He had cornered her, both hands on the wall, trapping her.

"Shiva, koi dekh lega hume." Raavi blushed.

"Dekhne de, biwi hai tu meri. Haq hai mera tujhpe." He said, shifting his hands to her waist, and pulling her closer.

Their faces were inches apart, eyes finding each other, then focusing on their lips.

"Shiva, kya kar raha hai?" Raavi whispered, putting her arms around his neck.

"Tujhe nahi pata?" Shiva whispered back, leaning in to-

CLASHHHHHHH

Shiva woke up with a jolt, confused about the dream he had. What the hell was that? He shook his head to clear out those thoughts, but they were clear as day.

"Sorry sorry, galti se gir gaya plate" Raavi apologised profusely, picking up the plate and whatever fell from it.

Shiva stared at her. That dream he just had, was it because.....

No. No way.

"Kaha na I'm sorry, aise ghoor mat mujhe, so jaa waapas." Raavi frowned.

He scrubbed his eyes awake, "Chalega. Waise bhi uthne waala tha." and walked to the washroom.

He splashed water on his face, and looked in the mirror.

Why was he dwelling on that dream so much? Why did it affect him? It was just a dream, it doesn't have to make sense.

Or does it....

~~~

The weather outside was cloudy, and so pleasant, as if it could rain any time now. Winds blew slightly, making the leaves on trees rustle.

It was a beautiful sight, and a perfect moment to be alone in his secret spot.

"Mai thodi der bahar jaa raha hoon, aa jaunga shaam se pehle." Shiva announced, to no one in particular, and left on his bike.

The hill top looked as beautiful as ever. The luscious greenery below, rustle of leaves, the whistling of the wind, soft thunder from above made everything perfect.

This was his go-to spot. Whenever he had to clear his mind out, he'd come here and sit for hours at a stretch.

The peace he found here was beyond measure. It was surreal.

He breathed in the crisp air, and it already helped him quite a lot.

He thought about the main highlight of his life in the last 3 months. His marriage.

He had almost refused to marry Raavi on that day, but his family's reputation and a girl's life were dependent on him. Would it be right to be selfish and refuse?

Of course not. He didn't expect to get married that day. But then again, he didn't expect the girl, who was going to marry his elder brother, to marry him.

The only girl he loved all his life.

...

They were only kids, when Shiva wanted to be friends with her, inspite of the fact that she was 'Mami ki behen ki beti'.

He had only known his brothers' company, and was so eager to be friends with little Raavi.

But she only had eyes for Dev. Whenever she'd come over, she would only look for Dev. Raavi wouldn't ask for Shiva, even though he wanted to be friends with her so bad.

It hurt him. He had no friends, and anyone he knew would say 'isse kaun dosti karega'. This time, when he wanted to be friends with someone, they didn't even pay attention to him.

Naturally, he developed anger issues as usual, and instead of friendship, he developed enmity with Raavi.

At least that way, she would talk to him.

As he grew up, he saw her grow up, too. Into a beautiful, young woman. Always chirpy, bubbly and happy. No matter what Shiva told her.

Truth be told, he loved being around her. That was the whole point of his so-called enmity. To keep her close, so that at least she'd talk to him, under that pretext.

One day, she excitedly told Shiva how she's been in love with Dev forever, and wants to marry him some day.

That was the day Shiva realised, his hatred had blossomed into love. He was madly in love with this crazy girl.

But she would never know.

He pushed down all those feelings deep inside his heart, never to let them rise up and affect him again.

He replaced his love for pure hatred. Just like he did, for friendship.

He tried so hard to prevent this marriage, he was obnoxiously rude to her, kept insulting her, but she was a different breed of human. Nothing affected her at all.

On the day of their marriage, he convinced himself, once and for all, that it was happening. But why should it affect him, he hates her, right?

Wrong.

It was as if someone had pierced his heart with glass shards. But this was the result of his own behaviour.

He had to accept fate. But destiny had something else written for him.

He couldn't bear to see the look on Raavi's face, when Dev broke her heart, on the day of their wedding. She was broken, as if someone had snatched her soul away from her.

He got scared, when she tried to hang herself to death. He never knew he could be so scared.

When he was asked to marry Raavi, it broke him. He was marrying the girl, who he once loved. The girl, who would never feel the same about him.

They both got married for their family's sake. But Shiva couldn't handle the fact, that she'd never love him, like he once did.

So he continued to be enemies.

Sometimes, destiny has different plans for you...

...

Shiva took out his phone to listen to his favourite podcast. He plugged in his earphones, and laid down on the cool grass.

Today's podcast was about love. Irrevocable love. How this podcast will reveal your true love.

Shiva closed his eyes and focused on the words. It's not like he has a true love, so what's the harm?

He was imagining himself on, the same hilltop, in a different version of Shiva.

Background song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpq9tm0gnTM

Happier. Free. Accepted. Loved. In Love.

He saw a woman at a distance. She wore a beautiful yellow sun dress , and was running towards him.

Shiva knew, that this mysterious woman
made a difference in his life. Who it was, he didn't know.

She ran towards him, and her scarf brushed across Shiva's face. Shiva smiled.

He turned around, held her hand and pulled her close, which is when he saw her face clearly.

Raavi.

Shiva stood up with a jerk, and looked around. She wasn't here. He was imagining things, he had to be. He rubbed his eyes 2-3 times. She isn't here.

He unplugged the podcast, just as the last words escaped the earphones: 'Toh, aapko kisse pyaar hua?'

Song ends

His heart had set free. It couldn't bear the emotional baggage it was carrying all these years.

His body tingled and shivered. He closed his eyes, breathed in and out, and felt this weird emotion spreading across his body.

It was as if nature understood, and it started to rain. He stood with his arms stretched out, and allowed the rain drops to consume him.

Shiva yelled happily. Like a crazy person, on this hill top. He was cheering, whooping, smiling. His body couldn't take all this happiness.

It was as if someone had returned the missing piece to his body.

He felt like himself again. His heart had set free. There was no doubt about what he was feeling:

Love.

- - - - -

I loved writing this, I hope you liked it! How was it?!

Just note. That the italics part at the start of this chapter was a dream. The party sequence was very much real❤️

Don't forget to vote :)