Chapter 9A [Editing]

Koeli

@Koeli

Haldh Haat(Haldi)

Arnav was looking for khushi, hopelessly while all the ladies were busy applying haldi. He stared at the closed door, expecting her to open it and come and join him, but she never opened.

After arranging the haldi thal and preparing to send it  to Sheetal's place, dadi went to her room to bring something and and that's when arnav saw khushi rushing towards dadi's room, still in her night suit.

**

Knock Knock

"Kaun hai?" (who is this?)

"Dadi, meye khushi!"

"arrey khushi tu puch kyun rahi hai beta? Aaja andar".

"nahi dadi woh".

Dadi caressed her cheeks and said, "khushi meye tujhe arnav se bhi zada pyaar karta hoon aur tu yeh janti hai". (you know that I love you more than arnav)

"haan dadi phir bhi, kuch der meye mein parai honewali hoon" (ya dadi I know that but after sometime I am going to be someone else's), she said almost chocking. Tears of sadness beaming out of her doe eyes.

"to kya huya? Tu mere liye hamesha woh nanhi si khushi rahegi" she kissed her forehead and said "rahegi na?"

Khushi hugged her tightly and started crying.

"Kya huya beta?"

**

Arnav was becoming impatient now. He wanted to talk to khushi. he was mad at her, no doubt but still he wanted to talk. "but what?" he thought "why are you so impatient arnav?" he asked himself. "tum baat kya karna chahte ho ussey?" he thought again?

"I don't know" he thought. "I only know that I want to talk to her. I want her to be in front of me right now".

He got up and started walking towards dadi's room. Just when he was about to open the door he heard.

"dadi I need some money", khushi said and hearing this, arnav's grip on the knob became harder.

"how dare she asks for money from dadi? Why didn't she ask me? Every time, she used to take money from my wallet without even telling me and now she is asking it from dadi?" his anger reached to the point of no return.

"It will not affect me and I will make sure that it does not affect me, MR. ARNAV.SINGH RAIZADA"

"par yeh haq sirf mera pati ka hi hona chahiye na dadi? I mean meye sirf apne pati ka hi jhootha khaa sakti hoon na?"

He looked at khushi angrily, his own eyes now clouding with tears of anger.

"why are you asking sweet heart, just take the keys and get whatever you want from the cupboard" dadi said handing over the keys to khushi.

"dadi", both the ladies heard his angry voice and turned to see him standing at the door step.

"arrey arnav beta what are you doing here? You need to go and wash yourself or you want to look all peela peela (yellow) in the evening?"

"aapko neeche sab bula raha hai" he said looking straight towards khushi, making her go weak on her knees spatting venom through his eyes. (someone was looking for you)

"thik hai, par tum dono ab jaake ready ho jao aur khushi tum phataphat apna yeh uniform change karke peeli wali saare pehenlo. Samrat just called few minutes back. They have left with your haldi". (ok, but you guys change fast, and specially khushi, wear that yellow saree)

Dadi left the room while arnav gave her the way.

Khushi was about to leave when arnav held her hand and pushed her inside the room.

He turned and slammed the door shut, punching his fist on the door in anger.

"Let me go".

Arnav closed his eyes to gulp down his anger'

"It will not affect me and I will make sure that it does not affect me, MR. ARNAV.SINGH RAIZADA"

"par yeh haq sirf mera pati ka hi hona chahiye na dadi? I mean meye sirf apne pati ka hi jhootha khaa sakti hoon na?"

"dadi I need some money"

The last line did not help him much to control.

"paisa chahiye tumhe?" he said in a dangerous tone still not facing her.

But his voice was enough for khushi to pee in front of him.

Arnav turned himself in one swift motion and grabbed her arms digging his finger on her soft skin.

"aah!" she cried in pain. "Leave me arnav.singh.raizada".

"before you used to take it from my wallet'.".

Before he could complete it, khushi barked on his face

"STEAL IT' I stole money from your wallet Arnav. Singh. Raizada" that's what you used to tell me before right?

"LIKE A THIEF I USED TO STEAL IT FROM YOU WALLET. And that's why you never failed to address me as a gold digger".

Arnav was shocked at her outburst. He did say all those things but at that time, he was angry and he had no control over his words when he is angry.

The little did she know that, it was arnav, who used to keep extra 200 bucks everyday in his wallet, knowing that khushi used to take, to have chats and golgappa's everyday. His heart sank everyday seeing those extra 200 busks intact in his wallet after she returned from abroad. He did not know how many times he counted those notes, just to get pleasantly surprised seeing some notes missing. But khushi did not give that surprise once she returned to india.

Arnav without further quarrel, dug out his wallet and gave it to khushi. "take whatever you want".

Khushi gritted her teeth and made him hold his wallet, "I.dont.want.money.from.you.mr.raizada and I don't want to give you another chance to call me a gold digger".

Arnav laughed, "you can ask money from dadi and not me? What an irony, khushi kumara gupta. And from wheredoes dadi get those money? It is me, who provide her. So it is indirectly my money, sweetheart".

Khushi's face fell immediately. He was right. It is his money.

She wiped her tears and was about to go when he stopped her again. Where are you going now?

"ATM. I am going to ATM"

"and you think that money belongs to you, Khushi? stop this nonsense and take the money" he gave his wallet to her.

The wallet dropped in the ground just between her foot. Her eyes blurring with her freshly formed tears.

"I cant take it arnav" she said in a chocked voice.

Arnav held her tightly by her shoulder and asked in a soft voice, "why?" while tucking her loose strands behind her ears.

She looked at him with a puppy face, "because I can't gift my best friend something, by buying with his own money. But I forget I have nothing'.nothing, which I can claim as mine'.not even some money'I don't have sufficient fund in the ATM and I realize even those money are not mine". She covered her face with her palm and started crying bitterly.

"I cannot gift a single piece of paper to my best frined,  who has done so much for me. I cannot gift anything to my ARNU".

There she said it "ARNU" his name never sounded so melodic and khushi did not know how much this name meant to him.

Arnav held her hand and made her pick some notes from his wallet.

"they are not mine" she cried out loud.

"I have nothing'" she chocked.

"you have" he said looking in her eyes.

Khushi shot a questioning glace.

He placed his forehead on her and whispered "your drawings" he breath out.

Two drops of tears made their own way towards her neck, sliding down her cheeks.

"they.belong.to.you.only" he said once again.

"give me those" he hushed

"you want'.you..want my drawings?"

Arnav closed his eyes and nodded in approval.

Suddenly, everything became dark in front of her eyes. She tried to remove that darkness but she couldn't.

She fainted in his arms.

**

"Khushi!" arnav panicked seeing her lifeless, in his arms.

"what the hell is this khushi" he shouted at her, patting her cheeks.

He took her hand and rubbed it with his. He could feel her hand, her body, her face becoming colder.

He hugged her tightly brushing his cheeks with her cheeks and pressed her body against his body. He rubbed her back vigorously, to make her come back to her senses, but that did not help much.

She was sinking.

She was not responding at all.

He broke the hug and made her sit on his lap. He was about to pat her cheeks once again, when he saw her face filled with his haldi. He checked her palm which was adored by yellow colour and her dress was full of yellow patches.