Monami wasn't a person who gets irritated easily. However, the force of such rare annoyance made its way to her house and ruin the sunny Sunday morning barely before it began.
"..... Yeh acchi baat nahi hai, Juhi. Mujhe pehle se hi andaza lag jata hai in mamlon mein..."
Richa Desai's voice which was shriller than a police siren infiltrated through Monami's bedroom walls despite the fact that she was an entire floor below. Monami scowled. She didn't want to hear about Tara who had recently called off her engagement, Farhan who failed for the umpteenth time in his class, or the affair between the local policeman and one of the maids in their neighbourhood. But the loud volume was pounding in her head, and she felt hungry. So she decided to go downstairs and face her head-on.
Monami rolled out of her bed and went to the bathroom. She freshened up and tied her hair into a messy bun, her bangs framing her face. Then she crept downstairs, mentally preparing herself to deal with a nosy neighbour.
Richa Desai, an old woman with cropped white hair and shrunken features, was seated at the dining table, sipping her tea in an outrageous yellow tracksuit. Beside her, Monami's mother, Juhi was politely enduring her company, offering a tight smile and a robotic head nod at appropriate times. She had even cleared part of the table, which was usually buried beneath sewing projects and fabric samples.
When Monami used to live in a spacious, four-bedroom house on the other side of the neighbourhood, her mother had two whole rooms dedicated to her dress-making projects. But here in their current house, Juhi's works always seemed to spill from room to room, following them around in their cramped house.
It wasn't that Monami's mother was disorganised, it's just that no one but her could ever figure it out. She was the most organised-disorganised dressmaker in Vaishali Nagar.
Monami swept into the room, drawing attention to herself. "Good morning, Richa Aunty."
Mrs Desai stared at Monami and nodded, "Good morning, Monami beta".
Hash, ab tak sab thik chal raha hai, thought Monami as she went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee when something caught her eye. It was the jar of honey, on the dining table. Monami grabbed a spoon and opened its lid, setting aside the frayed square of cloth that covered it and taking care not to disturb the black velvet ribbon.
Behind her, Mrs Desai was practising her favourite hobby- subtle taunting. "Aj bohot thake huye lag rahi ho, beta," she said to the back of Monami's head.
Aur ye gaya mera Sunday morning, Monami internally cringed as she stuck the heaping spoonful of honey straight in her mouth.
"Abhi abhi uthi hai, coffee peene ke bad itni tired nahi dikhegi ye", Juhi explained. Monami sensed that her mother's patience was finally running out. Even after her father's screw-up, Juhi had not lost her inhuman level of kindness, which meant she was still too polite to turn sixty-something, lonely, annoying Mrs Desai away, even when her conversation mainly consisted of disapprovals and taunting.
"Tumhe lagta hain, Juhi?? Dekho na kitni dubli ho gayi hain ye. Pehle kitna hasti thi, kitna sundar lagti thi."
Seriously? Monami would have liked to give an answer but her politeness stopped her from doing so.
Juhi released a small sigh instead.
Fighting the urge to take her coffee and run, Monami turned around and seated herself at the dining table.
"I hope maine kuch important baat interrupt nahi ki." Monami spoke with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she took her first wonderful sip of coffee.
"Actually, tum ne ki hain. Main tumhari ma ko uss nayi family ke bare mein bata rahi thi, jo log abhi abhi uss Singh Haweli mein shift kiya hain."
Monami was suddenly shocked at her unexpected interest in anything Mrs Desai had to say. An onslaught of questions formed inside her brain? Kahan se aaye hai wo log? Singhs' ke sath kaisa rishta hai? Aap ko yeh sab kaise pata chala?
"Yeh to acchi baat hai..", Juhi said instead.
Mrs. Desai shook her head and stared at the mother-daughter duo. She dropped her voice. "Juhi, tum to janti ho ki mujhe sab pata chal jata hain..jo nahi bhi dikhta ho...wo bhi pata chal jata hi hain... Chhoti bacchi thi tab se..."
Monami snorted into her coffee mug.
Mrs Desai continued, " Kuchh hafte pehle mein Singh Haweli ke samne se guzar rahi thi.... mujhe bura vibes aa raha tha. Wo haweli ab khali nahi raha aur mujhe pata hai yeh acchi baat nahi hain."
Juhi just shrugged in response. Monami considered telling Mrs Desai to chill but the older lady seemed lost, as if in another dimension.
"3 ladke aur ek ladki rehte hai uss haweli mein. Dekhne mein to shareef seedha sadha hi lagta hain par mujhe pata hai andar se kuch aur niklega, dekh lena Juhi." Mrs Desai shook her head and frowned.
"Kya kaha apne, 3 ladke aur ek ladki?" Monami had already seen two of the guys. Well, one of them, sort of. The second one had knocked her down. She frowned at the memory.
Mrs. Desai was, of course, intrigued by Monami's sudden interest. She stared at Monami for a long time, the finally spoke dramatically, "3 ladke aur ek ladki, tumhari umr ke hain sab. Khud dekha hai un logo ko shift karte huye aur ye baat mein guarantee lekar keh sakti hoon, pakka kuch to gadbad karenge ye log. Aafat hain, aafat!"
Kuch aisa hi kaha tha na aap mere papa ke bare mein? Monami wanted to ask but stopped herself. The argument wouldn't be worth it. It never was. And besides, she had gotten all the information she needed: there was a new family of young men in the neighborhood. Koel would squeal with joy at this news. And maybe Sid would try his luck with the new girl, who knows?
Distracted, Monami took her mug and kept in the kitchen sink. "I think having naye padosi is pretty cool, aunty".
"Ismein cool wali baat kya hain?" Mrs Desai shot back at Monami.
Monami turned around. "Ismein not cool bhi kya hain? Vaishali Nagar mein koi aapni marzi se nahi aata hai kabhi. Yeh jagah kitna boring hain compared to other neighbourhoods. Life's so slow here."
"Itna dramatic hone ke koi zarurat nahi hai", Mrs Desai said.
Monami fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"I'm sure wo log bilkul theek thaak hi honge," Juhi finally reasoned.
Mrs Desai was still sporting a frown on her face. "Nahi Juhi, kuch to baat hain. Wo haweli kaafi samay tak khali tha. Aur uski wajah hum sab jaante hain".
"Bhooooot", Monami whispered dramatically.
Mrs Desai rose abruptly from her chair. When she spoke again, her voice was low. " Jitna chake mazaak udalo Monami, but tum savdhaan rehna."
Monami glanced at her mother.
"Musibat musibatein ko kheench ke laate hain", Mrs Desai was muttering without looking at either of them. "Aur jo tumhare papa ne kiya hai, behtar hoga ki..."
"Bass, Mrs Desai!" Juhi rose from her chair fixing the old lady with a dark look. "Monami khud ko handle kar sakti hain. Koi chhoti bacchi nahi hain wo."
"Haan", Monami echoed, her mind a million miles away. She was thinking how she had jumped straight into trouble last night. The pain in her knees resurfaced at the memory.
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A/N: Hi, hope y'all are doing good and enjoying this story. There are lot of mysteries left to unfold. As for MoRan, I'm warning you it'll be a slow-burn romance, but I assure you that it'll be worth the wait. Just be patient and stick with the story.
Guess the 3 guys and the girl.
Vote and comment. I would love to read your feedback.
Ignore mistakes. Thank You!❤️
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Now We Got Bad Blood
FanfictionFor Monami, it's a long dull summer in the Mumbai suburbs, until four mysterious people move into her neighbourhood. A chance encounter with one of them leaves her breathless. But as buried secrets emerge, Monami's new world shatters. Now she realis...
