Another chance!

Anew step.

Throughout the day, Shivaay was there with her and also supported her sister 'bhavya' who cried very badly looking at her mom. And also searched for his father who was broken to an extent and stayed in his room throughout the last rituals. He peeped outside when it was the time, He completely forgot about his two daughters but surprisingly, They were not alone. Om and shivaay were there. Om stayed with anika even though he hardly knew her. And shivaay didn't care about anything, What will her family members think, Nothing. But taking the whole responsibility. And everything was noticed by her father who was too weak to respond to anything. 

"Bhai... Bade Papa..." - Om whispered in shivaay's ear when they arrived out of nowhere. Shivaay was confused, But Jhanvi hugged Anika and cried, He understood they would have shared a special bond. The conflict between shivaay's father and His bade papa was from the history which led them to live like strangers. But when it come to shivaay and Omkara, Tej, His bade papa, Always available but Sakthi didn't appreciate any of that. But what was more surprising was, Anika didn't spill anything about knowing them to him. 

"How did they know them?" - Om added. Over then, Rudy came towards anika and gave her hanki, She smiled when he did so, He launched a friendly hug to anika, She hugged him back. Tej stood with Anika's father and Jhanvi stood with the girls. Both Tej and Jhanvi were in a messed state. 

"They seem so close together..." - Shivaay spelt looking at them. Over then, Tej's eyes met with shivaay, Who was surprised to see him over there. 

"Om, Shivaay... What are you guys doing here?" - Tej asked him in a confusion as soon as he reached them. 

"Anika is my friend, Badepapa..." - Shivaay replied to him calmly. 

"Yeah, Ani told me about this, I forgot, You both are from the same school, Right..." - He excited in a low tone. 

"Hmm... How do you know them?" - Shivaay asked him. 

"Me and harsh from the same college, And our family also pretty close to each other" - He bothered to give an explanation. With his answers, Shivaay also understood she knew everything and refused to tell him anything but why? Leaving his every question aside, She continued to be with her. Om and Shivaay were not much attached to Rudy due to family's conflict but they remained together even though they didn't talk much. 

Shivaay and Om left home after everything got over. They came to know that jhanvi and tej staying back in Delhi with them which made shivaay go anika's house without any hesitations even though her relatives were there. But he couldn't able to speak to anika as she occupied herself with many works. He understood she was doing everything only for the purpose of diverting everything. She also insisted on bhavya to give her exams. She was dealing with her helpless situation but she didn't ignore shivaay.

"Ani... Take rest... There are many peoples to do this..." - Shivaay said in a calm tone. 

"No... Shivaay, It's okay... I will do it... Don't worry, I am fine..." - She said with a slight smile in her face. Even though she said so, She wasn't fine. It had been three days since she slept. Even though shivaay knew it, He had nothing to do about it. Over then an idea sparked in his mind to divert her completely. 

Anika went to her school as she's a cultural council president over that time. She was confused about why she was called as everyone in the school might have known about her mother's demise. 

"Hi, Anika... How are you feeling?" - Her teacher Preethi asked her in a low consoling tone. In these few days, She got used to that tone, But inside she was hell waited for the moment when the pithiness in their face to wipe off. 

"Good, Mam... Have you called me?" - Anika asked in a normal calm tone. 

"Yeah, Anika... The thing is, I really really need your help... I mean this interschool cultural event became so important for us, Just had a call with Principal today... Already in academics, We are in the last place, If it didn't go well with a cultural event, There might stop funding for our school. It's a huge threat, Anika..." - Her teacher explained the situation in a very low tone. 

"Ma'am, I have just given my finals... Is it okay?" - Anika asked her. 

"Actually the interschool event is postponed, It has to happen in January. So it will not be an issue... And the real issue which we are going through is you... You managed everything, And now the situation is upside down..." - Her teacher said. 

"I don't want to compel you, But this is the situation of our school. And the final call is upon you..." - Her teacher added. Anika understood the situation but didn't say anything to her. She was in a very confusing situation. Her mom passed away 3 days and now her teacher wanted her to head the interschool competition. So she decided to leave the decision to her father. 

"Ani, I think you have to go. They are trusting you and this is your responsibility. Don't run away from the responsibility by giving any reason..." - Her father said and her route became clear. But then too, She didn't want to go. She was half-minded. She conveyed this message to her teacher as well as with shivaay. Her teacher was delighted and shivaay asked her whether she will be okay to go to this situation, Outside she was cool but inside she was dealing with a very terrible situation. 

"Dad, It's happening in Sikkim on 29th April... We are leaving on 27th April"  - She said in a low tone.

"Oh... 27th..." - Her father repeated. 

"I know it's her mom's first month anniversary... But I can't back off..." - She said and left her room, The room consists of tej, Jhanvi, Rudy and Bhavya. 

"29th April is her birthday date... She completely forgot that" - Her father said to tej who sat next to harsh. 

***********

Anika called everyone which she had in her and reminded them about the cultural, It had Kiara's name under Freestyle dance competition. Her hands weren't ready to dial her number to remind her about the cultural events. But she eventually had to do this. She had the responsibility to do that. 

"Kiara... Anika Trivedi, Here..." - Anika said as soon as she took the call. 

"Ani... I tried calling you million times, I heard about your mom..." - She started but eventually had to stop when Anika stopped her by calling her name. 

"I called for something else. You are participating in the freestyle dancing competition, Right..."  - Anika asked her. Kiara understood that she wasn't ready to talk about anything, especially about her mom. 

"But officially we are not part of the school, Is it okay?" - She asked her.

"That's not an issue, We are still a part of the school till June..." - Anika replied her in a cold tone. 

"Okay, Then... I am participating" - She said, Before she could say another word, Anika rested the call. And messaged her to produce all the documents to the Preethi ma'am. And ignored her reply. 

The next day, She went to school to lead everything and everyone who was participating present there and practising including Kiara. She passed a smile and tried to have a conversation with her but Anika simply ignored her. And went to athletic indoor stadium of their school. Upto her surprise, Shivaay was practicing Gymnastics there. He smiled at her when he saw her over there. But She was shocked.   

***********