ShiVi: A Collection Of Short Stories.

bippity-boppity-boo (drabble)

A prompt I discussed with Sof ages ago, decided to use it for Sri's birthday.

Happy birthday, Srijudi ❤️

.....

Shiva tallied the accounts at the store, while Raavi managed the front desk, when their little munchkin picked up a bar of chocolate.

"Can I have this, Mumma? Please?" 4 year old Aradhya, with her tiny pigtails, peeked over the counter, and her mother smiled.

"Of course, sweetheart!" Raavi smiled, until she heard clinking of coins.

"Mumma, I put 10 coins, okay? See, 1....2..." Her baby girl counted the coins in her hand to 'pay' at the counter, and Raavi shook her head.

"Meri choti chipkali," Shiva ruffled her hair, and picked up all the coins, "Ye dukaan humara hi toh hai. Aapko pay karne ki koi zaroorat nahi."

He picked Aradhya up in his arms and kissed her cheek, earning a smile just like her mother's.

"But I want to pay." Aradhya pouted, and Raavi smiled.

"Okay ma'am!" She chuckled and wrote her a receipt, keeping the coins in her purse to put back in her Disney piggyback. "Here's your receipt, thank you for shopping, ma'am!"

Aradhya smiled and picked up the receipt, getting down from Shiva's arms and sat on a nearby chair, admiring it like it was the most precious piece of paper on this planet.

Just then, Anita's message popped up on Raavi's phone, and Aradhya took notice of the recent picture of her son she had just sent Raavi.

"Mumma, Anita Maasi ke paas small baby hai na?" She asked, and Raavi nodded.

"Yes. He's 2 months old."

"Mai bhi small baby thi?"

"Haa, darling. Mumma aur Papa ne aapko godi mein bhi uthaya hai hospital mein."

"Babies kaha se aate hai, Mumma?"

Raavi widened her eyes and looked at Shiva, not expecting her to ask this question today. Shiva looked back at Raavi, as they tried to remember the stork story, but they weren't able to cook up anything.

"Papa!" Aradhya tugged on Shiva's shirt, "Batao na! Babies kaha se aate hai?"

Shiva was taken back to the night they had possibly conceived their little sunshine, and grumbled 'Pandya Store' under his breath.

Suddenly, Aradhya got down from her chair and started opening all the boris in the store, peeking into them and then moving onto the next one.

Shiva and Raavi looked on, confused, as their baby girl Pandya started to untie all boris and look for something in them.

"Kya dhundh rahe ho, Janu?"

"Babies."

"Hein?"

"Papa said babies come from Pandya Store. Can we take one more baby? I want one brother."

Raavi blinked in shock, and Shiva face-palmed himself, knowing his daughter had heard him earlier.

"Aaru, babies don't come from Pandya Store."

"Then?"

"They come from Mumma's tummy." Shiva pointed at Raavi, and Aradhya walked over to her, and poked her belly.

"Is there a baby now?"

"I hope not." Raavi mumbled under her breath, reminiscing their amorous activities from a few weeks ago.

"Mumma, is there a baby now?"

"No sweetheart, no baby."

"Papa, can you put a baby in mumma's belly?"

Shiva's face reddened in embarrassment, and he closed his eyes shut, signing Raavi from behind to divert Aradhya's attention.

"Aaru, why don't we do one thing?" Raavi flushed red as Janhavi poked her cheeks, "Why don't you bring your Baby Emma Doll that Papa bought, we'll make her your baby, okay?"

Aradhya's eyes lit up in excitement, "Okay Mumma!" She clapped, and grabbed her chocolate before holding her Krish Chachu's hand to go him, who had just arrived to pick her up.

"Aaj toh itni garmi nahi hai, tum log laal kyu ho gaye?"

"Ho rahi hai humko garmi, hum toh barf ke aulaad hai. Tujhe kya?"

"Bakwaas kara lo isse, bas." Krish grumbled, holding Aradhya's hand and taking her home.

Raavi sighed in relief, grabbing a bottle of water and gulping it down, chuckling at the actions of her daughter, now that she thought about it.

"Usko laga bacche Pandya Store pe milte hai." Raavi laughed as Shiva tied all the boris again.

Shiva smirked and reached for the shutter, closing it in a jiffy. He walked towards Raavi and grabbed her by her waist, pulling her closer.

"Milte toh hai."

"Kaise?"

"Batau kaise?" Shiva whispered, nipping her ear. "Batane lag gaya toh Choti Chipkali 2.0 ho jaayegi."

"Chotu Bhoothnath 1.0 ho gaya toh?" Raavi kissed his cheek and looped her arms around his neck. "Aur uss bechari ko kaise pata ki Papa ne sahi bola tha."

"Accha?"

"Pandya Store mein hi toh hui thi Aradhya, hai na Shiva?" She batted her eyelashes, and Shiva would have taken her right there and then, if it wasn't for the broad daylight and working hours.

"Tujhe toh ghar pe dekhta hu."

"Dekh lenge, bhoothnath. Dekh lenge."

.....