Hello wonderful readers and commentators!
So here are chapters 8 and 9... They are not long, but I thought I needed to get them out... I'm really sorry if it is a little slow or boring... this is the first time I'm writing anything like this...and it is important for the story... please give me your feedback and criticisms ... I will try to do better...
Chapter 8
Walking away from the professor's cabin with the box of hand-made paper that looked like a saree box, Pratap was muttering to himself "Why? Why did you have to open your big mouth and say thousand different uses? Why did you have to exaggerate? Well... I couldn't say no... Maa sa says the NGO helps so many... UFFF", said Pratap.
He had been so busy muttering to himself that he had turned a corner and walked straight into someone. The box of paper went flying out of his hands and sudden rush of wind from the foyer entrance made the papers fly all around the him. He looked down to see whom he had bumped into and saw a girl who had just covered her face with her hands in reaction, and her familiar kajal-lined eyes were tracing the path of all the papers flying around, in worry and shock. As she looked down, their eyes met, and the expression in her eyes changed from worry to wonder and dawning realisation.
Pratap opened his mouth to say something and saw the girl do the same, but before either of them could say anything, they heard Prof. Indra's voice behind Pratap, "I must say Pratap, that when I asked for at least five different uses of this paper, I did not think that one of them could be of using them as a carpet to welcome our guests." Pratap whirled around to see Prof. Indra walking towards them with an inscrutable expression on his face, his eyes studying the whole scene. Once again, before Pratap could say a word, Prof. Indra turned to the girl and said, "Miss Ajabdeh Punwar. What a pleasant surprise! If I'm not mistaken, though, we weren't expecting you here for another week..?" "Oh.. Erm...", the girl started nervously... then took a deep breath, folded her hands and continued, "Namaste. Good morning, professor. The thing is... that I reached Mewar a few hours ago. Your letter mentioned the quinquennial Academy Cup tournament, so I thought I would come by and see if there was anything I could do to help. I know that this is a very big event for the Academy, and I thought it will need a lot of preparations. Besides, my mother says that I get fidgety when I get bored... and I get bored when I have nothing to do..." she stopped, realizing she was about to start rambling and looked up at the professor and Pratap uncertainly.
Pratap smiled at the girl, impressed and Ajabdeh relaxed a little. 'She's here, trying to find out if she can help, even though she still has another week of vacation to enjoy. Amazing!', he thought to himself. "That's very thoughtful of you Ajabdeh, but are your parents, MamrathJi and Hansa Ji Punwar okay with you spending your vacation time in school, without any obligation?", Dr. Indra asked. "Oh.. urm... yes, yes they are Professor. In fact, they both think it is a good idea", Ajabdeh said. "Wait a second.. Mamrath uncle? You are Hansa Maasi Ji's daughter??" Pratap exclaimed suddenly. He knew Mamrath uncle had a daughter and a son, but their family lived in Bijolia, and while he had met and liked Mamrath uncle and Hansa Maasi, he had never met either of their children. "You know my parents? .. But how..?" Ajabdeh asked, completely taken aback. "Just like I'm sure you know my family. I'm Pratap Singh, Uday and Jaiwanta Singh's son", Pratap said with a small smile. "Oh, so you both know each other?", said Prof. Indra. "Yes", "No" , Pratap and Ajabdeh said simultaneously. They looked at each other, and then said, "No", "Yes" simultaneously.
Prof. Indra raised an eyebrow, "I think this is the first time that I have seen two people confused about whether they do or do not know each other", looking between the two with a nearly-amused expression on his face. Pratap and Ajabdeh looked at each other sheepishly out of the corner of their eye and quickly looked back at the professor.
"Erm...", Pratap started to say, when Prof. Indra raised his hand to stop him, "It's alright. The good thing is, you both will now have a lot of time to find out if you really do know each other or not." As Pratap and Ajabdeh's brows furrowed slightly, showing their confusion, Indra continued, "Well, you are the SR. You need help for organising the tournament. Ajabdeh is among the students selected to be part of this year's Student Exchange Program. And she's here to help for the tournament, of her own volition. I think you have found yourself a partner", he smiled as Pratap's eyes went slightly wide. Turning to Ajabdeh, he said, "Welcome to the Academy in Mewar, Miss Ajabdeh Punwar. I was right to select you for the exchange program. Pratap will be needing all the help he can get for the tournament. I think you will make a good partner for him." Just as Ajabdeh's eyes started to go wide mirroring Pratap's expressions, Indra turned around to walk back to his office. He suddenly stopped and turned to face Pratap and Ajabdeh, "Oh and since you both are working on the tournament organisation, may I make a suggestion? I suggest that you start by collecting all these beautiful sheets. They take a lot of effort to make and we did pay for them", he gave a small smile, and walked away.
