It had been 3 days and Shehnaaz was too busy to spare some time with Sidharth to hangout with him. If he spent time contemplating or analyzing his feelings about this uneasiness he had developed when she wasn't around, the conflicts could arise because there were inconsistencies between his beliefs and his feelings. All the thinking was driving him crazy before he knew it. His brain was sending out multiple thoughts which were triggering a myriad of feelings inside about the possibility that either she was deliberately ignoring him but he didn't know why because he really didn't do anything.

What amazed him was the fact that he was so tempted to contact her anyhow to know that she was fine and what happened when she met Amrit. However, this distance between him and Shehnaaz was offering greater clarity which was getting muddled up with deep feelings. Meaning the more he thought or felt or analyzed, the more he ended up getting comprehensible. It was a positive feedback loop. He was in a situation, not under his control, he had thoughts and feelings for her, strong ones.

"Happy Happy Diwali!" Shehnaaz had called Sidharth to wish.

"Happy Diwali! Bohot shor ho raha hai!" He replied, there was a lot of chaos on the other side.

"Arey yaha bacche fatake chala rahe hai, phir chilla chilla ke bhaag rahe hai!" She laughed while replying.

"Nayi building achi hai ha?" He asked her.

"Ha, kafi ache log hai." She answered, walking into her home and shutting the door to get away from the noise out there.

"Subha mai Sprinkles gayi thi, waha rangoli bana ke aayi tabhi neeche compound me ladkiyan badi si rangoli bana rahi thi. Mai bhi help karne lagi, wahi dosti ho gayi unse." She added.

"That's nice." He replied.

"The people here are nice! Hah, diwali achi rahi yaar. Mai kham-kha dukhi ho rahi thi. Arey! Usse yaad aaya ke maine Amrit ko call kiya tha kal." She mentioned.

"Mhm." He said, letting her continue. Even though he wasn't interested in getting to know about her sister, he couldn't stop Shehnaaz from blabbering.

"Usne bola uske office walo ke sath plans hai toh hum kal dinner pe milenge." She told him further.

"Okay." He simply listened, it was her matter, Amrit was her sister and he thought it would be better if he didn't interfere because once when he did, she didn't listen to him.

"I don't know Sidharth, mai bas koi kadwahat nahi rakhna chahti uske aur mere beech. Mai badi hu, toh mujhe thoda maturely baat ko handle karna chahiye tha." She said, recalling the argument that made her leave her sister's place. Maybe talking and clearing things out with Amrit was a better option than letting the misunderstandings occupy the space, already she had wasted days without staying in touch with her.

"Maturely?" He asked, switching the topic subtly. Her tone, her voice and the conversation was no longer joyful and he could totally sense her getting low about her sister. Because she expected her sister to agree and celebrate the festival together however he knew Amrit wouldn't, the girl had been so mean already that he had seen it coming.

"Ha mera matlab hai ke, samajhdari se. Kyuki ladai karke toh misunderstanding hi honi hai." She clarified what she meant.

"Toh tujhe lagta hai tu samajhdar hai?" He asked again.

"Ha wahi mai- ek second!" She was replying when she paused herself upon realizing his pun.

"Kutte! Kamine! Yaha mai serious baatein kar rahi hu aur tu hai ke!" She charged at him when she heard him laugh on the other end and hung up on him.

"Heyy! Itna kyu chid rahi hai? I was just kidding." He called her again to resume their conversation.

"Bohot ganda hai tu!" She replied, flatly.

"Kaisi rahi Diwali?" She asked him then.

"It was simple, no fatake, nothing. Preeti's pregnancy, khud fatake nahi chala sakti toh dusro ko bhi nahi chalane de rahi." He shrugged and she chuckled.

"Maine itne ache se lights lagayi, isko pasand nahi aaya, gende ke phool yellow chahiye orange nahi, khud ke pairo me swelling hai lekin poore ghar me ghumna hai usko aur phir rona hai ki dard ho raha hai. She's driving us crazy dude!" He added, tired of looking after his sister who wouldn't sit quietly and let people handle the arrangements for a while.

"It's her hormones! You can't blame her for that." Shehnaaz chuckled, enjoying his sad story.

"Hormones my ass! I'm gonna get back to her, uske bachhe ko mai apni side karke rakhunga. Aane de ek baar." He said, as if it was his next mission to take revenge from his sister.

"Hahaha! Are you even listening to yourself?" She laughed, the way he was planning was hilarious and adorable at the same time, they talked around and about for a little longer before calling it a night.

She was looking forward to seeing Amrit and got a simple silver coin that had goddess Laxmi drawn in it. She knew how religious her aunt was and Amrit had taken over that quality of her mother, so she bought something like that. It was supposed to be good luck to give people something like that, so there it was. Expecting Amrit at a restaurant they decided upon, Shehnaaz waited for her to show up for a while.

"Happy Diwali Amrit!" She hugged her sister.

"Happy Diwali!" Amrit hugged her back.

