Year: 2016

Description:  Before the Reboot. 

Going away from the family is different from Abandoned by the family. Anika and Shivaay finally started the forum for the kids who were abounded by their parents in the orphanage. They mostly threw the babies in the garbage or left nearer to any seashore or riverbank. If they found in good hands, they will bring the baby to the orphanage. Those kids find their own family in the orphanage. Many kids hardly think about their parents and their origin but some of the kids had to think about them only when they had to pay for their sins in a form of disease like HIV and other diseases. 

Shivaay completely lost him in the innocent smile of the kids who forget the entire world with the gifts brought by Shivaay and Anika. With the help of some volunteers, they built temporary water amusement parks in the lawn and bought all the kids over there. Shivaay forgets about everything and everyone around him. It took 6 months for his dream come true. 

Anika proceeded her way towards him and stood next to him, A smile automatically appeared in her face when she sensed the happiness in his face. She felt like her dream finally came true. Over these 6 months, Anika stayed mostly with Shivaay for this day. He is living his life with those children. And their bond grew stronger day by day. Shivaay called her his first loyal friend and Anika had to call him back as a friend by hiding his feeling. 

"We did it, right" - Anika asked him. 

"Finally..." - He said with welled up eyes. Anika couldn't stop herself from hugging him, they side hugged, Like a friend. She was friend-zoned by him. And his conversation towards her became limited for the past few days. Anika felt that but she didn't ask him, Anything. But stayed with him. Even though he didn't want her. She stayed because She wanted to stay with him. They had to break their friendly gesture when the father of the orphanage visits them. 

"I never have seen them this much happier like this..." - He said to Shivaay.

"Thank you so much, " - He asked for Shivaay's name.

"It's Shivaay Singh Oberoi... And she's Anika Trivedi" - Shivaay introduced himself to the father. 

"Great, You're the elder son of Sakshi Singh Oberoi, right" - He asked, Shivaay nodded. His expression changed out of a sudden, nobody noticed it, but Anika did. Whenever he felt uncomfortable, she felt uncomfortable. From that moment, the feeling of uncomfortability and hesitations only sensed by her which became constant after that moment. 

They played along with the kids; Anika played. Shivaay played like it was the last day in the universe. But the time came, they had to leave, the children got into the van and that van straightly headed to the hospital for precautions. They didn't want to take any chances with their health and stability. Shivaay headed back to his home after getting his dosages from the doctor. Anika accompanied him. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment in south Delhi. He's staying where his parents lived in Los Vegas over that time. 

"Water?" - Shivaay asked her when she rested in the couch. She nodded. He came up with the glass full of water and handed it to her. He was silent, till she finishes the water. Her eyes didn't leave him even when she had her water. 

"Shivaay, I want to say something..." - Anika started. 

"Yeah." - He said and matched her eyelids. She immediately stared at the floor when she couldn't face him when he looks at her. 

"Actually, I am leaving the city, tomorrow..." - She said. 

"For what?" - He asked in shock which soothes her heart when it sensed the care in his tone. 

"Got a better offer, so leaving to Bangalore, tomorrow" - She said in the same tone. He became silent, the expression in his face became so obvious. He didn't try to hide it. 

"Hey, I was trying to say this for the past three days but didn't get time..." - Anika said while holding his right palms which was in the tea table and moved close to him. He didn't notice her but became numb. There was only silence that terrified Anika. 

"Shivaay?" - She called him. 

"Yeah... I am fine..." - He said while taking a deep breath but didn't match his eyes with her. He stood up from the couch, but Anika held her hands and stopped him. 

"Time is too precious, Shivaay... I have 14 hours to leave... I want to stay here with you. If you don't want, I will leave..." - Anika asked him. The palm which she held, held her back and he turned around. 

"You're right... Time is too precious... Let's make these 14 hours memorable, who knows when you return, I will be there or not..." - Shivaay said. It never fails to poke her heart. 

"Yeah, Maybe I got hit by any lorry and die at the spot, who knows, Life is too unpredictable..." - Anika took revenge. 

"If you speak like this, I will never let you go..." - Shivaay said in a cold tone, Anika just shoots him with a cold look. He didn't speak anything further to her when he understood how his words hurt her. She moved towards the balcony and stood while looking at the stars.