'Did he just say, what I think he just said? I'm supposed to help the SR?' Ajabdeh thought to herself. 'And whoa... I just met Prof. Raghav Indra, in person! And Pratap...', with that she looked to her side to find Pratap looking at her speculatively. "Urm... Pratap..? What is it?", she asked. "Oh... it's.. it's.. nothing... I just.. I just wanted to say - that I'm happy to see you safe. After everything that happened in Dubai, I was worried... but my Maa sa said you would be fine.. and she's never wrong", he finished recalling his mother's words. She smiled at him, "I am happy to see you safe too. I was so worried ... I didn't know how to give you any signals to hide, or run, or whatever, but you seemed to read my mind..." Ajabdeh stopped herself... she wasn't even sure why she was speaking what had been on her mind, she wasn't used to speaking so freely to anyone. Pratap smiled at her. 'He looks good when he smiles', Ajabdeh thought, and then immediately frowned inwardly wondering - 'where did that come from?' "Well, actually, I thought the way you handled such a dangerous situation was impressive", Pratap said appreciatively. Ajabdeh suddenly felt her cheeks go warm... she was not used to hearing anyone openly praising her. She didn't know what to say in response to his statement, so she settled for giving him a smile in return. 'She looks cute when she smiles', Pratap thought and a moment realising what he had thought, shook his head.
"What's wrong?", asked Ajabdeh. "Oh.. it's.. just .. I mean, I just realised that this isn't the right place to talk about all that", he answered. "You are right. And we really should do what Prof. Indra suggested and start picking up all these sheets or we are going to lose them", Ajabdeh said, pointing to the sheets that were now lazily drifting around on the foyer. Pratap looked at Ajabdeh and she looked back. They sighed and moved in opposite direction to collect all the sheets.
Fifteen minutes later, when they were nearly done, Pratap suddenly had a thought, "Ajabdeh, you said you arrived in Mewar a few hours ago. So did you come alone?" "No. My Maa and bhai are with me. We just checked into the hotel, rested, and then I came here", Ajabdeh answered. "You are joking, right?" Pratap asked. Ajabdeh had finished collecting the sheets and was walking towards Pratap who was holding the box. She was surprised to see an unhappy frown on his face. "Joking? About what?", she asked, confused. "About staying at a hotel. Hansa Maasiji and Maa sa are such good friends. Why would you think of staying at a hotel, when you have a home to come to? Unless, of course, you don't want to meet the family" Pratap asked. Ajabdeh was pleasantly surprised to hear Pratap speak so warmly for her family. "It isn't that", Ajabdeh replied, trying to reassure him. "We reached Mewar at around 2am this morning. When my father called to check if we had reached here safely, he told us it would be best if we left for Bijolia as soon as we could. I asked him if I could go to the Academy, instead, he agreed seeing as the security here is high. But he insisted that my Maa and bhai leave today morning, and reach Bijolia by afternoon. That was the reason why Maa decided to leave for Bijolia directly. In fact, I should be getting back to the hotel now. Maa will be waiting", she finished.
"Hmm.. Mamrath uncle's right... they will be safest back home. Alright then, let's go", Pratap said starting to walk down the steps. "Wait, what...? Where are we going?" Ajabdeh asked following after him. "WE-" said Pratap pointing to himself and Ajabdeh, "are going to the hotel. I will get to meet Hansa MaasiJi and Balwant as well - I want to make sure that the next time they come to Mewar, they come to our place, and not go to some hotel, even if it is late", he said, looking determined. "You are coming with me?" Ajabdeh, asked surprised. "I'm coming with you", Pratap confirmed smiling, already pulling out his phone to call Ahmed Kaka.
Chapter 9
An hour later, Ajabdeh and Pratap stood outside the hotel lobby waving good-bye to a teary-eyed Hansa Punwar and a put-out looking Bal, who turned around in his seat craning his neck to get one last look at his Di. As the car pulled out of her view, Ajabdeh sighed... may be she should have just gone home with them... Now she wouldn't meet them till the winter vacation.
Pratap her Ajabdeh sigh, so he looked at her. She wasn't crying, really, but her eyes were brimming with tears like she was holding herself back. He could understand her sadness... the gurukul system, while being very effective for a student's education, also required students to stay away from their families. Chak and Ven also stayed at the hostel, and always had long faces on the first day of the year. Pratap thought he was lucky to live in the same city where the Academy was located. Every day, he could return home to his Maa sa. There had been times when he had to stay away from his parents, and he knew he missed them terribly.
