Better Together | ✓

78 | crossroads

Chapter 78 : crossroads 

"Why can't she sleep with us?" Mukti asked in a sad voice, when Ruhaani informed them that Pari would be sleeping with her.

"She's hurt, Muku. Doctor has told us, we have to give her medicines and make sure she sleeps well. Once she has fully recovered, she'll go back to sleeping in her room. Okay?" Ruhaani spoke, gently plating her hair into a loose braid for the night.

Mukti wore a sad face and then pondered for a bit before turning around to look at Ruhaani, "Can Nirvaan and I also sleep here? Please..."

Ruhaani sighed, she couldn't deny that earnest plea. Nirvaan and Mukti had hardly got any time with her or Aadarsh in past few days. She understood where Mukti's request was coming from. She glanced up at Aadarsh who was sitting on the other side of bed looking their way. He gently nodded.

"Okay," Ruhaani smiled at Mukti.

"Yes," Mukti exclaimed excitedly. She turned around completely and threw her arms around Ruhaani, who smiled widely returning her hug and kissing the girl's cheek.

"I will go tell, Nirvaan!" she said and jumped out of the bed, dashing away.

"No running in the house, Muku!" Ruhaani called behind her.

She glanced at Aadarsh who was reading something on the iPad with full concentration. Sensing her gaze he glanced up at her.

She shook her head denying his silent question. Focusing on work had always been his way of coping up with worries. She wanted to tell him to go to Abhi, but decided to let him decide on how to deal with Abhi.

"Did you take your medicine?" she spoke after a long pause.

"I remember, I will take it before sleeping," he answered not bothering to look up.

She got off her side of the bed, fetched his medicine and a glass of water, and then walked over to his side of the bed. "Here,"

He sighed as though almost ready to start an argument but then without arguing took the medicine. "Happy?" He asked after downing the entire glass of water.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for doing me a favor." She snatched the empty glass from his hand and placed it back on the shelf of the wall unit. He watched her thoughtfully while she walked away with a small smile. If they were back to jibes normalcy was coming back.

***

Abhi walked into the kids room. He knew Aadarsh was sleeping there because the guest room was being used by Badi Bua and Phupha Ji.

"Not asleep yet?" Abhi asked walking in, his blanket tucked under one arm and his pillow under another.

Aadarsh's gaze followed him, as he took the other single bed on the opposite wall. "Since when do you sleep in the kids room?"

"Thought it would be nice, for the sake of old times." Abhi muttered, placing his pillow at the head of the bed and then climbed in.

Aadarsh looked up at the fluorescent stars painted on the ceiling. While growing up, Aadarsh and Abhi used to have a small room to themselves with two single beds placed parallel to each other. Every night they would have random conversations, sometimes about cars, sometimes about their dreams, sometimes about their friends, it was really anything under the sun.

"We should have also had these stars in our room when we were growing up," Abhi commented, "it would have been so nice, especially on the nights there were power-cuts."