Heyy everyone!

I hope y'all love this chapter!

Please vote and please comment, I'll really appreciate it 🎀 ✨

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ओ सुध-बुध खोयी, है खोयी मैंने..
हाँ जान गँवाई, गँवाई है मैंने..
हाँ तुझको बसाया है धड़कन में..
साँवरे..
तोसे नैना जब से मिले..
तोसे नैना जब से मिले..
बन गए, सिलसिले..✨

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Just as Dhruv turned towards the entrance and took a step, he collided with someone.

Her head hit his shoulders lightly, she almost lost her balance and she was about to stumble with her yelling,”Dekh kar nahi chal sakte kya?”

[ Can’t you be watchful of your steps! ]

Just then, Dhruv held her palm and steadied her, preventing her from stumbling further.

Their eyes met.

Her dark brown ones with his dark black ones

As soon as the eye contact took place, Dhruv’s heart started pounding loudly in his chest as a strange warmth spread across his body.

It was a feeling he couldn't name, an emotion he couldn't explain. A collision never made him feel something like this - never before this.

“Thank you..” She sighed, her voice trembling with the loss of balance. “And sorry..” she added, voice laced with guilt because of her earlier outburst.

“It's alright!” Dhruv managed to say as he smiled, the one that quite reached his eyes.

She smiled gratefully, nodded at him once and went towards the entrance of the house, her white tote bag swaying lightly behind.

Dhruv stood still and tried to compose his racing heart, he couldn't decipher what happened to him at that moment, couldn't name the warmth that spread through him.

She almost arrived at the entrance. Nitya and Adarsh, who were just above the stairs, turned.

“Arree Maahi, tu yaha?” Adarsh asked.

“Yess bhaiya! Voh mai aur ye chudail after boards ke liye kuch fun karne wale hai… journalling and all types, you know” Maahi said excitedly.

[ Me and this girl planned to do something fun after boards… journaling types you know ]

“Haa chal Maahi, let's go!” Nitya said as she held Maahi’s wrist and practically dragged her inside the house with Adarsh behind them, shaking his head in amusement.

As both of the girls went towards the staircase, Adarsh called out “Achha tum log karo tumhari activities… I'm making pasta toh jab mai bulau tab aa jana dono!”

[ You do your activities, I’m making pasta so when I call you, come down to eat ]

“Haa bhaiya, Aa jayenge “ Both of the girls yelled as they hurried towards the top of the staircase where Nitya’s room was.

[ Yes bhaiya, We will come!! ]

Meanwhile, Dhruv heard their conversation outside.

“Maahi” He murmured tenderly.

He walked out of the gate, the warmth still inside his heart.

The name - Finding a place inside his heart that no one could ever occupy except her anymore.

He ran a hand through his hair as he walked the short distance between the houses and entered his own house’s garden through the gate.

“Love at first sight sachme exist karta hai kya?” He murmured to himself.

[ Does love at first sight really exist in this world? ] 

“Kuch bhi soch raha hoon mai, it was merely a collision” He said to himself as he shook his head.

[ My thinking is ridiculous! [

But even he knew that it wasn't merely a collision.

His mind replayed that incident several times as he walked into his room and plopped himself on his bed, his back against the soft mattress, his mind still hearing her voice, his palm still holding on to the warmth of her palms against his.

He was smiling as he replayed the incident over and over again in his mind, the warmth never leaving him like the pink hue on his cheeks.

He grabbed his phone and opened Instagram, scrolling mindlessly to diffuse the thoughts coming into his mind over and over again.

Then he got an idea.

A bright smile tugged at his lips.

He clicked on the search option and typed “maahi” 

Thousands of accounts came before him, he couldn't find out which was hers.

He didn't know her surname or anything about her to search further, he sighed in frustration.

And just then….

Another idea popped into his head.

He opened the search option again and typed, “Nitya Arora” 

He found 4-5 accounts but Nitya's account was the most noticeable, with her photo as the profile picture, smiling as brightly as ever in a pink traditional kurti.

“Turning melodies into life lessons” He read her bio, “chudail aesthetic banne ka try kar rahi” he muttered to himself.

[ Chudail is trying to be aesthetic ]

Her account was private, he pressed on the follow button and waited and waited.

Because he knew…

That if he added Nitya, he would find her account as well, and that thought made his mind do backflips,  his heart fluttering with a strange hope.

“Dhruv!” Nandini called from downstairs.

“Aaya mummyyyy” Dhruv said excitedly as he descended the stairs.

[ coming mummyyy!! ]

“Chal Dhruv hotel jaana hai, Kajal didi aur Vinod jiju kal tak aayenge toh kal hi khana bana lenge ya fir aise hi bahar jayenge!” Nandini said, excitedly clapping her hands once.

[ Let’s go Dhruv, we have to go to eat, Kajal didi and Vinod jiju will come tomorrow so we will make food tomorrow or just go outside like this ]

“Zyada utavli mat ho tum, Bhaiya Bhabhi aane ke baad pakka bahar jaane ko mana karenge” Rajesh said, cutting his wife's excitement.

