Tales of SaiRat (Completed)

Pleas_A SaiRatLekha OS

Suppressing yet another yawn, he idly turned a page in the book his thumb held in place before him. He was not interested in what was written in there in the slightest, the words seemed to prance from the book and swim before his eyes; he lifted his vision from the thick parchment blotted with black spots that would make sense to him in different circumstances and landed it upon the table in the corner and the girl sitting on a chair near it. Her jet black hair fell down like a veil onto her pink kurti. The only sounds audible on this night were his constant yawns, the revolving fan heavenwards, the not-so-constant flicking of pages, and the scratching of a pen against paper.

"Sai," he called out for the umpteenth time.

Without bothering to turn around, she hummed, addressing the books with thick spines before her.

"Sai," he said again, not having received the response he desired.

Who was he fooling? He's not going to receive her attention if he constantly pesters her, but he couldn't care less about logic right now.

"Hmmph!" she responded in a higher, more irritated pitch.

"Sai, suno na (Sai, listen to me)..." he implored.

"Mere kaan khule hain, aap boliye (My ears aren't blocked, say it)," she snapped, turning a page in her book.

Perhaps he should've not tried his luck anymore - the volcano within her could erupt any moment - yet humans never learn from their mistakes, at least this one did not.

"Kaan toh khule hain par tum sunti kahan ho (Indeed, your ears aren't blocked, but are you listening)?" he replied, as though none could be more innocent than him.

She did not respond to that. For a good five minutes, the only sounds heard in the room were of the fan and the scratching of the pen.

"Sai," he called out her name again.

"Kya hai (What's it)?!" she shot at him, not once lifting her eyes from her books.

"Yeh toh... tumhe bhi pata hai ki kya hai (You... know what it is)," he addressed the bedsheet, circling his finger alongside it.

Suddenly, she clicked her pen shut, slammed her books in their places and stood up so abruptly that the chair slid back on its own. Perhaps she had finally decided to give what he sought.

He pushed the book in his hands away, anticipating his requests to be fulfilled.

But perhaps he was wrong, or should we say he was certainly wrong?

She stood before the bed, arms akimbo, glaring at him.

"Ky-
Kya hua ( Wh-  what happened)?" he stammered, sweeping a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at her.

"Kya hua (What happened)?" she asked, seeming genuinely curious, but he wasn't so dumb as to not take that as a warning.

"Ky-
Kya hua? Kuchh bhi toh... toh nahi hua (Wh-  what happened? Nothing... nothing did)," he said through failed attempts at a good-humoured laugh.

"Sachchi (Really)?!" she said, giggling.

He nervously laughed in response. She started laughing louder, a mirthless laugh being enlisted in the list of sounds heard tonight.

"Kuchh... nahi... hua (Nothing... happened)..." she managed to say through laughs that couldn't cheer him, ever.

All of a sudden, she stopped, and began walking towards him. He shifted back an inch or so, gulping. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. Though there was no verbal warning, the air around her seemed to shout, "Beware, you unaware, towards thee comes your doom!"