Next morning, Raman woke up and saw the sun rays disturbing Ishita’s sleep. He got off the bed and walked to her side of the bed. Slowly, without disturbing her, he moved the duvet from her plump body and proceeded to slide his arm under her back and other arm under her legs lifting her in his muscular arms from the bed. Her head hung along with her long beautiful hair. He began to walk out of the terrace, her hand fell sliding from her tummy and proceeding to hang. He continued to walk till he reached their bedroom and lied her on the bed.

He went back to the terrace to fetch her pillow and duvet and came back within seconds placing the pillow under her head and duvet over her body. Then he went back again to grab his belongings from there and came back placing them on the bed. He closed the curtains and turned to her, admiring her sleeping self. He walked to the bed and sat on it and then lied beside her resting his head on his palm. He used his other hand to move the fringes from her face and smiled seeing her.

What a beauty she is, he thought. He ran his fingers in her hair and lied straight. While admiring her, even he slept. Later, he woke up and saw her still sleeping. He glanced at the wall clock, it was 8:00 in the morning. He pushed the duvet from his body and sat up ready to climb off the bed, his gaze went on her, he melted seeing her and couldn’t help but smile. He stood up and went to freshen up. He came out within minutes and sprinted towards the kitchen and began to prepare tea for both of them.

After some minutes of his leaving, she woke up stretching her arms, the boiling tea’s aroma struck her and she got off the bed and gazed towards the kitchen. She smiled seeing him, his back was towards her. Just as she felt that he could feel her eyes on him, she stepped back in the room and went to freshen up. He turned his head towards the room’s entrance but of course he didn’t see her as she was already gone. He sighed. Maybe I am thinking too much, or maybe I am falling for her, or I have already fallen for her, that’s why I keep on thinking of her. He thought.

Just the thought of her made him smile. He poured the tea in two cups and walked towards the room. He saw that she had already waken up, the bed was messy with their duvets and bedsheet wrinkled up. He placed the cups on the bedside table and made the bed and folded their duvets. He felt the sudden thirst and as he was going back to the kitchen, something caught his attention. At the entrance of the room was Ishita’s bracelet, that too of gold and it was gifted by Vasu in the past along with many other jewelry sets, he had seen her wearing it since the day they married.

He stooped low and picked it up and stood up. He kept gazing at it lost in thoughts. Means that her eyes were really on me and it wasn’t my imagination, she keeps wearing this bracelet 24/7, and while her eyes were on me, it fell. But no worries, let me tease her a bit. He thought with a mischievous smile. He heard the click of the washroom door but quickly exited the room to fulfill the need of water in his body.

She stepped out and her gaze went on the two tea cups resting on the bedside table. After closing the door behind her, she began to walk towards it, and as Raman was also coming back to the room, they both collided into one another and he held her by her waist before she could fall. They shared a long awaited eye lock. After sometime, they moved away from each other and that’s when she noticed that the bed was also made up. “Hmm, from where did the sun rise today?” she teased.

“From the south,” he replied and she chuckled. “Oh really? Normally it rises from the east, but you told me a fully different direction, south? Seriously? And by the way, what’s up with you today? As far as I remember, we had slept under the stars, first you carried me till here disturbing your own sleep, then this tea, then the made up bed, why? Is there some special occasion today?” she asked folding her arms on her chest. “Not really, but every day is special for me, tomorrow is Valentines day, but for me, every second, every minute, every hour, every day and every month is a Valentines day,” he replied smilingly pulling her close.

She blushed and tried to push him away for the first time ever. “Please Raman, move away, else my tea would cool down, and it won’t be as good as it looks now. I get to see this very rarely, and I even get to drink tea made by you also very rarely,” she said trying her best to hide her blush but couldn’t hide it, no matter how much she tried. “Oh, so you were gazing at me from the entrance of the room? Right?” he teased.

She gasped. “No no, I didn’t see you, it’s just that, you only admitted it right now,” he said and held her hand, she looked on. “Where’s your bracelet? The one your mother gifted you along with many other sets? You wear it 24/7, did it get lost somewhere? Or did you drop it right there at the entrance while gazing at me?” he asked teasing her more and showed her her bracelet, she gasped and tried to snatch it from him, but he transferred it to his other hand, he kept trying to take it from him, but he kept transferring it from one hand to another above his head.

