ShiVi FS - Rewrite The Stars

part 2

She went over to the swing set they had to the side that was connected to a treehouse. Raavi noticed Arnav was already climbing the small rock wall to get inside as she sat on one of the swings. It shouldn't be intimidating to talk to a kid, but he was supposed to be her son. She didn't know what to say or if she should say anything at all.

When Raavi heard something inside the treehouse, she looked up. Through the doorway, she noticed him digging through a box of toys. Her attention was pulled away by Shiva's voice talking to the little girl she still didn't know the name of.

He was standing a few feet away from her wearing a glove. The girl stood in position, bat in hand waiting for him to pitch. "Okay, are you ready?" When she nodded, Shiva tossed the ball in an underhand pitch to make it easier, but she missed. The girl whined at her failed attempt to hit it and Shiva shook his head. "It's okay. Phirse try karte hain. Keep your eyes on the ball."

Raavi watched the girl throw the ball back and Shiva caught it in his glove. She swayed slightly in the swing, enjoying the sight of him acting like a real father. It wasn't something she expected from him, but it suited him well now that she was able to see it. Raavi heard Arnav above her calling for his mother and it took a moment for her to realize he was talking to her. Being called Mom made her freeze hearing it for the first time, gripping the swing chains. She looked up at him, standing on the balcony of the treehouse.

"Mumma, dekho!" Arnav held up a small chalkboard with messy handwriting that read 'Open' in chalk. He hung it up from the short rope off of the nail that was sticking out of the wood. "The restaurant is open! Yahaan aap jo bhi order karoge, sab milega!"

She couldn't help the smile from spreading across her face, biting down on her lip. Something about her son playing restaurant made her heart almost swell. "Well, do you have a menu I can see?" Raavi watched him climb down the ladder with a piece of notebook paper before he handed it to her with a large grin.

Looking over the menu, she read 'Arnav's cooking' at the top written in blue crayon. Raavi read all four items listed, 'hamburger, pizza, cupcake, and juice.' It was a limited selection, but she still hummed like she was thinking hard about what to order. "Can I have pizza and juice please?" Raavi handed him the menu back as he nodded, going back up into the treehouse.

While she waited for Arnav to come back, she watched Shiva again. He pitched the ball to Ahaana and she swung the bat, hitting the ball into the air. The girl threw the bat to the side as she ran in a circle around the backyard before running into Shiva's arms. She giggled as he lifted her into a hug before putting her back down.

"Mumma, did you see I hit the ball?" Ahaana ran over to the swings with a large smile. Raavi gently rubbed her back when the girl leaned on her, "I did, that was great."

"Ahaana, aur practice karna hai ya saari energy phoos hogayi?" Shiva picked up her bat, twirling it in his hand as he waited for her.

The little girl, who Raavi now knew was Ahaana, ran back to her father and took the bat from him. It seemed like she shared Shiva's love of sports. The more she watched the two of them, the more Ahaana seemed like a smaller version of her once best friend.

"Here you go Mumma!" Arnav came back down from the treehouse and handed her a plastic pizza and a fake juice box. "Maine bohot mehnat se banaya hai!"

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart! Bohot yummy lag raha hai." She took the toy food from him then he started to walk back to his kitchen. "Mere saath khaoge?" Raavi offered.