As he looked, Ajabdeh closed her eyes, took a deep breath to collect herself, and opened her eyes again to find Pratap watching her. When she raised her eyebrows questioningly at him, he just pointed towards her luggage and said, "Have you decided on where you are going to stay for the week?" "Oh... urm... no... But I was thinking I could go to a girl's hostel or something in the city..", Pratap raised a finger to effectively interrupting Ajabdeh's speech. "Stop. Right there. Don't you remember what I just told Hansa Maasi Ji? You guys are like family. I understand that you want to stay in a hostel during the academic year. But, for now, you are coming home with me", Pratap said decisively. "No.. Thanks, but I can't. It is a whole week. I don't want to impose", Ajabdeh replied with just as much resolution. Pratap crossed his arms in front of him, he had an idea, but was not going to say anything for now. "Alright, as you wish. But what about lunch? Will you at least come home for lunch? Maa sa will be so happy to meet you", Pratap asked, pretending to give in. "Ohh.. okay.. I guess..", Ajabdeh agreed. She found it suspicious that Pratap gave in so quickly, but then thought 'May be he was just being polite by asking me to stay with them, why would he want a stranger living in their house, anyway?' Meanwhile, Pratap was doing a little victory dance in his head, 'You may be stubborn, Ajabdeh. But you haven't met my Maa sa', he thought smiling. "Come on, let's go. It is quite late, I don't want to keep Maa Sa waiting", Pratap said.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Ajabdeh stepped out of the car to the entrance of a massive, ancestral home of the Singh family. Before they could knock or ring the bell, the door opened to reveal a tall, beautiful, woman with intelligent eyes and a kind smile. "Maa sa! Look who I have brought with me!" Pratap said, gesturing towards Ajabdeh.
One they were inside, Jaiwanta looked at Ajabdeh carefully, and said, "You must be... Hansa's daughter, Ajabdeh, am I right?", Jaiwanta Bai asked smiling at Ajabdeh. "Ye.. Yes. But .. but how did you know..?" Ajabdeh asked, surprised. Pratap laughed, " Maa sa knows everything... and never answers the question of how she knows, right Maa sa?" Jaiwanta playfully tapped her son's cheek and said "Wrong, Pratap. It's not that I don't want to answer that question, but sometimes, one just knows things to be true, without really knowing the reason behind why or how they know it to be true. And Ajabdeh, I knew you were Hansa's daughter, just by looking at you", she said smiling. Ajabdeh smiled back, and suddenly looked like she couldn't believe she had messed up something so simple, "Hey Kaanhaji! Where are my manners?!", she exclaimed. Jaiwanta and Pratap looked at each other uncertainly, and then saw Ajabdeh bending down to touch Pratap's Maa sa's feet. "Khamma ghani, Maa sa!", she said, folding her hands in namaste. Both Pratap and Jaiwanta looked at her surprised.
"Oh! What is wrong with me today... messing up one thing after another... I'm so sorry auntie, I don't know how I called you Maa sa..! I think because I kept hearing Maa sa from Pratap, it just slipped from my mouth.. I'm so sorry.." Ajabdeh said, lowering her eyes, chewing her lip, in an embarrassed voice. "Hmm.. but you made a big mistake Ajabdeh!" Pratap's maa sa said in a stern voice. Pratap looked at her surprised, but she winked at him and continued, looking at Ajabdeh who still hadn't looked up, "I'm very particular about these things." "Yeah... yeah.. Maa sa is very particular", Pratap chimed in a fake serious tone. "Right. So you will be punished for overstepping of your boundaries. Are you ready for your punishment, Ajabdeh?", Jaiwanta asked in a stern voice. "I... I.. am", Ajabdeh said in a small voice. "Good. Then, I, Jaiwanta Singh, hereby punish you by telling you that from now on, you must always call me 'Maa sa' ", Jaiwanta finished in a commanding voice. Ajabdeh looked up surprised, sure that she had misheard, but found Jaiwanta smiling at her, and Pratap bursting into laughter.
"My dear girl, why would I punish you for calling me Maa sa? In fact, I'm very happy that you called me Maa sa. You know I always wished for a sweet little daughter who would call me Maa sa. I had convinced myself that now, only Pratap's would-be-wife would call me that. But see, you fulfilled my wish for a daughter, without me asking", Jaiwanta said caressing Ajabdeh face, lovingly. Tears sprung up, involuntarily, in Ajabdeh's eyes, and a wide smile broke out on her face. She hugged Maa sa tightly. Pratap saw the scene in front of him, and something inside him felt extremely satisfied and pleased. He smiled and said, "Well, then, I don't think you will be able to stay at a hostel now, Ajabdeh." "Hostel? You were thinking of staying in a hostel?! No way", said Maa sa incredulously. "But Maa sa.. it's a whole week...", Ajabdeh began. "I won't listen to any arguments. Why will you stay anywhere but your home? No. It is decided. You will be staying here with us, and that's final", Jaiwanta said decisively. "Come on, your lunch is getting cold" and she walked away towards the dining room, Pratap and Ajabdeh trailing after her, Pratap with a smug 'plan-successful!' smile and Ajabdeh with an 'I-give-up' smile on her face.
So what do you guys think?
Lots of love and creativity,
RuVa
Edited by RuVa - 9 years ago
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