Doosra Chance

Chapter 2

Happy New Year, everyone, I wish you all the best moving into 2024! They say you should start the new year doing what you want to be doing for the rest of the year, so here's another chapter from my side!

"Now you've made me curious. Of course. And I assume we've reached the gazebo as well." "Perfect, I'd much rather be seated for this conversation." Aarohi and Rishi took a seat at the circular table and bench in the center of the gazebo, both of them with their hands clasped in front of them on the table. "This seems more serious than I expected." Aarohi looked up from her clasped hands into Rishi's eyes.

"This is the most serious conversation I could have with you before marriage. You seem like a decent person who will listen to me with an open mind and not judge me, or worse, laugh me off, for my ideas and dreams. I'm taking a huge leap of faith in trusting you." "How can you be sure that I'm trustworthy within minutes of meeting me?" "Intuition. Aapke aankhon mein kuch toh dard, kuch toh raaz, chupa hua hain, issiliye mein apne raaz share kar rahi hoon. Aur aapse woh, aaj kal kya kehta hain, negative vibes nahi aarahe hain. Haan, bharosa kar rahi hoon, aur agar iss baar bhi ghalat nikla, toh shayad kabhi phir se apne aap par barosa nahi kar paungi."

"Aap mere aankhein pad sakthe hain?" Aarohi simply shrugged. "Please, continue. Aap mujhpar bilkul bharosa kar sakthe hain." Aarohi took a deep breath and focused on saying her words slowly and clearly. "I want to know if you are willing to have a platonic marriage with me." Aarohi paused, trying to judge Rishi's reaction. His eyebrows had raised in both surprise and confusion, but he inclined his head to continue.

"For multiple reasons, I wish for only a platonic marriage, and have for many years. So, this is no spur of the moment request or decision. After a ton of deliberation, literally three elephants' worth, I have decided that I want to be a mother by adopting children. And I want to be a young mother. It might seem like I'm asking a lot, but from my personal experiences, and from what I see every day as a medical student, I don't want to waste time. I want to spend as much time as possible with my children. I am too young to adopt now, and with my current academic pursuits, I won't be able to adopt for many years. On top of that, I would be a single mother, and most adoption agencies prefer couples. Which is why I want to marry. I don't mind keeping everything else such as in a normal marriage, just without a physical relationship between us. I will be a constant companion and your best friend if you'll allow me. I hope I can depend on you, and you on me whenever necessary. True partners for life. And I guarantee that I will treat all your family and friends as my own. But family is the most important part of my life, aur mein aapse bhi wahi expect karungi."

"Manzoor hai. I agree to your proposal. I came here for my family, because they were so insistent that I marry. I fully intended to reject the proposal afterwards. I thought I would come meet you to hold off my family for a bit longer, drag out the search for the next few years, but you've placed a golden snitch in my hands. I can't refuse. Like you, I had decided for multiple reasons that marriage was not for me, especially the emotional responsibilities. Friendship, however, I can most certainly handle. And frankly, if it means my family will be happy and I won't have to worry about being eventually finagled into a marriage with a woman who will expect everything from me, then I don't think I'll find anyone more perfect than you. Aur mein aapse bilkul sehmat hoon ki family sabse important hain. Main wada karta hoon ki aapke apnon ko mein apne apnon banaunga, aur isme aapko koi dikkat nahi hogi."

Aarohi took several minutes to absorb what Rishi said, then slowly, a smile spread across her face. "I guess it's a yes from both of us, then. We can discuss the details slowly. It will give us an excuse to meet over the next several weeks, and I'm sure our families will be delighted." Rishi stood up and held out a hand to her, "Perhaps we can have that 'hobbies' conversation on our walk back." "Apne naye mangetar aur dost ko na kaise keh sakthi hoon?"

As Aarohi and Rishi walked through the front door, their respective mothers met them. "You both came just in time. Malini and Yash-ji agreed to stay for dinner, aur hum sab ne milke saare taiyyari kar liye hain. Bas das minute, aur hum khana kha sakthe hain." Rishi rubbed his palms together and clasped them. "Perfect, we have just enough time then."

"Time for what, beta?" "Time to see how well Aarohi can dance, Maa." "My goodness, you seem to be a font of talent. You can dance as well?" "Ji, I was classically trained in Kathak." "If you won't mind beta, just a short dance. Mujhe Kathak bohot pasand hain, aur humesha seekhna chahthi thi, lekin kabhi hua nahi." "Of course, any art is only half its worth without an audience." Aarohi pulled up one of the songs saved on her phone and tucked in the hanging end of her saree at her waist, allowing her to dance.

She was barely a minute in when the song was suddenly paused. Rishi held her phone in his hand. "Forgive me, you dance Kathak beautifully, but I was hoping to hold an impromptu test for you." Suddenly, 'Chikni Chameli' began playing. Anu's mouth dropped open and Malini turned towards her son scandalized, "Really Rishi?" Aarohi bit her lip to hold back her smile and raised her eyebrows at Rishi. "Challenging me already? Theek hain, manzoor hain."

She raised her hand, held up one, two, three fingers, then broke out into the hook step of the song in time with the lyrics. Suddenly she broke off and grabbed Rishi's hand, dragging him next to her. Laughing, he joined her in the hook step. Both of them bent over laughing, Aarohi's hand on Rishi's shoulder for support. "I think I definitely won your challenge." "Koi doubt hain, madam?" Anu and Malini exchanged a look but didn't say anything. Aarohi and Rishi's fathers entered the room.

"Dinner is ready, ladies and children." "I know you're all waiting to hear if we've come to a decision, and we have, so we might as well announce it before dinner. Hum donon ke taraf se haan hain. We hope that you all are happy with our decision." Malini rushed over and hugged Rishi and Aarohi. "Sirf khush nahi beta, I am over the moon! I thought at most you might agree to meet again. Maine kabhi nahi socha ki donon itni jaldi haan kahenge."

Aarohi and Rishi's parents began congratulating each other, and the conversation continued through dinner. After a lot of convincing, the parents agreed to skip the engagement and directly hold the marriage ceremony, and in a simple manner in a temple rather than an event hall. From there, Aarohi and Rishi's journey began.