Fitoor

Chapter 4

Mishti Bose

I sighed into my pillow as I heard Kuhu scream for the nth time again. Gosh this lady! I don't know how I and Maanav actually handled her all these 6 years. Like seriously, this girl is a witch! And her voice, it ain't like Mangeshkar's melody. It's more like a metal screeching against tar road.

"Tujhe ho kya gaya tha? Mai aur wo bestfriends kab hue? And wait a minute, bachpan se? Tumhe aur tumhare excuses ko na award milna chahiye. The dumbest asshole slash human being on the whole planet! Nahi galaxy! Subah kya phook ke hospital gayi thi?" She yelled.

"Bas kar meri maa! Ab to tere "dream boy" ko direct bestfriend post milgaya meri wajah se. Thoda to khush reh. Meri zindagi to doobte titanic jahaj ki tarah hogayi hai." I said getting worried.
What did that demon mean when he went into all supervillain mode!
'Iska badla mai zaroor lunga' My ass!

"Oye! Tu kyu 'mera pehla pyaar adhoora reh gaya rifatbi' wala anjali hogayi hai? Tujhe to lottery lag gayi yaar. Kabootar ko maine aim kiya tha par wo tere jhaal me phas gaya. Abir Bharadwaj talked to you face to face! It's first time in history that he spoke to someone properly!" She exclaimed, all her anger draining out.

"Sorry to break your imaginary Abir Bharadwaj bubble par wo na mujhe "komolika style" warning de raha tha." I said slapping her arm.
"Kaun? Kisko?" Maanav landed on my bed along with his roshgulla bowl.
"Tu kab aaya?" I asked taking a scoop of it. He squatted my hand.

"Tum logon ko to mera fikar hai nahi. Isiliye mai hi aagaya." He stated.
"Sorry yaar. Ye ghabra rahi thi to hum pehle hospital pahunch gaye." Kuhu added as she sat beside us.
"Haa haa dekha maine. Kaise dono flash aur wonder-woman ban gaye." He riled me up.

"Aye gadhedo. Iske saamne wo DC ke baare me baat mat karna yaar. Phir se shuru hojayegi ki kaun pant ke upar chaddi pehenta hai." Kuhu groaned.
"Huh! That's exactly what I was gonna say. DC sucks! And I'm the best." I flipped my hair and grabbed his bowl.
"Haa aur mai bahubali hu." He said.

We were sitting in my room after Maa got discharged. Dadi was taking care of her while Baba was complaining about rash road driving. And in the middle, Maa was praising that donkey. Thinking about him made me so angry.

"Tch tch tch. Chaubees (24) saal ke umar me hi tu apna dimaag aur buddhi dono kho diya. Bechari." Maanav started to pat my hair as I pushed him from my bed. He landed directly on his butt and groaned in pain.
"Aur tu apna spinal cord check karwale." I showed my tongue to him.
"Dimaag aur buddhi dono same hote haina?" I heard Kuhu saying.

"Piku! Ek minute neeche aana." Maa called as I smirked at Maanav.
"Aayi Maa." I shouted and stepped outside my room leaving those two monkeys.
As I descended down, I noticed Maa talking about that irritating jackass.
"Tu hi batana Baba ko. Abir Bharadwaj was the one who saved me." Maa gushed.
Ugh!

"Who? That arrogant fellow? Are Nitya mai bol raha hu na. Humara Bose group of companies aur unke Bharadwaj industries ke beech me saalo purani dushmani hai. Aise kaise ab mai opinion change karu? Apani kibhabhe kotha balen?" He asked.
(Kaise baatein karti ho tum?)

"Exactly Baba. Mai bhi wahi bol rahi hu. Aapki biwi na sirf naam ke liye lawyer hai. Kisiko bhi trust karti hai. Tumi jaana? Emonki Maa take barite dekhechilna." I said keeping my hands on my waist.
(Aapko pata hai? Maa ne usko ghar bhi bula liya.)

Maa just stared at me bitching about her right infront of her.
"Teri problem kya hai bhai? Mera ghar, meri marzi. Mai usko ghar lootne ke liye nahi bulaya. Sirf khaana khaane ke liye. Baap beti aise baat kar rahe ho jaise ki maine kisi ka khoon karliya." She scoffed and took off towards kitchen.

"Agent 420." Baba whispered.
"Yes agent 840." I whispered back as we scrutinised Maa.
"Daal me kuch to peela hai." Baba said.
"Are Baba! Tai na! Daal me kuch to kaala hai. Kis type ke detective ho yaar aap." I shoved his hand.
(Aisa nahi.)
"Are are. Galti hojata hai kabhi kabhi." He replied.

