Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Part Fifty Two

"You were in Paris? How?" Gauri asked as soon as her breakfast was done, "You texted me that the flight was going to take off and that you'll be sleeping through the flight?" Omkara handed the tablet to her along with the glass of water, asking her to take it. "Well, I did board the flight to Delhi after my boarding pass was scanned," Omkara started as he recalled the events of last evening.

Omkara said, "For some reason, there was a delay in taking off. One of my acquaintances was the air hostess, and I asked her what was causing the delay. You remember when I video-called you from the airport and showed you a couple, where the guy was proposing to the girl?" Gauri nodded with a small frown, wondering what that had to do in connection with this whole episode.

Omkara continued, "Okay, so from what I heard, the girl who was being proposed was set to have an arranged marriage in Delhi. The guy, who was proposing to her, was her boyfriend in Germany. When she said yes to him, she didn't think through the whole wedding setup that was waiting for her back at her home. Now, this boyfriend of hers wasn't allowing her to board the plane to Delhi nor did he have a ticket on this flight. The girl's uncle who was accompanying her was not in favour of her staying back. And so, this whole Hungama delayed the flight by forty-five minutes. But then, guess who came to the rescue?"

"You?" Gauri asked in shock, and when he nodded, she asked, "Why? I mean, I am really thankful that you weren't on that flight. But there were so many other people on the flight; what made you go to their rescue?"

Omkara shrugged, "I don't know. I just don't know what prompted me to do such a thing. I mean, I booked the flight ticket in advance after pleading Mitali a lot so I could reach back home at the earliest. I just don't know what prompted me to give my seat up and offer my ticket to that guy –Abhimanyu Raheja, who readily exchanged his boarding pass to Paris with mine to Delhi. Maybe it was a result of Daadi's infamous ishqbaazi lectures she's been giving us three brothers all our lives, that I stepped up to play cupid."

"But you could have at least texted me? By the way, where's your phone?" Gauri asked with a small frown. Omkara shrugged, "I deboarded the flight to Delhi and came back to the terminal to board the Paris flight with Raheja's boarding pass in hand. Before I boarded, I wanted to go to the loo. I left my hand luggage and my phone near the washbasins and went to use the restroom. Thankfully my passport and the boarding pass were in my coat pocket. By the time I came back, my phone was gone. I had to report it to the authorities, and they said they'd see what they could do. I wanted to call and inform you or Shivaay, but I thought since it was after midnight, I wouldn't bother anyone. Anyway, I would reach Mumbai around the same time as planned earlier. But the moment I landed at Roissy Airport, I heard about the crash and went 'What the actual fuck! Did I just skip death?' That's when I decided to call Shivaay and inform him, knowing that if not anyone, he would've gotten the news. Plus, I thought since you had a fever last night, you'd sleep through and I would talk to you first thing in the morning. Everything changed when Rudra came to pick me up and informed me about what happened here when the news of the crash was out."

Omkara carefully examined the injury of her hand as he slowly moved the bandage away. The skin had peeled off pretty bad and her bandage was slightly bloody. He glared at her for being reckless, and she simply shrugged saying it wasn't as bad as it looked like. "Hey! You almost died, okay? This is nothing in front of the shock that you gave us all!" she retorted.

He looked at her and rolled his eyes, making her grin. "No, but still, I'm thinking what made you get off the flight in the nick of time. I do feel sorry for everyone else on the Delhi flight, but I guess, this is called luck?" Omkara shrugged, "Luck, destiny, fate, blessings, miracle. Call it what you want. I'm here right now. Although, I think about all those people on the flight. You know, there were three to four children, babies in the flight. They didn't deserve to be there; in fact, none of them deserved such a tragic end."