A Familiar Love- A Radhakrishn Retelling

2. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖬𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀

~Eight years later~

Her once big, happy family was now reduced to a small one. Having suffered so much loss in a short period of time had made them all suppress sorrow which often came out in the form of anger.

Her beloved great grandfather, her grandfather and his brother had all passed away in a short duration of time. Their family barely got any time to recover from the loss before another struck. She had managed to survive through all that, witnessing the regular fights in her house, seeing her grandma cry, seeing her father regret after the fights, seeing her mother trying to maintain some peace but fail, seeing her great grandmother wish she was gone instead of her kids and husband. No, her family didn't fight everyday and yes, there were many-many happy moments too but the fights were regular enough to take a toll on her.

No, she didn't become bitter or angry, but deep down she was sad. She yearned for love that her family sometimes forgot about. But she didn't think it was fair to ask for it, thinking that in this world, she is still lucky to have a family. At least her parents were together, at least her grandma was there, at least she could still call them her family. Yes they fought but didn't every family have fights?.

And so she would convince herself that she was better off than most people and it wasn't fair to them to ask for anything more. But all this made her distant from the one being that was her comfort and joy growing up, her Kanha.

~

"I'm leaving, bye dadi" Radha yelled from the front door.

"Have at least a biscuit before leaving!" Her grandma yelled desperately at her, wanting her granddaughter to not leave on an empty stomach.

"Sorry! I'm late, I'll miss my bus"

She said and rushed out, hoping to catch the school bus on time.

Finally settling down in her seat, she glanced out the window and sighed, she really needed to start sleeping on time.

She closed her eyes, one particular strand of hair irritating her as she angrily pushed it away. It was weird, she had that strand irritating her ever since she could remember and it refused to go away. She had tried cutting it but it grew out again the next morning, she had tried growing it out to push it into her ponytail but it would spring back out to the same length it was. She had even gotten into trouble at school due to her hair not being in place.

Finally giving up on her hair she decided to take a nap, her friend wouldn't be coming today so she would have to be alone, not that she minded. In fact, she preferred getting some alone time in the bus, it gave her time to look outside and just be.

Soon enough she reached school and spotted her friends in the class. She set her bag down on her seat and leaned over the table to talk to them.

A bunch of hey's rang in greeting as they noticed her presence, and then went back to their conversation which she couldn't be bothered to tune into. She just stood there, nodding along every now and then and then sat down as the teacher entered.

"Students, we have a new student joining us today, please make him feel welcomed and help him out with navigation around the school for a few days" She said.

Every gaze turned to the door and a boy entered. Radha's eyes widened as she took him in, his eyes reminded her of the lotus eyes she so often dreamed of, his smile seemed as familiar to her as water does to a fish and the sky to a bird, his coal curls brought back memories she didn't know she had and an overwhelming feeling of pain and happiness overcame her. Without realizing, a tear fell down her face as she continued to stare at the boy, a painful smile adorned her features when she felt a nudge break her out of her trance. She blinked and turned towards Aanya, her best friend,

"Are you okay?" Aanya asked concern evident in her tone

" Huh?What?" Radha replied confused

"You are crying, is everything fine?" She said

That's when she realised that a trail of tears was making its way down her cheek, she wiped it confused as to what had happened.

"Yeah I'm fine, something was just in my eye" she lied as Aanya nodded.

Radha glanced back at the boy, why had she felt so much so suddenly on seeing him? What had just happened? She blinked, confused at her actions but it left her mind the moment she heard her friend Priya call her from the seat behind.

She turned around and engaged herself in a conversation with her.

His eyes searched around for her, his beloved, the one he had been yearning to see for so long. His eyes landed on a girl, her back towards him and he started walking in her direction.

He stood in front of her desk but she failed to notice him still, that is until he ever so softly whispered her name,

"Radhe"

Her breath hitched and her eyes involuntarily closed in pure bliss as she slowly turned around. It seemed as though everyone around them had become motionless and they were the only one existing.

Her eyes were still closed when she faced him, her slightly wet lashes grazed her cheeks as tears flowed once again, her lips curved into a breathtaking smile, that particular strand of her hair suddenly flowing over her face.

He let out a laugh as he took her in, his smile matching hers as tears welled up in his eyes as well, his heart finally knowing some peace.

"Radhe" he whispered again, urging her to open her eyes.

And she did, slowly. She once again was speechless, only her tears and her smile spoke of her feelings.

His heart welled up at the love in her eyes that he knew would be gone in just a few moments. He wanted to tell her everything, how difficult these past sixteen years were to spend without her by his side, how much he had missed her and how much he loves her. But, alas destiny was not in the hands of its creator this time.

He waved his hand in front of her face and Radha too sat motionless like the rest of the class. He closed his eyes as he took the strand of hair between his fingers and proceeded to tuck it away, a teary smile on his face. But, he stopped midway and opened his eyes,

"No, not yet," he whispered as he let go of her hair and moved back slightly before he wiped both their tears and waved his hand in front of her face once more.

Everyone in class suddenly regained consciousness, yet they both stood still looking at each other, her still in some strange trance. The whole room looked at them, feeling seraphic emotions flow through them.

The boy came out of his daze and raised his eyebrows with a smile bringing the girl out of the trance as well. She blinked, confused, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She looked at him in puzzlement,

"Um.. Who are you again?" she asked, unintentionally sounding harsh.

"Krishn" He smiled even wider as his eyes twinkled

And once again she felt as if the breath was knocked right out of her lungs, she stared at him eyes wide, a confused "huh?" was all she could let out in reply.

"Are you slow or something? It's Krishn" he teased.

She knits her eyebrows, angered at his sudden insult.

"Well, why're you standing here like a statue?" anger was clearly evident in her voice.

"Well you were looking at me in such a way that I felt obligated to stop and let you admire myself"

Aanya stifled a laugh as Radha turned furious. She had just met him and he was already making her think of ten different ways to murder him. She took a deep breath, she had to be nice, he is after all new here.

"Okay, why don't you just go find a seat and maybe don't interact with me" she said in a fake sweet voice and stopped to wonder for a moment, how had he managed to bring out the worst in her so soon? She was usually a very nice person but this boy....whose name had a lot of memories attached to it had somehow made it impossible for her to remain calm.

But she chose to not think about all this for now and turned back to her conversation with Priya not noticing the fond smile Krishn had on his face, remembering all those times they had gotten into similar squabbles in that divine abode of theirs.