“Ramanuu,” she said getting irritated by standing on her toes for so long. “First tell me, you dropped it while gazing at me, didn’t you?” he asked and she stepped back placing her hands on her hips. “Yes I did, now give it back,” she said and tried to take it back again standing on her toes reaching up. He lowered his arms and he made her wear it by himself. She creased her eyebrows. “When you only had to make me wear it, then why did you tease me so much?” she asked.

“Because I love to tease you. And you know what? The person who irritates you the most is the one who loves you the most but..,” he was cut in between. “Fails to express it, right?” she continued and he nodded with a smile. She felt the whole world spinning around her, she held her head, his smile dropped as she moved back and sat on the bed. “Ishita? What happen?” he asked. “Déjà vu,” she replied. He looked on and recalled the past.

Flashback:

Ishita was sitting beside Raman since a very long time and he was just concentrating on his mobile and laptop. Now she was damn irritated and shut her eyes in irritation and then opened them again turning her head to look at him, it was as if she was an invisible ghost not to be seen by him and meant to be ignored. She has had enough and snatched his mobile from him, he looked at her. “What’s wrong with you Ishita?” he asked a little angrily. “Oh really? I think I should be the one to be asking this Raman.”

“What the hell do you mean?” he asked. “What’s wrong with you? I have been sitting beside you since a long time and you don’t even acknowledge my presence? All that exists for you is this lifeless mobile phone and laptop? You should have married them instead, why me? Why are you wasting my life behind a loser like you? You know Toshi maa keeps asking me that when will I finally make her a grandmother, even my mother does the same, what should I tell them? That when my husband can’t give time to me, how will he give time to our child? And what’s the use of a child in such a household where there’s no value of the wife itself? Tell me, why did you marry me?” she asked.

“Because I wanted to, and if we talk about child, then I am not ready for it, and don’t know what to say about time, yeah I don’t have time, I am busy with my work,” he replied roughly. She was on verge of tears. “Oh, busy in work?” she asked and checked his phone but it had a pattern lock. “What’s about this much privacy Raman? Unlock your phone,” she demanded.

“What the hell? Are you my mother that I should be telling each and everything to you? Or are you a spy that you want to spy on me?” he asked irritated by now. “You know the definition of marriage? When an overgrown child can’t be handled by parents anymore, he/she is given to another person who becomes husband/wife, in short, marriage is just another word for adoption,” she snapped back. “What? Really? This is what you think so? What kind of mentality is this? Marriage is adoption, huh, is your top floor empty? Or is the word ‘Senseless’ scribbled on your forehead?” he asked.

“Senseless? Top floor empty? Since the day you married me, you have been ignoring me, you’re busy in this so called work of yours, you’re not a doctor for God’s sake, you’re an actor,” she said angrily. “So what? Actors and doctors have just one difference, that actors shoot for their work, doctors heal its patients, and similarity is that, actors also do midnight shooting, doctors also have to go for their patients in the midnight, so if we see practically, both are almost same, what I mean is timings and business, not professions,” he answered.

“Oh, okay, keep on working, keep ignoring me, be busy in your work, I have no worth in your life. All that exists for you is this house, these four walls, and this mobile and laptop along with your work, go on with your life, but, I can’t take this anymore, Mister Raman, I will file for a divorce right away, I will tell my mom as well as my dad that I kept trying but my husband isn’t interested in me, he’s an impotent,” she said giving his phone back to him and stomped out of the room fighting back tears.

He looked on and as she exited the room, her words kept ringing in his ears, he closed his laptop and kept thinking of an idea to make it up with her. Although he showed that he didn’t care, her tears pained him a little but because of his previous bad experience in love, he suppressed his present emotions. He got off the bed and began to search for her. “Ishu!” he called out. She didn’t respond and he looked for her in different rooms but didn’t find her, that’s when he heard the main door closing and it clicked him, she’s leaving for real.

He rushed to the main door and saw her coming inside instead. “You? Didn’t you leave?” he asked and she raised her eyebrows and folded her arms on her chest. “Oh, very eager I see, to make me leave, isn’t it? Your wings grew to such an extent that you would think of making me leave from here? You really think my top floor is empty? Well, in that case, it really was till now, but not anymore,” she said and trespassed him rushing to their room and closed the door.

