ShivOmRu : A Bond Beyond Brotherhood

#5

After that lil encounter, Jay and Shivaay actually became good friends.

Turned out, Jay was just 13 years old making him 4 years older to Shivaay but they both didn't mind the age gap between them.

Jay really liked Shivaay's attitude and he absolutely adored Shivaay's brave yet kind nature and Shivaay liked hanging out with Jay cause one, Jay was funny and two, he always got to learn about new things from Jay.

One fine Sunday,
Shivaay sat on a bench in the local playground waiting for Jay. After what felt like ages to Shivaay, Jay arrived.

"Hey Shivaay !" Jay grinned and sat next to him.

"Hey Jay." Shivaay mumbled in a low voice.

"Oye kya hua ?" ("Oye 'sup?") Jay nudged him with a frown. "Itna sad sad kyu ?" ("Why do you seem so gloomy?")

"Kuch nahi." ("It's nothing.") Shivaay shrugged. "Aj ka kya plan hai ? Cricket khelein ya fir volleyball ?" ("What's the plan? Shall we play cricket or volleyball?")

"Volleyball. Lekin pehle yeh bata ki tu sad kyu hai ?" ("Volleyball. But first tell what wronged your mood.") Jay said seriously.

Shivaay sighed and licked his dry lips nervously. He debated whether to tell him or not but finally decided to open up cause he trusted Jay.

"M..mujhe meri dadi ki yaad aa rahi hai." ("I...I am missing my grandma.") Shivaay whispered and looked away.

Jay's eyes turned sad. He placed his hand on Shivaay's shoulder. "It's ok, Shivaay. Tu apni dadi ko call kar le. Unse baat karke tujhe accha lagega." ("It's ok, Shivaay. Just phone her and speak with her, you'll feel better.")

"Nahi kar sakta." ("I can't.") Shivaay replied sadly. "Mujhe unka number nahi pata." ("I don't know her phone number.")

Jay nodded in understanding.

"Waise ek baat puchu ?" ("Can I ask you something?") Jay asked cautiously.

Shivaay encouraged him to go on by nodding.

"Meine kabhi tumhare maa papa ko nahi dekha, woh log kaha rehte hai ?" ("I never saw your parents around, where do they live?") He asked slowly.

Shivaay looked away from Jay and searched through his brain for a lie but he couldn't think of a lie to tell so he decided to tell half truth.

"Mere ghar pe...kuch problems chal rahi thi... Isiliye meri badi maa hume Gopal kaka ke yaha chod ke chali gayi... Mujhe ab nahi pata ki meri family kaha hai, mein unhe call bhi nahi kar sakta...Meine pichle 6 mahine se unhe nahi dekha, aur mujhe pata bhi nahi hai ki mein unhe kab dekh paunga." ("There are some ... problems in our house... so mum has sent us to live with Gopal kaka...I don't know where they are now, I cannot call them either...I haven't seen them for the past 6 months and I don't even know when I'll be seeing them again.") Shivaay summarised it all for Jay and put on a fake nonchalant smile like that all doesn't bother him that much.

Jay had been friends with Shivaay for 4 months now and he knew Shivaay enough to see through his fake expressions.

"Tumhe pata hai na ki tumhare yeh jhoote expressions mujh par kaam nahi karte ?" ("You know I can see through your fake expressions, don't you?") Jay frowned. "Mein samjh sakta hu ki tumhe kaisa feel ho raha hoga. I'm sorry. Mujhe yakeen hai ki woh jald hi tumse milenge." ("I understand what you're going through. I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll see them all soon.")

Jay smiled and rubbed Shivaay's back soothingly and looked at him guiltily but then suddenly something sparked inside of his brain.