Madness and Magic...❤️

37

"Mom?" Sidharth called Maya the moment he spotted her at the hallway that led to their grand kitchen.

"Good morning" she said softly.

"Good morning mom,where is Shehnaaz?" He asked,he got downstairs the moment he woke up to an empty bed. Without answering,Maya gestured toward the kitchen and indiacted him to look inside.He stepped forward and halted at the threshold. 

There was just chaos.... Their pristine, professionally managed kitchen looked completely haphazard. The countertops were covered in flour sugar and few failed dishes. A burnt Kunafa sat at the far end and a bowl of watery halwa was also there, and their cook stood to the side, looking purely helpless. 

"Madam, can I?" the cook tried again to take over, Shehnaaz was standing in the middle of the disaster in a simple salwar kurta.

"No thank you,I will do it!" she declared while  stirring something on the stove. 

"Ho kya raha hai?" he asked his mom. 

"Pehli rasoi," Maya replied with a shrug. 

"Is she fine? What happened to the halwa?" Suddenly he heard his dad's voice and turned towards him in shock. His dad. Amar Sharma was In the kitchen. Talking about halwa!.He couldn't believe what he heard

"Hmm… halwa toh ban nahin paya."Maya replied

"Ah! Poor girl," Amar said out of sympathy. 
Sidharth’s jaw nearly dropped."Poor girl?"His dad actually sounded concerned? Since when did Amar Sharma care about anything happening in the kitchen? Sidharth was stunned at the way hos father actually looked bothered.

"Sidharth, you go and ask her to relax, the cook will manage" Maya nudged Sidharth. 

"Stop being mean, Maya. The kid is trying so hard," Amar instantly interrupted.

"Let her do whatever she wants to do. Look at the perseverance, let her feel at home!" Amar told Maya.

"I just don’t want her to take stress," Maya countered, they kept arguing in a very law voice but Sidharth couldn't hear them. His eyes were fixed on Shehnaaz,his Shehnaaz.
His home had always been silent,orderedly and mundane but his tornado of a wife had turned it completely upside down. And oddly enough,his parents didn't mind it.

Just then, his Dadi and Bua walked in like curious kids.

"Good morning Dulhe raja,Soya aram se?neend se pareshan hoe ja raha tha kal mera bacha... Shehnaaz sula di tujhe?"His dadi pulled his legs the moment she saw her.

"Dadi" he said and hugged her and then hugged his bua.

"Kunaafa ban gaya kya?" Dadi asked eagerly while looking at the kitchen.

"Kunaafa toh pehle hi jal chuka tha, halwa ban raha tha,"His Bua informed her. 

"Well...apparently Halwa main paani zyada dal gaya.. and woh ab cancelled hai." Maya informed.

"Oh! Ab kya ban raha hai?"Dadi aaked.

"Ab… Ras Malai," Maya replied, watching Shehnaaz with amusement.

"Maya, you go get the jewleries we need to give her .".Amar said ,he was still standing beside them.

"It's right here," Maya replied, pointing at a box on the counter.

"Kunaafa ke time se yahi rakha hai."Maya said and Sidharth smiled.

"Haye, kitni mehnat kar rahi hai." Dadi whispered, watching Shehnaaz struggle with the milk. 

"Yeah… she is just a college-going child anyway. Poor girl.." Amar murmured. Sidharth was completely amazed, his dad feeling bad for someone was a rare phenomena.