"Okay agent. I'm on the mission. Report back at 8:00 PM sharp. Kyunki suspect Anupama dekhne me busy honge." I said whispering.
"Done agent." He gave me a thumbs up as Dadi smacked my head.
"Jaake khaana banana. Teri Maa hospital se aayi hai. Aajkal ke bacche." She sighed and went back to her room.

Me and Baba looked at each other and giggled our hearts out.

Abir Bharadwaj

"How dare she! What does she even think of herself! She obviously doesn't know ki mai kaun hu." I huffed for the nth time as Pranav snickered.
"Tu kya has raha hai?" I glared at him and he laughed more.
"Amma!" I whined again and Maa came with a full plate of samosa.

"Pranav! Anna ko kyu ched rahe ho? Jao assignment complete karo." She scolded as Pranav showed his tongue.
"Dekha. I'm her favourite son." I showed off and rested my head on her shoulder.
"Haa haa. Hogaya tera weekly show of affection?" He rolled his eyes.
"Pranav!" Amma scolded.

"Baat to sahi hai." Appa added as he sat on the sofa.
"Aap log aise keh rahe ho jaise ki maine aap sabko das saal se dekha hi nahi. Aap hi to support kiya na jab maine business takeover kiya." I scolded.
"Humne support kiya. So that you'd be happy. Par tujhe to ab ghar ka bilkul khayal nahi hai Abir. Jab dekho laptop me kuch na kuch karte rehte ho." Amma complained.

"When was the last time you properly had a conversation with us?" She asked.
"Yesterday. Subah aapko bolke-" I replied boringly but was cut off by Amma.
"Haa. Aur mujhe Kunal ko phone karna pada. Kyunki aap breakfast bina khaye hi chale gaye the." She pinched my nose.

"Amma! I'm telling you us idiot se zyada baat mat karna." I warned her as she giggled.
"Pata hai Amma aaj kya hua?" Pranav asked dramatically as I hit his head with a pillow.
"Are! Don't fight like kids now." Appa said.

"Kisi ladki ne Anna pe chai phek diya." He laughed like a pig going through constipation.
"Shut up!" I scolded.
"Oh my god!" Appa too joined him now. Ugh! This is what happens when daily soap actors become your family members. Drama!

"I swear mai tera muh tod dunga." I said in anger and Pranav scooped closer to Appa.
"By the way, she's Nitya's daughter?" Amma asked.
"Haa. Wait, aap Nitya Bose ko kaise jaante ho?" I asked confusion laced in my voice.
"Aye duffer! Connect the dots bro. Wo Bengali aunty jisse Amma used to be obsessed with when we lived in Kolkata. Yaad aaya?" Pranav questioned.

Ohhhhh! That's why Appa considered her decision.
"Then why didn't you tell me?" I asked him.
"Kuch kehne se pehle hi tu to nikal gaya Mithun ke office se. And thank god you did. You saved her." Appa smiled.
"Haa. Phir kya hua? Uski beti ne mujhpar chai phenki." I grumbled.

"Abir, shayad tum dono ki beginning kharab rahi ho. Nitya ki beti se yahi ummeed thi. Because she's as fierce as her mother. Mere hisaab se tum dono acche dost hosakte ho." Amma said truthfully.
I felt like jumping inside an empty well when she said that. Me and that Shurpanaki? Friends? Huh!

"Maanna padega. Ladki me guts hai." And then she chuckled. I stood up annoyed and went straight up to my room. These people don't even know when to support me and stop ranting about that Rakshasi. She's literally a demon. Or else who throws a hot steaming tea on a handsome face!

Sighing I sat down and opened my laptop to finish my presentation for the meeting. The deal had to be finalised as it could bring our shares up in the market. We could get more goodwill and fame in the society due to this one deal. And it was with the foreign delegates.

Finally my dream project would come true. As soon as I finished it, I checked time and found it to be 12:48 AM. Rubbing my eyes I pressed exit button. But when I was about to close the laptop, I saw a folder of old pictures. If what Amma said to be true, then we'd have pictures of them.

Immediately I opened the album and scrolled down to 2007. That's when we lived in Kolkata. I was just 10 years old. That's why I took time in recognising Nitya aunty. It has been 14 years since we moved to Bangalore. But as I went through the pictures, the moments flew back. I smiled as I saw me, her, and Vijay uncle sitting in the tram.

But the next picture shook me. It was of me and a girl of my age. I was pulling her hair and she was stomping my shoes. Both were glaring at each other. And the next picture made me giggle so much that my stomach started paining and tears brimmed in my eyes.

It was Mishti crying out loud while sitting in a mud pool and me standing in a corner smirking evilly.

To be continued