The park was crowded with the children playing around and the older people taking an evening walk. Some youngsters were seen jogging around and working out. The area being crowded might be the reason the suspect decided to meet his teammate here, Neil thought. He had now increased his speed, following the suspect, literally running as he was sure that he could really crack this case by catching the suspect. Suddenly, as he lowered his speed, a girl running behind bumped into him. Neil turned quickly to catch hold of her. The girl, in order to save herself from falling, caught hold of him, but instead, pulled Neil along with her unintentionally and both fell down.
"Aaaaaa", "Oyeeeee" shouted both. The girl fell with her back flat on the ground and Neil on top of her. Their heads collided causing a sense of pain. Then he looked up to face the girl. The first thing that his eyes caught attention of was her eyes. Almond shaped, dark brown in colour and ....and beautiful, his mind had processed. But he felt like it wasn't the first time his eyes had met this stranger's eyes. All this while, the girl was beneath him and she saw how he was lost in his thoughts and was staring her. Irritated by the incident, she pushed him aside,got up and dusted herself. Neil got up with a jerk, realising what had just happened and realized what he was here for. His mission. He started looking here and there, in search of the suspect.
He was about to leave when the girl shouted, " Oye Mr, kaha chal diye haa? Manners naam ki toh koi cheez hi nai hai yahaan ke logon mein. Ek toh mjhe yaha giraaya aur Sorry bole bina hi jaare ho?" Neil was surprised but answered quickly, " Ohh hello, galti tumhaari hai....tum peeche se bhaag rahi thi jaise ki koi kutta tumhaare piche pada ho. Uparwale ne jab aankhein di hai toh uska istamaal bhi kar leti. Aur sabse badi baat, khud toh giri hi Saath mein mujhe bhi le doobi. Tum kaho sorry!!" Neil said egotistically. In no way was he going to take the beratings of some stranger. "Accha... attitude toh dekho...ek toh khud aise bhaag rahe the jaise ki gyaarah mulkon ki police peeche padi ho aur fir achaanak se break maar liyaa....mujhe Kya Sapna aane wala tha ki tum apni gaadi ka break maaroge??Galti toh tumhaari hi hai aur maafi toh tumhein maangni hi hogi" she replied furiously. By now, some people had gathered around seeing the not-so-pleasant talk taking place between them. "Sorry ?! my foot!! Maafi toh tum mujhse maangogi mjhe giraane ke liye aur mera itna samay barbaad karne ke. Pata nai kaha kaha se chale aajaate hai"Neil replied. "Kya hua beta? Kch problem hai kya? Aur kon kisse maafi maangega?" an old lady asked them. "Aunty ji, galti iski hai, isne mujhse maafi maangni chahiye. Khadoos, arrogant kahikaa!!" the girl answered making faces. " Mr. Khadoos, Mr. Arrogant!!" The words ran in Neil's mind. And again, the past memories flashed in his mind. The same adjectives with which Avni used to call him. He suddenly realized where he was and quickly recovered. He was about to reply to the girl when the lady said, " Baccho, aise itne saare logo ke beech mein ladna acchi baat hai Kya?Jo problem ho woh ghar pe solve kiya karo. Aur jab apno se mann mutaav ho toh kon sahi hai kon galat ye pakad ke nahi baithnaa chahiye. This could spoil your relation. Now stop this drama, say sorry to each other and go home." the lady smiled and left, leaving them confused for some moments. "Relation?!konsa relation?! ohh hello aunty ji...." the girl called the lady but she was already out of sight. She was going behind the lady when Neil held her wrist. "Leave it, we have already created a scene here, don't make it worse" Neil said in a lower tone, keeping in mind the people who had already gathered over there. The girl pulled her hand out of Neil's grip and said, "Fine, now apologize" the girl spoke in a calm but demanding voice. Neil looked at her furiously and said, "In your dreams......ek sorry sunne ke liye itna desperation". "Despo hoge tum.... Bye, wish to never see you again!" said the girl and turned to leave. "Bye and I wish the same......Ms Ajooba" said Neil and both turned and walked out in opposite directions. The girl surely was an Ajooba, Neil thought. Unknown to him, the girl indeed was his Ajooba, his childhood enemy, Avni.
