that you won't study or work during the trip, you still did, and that's why as a punishment, we did this! Learn to have fun in your life, mister, this time won't come back!"
Before he could argue any further, the movie started. I said, "You don't have any option, so sit down! "
He sat down, cleared his throat, and said, "I am not sitting here because you told me to or because I want to watch the movie. I am just sitting here because they are not going to open the door. "
I smirked.
We were watching Kal Ho Naa Ho, he needs to watch this movie.
As the movie started, and Shah Rukh Khan's infamous dialogue came, I looked towards Siddharth and recited the dialogue in a loud voice, practically taunting him, along with SRK,
"Jiyo, khush raho, muskurao, kya pata, kal ho naa ho! "
He ignored me.
I was laughing and giggling on the scenes, but Siddharth didn't even move a muscle from his jaw. Why is he so weird?
I said, "You know, I was thinking-", he interrupted me, saying, "Congrats, you finally got the ability to think!"
"I- Shut up!"
"What were you thinking anyway?"
"I don't feel like saying it now!"
"Then don't!"
"Whatever!"
Right now, I was crying because of the emotional climax. Siddharth noticed me crying and asked, "Are you crying? "
"Nahi! Moti jhad rahe hai aankhon se! "
"What? "
"Yes, I am crying, stupid! Don't you feel sad watching the climax? "
"Why would I? It's all fictional! "
"Don't you have any emotions? "
"Why would I shed my tears for a story that isn't even real? "
I sighed, "Forget it, you will never understand this feeling! "
"I don't even want to understand it! "
"Whatever!"
Suddenly, the door opened and Naman came running, "Guys, there is a problem!"
We both frowned, "What happened?"
"Aditi's sister, she got into an accident! She is in the hospital!"
I gasped, "What? Isha di? What happened to her? Oh my God!", I practically ran out of the room and towards Aditi. She was crying. I kneeled in front of her and said, "It's okay Aditi! Nothing's going to happen to her, okay? We are going back right now!"
She looked at me and said between her sobs, "Ruhi...Isha di...got hit...by a car!"
"Okay guys, pack your bags quickly, we are leaving, right now! Aditi, don't worry, we will be there in no time, okay?"
We went to our rooms to pack our bags. In no time, we were sitting in the car, and Naman was driving as fast as possible.
Aditi's POV
It's almost 2 and a half hours since we locked both of them. We were talking when I received a call from my mom.
My mom said, "Aditi, Isha got hit by a car! She is in the hospital right now, her condition is critical, Aditi!", her voice broke into sobs. She continued, "I will call you back.", and cut the call.
What the hell! This can't be possible, she just talked to me a few hours ago, and now...
No! Tears blurred my vision, and I broke down. They tried calming me down, but I couldn't, I continued crying.
Nothing can happen to my sister, no, she will be fine!
Isha di have always been my support system, when I felt low, during my first periods, when we shifted to Mumbai, during my exams, every time, it was her, who stood by my side. Last year, she went abroad for her master's degree. I still remember how much I cried when she left me. My parents never had time for me, they were always busy in their work. But Isha di, she would be with me day and night.
When I was in class 9,I wasn't friends with anyone, I didn't have anyone to hang out with. At that time, she would do every possible thing so that I don't feel lonely.
She was the perfect sister anyone could ask for.
We reached Mumbai in a few hours and as soon as the car stopped in front of the hospital, I rushed out and ran inside. I went to the receptionist and asked hurriedly, "Isha Kashyap"
She searched the name in her computer and replied, "Isha Kashyap is in Ward 3B. You can head straight down the hall, take the second left and the ward will be on your right."
Thanking her, I rushed towards the ward. I reached there and saw my parents sitting outside the ward, crying.
I wiped my tears, went near my mom and knelt down in front of her, "Mummy, don't cry, nothing's going to happen to her, okay?"
She looked at me and I was trying my best to not the tears fall from my eyes. She said, "Someone hit her by a car, she was lying unconscious on the road, covered in blood!"
I shut my eyes to stop my tears, but they fell anyway. I asked, my voice breaking, "Wh-what did the doctor say?"
"They said that her condition is very critical, she has lost too much blood."
I stood up and Ruhi and Radhika immediately came by my side, they were crying too. They share a good bond with Isha di. After I became friends with them, they would come over at my place, and we all would have fun, together.
They said soothing words in my ear, but they knew too, that it wouldn't help.
We sat there for what felt like hours, when the doctor came out of the Operation Theatre.
We rushed towards him and my dad asked, "Is she okay, doctor? "
The doctor said, "She had a major injury on the head, we have performed the surgery, she will probably wake up tomorrow morning, but if she doesn't wake up until then, she might slip into coma. Apart from that, she has lost a lot of blood, because of which, even if she gains consciousness, she will be really weak. Her left hand is fractured, and she had some minor stitches. Let's hope she wakes up soon."
