Under the moonlight

• 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦

I promise upcoming chapters will be better!

Noise of the city getting back to its feet woke Karishma up. She yawned, stretched her limbs, and switched sides every second, hating the fact that it was morning already and she had to wake up.

A sharp pain hit her wounds. She cupped her own face with her palms and tried recollecting senses. She met with an accident, then a man helped him. And he happened to be her new neighbour. She remembered his name Vyom, his face - a slight stubble, with messy hair and strands resting on his forehead. His tall figure, and the manly cologne.

She jerked away whatever next thoughts were about to hit her mind. Karishma managed to push herself out of the bed and went towards the washroom.

She did her daily chores and then went towards the living room. She was surprised to see so many bags over there and took a moment to realize they were Anubhav's..

She was overjoyed and tried to run towards his room, but stumbled due to the enjuries. However, composing herself back she entered his room only to see him lying on his bed with the help of his stomach.

"Bhaiyaaa" she sang in his ears.

"umhmm!! what's the matter with you" he said annoyed, and half asleep

"wake up!! see I got injured, I met with an accident last night"

He thought she was pulling a prank so he turned his head towards the other side and went back to sleep but Karishma being Karishma pulled his hair tightly, waking him up.

"Yeh dekho" she said as she showed her bandages as if they were some showpiece.

"what the.... how did it happen? Karishma I've told you so many times to be a little less clumsy !! are these injuries too deep?"

Anubhav bombarded her with a lot of questions which she listened to patiently, and then narrated the last night incident to him.

"Wait so Vyom helped you?"

"yes, but I've never heard of him before.. he's your friend?"

"No not precisely my 'friend', but yes he's a good man. You remember Rituraj Singh?"

"Nope!" She replied pouting.

"When our dad was posted in Jammu as the General-Major of the Indian Army, Rituraj uncle was his collegue who was posted in another bunker nearby. They nailed few missions together, and dad usually visited his house to meet his wife and 3 year old son. But during an anti-terrorist strike, Rituraj uncle was shot dead."

He looked at Karishma who was listening to him with keen interest, and he continued

"So dad took me to his home to personally announce the news of Rituraj uncle's death to his wife and son. As he uncovered the news, his wife definitely broke down for a few minutes but then composed herself as a strong woman, and very boldly went ahead to lite her husband's pyre herself. Her name was Pushpa Singh.. Vyom is her son.. He was 7 years old at that time, I saw him breaking down in a fit of tears not after hearing the news of his father, but after seeing his mother cry.. He was too young, but destiny made him way too mature for his age.."

Anubhav walked out of his room and Karishma followed him as he continued.

"I met Vyom again during my recent visit to Lucknow. He has been selected as the Lieutenant in the Indian Army. I am so proud to know that he has excelled so much in life.. He had to move here to Delhi before his actual work and training starts.. The house next to ours, belongs to Rituraj uncle also as he bought it but never got a chance to live here, so I decided to hand him the keys of his late father's house and it would be lovely to reconnect with him"

"Ohh" Karishma said surprised. "So Vyom is now in the Indian Army?"

"Yes"

"Great, and bhaiya how is your work going on? Are you planning to ditch more dinners with me?"

"Karishma I'm an officer in the RAW for God's sake, I'm working for the country and I do have to visit a lot of cities for work"

Karishma just mimicked a mocking face at him, as he munched the bread in front of him. The doorbell rang and Anubhav opened the door.

"Vyom" He exclaimed loudly.

Karishma who was about to go towards her room, stopped in her tracks as soon as she heard his name.

She turned around, however avoiding any sort of contact with him. She didnt know why was she suddenly acting like a maniac but it was the fact that she was super grateful to Vyom for taking care of her in the car and not merely taking advantage of the situation.

"Hello Anubhav bhaiya, how are you?"

"I'm good Vyom, I was just coming to meet you. Come inside!"

Vyom stepped inside their house and walked in Karishma's direction.

"How are your wounds Karishma" he asked in a plain voice like usual.

"They are alright.. thanku"

He looked straight into her eyes.. his deep black eyes meeting her brown ones, while Karishma nervously fidgeted some random paper clips..

Her morning face looked tired and exhausted already. She had messy hair which were pushed behind her ears in a very untidy manner.

Anubhav however broke his trance as he re-initiated a conversation with Vyom.

"I came to know that you helped Karishma last night. Thankyou so much for this my friend, I'll forever be grateful to you" Anubhav said

"Come on, stop thanking me all of you.. I just did what was necessary at the moment.. You dont need to thank me again and again there's nothing too great about it"

"btw I told Karishma about your selection in the army" Anubhav said and Vyom turned to cast a glance at Karishma who was already staring at him.

She smiled at him in return.

Anubhav went towards the kitchen to get some water and something to eat, for Vyom.. Meanwhile Vyoshma were left alone in the living room.. An awkward silence prevailed, as both of them did not know how to continue with the conversation.

Vyom looked around the living room silently while Karishma pretended to be busy in her phone. She looked in Vyom's direction and scanned the '6ft tall figure' standing infront of her.

Sweatbands were visible on his forehead as if a proof of his extensive morning workout. His hair were neatly set in the 'army cut' style today and were suiting him a lot.

While she was busy stalking him, he looked at her and Karishma got alarmed within a second of what she was doing.. Covering up her 'stalking-embarrassment' she tried to initiate a conversation

"I hope you were comfortable last night in your new house"

"Ahhh dont begin, I barely got a sleep. I assume because the house was closed for such a long period of time, it has a lot of damps on the walls and the broken furniture too!!"

At that very moment Anubhav came out of the kitchen, with a plate of omlette and bread in his hands, and a frown on his forehead.

"Vyom if you arent comfortable, I assume you should shift here and live a few days with us till we get some repair work done in that house"

Vyom stood there, frozen and with wide eyes. While Karishma just choked on the water she was about to gulp.

They looked momentarily at each other, no one knowing what to respond next.

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Hey guys, I hope you are all doing fine. Pardon me for the boring chapters, I promise the upcoming ones are gonna be good but I need to build up the plot. Vote, comment and share this story if you like it. Have a great day :)