Threads of Destiny

Chapter 15: Early Morning Departure

"Come on, let's go!" Rudraksh yelled, pacing back and forth in Shourya and Khushi's apartment.

"Can you please keep it down?" Khushi said, whisper-yelling as she peeked out of the bedroom. "It's 6:30 in the morning," she mumbled, walking towards him and continuing, "We all know you're excited. You don't have to let our neighbors know," she said while walking over to the kitchen.

"This wouldn't be a problem if you were ready to go," Rudra said, standing in front of her and gesturing towards Khushi's pajamas.

"I'll be ready in 5 minutes. It's Shourya you have to worry about," Khushi said, pointing a butter knife at Rudraksh.

"He isn't ready yet," Rudra mumbled.

"He hasn't even woken up yet!" Khushi said, taking the butter from the fridge.

"You keep on kicking him when he's sleeping, so how will he wake up?" Rudra said in an accusatory tone.

"Rudra, don't test me," she said, picking up a plate and starting to butter the bread. She continued, "I told you to pick an evening flight, but no, you want to go as early as possible." She finished by placing the knife down with a thud.

Seeing Rudra's silence, Khushi continued in an angry tone, "Why are you still here? Go wake him up!"

"Going, going," Rudra mumbled, taking the buttered bread. He turned around to see a sleepy Shourya still covered in a blanket, settling on the couch.

Khushi gave him a 'he will never change' look and told Rudra, "I am going to get ready," pointing at Shourya to indicate that he's your problem now.

Rudra sat beside Shourya, making a crying face, and said in a sweet voice, "Shourya, go get ready. I told Maitree I would be there by 7, and..." Rudra looked at his watch with widened eyes, then continued, "it's 6:35. We will be late. Did you at least pack?"

"Khushi," Shourya mumbled back.

"She must have packed," Rudra said, more like he was talking to himself.

"Shouryaaaa," Rudra whined, but Shourya remained unshaken. "That's it," Rudra mumbled to himself and shook Shourya really hard, which made him jolt out of his sleep.

"What the hell?" Shourya yelled at Rudra. "Is this how you wake somebody up?" he continued.

"I had no other choice," Rudra said, yelling back.

"Love has brought out an ugly side," Shourya said in an annoyed tone, getting up with his blanket.

"You were like that not long ago," Rudra said, taking another bite of the buttered bread. Shourya glared at him and went to get ready.

A few seconds later, Rudra started thinking about what Shourya had said about "love." He wondered if he really felt that way. Maitree had made him feel things he'd never felt before. That's why he wanted to introduce her to his family. But the idea of telling Maitree he loved her scared him. He was afraid she might not feel the same, especially since they had only known each other for a short time. He thought it might be too early to say those words.

Even though he had doubts, one thing was clear: Maitree was different from anyone else. She could understand him in a way no one else could. Rudra felt he had to be careful not to mess things up with her. He didn't want to say or do something wrong.

"What are you thinking about?" Rudra heard Shourya ask in a hushed voice. He glanced over to find Shourya all ready to leave.

"What's going on? You're the one who said it's time to go," Shourya repeated, pointing to the watch which displayed 6:50.