I asked, "Can we see her? "
The doctor replied, "Yes, you can."
I nodded and thanked him. He let us in and I saw my sister, her unconscious body had IVs attached to it, helping her get the treatment she needed,with an oxygen mask on.
My heart ached at the sight. Tears again welled up in my eyes as I moved towards her. I sat on the stool beside her and gently took her hand in my hand, and taking a deep breath, I said, "Di! Wake up di! You wanted to surprise us, right? Come on, wake up. Do you even know how much I missed you? And now that I came running here; to meet you, you aren't even opening your eyes! See, di, Ruhi and Radhika left their birthday trip because they wanted to see you! Di! We were going to have a lot of fun together, please di, wake up, so that we could hang out!"
I completely broke down. My sobs echoing in the whole room. Ruhi and Radhika consoled me, while mummy and papa tried to wake her up too, their eyes swollen due to crying.
We then left the ward, and as soon as I came out, I saw the three boys standing there. Oh God, I completely forgot about them. I made my way towards them and Naman came to me, asking, "Is she okay?"
I nodded, "Hopefully, she will regain consciousness till tomorrow morning."
He said, "Don't worry, she will be fine."
I nodded. I looked at the other two, standing there, silently supporting me. I said, "You guys can leave, I mean, we don't know for how long we will have to stay here. So, you can take some rest and-" Naman interrupted me saying, "I am not leaving you like this!"
Rishi said, "We will stay here too.", to which, Siddharth added, "Yes, we will be right here if you need anything."
I said, "You guys don't have to do anything, please, I won't like bothering you."
Naman said, "We are staying and that's final!"
I stared at him for a few seconds, and then realized he isn't backing out, so I sighed and said, "Okay."
I then turned to Ruhi and Radhika, who were standing in a corner, looking at us. I stood in front of them and said, "I am sorry yaar! I ruined your trip and-"
Ruhi interrupted me, "Ek thappad padega na, badi aayi sorry bolne wali! Khabardaar jo tune firse kuch bhi bola to!"
Radhika said, "Or rahi baat trip ki, to wo dusri baar chale jayenge, par behen to dusri nahi aa sakti na! To chup chap beth or didi ke uthne ka wait kar!"
I immediately hugged them, breaking down all over again. They consoled me with soothing words. After breaking the hug, Ruhi said, "Come on, now talk to your parents, look at them, they are completely exhausted."
I nodded and turned towards my parents. They looked tired and pale, sitting quietly. I was never really close to my parents, Isha di was everything to me. But now, we needed each other. I kneeled in front of them and said, "Mummy, papa, Isha di will be fine, don't worry! You both look tired, I think you should rest, so go home and sleep for a while, it's already late."
Papa said, "But how can we leave Isha like this-"
"Don't worry about her, we will handle everything here, you need to rest! We can't afford anyone else falling ill."
Mummy said, "But-", "Please mummy!", I said.
They finally agreed and left for home. We were now sitting in complete silence, everyone lost in thought. It was now around 12 p.m. and none of us have eaten anything after the breakfast. I didn't even feel like eating anything.
Rishi finally broke the silence, "I think we should eat something; we haven't eaten anything all day."
Everyone agreed to him, but I said, "You guys eat, I am not hungry."
Naman said, "But you-", I interrupted him, "Please!"
He sighed and they all left. I sat there, looking at the floor, reeling with the change of events that took place today.
As I continued looking at the floor, a spoonful of rice came in my eyesight. I looked up and saw Naman kneeling in front of me, holding out the spoon for me to eat. He whispered, "Please!"
I looked at him, he was literally begging me with his eyes. I ate the food, which brought a faint smile on his face. I said that I would eat on my own, but he was determined to feed me.
After finishing the food, he sat down beside me and wrapped his hand around my shoulder. I rested my head on his shoulder. I looked around, Ruhi was sitting on the seat, asleep, Radhika's head resting on her lap, as she was sleeping too. Siddharth and Rishi were asleep too. I smiled looking at them, I feel so blessed to have them. I leaned more into Naman and didn't even realize when my eyes closed and slept.
Ruhi's POV
I opened my eyes and looked around me. It took me a moment to take in the surroundings as I simultaneously blinked my sleep away.
As I looked around, I realized that I was not in my bed, but on the hospital bench and my back is really hurting due to my sleeping posture.
I woke Radhika up, who was sleeping with her head resting on my lap. She sat up straight and stretched her muscles. I was still to lazy to move my body. Aditi was still sleeping, her head resting on Naman's shoulder. I looked at my side, and saw Siddharth, sleeping, his head resting back on the wall. I observed his features, his muscles completely relaxed, a complete contrast to his usual tensed demeanor. However, he looks handsome both the ways.
