chapter 4

 

They reached arjun’s place,arjun said it’s a bit messed up riya frowned at that  arjun saw riya;’s reaction to what he said and muttered I would have cleaned the apartment if I had known that a hygiene freak would be staying with me,riya heard that and said excuse me what did you just say,he quickly changed the topic and said the rooms are clean and don’t worry I’ll get the entire house clean before you wake up tomorrow morning.riya relaxed at that.

They entered the house,arjun straight away went to the kitchen so he could preare something for her as he knew she had not eaten anything as it must have been a rolarcoaster ride for her today,so he decided to cook for her.it was the least he could do.riya muttered how rude ghar theek se nahi dikhaya aur apne kaam mein vyasht ho gaye,ab mera room kaunsa hoga yeh to bata ke jaate,ek toh hamesha naak pe gussa rehta hai unki agar kisi personal cheez ko haath lagaya to phir se kahenge,meri cheezon se door raho riya jaise mujhe unki personal life mein interfere karne ka shauk hai.humph…

She decided to go to arjun and ask him instead of guessing which room she would be staying in,she entered the kitchen and panicked at what she saw,she said hey durga ma yeh aap kya kar rahe hai,arjun annoyed at her question and sarcastically said  cricket kehl raha hu dikhai nahi deta tumhe khana bana raha hu,riya rolled her eyes at that and said who toh dikh raha hai….waise aap khana bana rahe ya  khud ko khaane banane ke saaman se saja rahe hai…arjun glared at her and said pehli baar kisi ke liye khaana bana raha hu aur appreciation ke jagah taane mil rahe hai.riya felt bad for taunting him,initially she felt the jesture very sweet but looking at his condition she felt like laughing but she controlled it and said aap fresh ho jaaiye mein khaana bana loongi,arjun was going to say no thankyou you should rest and I’ll prepare, riya cut him and said thank you sir for trying to cook for me I really appreciate it but it would be better if I cooked so we can eat something that’s edible.

Arjun frowned at her and muttered is she praising me or making fun of of me any ways he did not want to argue,he was having a hard time trying to cook so he said fine but make something light you should not eat anything lavish or heavy in this state.riya said okay sir.riya started to cook where as arjun started to tidy up the place so she does not have any problem,riya prepared soup for her self and rajma chawal for arjun by the time she was done arjun had cleaned the house she came into the living room and said dinner tayaar hai. arjun said who right wala karma tumhara hai fresh ho jaate hai aur phir ek saath khaana kha lenge.riya gave a wide smile at that and said theek hai sir I’ll be back in half an hour.

They both came out at the same time,riya admired and said  casuals meh toh aur bhi ache lagte hai where as arjun thought that riya looked very cute in the baby pink pajamas and the cute white top.they were staring at each other,they suddenly came out of the trance when arjun’s phone rang.he saw rathod was calling he looked at riya and said to give him five mins riya nodded and went to the kitchen so she could set the food on the table.

Rathod:arjun sab theek toh hai na,riya theek hai ki nahi,who tumhare ghar meh comfortable toh hai na,use koi takleef ya pareshaani toh nahi ho rahi hai,raute tum jawaab kyun nahi de rahe ho

Arjun:tum mujhe kuch bolne doge tab na rathod,riya bilkul theek hai aur kaafi comfortable bhi lag rahi  hai.

Rathod:he breathed a sigh of relief and said thank god.

Arjun:he was about to ask what did he mean by that but instead said rathod I want a 2 days leave.kal riya ko hospital leke jaana hai aur uske baad usey shayad apne liye kuch shopping bhi karni hai.

Rathod:was amused to hear arjun speak like that,he said okay theek hai tell me which hospital are you taking riya to and what time so he could be there.

Arjun:agar hum sab chutti le lenge toh etf kaun sambhale ga sir,before rathod could reply to that arjun cut him off and said rathod don’t worry I’ll keep you updated you are much more needed in the office.

Rathod:your right just keep me updated please and then hung up.

Arjun went to the dining table and yelled yeh kya riya I asked you to make something light and you prepared raajma chawal,riya rolled her eyes and said offo sir the raajma chawal is for you this soup is for me,I am not a kid,I can very well take care of my self,all my life I have been doing that only.

Arjun looked up at that and asked what,riya just said nothing lets have food I am feeling very sleepy as it is.arjun nodded and said even I could have had the soup why did you have to prepare separately for me….riya said sir I am Ill not you so why should you be eating mareezo waala khaana…arjun was  touched at that and thought how selfless she is,she is so weak and yet prepared something of his liking for him.they both sat and ate.riya was going to take the dishes but arjun stopped her saying you cooked so I’ll clean.riya was tired and did not want to argue on that so she just nodded and said good night sir…he said good night riya and yes the food was delicious riya smiled and blushed a bit at that,and why wouldn’t she it was the first time arjun had praised her for something,she said thankyou sir and went inside the room.