Avni walked out of the park with gussa on her nose and her cheeks flushed red due to anger. "Ek toh uski vajah se main giri aur mujhe hi sunaa raha tha" she was talking to herself "aur sabse badi baat, usne mujhe Ajooba kaha!!" and then she remembered something. He used to call her that, Ajooba. She immediately brushed her thoughts away and went home. She had too much in her mind to focus on and these small things from the past cannot let her lose her focus. Just then Neela Maa called her, " Avni, kaha ho baccha.... naya sheher hai aur tum akeli hi nikal padi ho ghumne...kaha ho tum bataao, main abhi aati hu tumhe lene." Neela said worryingly. A mother's love you see.... selfless and pure. "Jogging karne gayi thi maa, don't worry, I'm on my way. And I do remember these streets Neela Maa, I'm not completely new to this city. It's just that the time has changed. " Avni sighed. "Umm.... Avni, Kya khaogi? Pav Bhaji? ye hum dono Ka fav hai....Come home fast, till then I'll prepare our fav food" Neela said to divert the topic. "Yes maa, I'll be there in 20....bye" Avni replied. Avni was driving when she remembered the incident which occurred some time before in the park. "Stupid, bandar kahika....bina baat ke time waste kiya usne mera....aur jis kaam ke liye gayi thi woh toh reh hi gaya." Her angry mode still on. "Par aise kyu laga ki main usse pehle kabhi mil chuki hu.....aur uski aankhein.....umm... Avni, you are just overthinking" Avni thought. She finally reached home, Parekh Mansion.
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Neil walked into his cabin annoyed with himself that he couldn't catch that man. "Sab uss jungli billi ki vajah se hua hai....Aaj ye case se juda hua koi important clue mujhe mil hi jaata...." he vent out his anger. DD entered his cabin and asked, "What happened Sir ji? Is there any progress in this case?" "No DD, I was following him but then, I lost sight of him." he said. "Kaise?" asked DD. "Mat pucho yaar, ek sarrfiri ladki se paala padaa ....long story dude....let it be" Neil replied. "Atleast I've seen his face, call the sketch artist DD. I'll tell him the suspect's facial specifications and we'll circulate the sketch around all the police stations in Mumbai. By the way, any leads on who is this mysterious well-wisher?" Neil asked. "Mysterious well-wisher? Sir I thought we aren't focusing on him, as you only said that the well-wisher is too smart, not leaving behind any clue. Moreover,that guy is helping us sir." DD answered. "I never said to stop searching for him, DD. We are still unaware of his motives, so we can't trust him" Neil explained. He then sat down on his chair and started reading some random case files. But he was not able to concentrate. His mind kept on taking him back to the park's incident and a face was continuously flashing in his mind. No no, not of the suspect, but of the girl with almond shaped eyes. "She was annoying, true....but her eyes....why do they seem so similar? Ughh Neil, focus dude focus. She has already wasted your time." And then, he went back to his work, still thinking about something.
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Avni entered her house and sat on the sofa in the living room, relaxing herself. Just then, Neela came out from the kitchen," Aagayi tum, kaha chali gayi thi ghumne? Kahi apne koi boyfriend se toh milne nai gayi thi naa?Neela asked excitedly. Avni gave her a surprising look. "Agar hai toh mujhe bhi bataao na uske baareme. Kaisa dikhta hai, Kya karta hai aur kab milvaaogi usse?"Neela asked in a happy tone. "Maa....slow down, apne khayaalo ko yahi lagaam dedo. I don't have a boyfriend and I don't believe in such things. You know that!!" Avni replied. "Kya Yaar Avni, tumne toh mera mood hi kharaab kar diya" Neela pouted and made a sad face. "Ek toh already uss Nakchade ne mera dimaag kharaab kar diya aur ab aapka ye drama" Avni rolled her eyes. "Kon? Kaha? Kiske baareme bol rahi ho?" Neela was curious to know. Then Avni explained her everything. Neela laughed hearing her story. "It wasn't his mistake Avni, you keep on falling here and there....no one should be blamed for that. I've given you the right name 'dhadpadi ben' as we say in Gujarati" Neela still was laughing on her. "Ohh plz Maa, you haven't seen that guy....he was rude, arrogant and kept on provoking me. It was his fault." Avni complained like a child. "It seems that someone is affected by someone's presence." Neela teased Avni and winked at her. " Here you go again" Avni said unpleasantly making faces. "Ok, but on a serious note, why you went to that park?" Neela asked. "Umm...to....to jog Maa" Avni replied with a little hesitation in her voice. "Not again Avni, today only I scolded you for working out so much and still you are doing the same thing?" Neela was a little angry and sat on the sofa and huffed. But Avni knew how to calm down her Maa and manofy her. She went around her and wrapped her hands around Neela's neck from behind and kept her chin on her shoulder and said "Sorry naa Maa, ab kya aap apni iss masoom bacchi se ruthkar baithogi?"she pouted. "iss choti se bacchi ko kitni bhook lagi hai....aur aap use aise sazaa dogi?" she said cutely. Neela knew that she couldn't stay angry on her for more than 5 mins and melted away. "Bas bas, drama queen toh tum ho....chalo ab ....tumhaari Pav Bhaji tumhaara intezar kar rahi hai" she said tapping Avni's cheek. And then both of them went off.
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Avneil ff: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
FanfictionNeil and Avni He was 16 and she was 14 when they met for the first time. Hatred for eachother was mutual from both the sides. Two loggerheads at collision. After 7-8 years. He believes she's dead. But still her memories keep flashing in his mind. An...
