YOURS TRULY

Part 7

A/N: All I can is apologising to you. I am really sorry but to tell you the truth I really want to take time in the process of writing this. Because this is the last part of the series and I want it to be a worthy one. So I am taking my time.
But I am sorry for disappearing for so long.
Anyway here is a new part...

The never-ending silence cracked with the loud scream of Ipshita's mobile phone. Startled by the sound quickly she ran her hand inside her bag.
The silence that surrounded them since Akash intrigued the gear from his home - was so comfortable, that the ringing tone of the phone inflicted annoyance between them.
Fishing out the phone with haste Ipshita put it on and sighed at the silence.
"Hello, baba!" She whispered through the phone.
"Ipshita where are you? Your mother is telling me you went along with Butu's son? Is it? Why didn't you tell me? You know I don't like the guy! Then why did you go? Remember he broke your hand-!" Shuvro's voice bombarded thousands of questions through the phone.
"Oh! Don't bring that up now!" Tuli's whispering warning hissed from the background as she took a look of Pulu, who was sitting at an earshot.
"Baba, I am fine. I will be back soon. Just relax!" Softly Ipshita spoke to calm her father down.
"You don't know anything here and -"
"Baba. I will be fine. Relax!"
Yet Shuvro's anxiety didn't subdue. The father-daughter kept on burgeoning for a bit coming to the conclusion that she would return within two hours and would call him at once of anything occurred.
Putting the call off Ipshita heaved a sigh and looked outside the window. The car had stopped beside a huge sweet shop and while she was busy on phone Akash had gone inside asking her to stay put with some hand gesture.
She looked around staying inside the car. The road looked crowded yet not very cosy. There were all types of shops around but mainly foods, shining and beautiful clothing shops, small hawkers. Ipshita came out of the car on seeing a Kulfi seller. She approached the shop and ordered two Kulfis.
As she was handed the traditional stick of ice creams Akash came and stood beside him.
"So your father is not thrilled that you are out with me huh? What's with these fathers of girls and me, I will never get!" With a smirk looped on his lips, he sighed dramatically.
"Do you go well with your own father?" Putting one stick of the two ice creams of hers, in his hand Ipshita quipped without even having a look of him. Hence the clenching of his jaw and the sudden icenning of his glance that he shot on her - went unseen. "Besides, my dad has a very valuable and logical reason behind his worries." She said as she paid the kulfi-sellers.
Akash with hardened jaw eyes every action of hers until she looked up at him and smirked and very softly spoke, "your Kulfi's melting." Taking a bite of the Kulfi he sighed and he swallowed the jab, her words put on him. "Oh really! So what reason he has?" He scoffed to pay off her jabs and walked towards the car.
"Well, apparently you were proved to be guilty at the tragic incident of me ending up with a broken arm." With mock sad face she said and with a jolt, he turned to face her.
"What? When?"
"The first time we visited here. I was six or seven probably. You put me at the passager seat of your bicycle and tried to double carry me although your parents warned you not to. And as the result, we both dunked at some open drainage and I broke my arm."
"I remember. Boy, baba beat me in some ways!" Akash laughed out loudly finishing off his kulfi and throwing the naked stick away. His eyes shone remembering the mischief. Then his eyes landed at the girl in front of him looking at him with a poker face. "I -"
"You broke my arm!"
"I sincerely apologise! Does that still hurt? Let me take a look." With a serious face, he took his hand near her, but the shining of humour in his eyes could tell how much crap was hidden in that serious face.
"There is no need. You - shoo away! Shut up!" Quickly taking her hands away from his reach Ipshita quickly rushed inside the car and sat in her seat fastening her seat belt. Her face had turned into the perfect comparison of a ripe tomato. With heating up ears her eyes kept shooting glares at Akash as he laughingly walked to the other side of the car till the driver's door. The sheepish grin on her lips was giving it all so she bit the lip and rolled her eyes as he jumped inside the car.

"Shameless knows no boundaries!"
"Arey! I am apologising. Sincerely. I am sorry. See I am holding my ears."
"Please! One five years old can point out the fake in it!"
The car was whooshing through the big fat roads of the capital city.
"Oh! I paid for it then. Baba broke a ruler on my back. A wooden one!!! I could have dialled the child helpline number. But I didn't. See how much of a good boy I am. I knew how wrong I was. And I -"
"Oh my god! Stop talking! The extremity will make me puke I swear!"
He cracked up in laughter throwing his head back and she rolled her eyes.

*


"How far is Lalquella from your house?" Ipshita asked looking out of the window.
"Not far. Umm! Half an hour of probably a bit more." Akash looked at her and smirked as his usual one as he added. "I will take you there, and the other places around once this marriage gets over. Done?"
Turning her face around at him she smiled "no can do my friend. We are flying off to Kolkata tomorrow night. Maybe just after Paromitadi leaves."
Silence haunted for a bit in the car before in a very small voice Akash asked. "What? Why?"
"What do mean?"
"I mean, stay!"
She looked up at him, hearing the seriousness in his demanding words clear and loud. It made her squirming and him baffled. He did not mean that much of seriousness.
'Starting to sound like a professional creepy person now, are we?' Back of his mind commented.
'Starting? Its been a while.' Another part of his brain interjected.
"I mean, have you been to Delhi before?" He cleared his voice.
"No." She answered monosyllabically giving birth to his anxiety he never knew he had.
But it's in the core of Akash of not being able to take anything in seriousness for longer than a moment which was a reason for great grief of his father. Hence Akash did, what he did best.
"How can one come to Delhi and not be witness any of its - its beats, its madness, its passion, its history - its so beautiful, crazy history. How can one not visit even one of it? It's been the capital Ipshita. Not just of the British, the Sultans - the diversity of them, the beauty, the stories that every wall of the old Delhi tells you. Then comes food - from Mughlai to Panjabi, from Biriyani to Dhosa -"
"Dhosa in Delhi?' She scrunched her nose a bit which he studiously ignored and continued his own monologue. She giggled but with so much passion he was talking about such frivolous stuff - made her look at him with amazement in her eyes.
"And Lalqilla and Qutab Minar are just the tips. There's the whole old Delhi, Old Qilla, Siri, Nizamuddin Darga, Ladho Sarai - "
"We have confirmed tickets Akash!" She squealed seeing he had no mean to stop. "I mean Akashda."  She added "what am I supposed to do?"
Whether it was her yelping voice asking him to stop or the uncalled utterance of 'da'  he the trial of his professional travel guide alike listing of places halted and his lips set formed a tight line.
Silence again prevailed, until suddenly with a screeching sound the steel Scorpio, that both were riding took a sharp U-turn. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Akash murmured "Let's see about that." His eyes pinned at the road as he drove the car at the completely opposite direction from his house.
"Akashda!" Ipshita murmured in fearful surprise...

So, here was the part. Hope you like it. Please VOTE! and comment...