Delhi or Dilli-bustling streets, endless chai tapris, and a city where dreams are both made and broken. In this chaos, Anchal is focused on her career, dodging her parents' shaadi ki baatein, while Varshith, a perfectionist set to inherit his father...
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| Familiar Strangers|
one week later
"Ghar kab chalna hai?"
"Anchal beta, tumhe aati hai na gaadi chalani?"
"Koi merese baat kyun nahi karta?"
"Baap se jaruri aisa bhi kya hai uss phone mein-"
I groaned, looking up from my mobile phone at my father who couldn't stop whining, demanding to go back home. The moment our eyes met, he wisely stopped himself before adding another complaint. He was recovering faster than I thought he would, so the doctor had deemed him fit to go back home today. Since then, he had become more and more impatient, which I'm sure has more to do with the bland hospital food rather missing his home sweet home as he claims.
Now I knew exactly where I got my flair for dramatics.
"We'll go," I sighed, reaching for the plate on the side table. "Pehle yeh apple chup-chaap khao." I held out the neatly peeled, evenly chopped apple slices. He'd refused to eat apples any other way ever since I was a child, and somehow that habit had become everyone else's responsibility.
He looked at the plate like I had offered him a medicine he hated.
I narrowed my eyes. "Kha rahe ho ya mummy ko phone karun?"
His expression immediately changed and he shot me an offended glare, which I returned.
A silent battle of wills lasted all of three seconds before he muttered something under his breath, picked up a slice, and shoved it into his mouth, chewing dramatically.
I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips as I stole a slice for myself. For all our arguments, there was one terrifying constant in this family-we were both equally terrified of my mother.
A soft chuckle came from the visitor's chair beside the bed. I turned to find Anjoli watching the entire exchange with barely concealed amusement. She had spent her entire weekend sitting in this hospital room, listening to my father's endless commentary, making tea runs, handling nurses, and silently tolerating my family's chaos without complaining even once.
I hadn't realized how good a friend she was until recently.
Some people only proved their place in your life when things fell apart. She already had.
I walked over and dropped into the chair beside her, letting my head fall against the backrest with a tired sigh. The exhaustion I'd been ignoring all week suddenly settled over me all at once.
"Tired?" she asked quietly.
I simply nodded.
She studied me for a moment before jerking her head toward the door. "Wanna get some fresh air?"