"Buddy! Don't be a spoilsport, Come bro..." - He pulled her arms when she crossed her arms around her chest. He failed, she stood looking at the night sky from the tenth floor. 

"Okay, I am sorry... I will never ever speak like that... Please we have only 14 hours, don't waste it... Please" - He asked in a childish tone which easily convinces her. It works every time. She turned around with a cold look and took the seat in the beam bag kept in the balcony.  He sat opposite her leaning on the cold iron stand of the balcony. 

"You are looking so beautiful today..."- Words slipped from Shivaay when he gazed at her in the moonlight. 

"Is it? After getting tanned in 40 degrees Celsius for the entire day?" - She asked him in return. Even though his words made her feel like a queen she didn't show it in her face and change the environment and discomfort him. He chuckled in instant. 

"I never saw any person like you..."- He added. She chuckled back. 

"I have one idea; Let's play Truth or Truth game..." - She asked. 

"Truth or Truth..." - He asked while chuckling. 

"We can't do any dare, now... Right" - she came up with an incredibly good explanation and he got ready to play the game and stay awake for the whole night. Only for her. Anika took the glass bottle of Pepsi, sat in the floor, and kept the bottle in the middle. She rotated the bottle, And the bottle turns towards Anika, first.

"Truth or Truth, Madam" - He asked him. 

"Truth, Boss" - She replied. 

"Okay, what shall I ask? Hmm... The one I wanted to ask you for a long time... Have you ever been in a relationship?"  - He asked. 

"This is what you need to ask for a long time..." - She asked in a disbelief tone. 

"That's not the answer... Don't divert..." - He double-crossed her. 

"Nope... Never been in a relationship but I have been in love..." - She said while looking at his face with a smile. 

"Isn't both same?" - He asked her. 

"No... They both are different... Moving on" - She diverted him and rotated the bottle. It faced Shivaay this time. 

"Okay, Boss... Now tell me... What was you first impression when you saw me in the coffee shop before 6 months..." - She asked him while keeping her palms in her cheeks. 

"After spending that day or the first impression when I saw you waiting in the coffee shop..." - He asked her. 

"Both" - She replied.

"The first impression i got when i saw you waiting in the coffee shop was, is this the same girl who was invisible in school?"- He said. 

"Why? I was ugly then?" - Anika asked him. 

"Never, I still remember you in that black saree in a farewell... You were always on checking out category..." - Words escaped from his mouth when he felt so comfortable with her. 

"You are mentioning me to me like some other girl..." - She chuckled. 

"What to do? You were underestimating yourself" - He replied. 

"Okay, Moving forward... What was your impression on me after spending that day with me?" - She asked. 

"Precious... I felt lucky to spend that day with you" - He said in the very next second. She got drum-stuck for a while. He rotated the bottle again it turns towards him.

"Ask me..." - He permitted. 

"Why your face changed when the orphanage father mentioned your father?" - She asked which she had in her heart. She didn't ask it out of curiosity, but she asked to relieve him from the choking truth which he kept in his heart as a secret. 

"Exactly before two years, I came to know I am HIV positive. From childhood, my immunity level was too low. I don't know due to that or something else, my life changed in a sparking second. I was in a peak of depression, more than me, my family got affected. They were shell-shocked. I thought they were worrying for me. But the reality sticks me when my own father blamed me for this. He never wanted to believe, He registered something else in his mind about me which wasn't me. After many failed suicide attempts, I have decided to live my life" - He said, Anika wanted to cover her ears as she couldn't be able to hear this phrase in his life. But she opted to listen to him controlling her emotions. 

"See, I wanted to live the life when i was in the last stage of my life" - He chuckled, His eyes didn't meet her eyes. If it does, He must have stopped telling his story. 

"After that, I overheard their conversation, they weren't happy that I survived but they suffered a lot seeing me living after my failed attempts... Then, I decided to step out... They had their own reason to abound me, but before they do that, I abandoned myself from them and came back to Delhi where I was born..."  - He said while looking at the night skies. 

"This place initially presented me with many heartbreaks, People who I called as my friends, avoided me openly, nobody believed me even though they merely said they are believing me, but people say right, if one-way closes, another way opens.  I believed that's true when I met you. I felt them as a passing cloud and wanted you as my sky and wanted to stay with you permanently. Till now, you are the best thing that happened in my life..." - He said, finally met her eyes. Tears escaped from her eyes when she heard the last sentence. But he continued. 

