CHAPTER 27
ABIR'S POV
She is an addiction.
Just like having drugs.
Now that I have kissed her, the urge to have her within the confines of my arms forever, protecting her from every possible evil, is so high that I am unable to sit without any physical contact with her. I look at her in front of me. Her whole face is flushed and red colour is tainting her cheeks which makes her look like a fresh rose that has just bloomed. She is pretending to watch the sunset as the Ferris Wheel is going down, yet I knew that she could feel my strong gaze on her because she kept fidgeting her fingers or blushed even more if that was possible.
She cleared her throat, "Don't you know that it is rude to stare, Mr. Rajvansh?"
I raised my eye brows at her, "Miss. Maheshwari, I've been told that there is nothing wrong in staring at what's mine."
She crossed her right leg on top of her left, crossed her arms and cocked a single eye brow, "Yours? I don't belong to anyone Mr. Rajvansh. I'm my own person."
Within one second, she became her fierce self and I would be lying if I said she doesn't look hot now.
God, she looks breath taking.
I cleared my throat and my thoughts, "Oh yeah? Too bad, you're my girl now."
It seemed as if she got surprised, because she looked at me with those beautiful wide doe eyes and her lips parted in confusion, "Your girl?"
I smiled seeing her getting flustered once again. I nodded, "Yep"
And once again, she was a blushing mess.
God, I've seen so many avatars of Mishtipie today. The kiddish one demanding candy floss, the angry one shouting at the controller, the understanding one talking about my love for photography, the bossy one who just disappeared a few seconds ago and the shy one who is sitting in front of me right now. And each one of them is beautiful. So beautiful that all I want to do is cherish all of them all my life.
I chuckled and slowly forwarded my hand towards her and interlaced our fingers together. I looked back at her to find her gaze rooted to the ground. She looked so adorable that I immediately pinched her cheek with my other free hand. She swatted my hand away and scowled at me.
I sighed and looked at our intertwined hands. I am so deep into this now that there is going to be no turning back for me. There is going to be no point in denying the obvious. The faster I accept it, the better.
Yet, I still feel scared to put a name to my feelings.
What if things don't work out the way it should?
What if something happens to her because of me?
What if she detests me after knowing the truth that I have very carefully hidden all these years?
"Love doesn't cause pain Abir."
"Love gives us hope. It also gives us a lot of reasons to be happy. All we need to do is find the right ones."
"You too deserve to be happy, Abir"
"Never give up on what you love, Abbi. Never."
Voices of two different women from different conversations echo in my mind. I take a deep breath and look at our interlaced hands again. I can't postpone the inevitable. What is bound to happen will definitely happen. And falling in love with Mishtipie is one of them.
I have known for quite some time now that what I feel for her is love, but I was too scared to admit it.
Love is anything and everything. Love is like air to a dying person. It is like the water a fish needs to live. It is like the sky, limitless and boundless. Sometimes, it is like fire, destroying bad qualities in a person by making them want to be a better person for their significant other, and also invoking a different kind of fire in them- a burning need. And it can also be like the Earth- giving you peace and serenity in the arms of your loved ones. Love is the way the sky wraps itself around the clouds. It is the way birds chirp around calling their loved ones. Love is also the intimate unification of two souls, who are drenched completely with one another. It can also be the sweet lullaby a mother sings for her child. It is the warm feeling that spreads in your heart when you see someone you love. It is like the rays of sunlight- giving you light and hope to live against the darkness of the world.
Just like what Mishtipie said several months ago, love has given me hope. Hope for a better and happy life. And I have found my reason to be happy.
Mishtipie.
I still remember the day I met her for the first time.
The loss of my father was fresh and my mother and I had just shifted to Rajkot. The first day of school was so difficult for me, because every other child had both their parents and their family there to drop them off. While I came to school with our caretaker, Parul Maasi. Yes, I love her and she is like my family, but my mother not even bothering to drop me off at school on my first day was very upsetting. Seeing all other children playing with their fathers caused a pang in my chest. So, while all other students stood with their parents and family, I went inside my classroom and sat down in a random seat and glanced around.
