Kindle to Rekindle

24. Matters of the Heart

You Know its love when even the way they eat pizza makes you smile like a goofy.

"This one is jasmine, this is marigold, there you see... that's cauliflower," Nimrit stood at one place and told Nivedya about various flowers and vegetables in the garden.

"Nimrit, please! Just stop. I am not interested in these plants. I have a bigger garden with a wider variety of flowers." Nivedya cut Nimrit short and realised his mistake. "Uh! Sorry. I don't mean it that way."

"Are you sure? Because in a span of two hours, this is the second time you are commenting about my financial status. Well, Mr Singh, this is who I am  and this is where I belong. I studied on scholarship in my last school and my current school is thankfully affordable for my parents. I am happy with the life my parents give me. This two-bedroom house I live in or this small garden I maintain with my own hands. You can judge us,  for all you want." Nimrit sat on a small stone wall in her garden with a bitter expression.

"Shit!" Nivedya muttered under his breath and went behind Nimrit. Crossing the wild grass that was not trimmed he reached to her and took her hand in his. Nimrit retracted her hand immediately because she never thought Nivedya  would make her feel poor.

Nivedya tried again but Nimrit didn't give him a chance. It became a play for them. Nivedya kept pulling her hand and she kept pulling it back.
He pulled her with force due to which she almost fell on him. The closeness between the two was what Nivedya wanted because he knew it would tame Nimrit.

He took her both hands in his and ordered her, "Listen to me," she stopped struggling and looked at him with her charcoal eyes boring deep in his soul.
"I asked you to listen to me, not look at me. I can't talk when you look at me like that."

Nimrit's forehead creased and Nivedya rubbed his thumb on the frown lines on her forehead. "I don't care about your financial status. What I said just  came out in the wrong way. I respect you, your parents, and this garden too. It's just that, I... wanted to talk to you, and you were behaving so  indifferently."

"It was your fault partly," Nimrit said softly, looking down.

"Partly? Completely. I am a fool. No. What did you say... 'khota'."  Nivedya proudly called himself an idiot and Nimrit couldn't keep a straight face. She giggled and that made Nivedya smile as well.

He scooted in front of her and looked into her eyes, "Nimrit, I get angry very easily, but I also admit my fault easily. You and everything related to you bother me and..."

"Why?" Nimrit didn't let him complete his sentence and questioned him midway. Was she prepared to hear the answer? Will he answer what she wanted to  hear? She didn't know.

"Nivi..." Nandini called Nivedya and Nimrit retracted her hands from his hands. Nivedya looked at her, but she couldn't revert his gaze because she felt conscious of her question.

"Your mother is calling you. I guess you are leaving. See you at school." Nimrit got up but Nivedya was still scooting.

"Nivi..." Nandini called again and Nivedya got up this time.

He pulled Nimrit behind a wall and put his left hand behind her. "Nivi... what are you..."

"Shhh!" He put his finger on her pink lips and touched the pad of his thumb on her chubby cheek.
"You bother me in ways more than one, if I tell you why it shall leave you stunned," Nivedya confessed with intense emotions and walked away from Nimrit leaving her under his spell.

*****************

It was Monday and Nivedya got up half-heartedly to go to school. Mainly for two reasons, one, Rose was not the one to wake him up, and second, he did not have the guts to face Nimrit after what he told her. He was about to confess his feelings in the worst way possible. He had hurt her and should restrict himself to gaining her apology rather than scaring her with his fervent emotions.