Ved- Mohabbat Ka Junoon (On Hold)

11| Bombshell

There is a silent movement of the sea waves with no one around the ferry except him. He was completely alone having his eyes closed. After sometime, he reached the shore and soon went back home.

On heading inside, he saw his father reading a newspaper. His father was not being able to read the paper and was looking for his glasses which were kept on top of his hair.

He smiled, for the very first time after 5 years and went towards his father. He took the glasses from his father's hair and made him wear his glasses.

"Abhyudaya, tu kab aaya beta?" His father asked in a soft voice.

"Abhi bas aaya."

At this moment, she came from the kitchen wiping the sweat from her face with her dupatta as it was an extremely hot day. They both shared an eye contact for a while until he averted his gaze away from her feeling a little off.

"Gautami, are you okay beta?" His father asked, concern tinged in his voice.

She smiled gently and Abhyudaya looked back at her, feeling his heartbeat stop for some moments seeing her smile. "Yes I am fine Baba. It's just too hot today, thank you for asking," Gautami said with gentleness.

"You need any help?" Abhyudaya asked blankly with a straight face of no emotions.

"W....Wh....What?"

Gautami fell at a loss of words hearing those surprising remarks of him. It was an unfamiliar experience for her for Abhyudaya asked about her and offered his help to her.

"Hey, you okay?" Abhyudaya asked, his tone softer now.

"Yeah yeah....It's fine Abhi, I'll have the work done but thank you for asking."

He did not say anything and left from there, going upstairs to his room. Gautami sighed and went back to her work.

After sometime, the food was done and she called everyone to the dining table. Abhyudaya's father was nearby so he came earlier. Gautami went upstairs to call Abhyudaya and entered inside.

She saw him on the floor hugging his legs and his head down. Gautami's heart began racing and she rushed towards him.

She held Abhyudaya's chin and saw tears rolling down his eyes and his face visibly red and slight swollen. Gautami touched his cheek and was looking at him with worry.

"What has happened to you Abhi? Why were you crying? What happened? You can tell me, come on," she asked, her voice filled with care and desperation.

Abhyudaya looked at her and without further words, hugged her tightly. More tears streamed down his cheeks, making Gautami's outfit wet. She hugged him back, rubbing his back for comfort and not paying attention to her wet outfit.

Both of them kept hugging each other until his tears subsided. Gautami kept rubbing his back and caressing his hair to stop his crying. After couple of moments, Abhyudaya opened his tears and pulled away, looking at her with a look slightly different than usual.

Seeing his tears subdued, Gautami touched his cheek gently, taking a deep breath. She was about to get up when Abhyudaya held her hand. "Thank you."

She smiled and freed her hand. "You don't have to. Now come and have your dinner."

Gautami left from the room, leaving Abhyudaya in his world of thoughts.

"Mmm delicious," he said with delight and contentment.

Gautami smiled. "Thank you. I am glad you liked the food."

"The food is actually very good beta," A/d added, his voice filled with satisfaction.