udaan I the art of flying

Ｂｌｉｓｓ

B l i s s - perfect happiness

ʟᴇʜᴀɴ'ꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ

Present

I yawned and opened my eyes, my head felt slightly heavy. I groaned as my back hurt a little from yesterday's lectures, assignments and practicals.

"Gadha (donkey), wake up," I say waking ayush up; my roommate.

he slapped me and went back to sleep, god what time was it?

I unlocked my phone as i recieved a call, oh that was my lifetime gadha, my partner in crime for eternity, my forever enemy, my forever idiot, my brother;

"Dadaa, how are you?" he says calling me brother in Bengali.

"Harshit, do not call me DADA!" I say for the nth time. He doesn't get it does he?

"Alright dada, do not get so worked up."

"I swear. Why'd you call me?" I ask rubbing my eyes.

"I miss you, Ma and baba called me and said they missed us both there,"  he says as his voice breaks a little.

"Ma and baba? Missing us? I bet they're roaming the country like they're newly weds." I say trying to diffuse the weight on my heart.

"I'm serious dada, I'm busy trying to get a seat in aeronautical engineering and you're working so hard to do um- cardiac.. cardiology."

"I get it harry, but they'll be proud of us one day. They've always been supportive of whatever we wanted to do and we have to work towards what we want to do. What we want to do will make us happy and if we're happy, they're happy too."

"You're usually a dumb human but at times you are very wise, i have to admit that." harshit says probably smiling to himself.

"How do you say aeronautical without any mistakes but struggle to say the word cardiology?" I ask.

"I am very concentrated only on my profession dada."

"I'm adding ma and baba to the call, do not say anything inappropriate," i warn harshit, he spoke a little too much at times.

"alright, I'll tell you about my new girlfriend before you add them."

"Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to make me feel like I'm failing each and every attempt on my space project," I say.

"HEY! That sounds painful." He shouts.

"Yeah what about the time you said you felt like someone was hammering your heart when you broke up with Aliyah?"

"Don't rub it on my single ass, I'm a relationship virgin. Ouch-" i say dramatically.

"I can't believe you've dated no one in 22 years of your life. I date and still balance my studies." he says as if it was something he was proud.

"I just do not like dating for fun, i just want something serious with someone I can imagine a future."

Harry hummed as he was implying for me to continue. i continued too, some flow I was in.

"I want to be in love harry, and it's not just the beggining stage. It should give me a rush everyday. And, with that person I can truly be myself. Without having to pretend or put on a facade, and they'll accept me for who I am and, I will too. We'll always be sickly in love like ma and baba."

"We'll accept our flaws. I'll be the first to apologise after an argument. But, she and me will always act like immature idiots who are oblivious in love. I might not show it in words or get her gifts but I'll try my best to keep her happy. We'll tease each other all the time but no one else can do that. I want to spend all my nights with that one person."

"Lehan. I seriously have no words-" ayush says as he wakes up with admiration on his face,

"Don't fall for me ayush, I'm not gay,"

"Dada, you are already in love aren't you?" the question caught me off-guard,

"Ma? Baba? When were you added to the call?" I ask evidently embarrassed.

"Dada, you're such a romantic," Harshit chuckled. "But hey, nothing wrong with wanting a love like Ma and Baba's. They've set the bar pretty high for us, huh?"

"We're proud of both of you boys." Baba says with his brisk voice that calms me no matter what happens.

"And lehan, I've taught you well."

"Give harshit credits too, that poor guy is managing both his academics and love life," ma's gentle voice came through the mobile.

"I might be not an ideal dad trying to make his kids into gentlemen. I am very lenient but you have proved me that a good upbringing does raise good people and not otherwise."

"We're proud of you ma and baba," harshit say parenting our parents. He was weirdly gifted with the magic of words.

"Thanks for teaching us the meaning of true love, thanks for teaching us how to be extraordinary parents,"

"ayush, how is lehan doing? Does he keep bothering you?" ma asks as she teases me,

"he's very bothersome aunty, please tell him to get out of this hostel soon."

Ma's teasing brought a smile to my face, despite my embarrassment at being caught in such a vulnerable moment.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," I protested, though I couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth knowing that our parents were always there for us, even from miles away.

"Yeah, he's not that bad," Ayush chimed in, his tone playful. "Just a tad bit annoying, isn't he?" Harry asks as I move to the coffee maker.

"Hey, I heard that!" I exclaimed, laughing at the banter between my brother, and my best friend."Sorry, Dada, but it's true," Harshit added, unable to contain his amusement.

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," I said, unable to suppress my grin.

"But seriously, Ma, Baba, we miss you guys too. Can't wait to see you again."

"We miss you too, Lehan," Ma said, her voice filled with warmth and affection. "Just remember, no matter where you go or what you do, we'll always be here for you."

"And don't forget to eat properly and take care of yourself," Baba added, his practical advice grounding me even from afar.

"I promise, Baba,"

I love you ;

I didn't have to say those words, they were hidden deep. I hated saying that.

Showing that in what I do is me.

And especially harry, I can never say that. I'll only fight with him for the rest of my life.