"Even you're crying now, I didn't feel any sort of pithiness in your face... You are full of confidence, energy, and life to me... I don't know how to explain this, But I don't know what to say..." - He stopped when the tears hit his cheeks and he stared at the ground in an instant. Anika moved towards him, cupped his face, and made him look at her. 

"I am scared to give a name to this feeling, Ani..." - He whispered and his eyes were closed. 

"Who asked you to do that?" - She asked him. 

"But?" - he stopped. 

"Life is all about today, Shivaay... Let's live it... Without any pressure, if you can't give a name to it, then don't" - She said without any hesitation she made him lay in her lap. 

"I'm not leaving anywhere... I just wanted to make sure whether I am troubling you or not... But you proved me wrong... And this city of stars, only shining for us" - She said and planted a kiss on his forehead. 

********

Tears crossed his eyes thinking about the past when he was hopeless, she stood as his hope, when he felt lifeless, she came as his life. He never wanted to confront the feelings on that day because he was afraid, He wanted her to stay as his sky, Permanent one. Never as a passing cloud but she has always been his backbone which his eyes fail to see but without it, we can't survive. Now after getting a chance to change everything, He concentrated only on Her happiness, her life, her wishes, and everything was all about her. Over then, He got a call from her. 

"Hello, ani... Everything is okay" - He asked her in a scared tone. 

"Yeah fine... Why are you so tensed?" - She asked him in return in a scared tone. 

"Well, Narrate me from first..." - He asked her. 

"Okay... We reached home, Mumma was silent, But Pappa asked multiple questions, Like, where we met first? Leave... most of them are annoying...  And Mumma took Pappa to her room when he was about to check my phone. Then, Mum asked me to go to my room and study... The phone was with my mom... Now she gave that to me, and I called you..." - Anika said. 

"Ani... You'd have called me tomorrow... What will she think if she caught us again?" - Shivaay asked her in a concerned tone. 

"Why? Aren't we doing any plan to destroy the world like in superhero movies...? But they only destroy America, Not the entire world..." - Anika asked him.  He chuckled. 

"But Mumma will feel bad..." - He said. 

"Mumma? When did you start calling my mom Mumma?" - She asked. 

"Err... I got confused, you called her momma, Know... That's why?" - He replied while biting his tongue. 

"Okay..." - She said while laughing. 

"It sounds good..." - He said. 

"Which sounds good?" - She asked. 

"Your laugh... If possible, I would have recorded it and keep it as my ring tone..." - He replied. 

"You're sounding like flirting..." - Anika said in a confused tone. 

"Wow... What an invention? You will definitely get a Nobel award for this invention, Mrs Oberoi, I mean Miss Trivedi..." - He again bit his tongue.

"Mrs Oberoi?" - She questioned him.

"I... I used to talk with my mom like this... She's also Mrs Oberoi, right..." - He said. 

"Also?" - She asked again and this time, Shivaay became tired of telling an explanation. 

"Yaar... You're asking a lot of questions... I am feeling sleepy, Bye..." - He said as he didn't want to spill any more beans. 

"Okay, I called you to say something!" - Anika said. 

"What?" - He asked in an expectation to hear something precious. 

"I am going to the farewell party..." - She said and she changed the mind.

"Great, Babe... I will pick you up from your street... Let's go together..." - He said. 

"Seriously, you are going to pick me up for the school party," - Anika asked him. 

"Who losses the opportunity to pick up a star like you? If anyone does, He must be an idiot..." - Shivaay replied. she chuckled over the phone.

"Okay... If you want to pick me up, come to my home and pick me up..." - She said. 

"After this much drama, what are you saying?" - He asked. 

"See, I am awfully bad at hiding things from my family... And if they don't approve also, I will go with you, but trust me, they will permit me... They are not that much terrifying like you're thinking..." - She said. For a minute, Shivaay heard his Anika who was too adamant to be with him. He became silent for a while. 

"Hello... Are you there?" - Anika asked. 

"Yeah... I'm... I will pick you up from your home at 6 pm... tomorrow..." - Shivaay said and disconnected the phone. He wondered how she's very particular about him even in the early stage. And he recognized how much he tries in being the best companion, she will win the trophy at the last. 

********