sᴛᴀʀ-ᴄʀᴏssᴇᴅ - 𝒜 ℬ𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓀𝒶 𝒱𝒶𝒹𝒽𝓊 𝒜𝒰

The Piece of Paper

Anandi followed Jagya inside, still trying to remember who this Dadi sa was. However hard she tried, she couldn't remember. While being lost in her thoughts, she missed a step and was misbalanced. The sudden jerk dismantled her thoughts and she let out a loud yelp. She raised her arms to brace herself against the floor. However, instead of the hard floor, she felt two arms around her, holding her tightly. She opened her eyes to see Jagya holding her up. They smiled at each other, a peaceful silence hanging between them. However, it didn't last long as Dadi sa coughed loudly, yanking them out of their trance. Jagya helped her stand up.

"It hasn't even been a minute and she's already dropping all over the place! 5 years and she has learned nothing!" Dadi sa said with annoyance in her voice.

Sumitra and Gehna shared a look of concern amongst themselves. They hadn't told Dadi Sa about Anandi's operation or her weak condition. The last time she thought Anandi was physically weak, she had tried to get Jagya remarried. They didn't want anything like that to happen again. Before Jagya could tell her, Sumitra immediately changed the topic.

"Jagdish, why don't you take Anandi upstairs and help her settle her stuff in the room? We have prepared lots of dishes for her. Once she's ready, bring her downstairs to the dining room."

Jagya nodded and picked up her bags, motioning her to follow. Anandi didn't bring a lot of stuff. Just her clothes, jewelry, and her books. Sumitra had told her to only get minimal stuff as they'd be buying her new clothes and jewelry anyways.

Following Jadish upstairs, she looked around the haveli. She remembered some things but not all, which disturbed her. She spent a lot of time in that haveli and yet she had forgotten so much about it. Like where Jagya's room was, or where her room was! She glanced at Jagya carrying her bags and a smile found its way onto her face. She had dreamed of coming back and spending time with him. She couldn't wait to show him her new books and what she had learned in the past years. Finally, they reached his room and he entered first. She followed him in and to her shock, his room was clean and tidy. His bed was made and there were no scattered clothes anywhere. I guess people do mature over time, she thought. While checking out the walls, her eyes fell on a crumpled piece of paper taped to the wall near his working desk. She went to take a closer look. It was the rules she had written for him before she left.

Jagya dropped her bags on the bed, rubbing his sore arms. Chuhiya sure brought a lot of stuff. He turned around to see Anandi standing near his desk. He went to her and patted her shoulder.

"Oye Chuhiya, you alright?"

She turned around, her eyes shining with tears. Jagya's heart sunk at the sight. Was she not happy to be here?

"Hey, what happened? Did Dadi Sa's words hurt you a lot? Don't take her words to heart. She speaks harshly but she loves you. I know she doesn't show but-"

"Hush now! How much do you talk?"

"Huh?"

"I'm not crying because of her...because of Dadi Sa. I'm crying because of that," she said while pointing to the paper on the wall.

"Oh."

Jagya had gotten fed up with her not being around, so in a fit of anger, he had crumpled that piece of paper and thrown it out of the window. But that moment had passed way too quickly with guilt taking over the anger. He had practically jumped out of the window to retrieve the last piece of belonging Anandi had left for him. He shook his head at the memory.

"You didn't think I'd keep it?"

"I thought you would get angry at me and burn it or something."

Jagya smiled at her innocent words and flicked her nose.

"Uh-huh, Chuhiya. You see, I'm not an immature kid anymore. I know how to take care of special things."

Anandi felt her heart flutter at his words. So he did consider her special! The thing was, she knew what she felt about him but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her. Sure, it was evident that he cared for her but did he love her?

"Hey Bandar, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you... Do you-"

"Laado! Jagya! Come down already! The food is getting colder by every minute!"

Sumitra's voice rang loud in the haveli. Jagya sighed and replied with a simple "we're on our way."

Anandi went to open her bags to take out something to wear. I guess I'll ask him later.

A/N

I know I know, took me ages but I genuinely don't get any free time because of college. But thankfully, because of Ramadan, I get 1-2 hours so I can actually write the book. Thank you to everyone who waits for each chapter. I am grateful to all of you. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the next chapters!