A few minutes later, a chubby boy walked in holding a teddy bear in his hand and sat beside me.
Next, I heard a loud shriek, "TEDDY!"
In the entrance, I saw a very tiny girl wearing a white coloured frock, all of 2 or 3, jumping from her father's embrace and running towards her brother. Her tiny arms flailed around as she ran and her tiny feet stumbled, unable to carry her to her brother at the speed she wants. Her short black curls bounced around with every step and the butterfly clips that she wore sparkled.
On reaching her brother, she immediately hugged her brother tightly. He, in response, hugged her back.
On seeing this, a smile automatically adorned my face.
She pulled back and I could see tears brimming her eyes and her lips wobbled, "T-Teddy, you won't come home?"
He smiled at her, "I'll come in the evening, Mishtu."
She looked at him through her wet eyelashes, "Evening?"
He lovingly caressed her hair, "Yes, evening."
She sniffed and nodded before looking back at him, "You have fl-fliends?"
The boy immediately pointed at me, "Yeah, him!"
I was shocked. I didn't even know him. Then how come he claimed me to be his friend?
His little sister turned her attention towards me, her chubby cheeks red due to the continuous crying, "Yo-You take cale of m-my blother?", she asked me with her limited vocabulary.
This little kid is so cute!
I smiled wider and nodded, "I will."
She extended her tiny pinky finger towards me, "Pinky plomise?"
I curled mine around hers, the giddy smile never leaving my face, "Pinky promise."
She sniffed and nodded again, "Your name?"
"Abir. Abir Rajvansh."
She scrunched her tiny nose in confusion, "Abbi?"
My heart fluttered at what she called me. It was so pure and innocent, it would melt any heart, even my mother's.
I nodded at her before she was lifted up into someone's arms. Their father, I assume, smiled warmly at me before instructing us, "Both of you, take care of each other and be with each other always. Okay? I'll come and see you boys in the evening."
I looked at uncle and nodded at him. He ruffled my hair and then his sons' before walking out of the class with his adorable daughter peeking out at me and her brother through her father's arms.
And that made me smile again.
"Why are smiling like a creep?", her voice broke my thoughts.
I looked up to see the same innocent doe eyes looking at me with a suspicious gaze.
I chuckled and shook my head, "Nope, nothing."
"Liar", she immediately stated.
I frowned, "No, I'm not!"
She shrugged, "Are too."
"I'm not."
"Are too."
"I'm not."
"Are-"
I cut her off, "You shut up yourself or I might have to shut you up. I know efficient ways to close your mouth.", I shrugged and winked suggestively, to which she blushed a furious shade of red and slapped my arm.
Our compartment finally landed on the ground and both of us finally got off the Ferris Wheel ride. With our hands still interlaced, we walked around towards the exit. Once we came out of the amusement park, I took my phone out to call Jugnu Bhaiya to ask him to bring the car to the entrance so that we could get in and go back to the apartment.
Jugnu Bhaiya, unfortunately didn't pick up the calls the first two times. Just when our line connected, I felt Mishtipie tugging my arm, "Abbi, look ice cream!", she pointed at the ice-cream vendor on the other side of the road.
I gave her a deadpanned look, "Not now, Mishtipie.", and I continued talking with Bhaiya, while she kept nudging me, demanding that I buy her one.
Finally, I sighed and gave her the green signal that she needed and she immediately jumped up and down like a kid, before she started running across the highly active road of Mumbai. My heart sank into my stomach and when I saw a car fast approaching her, all air left my lungs.
"MISHTI!"
***
Hey guys! This is Chapter 27!
Hope you guys liked it!
I'm sorry for the delay in updating. Will try to be more regular <3
Thank you!