“Ishu!” he called out after her and went to the door knocking over it many times, and on the twentieth knock, she opened the door and came outside with a suitcase. “Ishu, look, we can sit and sort it out, why do you need to leave? You just said that…,” he was cut in between. “Yes I did, the suitcase is yours so why do you think that it will have my clothes and belongings? I am not leaving, you are leaving,” she stated and he creased her eyebrows accompanied with a gasp. “The fuck,” he said.

She pushed him a little. “Language,” she said. He closed his eyes and sighed thinking what has he gotten himself into. He opened his eyes and composed himself coming closer to her holding her shoulders softly. “Ishita, how can you do this? You’re my wife,” he said and she jerked away his hands, chuckled and rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t seems so,” she said and he closed his eyes again to calm himself. He bent down and took the suitcase from her, he unzipped it and got shocked to see absolutely nothing inside, he looked up at her.

“It has nothing,” he told her. “Exactly, why don’t you understand? That my life is nothing without you Raman, even now what made you think that I will chase you out of your own house? This house is a home with you, without you there is no home for me, but sadly my words, my presence, almost my everything has no value in your life. You have this look on your face, because just now I said that you should leave. If I think that I shall leave and give you loneliness, that loneliness won’t even matter to you. If my absence doesn’t alters your life, then my presence also has absolutely no value in your life. I am here because I can’t live without you, but you can,” she said.

“Yes I can, that’s why I came after you when you said that you are leaving,” he said. “No! Admit it that you’re scared of my mother’s reaction more than your own mother’s reaction!” she shouted and then began to dial on her phone. “Ishita stop!” he exclaimed and snatched her phone from her, she tried taking it back but he kept transferring it in the opposite hand above his head.

“Ramanuu!” she said angrily gritting her teeth while he grinned looking at her continuous trials. At one point, he ran away with her phone causing her to run after him. He ran to the other rooms and kept running away. As they came to their room, Raman dropped the plastic bowl of marbles accidentally and she stepped over them while running towards him and in an attempt to save her from falling, he fell on the bed along with her. They had an eye lock, she distracted him by her eyes and snatched her phone from him but he snatched it back.

The fight continued and he lied flat on his back, her trials continued as well and in an effort to get back her phone, she fell on top of him, having another eye lock. “We got to spend so much time together, at least smile now,” he said and began to tickle her making her laugh. “Don’t!” she shouted while laughing. “You’re irritating me!” she shouted again while laughing. “Yes I am deliberately doing it, because the person who irritates you the most is also the one who loves you the most but fails to express it,” he said, she smiled.

Fb end.

He looked on as she lied back on the bed holding her head. “Umm, Ishu, it will be okay, have your tea,” he said reminding her and she sat up and took the cup, he also took his cup and they sipped the tea together sitting beside each other. His phone rang and he picked it. “Hallo,” he spoke. “Inspector speaking, Ashok’s whereabouts are finally known, we have caught him and he has confessed that Ishita didn’t love him but you, so he tried killing her, we have imprisoned him,” said the inspector. “Okay sir, but for how much time he’s imprisoned?” he asked. “Approximate time period of attempt to murder is ten years, but if hurt is caused, then the criminal is sentenced to death, so yes, he’s been sentenced to death,” informed the inspector. “Okay sir, thanks for the help,” he spoke and disconnected the call and turned his head to see Ishita waiting for him to tell her. “Ashok has been found, he’s sentenced to death,” he told her and she got tears in her eyes. “I never wanted this, what can I do? I couldn’t love him, he couldn’t move on, so killing me wasn’t the solution, its very bad, I feel very bad Raman, this shouldn’t have happened,” she said and tears rolled down her cheeks. He cupped her face. “This is his fault, not yours, no need to cry over it,” he said. “But he is the same best friend who I trusted blindly, I never thought he could do this, let alone think of it,” she said in a choked voice. “But he did it, face the reality, he was a two-faced person, he didn’t deserve your friendship, but we would meet him if you want,” he said.

She nodded. “Even I want to meet him, confront him, scold him, curse him, vent my anger on him, and show him that we still stand together, no matter what,” she said wiping her tears. He smiled and she smiled back, they shared a hug.