Kunal
went back in good spirits. He saw his mother cleaning up the living room. She
seemed really engrossed in her task. He tiptoed to her and screamed, 'Aaaaah!'
Kripa jumped and screamed. Seeing his mother's condition, Kunal laughed and
laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. Kripa's hand was held to her heart
which was beating very fast. He had freaked her out. Why were Kunal and Angad
so alike?
'You freaked me out you little brat!' Kripa
screamed. She went to him revenge glittering in her eyes. Kunal knew that look
and started backing up. His mother could get pretty nasty when it came to
revenges. He started running up the stairs but in no time was he caught and
dragged to the bathroom. Kripa filled the bath with freezing water and
unceremoniously dumped him in there.
This time it was Kunal's turn to scream. 'Ha, that
should teach you to mess with Kripa Sharma.' She grinned wide at seeing Kunal's
wide eyes. He tried getting up from the freezing water. He knew his mother
could get nasty, but he didn't know of the extent till now.
Kripa held him and dragged him out. She removed
Kunal's clothes, took her plush towel and told him to dry himself. She went to
the kitchen and made some hot chocolate for both of them.
Kunal was just dazed. Now he could imagine how his
mother had put his father flat on his back. She was quick and had the mind of
the devil. He went down laughing but was cautious at the same time. He no
longer trusted her. Was it truce this time or not yet?
He saw her making hot chocolate for him and smiled
really wide. If there was one way to get to his heart, it was hot chocolate. He
ran to Kripa and hugged her with a smile. 'You know, even after all you torture
me, you're the best. Oh, I met Dad today.'
He saw Kripa freeze. Whenever she heard his name
she would stop doing anything. 'Really? That's great! Where did you see him?'
she didn't want to sound overly excited to her son.
Kunal heard the longing in her voice and bit back
a grin. 'He was on our favorite spot. We talked for a while and it was awesome.
Mama, the hot chocolate will pour out in a second if you don't shut the gas
now!'
Kripa quickly recovered and gave him the hot
chocolate. They sat together in silence each in their own thoughts. What the
hell was wrong with Angad? Where was he? Kunal had seen him, why couldn't she?
Why did he disappear for such a long time?
She removed all her thoughts from her mind as she
could not afford to think about him. It was too painful.
Days passed and she didn't see him anywhere. Damn
that man, where on the face of the Earth did he disappear? Even Kunal was busy
with his rehearsals for the talent show in his school which was to take place
on Saturday in his school auditorium. The most aggravating thing about his
performance was that Kunal was not willing to tell her about the performance.
She was his mother night? She had a right to know what her son was doing.
The week was going really slow for her. She
thought everything was just dragging. Since when did the bubbly Kripa make her
life this sluggish? She wondered. She was always in love with life and all the
people in it, when had she changed? And the most important question of all was
that since when did Kripa start pining for a man? This was so unlike her.
Without realizing it, Kripa was thinking about him
all the time. She had to keep on reminding herself that she was not to think of
him. Uggh, she hated that man. When he was nearby, he was a nuisance; even when
he wasn't there, he was a constant pain.
She finally saw him that Friday. The rush of
relief that she felt surprised her. Was she falling in love with him again?
Maybe.
She saw Angad go to his mother's room. He had come
to get her discharged. Kanan was handling this case but Kripa wanted to go
discharge her herself. She stopped herself on time, this was a professional
place with professional people. There was no place for emotional fools.
Thankfully, Kanan was busy, or so it seemed and
Kripa had to see to Naina's discharge. She rushed to Naina's room and saw Angad
talking to his mother. They were laughing about something. When he turned his
face, their eyes met and electricity sizzled in the air. Everything stopped but
them.
Naina's eyebrow rose. So that was the way with
things. Her son was in love with the doctor. Did it take just a week for this
to happen? As she saw them staring at one another, she realized this was not
the love of a week but more of a lifetime. Is this why Angad was always lost?
Was she the reason?
She pondered over the issue as the couple stared
at one another.
I'm so glad to see you. Where were you?
You told me not to come around. I promised and I
wouldn't break it for the world.
You broke a promise once, you could do it again.
I never broke a promise. I promise that.
Don't lie. I can tolerate anything but lies. You
broke the promise.
I swear on one God I didn't break the promise.
Naina coughed. The couple came out of their
trance. She had come up to a conclusion. Kripa and Angad fell in love in
university. Kripa was forced to get married by her parents and she did so, so
as not to break their hearts. Kunal was born and either his father was dead or
they were divorced. Seeing one another had led them to the path of memories
that never ended. If that was both of them wanted, she would have no objection
whatsoever. She loved Kunal like a grandson she never had. She loved Kripa who
was very sweet and caring but with a stubborn streak. That was good. She didn't
want Angad's wife to be a weak woman.
'Aunty, you can go now. I'm so glad you're fine
now. But it's so sad to see you leave. Please keep in touch.' Kripa could feel
tears form at the back of her eyes. Angad and Naina would be out of their lives
before they even had a chance to know their son or the life that Kripa had
formed for herself. She realized how selfish she was. But that is how it would
remain.
Angad and Kripa completed all the formalities and
Naina was finally free. Before leaving the room, Angad and Kripa looked again
at one another. This time, neither could read each other's minds.
Each just had one thought in their mind.
I love you.
I love you.
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