MishBir: Someone You Love(d)

|2| Greif

Mishti Agarwal has always known helplessness, it was thrown on her face as a mere child, but what she felt today as she walked through familiar lanes of Rajkot wasn't just helplessness, it was a kind of fear mixed with that, the fear that all hell will break loose if that Ajeeb Rajvansh actually meant those words he had carelessly tossed at her on the lake side.

"Miss teapot, where are you so lost? Is your lover boy already here?", Nishant Maheswari, aka Nannu for the family and Nanchak to Kuhu nudged Mishti as they walked through the lanes, trying to find a ride home.

Mishti smiled, her best friend, no wait, one step less than best friend, was literally the boon of her life, because no matter how close she was to Nishant, her best friend would always be one, the mighty Ajeeb Rajvansh and she was sure she wasn't going to give his place to anyone else in this life time. Shaking her head to dismiss his question, she let out a chuckle, her face already bright just at the mention of Abir.

"Are you sure Nannu, this plan will work? What if he isn't that jealous type?", Mishti asked the same question again, because though she had agreed to Nishant's plan of acting as a couple in front of Abir, she wasn't sure if it was going to be worth it.

"Come on Mishti? How many less movies have you watched in your entire life time? Jealousy card always works, especially in this eternal love, Tera wala Pyaar, you know!", Nannu winked, and Mishti shook her head at the way he kept her kind of love at such a high pedestal.

" When you will actually fall in Mera wala pyaar, we will see if you still say so!", Mishti laughed, before moving a few steps ahead to hail an auto.

Nannu stood transfixed, the smile subtly wiped off his face. Did he want to fall in love, ever? Or rather, would anyone ever fall in love with him? He wondered, before a very sad and small smile made its way to his face. He didn't really know much about love, but he also didn't think he ever could, because given his history, he was sure nobody would want to be in love with a former drug addict.

Or maybe, it could be rather put as Nishant Maheshwari had not fallen in traps of destiny before, which surely didn't mean he would not ever.

--------

The scene inside the Maheshwari House was nothing short of a festival, some one hour later when two of their precious gems had returned home. Jasmeet Chachi was squealing with Joy as she hugged the life out of her son, Mishti was Sandwiched between her Badi Maa and Bade Papa and Varsha and Shourya were laughing with their family while Kuhu played party songs, just like her Kuhuness demanded.

"But Muhboli, how are you even looking at me? Can you see this embroidery of my dress without your huge spectacles?", Jasmeet exclaimed in between, and Mishti let the shadow pass her for a breif minute before smiling wide at her.

"Don't worry Aunty. I can see fine. This is Mishti 2.0, updated and better version you know", she pulled her invisible collors and everyone except Rajshree smiled and continued to joke, because a mother's eyes misses nothing, ever.

Rajhshree sighed, both of her kids had changed. One had let go of his silky long hairs and adopted those weird colourful glasses and the other had let go of her specs for a pair of contacts. Both Abir and Mishti were there, and in way lost. She just hoped this was temporary, because at the end she wanted them both to be happy, together or not.

The family then continued to hoot and celebrate, eating all those delicacies and sharing same age old stories, everything that makes a family, a family while Mishti stayed in that circle, smiling and laughing at the outer front while her mind kept on daydreaming about ways she could bump into a certain someone, who in reality at that point was sitting neck deep in office files.

---------

Tired to her bone but a happy splint in her feet, Kuhu entered the Rajvansh house, scrolling through the comments on her latest Instagram post only to bump into Nidhi Mami, who started interrogating her in her broken yet funny English about why was she smiling so much.

A pair of ears immediately got on red alert, as Kuhu's voice broke through the otherwise silent house.

"Aree Mami, I am happy because Nanchak is back, and we had so much fun-", Kunal fisted his hands just imagining the prospect of his so called wife enjoying with anyone else, but then did he even have the right to be angry at her?

"Calm down Bhai, Nanchak is Kuhu Bhabhi's cousin brother", Ketki teased, noticing the fumes of jealousy rising through Kunal's demeanour. She had noticed the tension between her brother and her beloved sister in law, just hadn't been able to find out the reason. Kuhu was still blabbering about the awesomeness of her party when Abir entered the house, and didn't stop at the gathering aside like his usual, but when a specific name left Kuhu's over talkative mouth, all the Rajvanshs' froze, more so Parul. She had never been more glad to not have her Ben Baa home.

"and Nanchak got me gifts, even Mishti brought me a dress and you know -"

Kunal's eyes snapped to his brother who was standing still like he had seen a ghost, and it didn't escape his notice, the slight shiver in Abir's body language as he walked back to his room, not wanting to talk to anyone right now.

Kuhu without realising what she spoke finished her monologue and smiled at Ketki and Atul before walking to her room, actually his room where she was supposed to stay for four more months.

-------

Standing outside Abir's room, Parul bit back her sobs, listening to the muffled ones coming from his room. In the dark hours of night, when the entire family slept peacefully, the guy who was the reason for that artificial peace shed his hidden treasure of tears without anyone knowing, but Parul had witnessed that from afar for several weeks now. Whatever anyone might say, she did love Abir. She was weak, a coward even, but she did love Abir the same way she loved Kunal.

Mustering all her courage that she had gathered over all the weeks, she knocked on Abir's door, hoping and praying for him to open the door and his heart, to her at the least.

Neither of them opened.

Rather whatever sounds of his greif she was hearing, stopped.

It was in that moment Parul decided on something, and was determined. If Mishti was back, she was going to meet her and let her know the truth.

Enough was enough. She would not let Abir die this slow death any more, not on her watch.

Away from all of them, Mishti was standing on her balcony, nervous and excited about the coming morning. She was going to see her Ajeeb Rajvansh again, after so many days and she wanted the night to pass soon as she watched the moon they had once watched together.

"Ajeeb Rajvansh, be prepared. Because this angry chorni has stolen your heart a long time back and now you will have to accept that you never got it back!".