"Anna, uthoooo... Aaj ke din toh jaldi uthiye." Keerti said in an attempt to wake up a sleeping Raghav.
"Kya hai, Keerti? Sone de na." Raghav said in a sleepy tone.
"Anna, aaj Raksha Bandhan hai. Kitne saalo baad hum saath mein mana rahe hai aur phir bhi aapko excitement nahi hai."
"Aisa nahi hai Keerti." Raghav said getting up.
"Toh phir kaisa hai?"
"Yeh baat hai ki mein kuch bhi nahi bhoola hai aur mein tere se jyaada excited hai."
"Dikh toh nahi rahi hai aapki excitement." Keerti taunted.
"Kyunki Raghav Rao har cheez dikhata nahi hai, Ardhamayinda?"
"Ardhamaindi. Par abhi aap jaake ready ho jao kyunki mujhe Rakhi bandhani hai."
"Haan. Tu bhi jaake ready ho jaa."
"Jaa rahi hoon."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Both of them got ready and came down in traditional wears. Raghav wore a cream color kurta while Keerti wore a Red Anarkali with a yellow dupatta. Amma saw the both of them and put a Kala teeka behind their ears.
"Chalo, jaldi se rasam puri karlo." Amma said giving the Aarti thal to Keerti.
Keerti took the Aarti thal from Amma and looked at Raghav with teary eyes.
"Aee Keerti, emotional drama mat kar. Jaldi kar re Baba, subah Panvel ke liye nikalne ka hai re." Raghav said to lighten up the mood.
"Haan Haan." Keerti said taking the Kumkum in her hand to apply it on Raghav's forehead. "Haath rakho na sir pe ya fir rumal rakh do." Keerti told him and he placed his hand on his head.
Keerti applied the tika and lightly threw the a few raw rice particles on his head. Moving the thali in a circular motion three times, she tied the Rakhi to him.
"Ab mera gift?" Keerti asked.
"Mein aaya na terese Rakhi bandhwane ab aur kya chahiye tereko?"
"Gift chahiye."
"Mera aashirwad hi tera gift hai."
"Bohot ho gaya, ab Gift nikalo." Keerti demanded forwarding her hand and Raghav gave her a low fi.
"Chal tu itna bheekariyon ki tarah maang hi raha hai toh deta hai mein tereko gift."
"Aapne mujhe bheekari bola?"
"Chod na."
"Nahi. Mujhe nahi chahiye." Keerti said trying to go from there when Raghav held her hand.
"Sorry. Chal naa. Surprise hai."
"Kyaa?" Keerti asked excited.
"Surprise hai. Chal jaldi. Amma hum aata hai jaake." Raghav said taking Keerti with him.
They sat in a car and reached their destination around 15 minutes later. Raghav had bought Keerti to a mall.
"Aaj mera pura din tera. First we'll go shopping, then we'll have lunch of your choice after that we'll go for movie then, bowling and then dinner. What say?"
"Wow!! You are the best, Anna." Keerti said hugging him.
They entered the mall and went to a branded store to get clothes for her. She picked some track pants, oversized t-shirts, suits, Anarkali and some track suits for jogging. They even bought a few clothes for Raghav and sarees for Amma and Pallavi. They then went to have Pizza as demanded by Keerti. After a lot of persuading Raghav agreed to have Pizza thus, breaking his diet. They watched a Telugu film and went home after that.
"Let's cancel bowling because, I am tired due to all the shopping. I'll try it some other time." Keerti requested and Raghav agreed to it as he was also tired because, Keerti kept dragging him from one store to another.
--------------------------------------------------------------
On the other hand, Raksha Bandhan celebrations in Deshmukh House were in full swings as Mansi was coming home after a long time.
Pallavi had already sent a Rakhi to Siddhesh and he also sent her a watch as her gift. They did a video call and wished each other a Happy Raksha Bandhan and Pallavi pretended to tie a Rakhi around his hand.
Now it was time for the Raksha Bandhan with the Deshmukh siblings. Mansi and Pallavi did Nikhil's Aarti and tied rakhi to him. As always, they did not expect a gift form his as he was a student but, this year there was a twist in the story.
"Aree, iss baar meine gift laaya hai tum dono ke liye."
"Kaise?" Both asked in unison.
"Woh actually mein pichle mahine se job karne laga hoon aur 1 tarikh ko meri salary bhi aa gayi. Toh isliye meine sab ke liye gifts laaye hai aur khaas kar tum dono ke liye kyunki aaj Raksha Bandhan hai." Nikhil said taking everyone by surprise.
"Why did you not tell us about this?" Mansi asked.
"Because I wanted to surprise you all. So, now take this gift. I know it's not very expensive but, I have bought whatever I could afford." Nikhil said and all of them ran to hug him as they were proud that he understood his responsibilities and worked towards them.
Pallavi opened a gift and saw a set of ear rings while Mansi got a beautiful bracelet. Both of them were overwhelmed by the fact that their brother bought them a gift with his own earnings.
"Did you like it?" Nikhil asked.
"Of course." Pallavi said.
"It's the best gift I have ever received. Thank you, Nikhil." Mansi said still admiring the bracelet.
As Aai had already prepared the lunch, they (Mansi and Pallavi) couldn't cook anything so they decided that they'll cook Hakka Noodles and Manchurian for dinner as it was Nikhil's favorite.
Author's Note - A small chapter dedicated to the siblings!!! I know I should have posted it yesterday and trust me I wanted to but, because I had already written the next chapters, I was confused as to where to fit this in. But, today when someone requested me to write a Raksha Bandhan special, I wrote a separate chapter on it. I wrote it just a couple of minutes back so, there might be a few mistakes.
Date - 12th August 2022.