[ Don't get too excited, Bhaiya and Bhabhi will definitely tell us to eat at home ]

“Aree tum toh rehne hi do, mai jiju ko mana lungi tum didi ko mana lena… humare devar-saali roop me toh dono maan hi jaate hai!” Nandini said, the excitement never leaving her.

[ I'll persuade jiju and you will persuade didi! Both will definitely agree in our sister in law - brother in law form ]

[ AN: for those who didn't get it yet, Kajal Mehra and Nandini Mehra are sisters and Vinod Mehra and Rajesh Mehra are brothers…Both sisters married in the same house, with two brothers.]

[ AN: inki lovestory kaafi interesting hai, unpar ek novella likh sakti hoon… dekhenge sochenge 👀]

“Tumhara kuch nahi ho sakta” Rajesh muttered to himself as he shook his head in exasperation.

[ You will always be like this ]

“Mummy papa aap log apna puraan bas karoge? Chaliye na abhi mujhe bhookh lagi hai” Dhruv said, clearly irritated by his parents' banter.

[ Mummy papa, is your banter over? Now let's go to eat… I'm very hungry ]

“Haa chaliye shehzaade ji… aapko toh bas din bhar room me pade rehne se thakaan aagayi… hume dekh, hum dono subah se shifting me Lage hue hai. Pehle ghar, fir office, fir boutique… kya kya nahi kiya humne subah se” Rajesh said in exasperation.

[Yes let's go Mr prince… you are only tired by sitting at home and sleeping on your bed. Look at us! We've been shifting all day! First at home, then at the office, then at the boutique.. We've been working all day! ]

“Areeee aap dono ko nahi pata mujhe aaj kaun Mila! Aapko pata hai Arora family ka ghar just baju wala hai, mai 1 ghante pehle Nitya aur Adarsh bhaiya se mila tha… itne dino ke baad humne itni baate ki, ekdum bachpan ka nostalgia aagaya” Dhruv said, narrating the unexpected meeting with Nitya and Adarsh.

[ Ohhhh you both have no idea who I met today! You know the Arora family’s house is right next door, right? I met Nitya and Adarsh bhaiya about an hour ago… after so many days, we talked so much. It felt like pure childhood nostalgia all over again. ]

“Kyaa?? Nitya? Aree kitne din ho gaye bachhi se mili nahi… Meera bhabhi se baat karti hoon aj.. kal sab aane ke baad unhe yahi dinner ke liye bula lenge, reunion party kind of bhi ho jayega“ Nandini said, her voice laced with nostalgia as she remembered her old acquaintances.

[ What?? Nitya? Oh my God, it’s been so many days since I met that girl… I’ll talk to Meera bhabhi today. After everyone arrives tomorrow, we’ll invite them here for dinner. It’ll turn into a little reunion party too. ]

“Aree Adarsh bhaiya ne khud invite Kiya hai, Meera aunty hi aapko phone kar degi, ab chalo yaar mujhe bhookh lag rahi hai” Dhruv said impatiently.

[ Oh, Adarsh bhaiya himself invited us! Meera aunty will call you anyway. Now come on, I’m really hungry. ]

“Haa chalo” Rajesh said as he took out the car keys and passed them to Nandini “Ab tum drive karo, mai thak gaya” He said.

[ Yes let's go ]

[ I'm tired, you drive now ]

“Ha thik hai…Vaise bhi subah se tum hi chala rahe ho..” She said, nodding understandingly at her husband.

[ Yeah okay, you have been driving all day anyways ]

They went towards the car and drove towards the restaurant, chatting merrily with each other and recollecting moments from the day and telling each other everything in full animated-style.

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Nitya and Maahi were sitting in Nitya's room. Both of them spread their stationery supplies on the bed. 

Colourful highlighters, pens, crayons, craft papers, glue and many other stationary items were laying before them.

They took out their journals, both of them skipped through the pages, spotting their previous creative journalling ideas and finding joy in spotting the various colours on the diary. They skipped through the pages to find a new, blank and clear page - Ready to have their creativity imprinted on it.

“Yaarr iss baar ki journalling toh mai itni aesthetic karungi naa… iss baar I'll choose light blue!” Maahi squealed as she grabbed all the light blue stationary items among all of the stationary items  scattered before her.

 [ Yaar, this time I’m going to make my journaling so aesthetic… this time I’ll choose light blue! ]

“Aur mai Golden - Ekdum aesthetic aur royal!” Nitya squealed, matching her delight with the happiest smile.

[ And I'll choose golden, aesthetic and royal! ]

They grabbed the stationary items of their respective items, both lost in creativity. Their phones lay forgotten on the side table. It was just them, their laughs, their gossips and their creativity shining through the moment.

“Tujhe nahi lagta ki 11th me humari fielding set hogi?” Maahi asked Nitya, her eyes were on her journal, sticking an aesthetic printout there with the precision of a doctor performing a surgery.

Don't you think 11th will kill us? ]

“Yaar iss baar focus karna padega bohot zyada… humari school me reputation hai bhaii! Mujhe toh lag raha hai ki syllabus pehle hi khatam kardu” Nitya said, her own concentration on writing on the paper with a black marker, Golden hues, Morning dues.