Arjun cleaned up and went to his room.he seemed a bit happy that this house did not seem or feel empty today.

Next morning arjun knocked at riya’s door but she did not respond he panicked for a bit and then decided to enter the room,what he saw brought a cute smile on his face riya was sleeping like a baby.he went near her called her softly riya utho its 9.00 am wake up…riya mumbled 5 mins…arjun said riya tum school jaane wali bacchi nahi utho humeh hospital bhi jaana hai.riya woke up at that and scowled at him and said aap room se bahar jaane ka kasht karenge toh meh fresh ho jaau.arjun glared at her and left….riya thought he was bypolar for sure,ek pal mein ache se baat karte hai toh doosre hi pal meh akdu sadu raute ban jaate hai.humph…chal riya tayaar ho ja warna uss samjhe ya samjaaun se aur daant padegi.

Riya freshened up and joined him at the breakfast table…she drank her juice not before wiping the rim of the glass with her tissue paper ofcourse arjun looked at her and said riya maine glass saaf karkr hi usmeh juice pour kiya tha,riya just said old habbits die hard sir.

They ate their breakfast silently they did not know what to talk about or how to break the silence so they concentrated on their food.riya broke the silence and asked in a soft voice arjun sir,he looked up and she continued sir aap mujhe pehle hi baata dein ki iss ghar meh forbidden areas kaunse hai…kyunki ki mein aapki life mein interfere nahi karna chahti,arjun realized how rudely he must have behaved with her that she is so scared of trespassing into his personal space…he answered iss ghar meh tum kahi bhi freely jaa sakti ho,he hesitated before saying yeh ghar naya liya hai,mere puraane ghar mein rehna bohot painfull or impossible ho gaya tha.

Riya looked up at that…she could feel his pain,her eyes brimmed with tears listning to that but she did not let the tears fall…she cleared her throat at that and apologized sir I am sorry…it was very insensitive of me to say that…arjun said no need to say sorry riya,the way I have behaved with you made you conscious of this situation and hence you asked me this.riya I am really sorry but I don’t act like that intentionally its just that I don’t want anyone close to me even as a friend after roshni,but my past does not give me the right to behave so rudely with you.

What happened was my fault I could not save roshni and I took out the frustration of that on everybody else I am sorry riya but can we start afresh…can we become friends,riya’s face lit up at that her joy had no bound  she said ofcource sir we can be friends and sir if you don’t mind can I say something friend ke naate.

Arjun said go ahead…riya said that sir we are human beings and there are some situations in life where we are helpless and cant do anything….sir if you had it in your hands you would have savd roshniji anyhow….sir kabhi kabhi haalat aise ho jaate hai ki hum chahkar bhi kuch nahi kar sakte hai…sir please don’t blame your self the person who is responsible for roshniji’s death is not you but that filthy criminal…and sir don’t worry we all will help you to find him and destroy him and bring justice to roshniji….

Arjun  looked dumbstruck at her he never thought miss stastistic could say something so mature…he just nodded and said thankyou riya for understanding its been a long time and I needed to get it all out thankyou for listning

Riya said no problem sir what are friends for…arjun smiled at that and said riya its very odd when your friend addresses you as sir when we are not working I’d prefer you to call me arjun..riya chuckled and said okay sir upps ar ar arjun…arjun laughed at that riya looked sheepish and said it will take some time for me to get used to it.

Okay now enough of chit chatting we are getting late to go to the hospital…riya listning to the word hospital looked uncomfortable and scared…she remembered her state yesterday…arjun noticed that and said don’t worry riya this time I am going to be there every step with you…I wont fail you the second time

Riya’s head shot up at that and she said sir how many times would you blame yourself…I know I went a little overboard yesterday and I am sorry I over reacted its just that I was very vulnerable at that time I did not mean what I said…please sir don’t blame your self…it would only make me more sad and guilty for my outburst.and thankyou sir I know you will be there for me like you always have

Arjun did not know what to say to that…he was never good with words so he could not express how light hearted he was feeling like someone had lifted a heavy load from his heart so he just nodded and said lets go we are already running late.

Riya knew what he must be feeling…she did not want to push this topic any further so she said I am ready sir I mean arjun…he smiled at that and both headed out of the house.riya just prayed that the doctors did not do anything nasty to her