Shraman: Tales Of Love || Completed

1.9 Happiness!

~ I didn't really want to fall in love or something. I didn't really want a fairytale coming true. But then you appeared, in my life and I started wanting everything~

It was almost evening and Pushkar parked the car in the porch. After a hectic day, both brothers were tired to the bones and all they wanted was to crash in the familiar warmth of their quilts and beds. Pushkar entered first followed by shravan but by the time Shravan could climb the stairs up to his room, Pushkar had already disappeared in his bedroom, most probably in the arms of his pretty Preeti, the only solace to every burn of his. Shravan chuckled at his over romantic brother before turning the knob of his room and like every other day, a smile broke on his face seeing the sight. He smiled as he kept the laptop bag on the couch, slid off the watch from his wrist, opened the first two buttons of his shirt and hopped on the bed, lying down in the lap of his mother.

Nirmala ruffled his hairs lovingly as he snuggled into her, just like the good old days of his childhood.

"Baby is tired today?", She cooed as she tried pressing his forehead and relaxing his shoulders.

"Way too much Maa. Don't even ask...", He answered sleepily and before nirmala could even reply he dozed off in his safe heaven, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. No matter what, he was still scared to let his mother go!

An hour later, the door opened again, ans Suman entered, balancing her bag on her shoulders and a tray in her hands, with two cups of steaming ginger tea and a mug of hot black coffee. She knew, like every day she would find the duo upstairs, either chatting or shravan sleeping or both bickering about her. It had been a daily routine now. With a smile that masked off all her tiredness from running around in PCT, she greeted nirmala who now softly woke up Shravan.

"Shravan, wake up sleepyhead. Suman is back!", Nirmala tried waking him up and listening Suman's name, he woke up, although groggily.

"Sumo!", He mumbled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and Suman handed him his daily dose of caffeine with a sweet smile.

" You are tired today! New order?", Shravan asked, without even confirming about his assumption. But then when it comes to his Sumo, he didn't need her to speak. He had learnt to read her silence, although the hard way but eventually he did.

"Hmm. Three new orders. But I am fine, relax", Suman rubbed his shoulders, seeing him tensed up. If he could read her out, so could she.
Nirmala smiled at her children.

"I can't believe I was so blind. What is so easy to comprehend now, escaped my eyes that time, when I couldn't realize how deeply you both love each other", she smiled, sipping her tea, unaware of the havoc that her words had created in both of them.

Six months had passed since that eventual week of confessions and heartbreaks. Yet, the image of a teary eyed shravan, sitting on the washroom floor, cutting himself was fresh in Suman's mind. The pain she had read in his eyes, his struggle to forgive and forget, his defeated shoulders, still caused her nightmares. Even he hadn't mogen on entirely from the past. But the flashes of that treasure box she showed him, her 'i love you', her concern that night when he slept off in the park, had kept him going. He had decided to focus on the small share of good happenings in his life, rather than the gigantic mountain of bads. And hence in the past six months, they haven't been husband and wife but they definitely had been best friends, much thicker than they were earlier. They understand each Other's silence, they read each Other's eyes, and they didn't pre-assume things now. They talked and didn't let miscommunication creep in between them.

Nirmala kept the empty cups on the tray and the sound brought both of them out of their trance. Funny enough but even in that reverie, their eyes were locked, as if, their souls were communicating what they still couldn't.

" I will go and check on Ram. You guys freshen up and come down. It's time for dinner...", Nirmala instructed and left, making Shravan smile.

" I am happy for papa Sumo. After a long period of solitude, he had got companionship back in his life", Shravan had a dreamy smile on his face.

" And I am proud of you Shravan. It was you who decided to talk to him and explain him the points where his male ego had stabbed his life. And it was you who made this dysfunctional family happy again...", Suman smiled as she came towards him, held his collars and bent him to drop a kiss on his forehead.

Could he ever tell her how these small tokens of her love and these words of praises here and there, uplifted his spirits to new heights?
He could but he never did. Instead, he smiled at her, a wide cheesy smile because he knew that it was his genuine smiles that gave her happiness the most.

" That way I should thank you too. Because without you and your support, I could never ever even think of doing that...", Shravan replied, holding her hands in his right hand and his left hand went back towards the back pocket of his jeans as he took out a big bar of her favorite diary milk!

Her eyes lightened up at the sight!

"For me?", She asked happily and he nodded.

"Yes, this 579 calories is for you...", He teased her and she pouted.

"Shravan!!!!!", She stomped her foot and he chuckled at her.

"Give it to me", she tried taking that chocolate from him but in the remembrance of a very fond memory, he raised his hand up, out of reach for her.

" Take it. When did I deny it to you?", He asked in that same playful tone as even she dived deep down those cherishing happy memories. And she jumped. Once. Twice. And again. But could not anyhow reach it.

"Shravan! Pit k doge ki bina pite de doge?", She asked as she jumped again to reach out to the chocolate but the difference between her 5'7" and his 6'4" frame failed her.
( Will you give it to me without being beaten or after being beaten?)

At last, finding no other option, suman mischievously smiled before holding his free hand and biting it, just like she did as a kid, and he screamed, holding his now wounded hand with the other, trying to sooth it, the chocolate now lying on the ground. Suman picked it up and giggled at him while he made faces at her. But this time instead of running away like before, she made him sit on the bed and cleaned his hand with antiseptic. Shravan smiled at her care.
Indeed the eleven years before Suman and this Suman were two entirely different personalities.

The entire family sat together for dinner, sharing jokes between sharing food.

"Papa you can't lie. You never won a game against me. Nanaji also knows that...", Shravan defended his case against his Papa who was shamelessly telling stories of how he won chess matches against his son.

" I agree. Shravan is far better at it than you", Nirmala too agreed and Ram made faces at them while pushkar laughed out loud.

"I can't believe I am seeing Sir loose for the first time ever", Pushkar clapped like an excited child while others laughed at Ram's expense.

Shravan could not help but feel his heart constriced. It is rightly said, you find happiness at the most unexpected turns. When he had given up all hopes of the normalcy he had so badly craved for, when he succumbed up to his fate that he would not have share of any happiness, his life had taken an unexpected turn, and surprised him with happiness and joys all around.
Maybe that's why it is said to not give up on hope!