||~~The Brewer's Girl~~||

👼Lean on me👼

☺Chapter - 17 ☺

❤Dedicated to LoviLily26 for sticking around and supporting this story. I see you and I appreciate you. Thank you❤

  ❤Lean on me❤

Aashna

Kabir's like the water surface, whom I can only touch and not dive into. Like a loose hand on top of water which only gets heavier going deeper into the water. I'm always pushed to the surface by him. Of course he apologised and gave me his reasons which I couldn't deny. He was right and unique of a man.

A man who is everything I want but can't have in his entirety.

"Kabir are you upstairs? Come down!" Kalpana Aunty's voice calls out and we snap out of the unknown space wherever we have gone together. It's now that I've become aware that we're still standing on the stairs. The rain on the terrace has turned into a light shower but the wind is flipping everything weightless left and right. He quickly closes the door to the terrace and starts going downstairs.

"Ya I am coming mom."

I stop him, holding his elbow, "You go, I will just umm..." I don't know whether I should go with him because I've said good night to aunty just an hour back. What will she think if she knows I am here with Kabir? Will she think I am chasing him again?

"Don't worry, come. She knows." He blinks at me and I take my hand back from his elbow, following him and registering the fact that all this time I spent with aunty from yesterday, she knew who I really am and what past we've experienced. I knew there's something that has changed in the way she looked at me earlier.

"Kabir!" Aunty exclaims in surprise as she looks at her son. I can understand her sweet delight at Kabir's short hair.

"When did you come and how did this happen!" She clasps her mouth with both her hands and I smile at her when she meets my eyes with an unbelievable look.

"I guess it was time mom.", he shrugs and we all shudder at the loud noise of thunder which breaks into the sky. Winds are crazy tonight, the light showers of rain are blowing from the opening in the verandah near the staircase. I feel the raindrops on my fingers, giving the son and the mother a moment for them to hug.

Kabir cutting his hair is an announcement to a better change coming and Kalpana aunty recognizes it very well and even Kabir can see how happy she is as she lovingly embraces him. I smile to myself and close my fist, catching a raindrop and sending a silent wish up there to protect this family at all cost.

But there's always one more bend at the road of life. Just when you think life has hit a safe, straight section and you can hit 'cruise' , you end up steering around a hairpin with a lethal tumble into a dark void as your reward for complacency.

My eyes are closed when I first hear the wails which always sends me to anxiety. It's coming from inside the house and we all run towards Riddhu's bed where she was supposed to be sleeping in Aunty's room. My heart is beating fast as I watch Kabir gather Riddhi in his arms and aunty switch on all the lights of the room. I sit on the other side of the bed, my hand resting on her forehead, checking it for any fever. Her skin feels feverish with sweat but the temperature is cool. She is crying and hiccuping at the same time, her small body rounding into a foetal position in the large hands of Kabir.

"Shh...baby it's okay princess, daddy's here look!" Kabir is soothing her while I watch aunty come up with her bottle of milk.

I feel very disturbed and concerned for my Rui ka gola.