"Kaisi hai?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Thik hu, tu bata?" Amrit asked as they took over a small table and continued to exchange pleasantries, Shehnaaz gave the gift she brought along and was glad it made her sister smile, they weren't as comfortable as they used to be though.

"I'm sorry about that day, mujhe laga nahi tha tu ghar se chali jayegi?" Amrit said.

"Don't be sorry, it's okay." Shehnaaz smiled.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Amrit asked, looking at her sister's hesitant face.

"Ha, wo-dekh Amrit. Tu behen hai meri, I really care for you and I love you a lot, I wanted to clear out things that have been keeping us away." Shehnaaz replied.

"Maine socha ke tujhse milke uss bare me baat kar lu. Manti hu ke maine galti ki uss time, nahi bhaagna chahiye tha. Lekin mai kafi ghabra gayi thi aur situation hi kuch aisi thi Amrit." She began.

"Sana. Let's not talk about that. Tune jo bhi kiya, tu usko justify mat kar abhi." Amrit replied.

"Just listen to me once, mai justify nahi kar rahi." Shehnaaz wanted to clarify.

"Then stop whatever you're trying to do, it's too late. Dekh, mai gussa nahi hu tere se lekin mai uss baat ko nahi bhool sakti, ki mere Papa teri wajah se hospitalized the." Amrit stated.

"I'm sorry! Kafi nahi hai lekin mai khud sharminda hu. Mujhe ek mauka de na yaar Amrit, I'll prove to you that I didn't do anything on purpose." Shehnaaz said, willing to make her sister understand.

"I don't want you to prove anything to me Sana." Amrit replied.

"Toh kya hum pehle jaise reh sakte? I miss you so much Amrit." Shehnaaz asked then.

"As in ek sath?" Amrit asked, confused.

"Nahi! Mera matlab hai jaise hum hangout Kiya karte the. Movies, shopping?" Shehnaaz asked, wishing to get her sister back out of that argument they once had.

"I don't know if that would be possible. Office me kaam bohot hota hai." Amrit replied. As much as a lame excuse it was, it broke Shehnaaz's heart.

Her mistake, the argument, her sister's words and their bond, everything that had been bothering her for a while made her arrange this dinner, it was supposed to clear things out between the two sisters, to reconcile them like the good old days she missed, whereas it did nothing. It rather proved her wrong, implying that she possibly meant nothing to her sister. The realization hit hard and she felt like she hit rock bottom. It hurt.

"I'm glad you at least know that I exist." Sidharth opened the door for her, with a taunt attached.

"You're too much!" She replied, getting in the car.

"Am I? 3 din se itni kya busy thi tu? Ki shaam ko bhi time nahi hai tere paas?" He asked and she laughed in return.

"Stop whining like a girlfriend!" She said and he glared at her in return.

"Yaar mai busy nahi thi, bas thak jati thi shaam- raat tak. Mann nahi karta tha bahar jane ka!" She replied, standing for her reasons.

"Oh yeah? Ab mere sath jane ka bhi mann nahi karta tha tera." He spat, still mad.

"Sorry baba. Dekh abhi aayi na mai tere sath, aise muh mat fula. Bata kaha ja rahe hai hum?" She tried to cheer him up.

"Hum beach pe ja rahe hai." He replied, driving them through the streets towards their not so usual route.

"Beach? Haye, tereko pata hai na mujhe pani se darr lagta hai!" She worriedly mentioned.

"Mann toh kar raha hai, phir bhi nahi fekunga tujhe pani me." He replied and she looked at him, trying to figure out how serious he was about what he just said.

"Utar." He said, gesturing to her to open the door once they reached.

"Sidharth pani ke paas nahi." She replied.

"Arey nahi fekunga pani me, itna gehra toh hai bhi nahi." He chuckled as her face was struck with horrific expressions.

"Toh gehrai ki baatein kyu kar raha hai?" She squinted her eyes, asking.

"Aise hi." He shrugged and his attitude only confirmed the terrible thoughts she was getting.

"Na! Nahi jana maine." She replied, holding onto the seat belt tight.

"Arey!" He laughed, smirking inside his head, who's laughing now.

He held her hand and dragged her out of the car towards the entrance and they stood there for a while under the trees, enjoying the breeze under the shady sky. Her racing heartbeats had slowed down and she began to enjoy the after sunset scene until he caressed her hairs back to their place when the wind was disturbing her view.

"You okay? Amrit ne kuch bola?" He asked her, taking a hold of her hand.

"Mhm." She shook her head, shrugging and stepping slightly away from him, afraid her heart might misinterpret his sympathetic gestures for something he never meant to convey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strings Of Love
Chapter 37

It's finally here.. I'm sorry for the delay.. was caught up in an unforeseen situations in the family.. happy Diwali and happy Bhai dooj people..❤️

But the chapters here.. what do you have to say about Sidharth's realization dawning in the speed of a cycle.. anyways.. it is what it is.. slow and steady wins the race haina??

And Shehnaaz.. koi hug Karo usko Jake.. she needs one badly.. well a sweetheart like her deserves the world.. doesn't she? Kya karu iss Amrit ka?