On the Brink of falling in Love (On Hold)

"I'm so desperate to marry her"

~ Maine jise abhi abhi dekha hai

Kaun hai who anjaani

Woh hai koi kali ya koi kiran

Ya hai koi kahaani ~

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The next morning the ladies got up to see Srishti sleeping comfortably on the couch in the balcony and Vivek stretched on the carpet of the balcony floor, with his legs raised on the side of the couch. Sushma helplessly nodded her head as she picked up the unwashed coffee mugs and plate of leftover biscuit crumbs while Shanti woke them up, asking them to freshen up before breakfast could be served. As Srishti stepped out of the room after taking a shower, the strong smell of coffee hit her nostrils and a small smile crept up her face. She was hands down, a coffee-addict. The bitter beverage was all she needed to relax and calm her nerves. And forget the age of fancy cold coffees, she needed her coffee to be traditionally boiling hot. She wished the ladies and her mother handed her a mug of coffee as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. As she sipped her "divine" drink, she stepped out to the hall to wish her dad and uncle. She then picked up the newspaper to skim its contents, something she had never done in days. Back in Delhi, she never had the time to leisurely sit and read the paper as she had to reach college early. However the holidays seemed to have woken the relaxed "being" in her.

Just as she had finished her visual tour of the paper, she heard her aunt calling them for breakfast. Srishti's smile brightened at the sight of breakfast. Her aunt had made her favourite masala dosas and coconut chutney. It was an exclusive signature dish of her aunt. Though her mother did make them back at home, they always tasted different at her aunt's place. She hugged her aunt tightly as she served herself two piping hot dosas with some chutney. Just then Vivek joined them at the table and they discussed their plans for the day. Sushma and Shanti planned to go to the market to buy groceries and items they needed for the Diwali puja. The men decided to pay a visit to Harsh's publication house and spend the day. Vivek volunteered to spend the day with Srishti and take her around the city as she hadn't been there for quite a while. It was then decided that Vivek along with Srishti would pick the ladies after their shopping and meet the men at Srishti's favourite restaurant for lunch.

Having chalked out their schedules, the ladies left early as they decided to travel on the Mumbai local trains. Srishti and Vivek got ready and left the house with their fathers. Srishti had worn a sky blue, ankle-length top and paired it with white palazzo pants and beige wedges. She was never a makeup person and hence preferred a natural look with just kohl highlighting her eyes. Vivek wore a casual T-shirt over a pair of black denims and matched it with cool sneakers. While his father took his uncle on their bike, Vivek took his car and once Srishti was seated, they left on their sight-seeing tour. They munched on famous street chaat as they drove to the CR2 Mall, Marine Drive and Gateway of India. They reminisced about their childhood days when they had been to the beaches of Mumbai as kids. Srishti was always fascinated by beaches as it wasn't possible to go on beach rides in Delhi. She loved walking on the loose sand, the waves hitting her leg ever so gently as she jumped in excitement like a child. She never missed to visit the beaches when she was in Mumbai.

As they sat on the sands, licking up kulfi cones, Vivek suddenly out of the blue asked, "Srishti, so what's up with you? Any boyfriends? Do you like someone?"

Srishti stared at her brother with knitted eyebrows. She was not understanding where this question was arising from or where it was leading her to. A moment of silence prevailed between the two as Vivek continued to look at her intently, expecting a reply. He saw her facial expressions change from confusion to realisation and shock as she widened her eyes, followed by anger as she shot him daggers in the eye. Before Vivek could question her changing looks, she started barking at him, not letting him say a word in his defence,