My hand involuntarily reached up, in order to touch his face. Just as I was about to touch him, someone tapped my shoulder, I looked up and saw Radhika. I quickly pulled my hand back - What was I doing? - and clearing my throat asked, "What?"
She said, "I think we should wake the others up too. You wake these two and I'll wake Aditi and Naman. "
I frowned, why this monster? But reluctantly nodded.
I stood up and stretched my muscles.
Ugh! My back!
I decided to wake Rishi first, I tapped his shoulder and asked him to wake up. He got up in a few seconds. That was quick!
I then stood in front of Siddharth and said, "Hey, wake up!"
No response. "Wake up!"
I sighed and tapped his shoulders, "Come on! "
Still no response.
I bent down so that I could get to his eye level and again tapped his shoulder, still nothing. Is this guy for real.
I narrowed my eyes and snapped my fingers in front of his face, is this guy dead?
I went near his ear and screamed as loud as I would after seeing a ghost, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Startled, he jolted awake.
Nah, he is still alive. I ain't that lucky, am I?
Rubbing his ear, he said, "Are you out of your mind?!"
I said, "Good morning to you too, monster! "
"Yeah, my morning couldn't be any better!", he said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes and shrugged, "You weren't waking up, so I had no other option. "
"So-"
Aditi interrupted our argument, "Guys! Stop it! Isha di woke up!" I sighed, "Thank god!"
"Come, let's meet her!", she said and went inside the ward.
I followed her and went inside, not before throwing a glare at Siddharth.
Isha didi woke up! Yes!
She is one of the kindest person I've ever met.
She looked at us as we entered and a faint smile formed on her face. She tried to sit up, so Aditi immediately went near her, giving her support.
Aditi held her hand and asked, "How are you feeling now?"
Isha didi blinked in assurance, "I am okay."
"No you are not! Look at you! Weren't you paying attention? How could you be so careless? " Aditi scolded her. She was on the verge of crying.
Isha didi replied, "I am sorry."
They continued talking for a while, when the door opened and came her parents, along with two police inspectors.
It was a hit and run case, so the investigation was necessary.
Radhika and I came out of the ward to give them some space.
Outside, the boys were waiting for us, with cups of tea in their hand. I smiled. Aahh! Tea is heaven!
They handed me a cup each. As soon as I took the first sip, I sighed in satisfaction.
Aditi came out and said, "It was a hit and run case, so they had come to investigate. Luckily, Isha di memorized the car's number. So, it will be easier for the police to track him."
We smiled and finally felt some relief.
Aditi's parents were not present and we were all sitting there, even though everything is fine now, we are feeling sad for leaving the trip midway. We didn't even explore Lonavala yet. Maybe, we weren't meant to experience it.
The guys met Isha di too. She was happy to finally meet Naman, the guy her sister used to talk about day and night. Naman tried very hard to hide his blush when he heard this, but failed miserably. She thanked us all for staying by her side.
So apparently, what happened was that, Isha didi went out to buy some grocery and stuff, when a car came in full speed and hit her. Bloody bastard!
We decided it was time to head back home as we all were completely exhausted. Aditi was going to stay, obviously. Naman insisted on staying by her side, but she politely refused, not wanting him to bother himself anymore.
We sat in the car, and yes, Siddharth sat on the passenger seat.
Naman first dropped Rishi and then Radhika.
Now came Siddharth's place, as he went out of the car and took his bags, I said, "Bye bye, passenger seat princess! "
Naman chuckled, while Siddharth made a face, saying, "Very funny!"
I flipped my hair, "I know! I have a good sense of humor!"
"Yes! Because you are a joker! So, bye bye, Joker! "
"Huh! Bye, monster! "
"Bye, witch! "
"Bye-", Naman interrupted, "Enough guys!"
Naman started the car and we left, not before giving him a glare, which he very well returned.
Soon, my home came, I came out of the car and took my bags. Turning towards Naman, I said, "Thanks Naman, for everything!", he was about to say something, probably like, 'no need to thank me', or something, when I said, "Aditi will be so proud of you!"
He smiled shyly and said, "Go away!"
"You couldn't hide that blush from me!", I chuckled.
"Byee!"
"Bye, go safely!"
He nodded and left. I unlocked my door and went in. I kept the bags in a corner and sat on the sofa. After sitting there for a few minutes, I decided to shower.
As soon as the warm water hit me, I sighed. My shoulder relaxing as the water continued to flow. The sudden change of events had left us completely exhausted.
After showering, I slipped into my pyjamas and decided to eat something.
I went into the kitchen and the first thing I saw was maggi. Yeah, I'll just have maggi!
I made some maggi for me and ate it while watching old episodes of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. They are my all-time favorite!
While watching, I didn't even realize, when I was dragged into the slumberland, and I slept.
Write a comment ...