[ Yaar, this time I’ll have to focus a lot… we have a reputation in our school, bro! I’m actually thinking of finishing the syllabus in advance. ]

“Har baar hum dono yahi bolte hai… realistically nahi ho paayega yaarr… aur mushkil se itni chhuttiyaan milti hai, voh bhi padhai me waste karde kya?” Maahi said, still engaged in her task.

[ Every time we both say the same thing… realistically, it won’t happen yaar. And we barely get this many holidays — should we really waste them just studying? ]

“Haa yaarr sahi keh rahi hai tu…” Nitya said, engaged in her own task. And then she sat upright in one move, almost immediately as she remembered something.

[ Yeah, you're right ] 

“Abbee!! 8 din baad toh holi hai! Plans hai kya kuch tere??” Nitya asked Maahi excitedly, practically jumping on the bed.

[ Abeee!! Holi is in 8 days! Do you have any plans or what?? ]

“Nahi yaarr, tujhe toh pata hai humare padosi kitne pagal log hai… saare ke saare saap..” Maahi said with a frustrated pout.

[ No yaar.. you know how bad our neighbours are! ]

“Haa toh tu yaha aajana, Uncle aunty ko bhi le aana… Voh bade log apna apna enjoy kar lenge aur hum apna apna.. Iss baar toh mai bhi nahi jaa rahi Mama ke paas!!”Nitya exclaimed.

[ Yeah, so you just come here, okay? Bring Uncle and Aunty along too… The elders will enjoy on their own and we’ll have our own fun. This time I’m not going to Mama’s place either.]

“Arre par dono me hum kya hi fun kar lenge behen.. Teri colony me toh sirf chhote bachhe rehte hai… Voh Poorvi! Kitni annoying hai.. Har baar didi aapka phone do, didi mere saath khelo… aur agar koi maange poori nahi ki toh apni mummy ko bata deti hai..” Maahi said, irritatingly mimicking the toddler’s actions.

[ But what fun will we even have between just the two of us, sis? In your colony, there are only little kids… And that Poorvi! She’s so annoying… Every time it’s, “Didi, give me your phone,” “Didi, play with me”… and if you don’t fulfill any of her demands, she goes and complains to her mom.]

“Yaar kuch hi kar lenge.. Dono hi paani me khel lenge, atleast ghar par bas family ke saath celebrate karne se toh achha hai na!” Nitya said, Maahi nodded and their decision was made.

[ Yaar, we’ll figure something out… the two of us can just play with water or something. At least it’ll be better than celebrating only at home with family, right! ]

“Maahi, Nitya.. Neeche aao dono, Pasta ban gaya hai!” Adarsh called out from downstairs. The girls exchanged excited glances, they washed their hands and made their way downstairs, running as if they were eating pasta after a 100 years.

[ Maahi, Nitya… come down fast! The pasta is ready! ]

Adarsh placed the bowl of freshly made white sauce pasta on the table and took out three plates for them to eat, he sat down and gestured to them to sit. “Khud paros lo ab mai tumhara naukar nahi hoon..” He said in mock indignation as he glanced at the girls who were eagerly waiting to have the food served into their plates.

[ Serve it yourselves, I'm not your helper ]

They frowned and immediately took spoons and started filling their plates, inhaling the delicious smell of the pasta and then started to eat.

Nobody spoke, they just kept on eating when they heard the door creak open.

Inside walked a furious Meera and a helpless Rajeev.

Meera walked straight inside their room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Rajeev just watched her and facepalmed himself, “Ab kya karu yaarr!” he muttered under his breath.

[ What should I do now? ]

The three - Maahi, Nitya and Adarsh noticed the uneasiness and raised and eyebrow in unison.

“Kya hua papa, mummy kyu naraz hai?” Adarsh asked calmly.

[ What happened papa, why is mummy upset?]

“Arre Hospital me staff related kuch disagreement ho gayi aur usne argument kheech kar kalesh kar diya” Rajeev said as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

[ We just had a disagreement and she stretched the argument further ]

“Uncle aap jaldi mana lijiye varna volcanic eruption ho jayega aur hum log uske lava me doob jayenge!” Maahi said dramatically.

[ Uncle, persuade her fast or the volcano will erupt and we will all drown in its lava ]

“Haa papa, agar aag ka gola barsa toh hum chaaro par baras jayega” Nitya said in mock seriousness.

[ Yes papa, if the fire ball bursts , it will burst on all of us!] 

“Chup raho tum teeno..” Rajeev snapped. He plopped himself on the couch and ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself. “Ek toh yaha pata nahi kaise manau aur mazaak soojh raha hai.”

[ Stay quiet, you three! ]

[ I'm not getting how to persuade her in the first place and you are cracking jokes ]

Three of them grabbed their plates and also plopped themselves on the sofa around him, sensing the tension. They began suggesting solutions and animatedly gesturing how he should persuade his wife.

Just then, Meera stepped out of the room, changing into a comfortable cotton kurti. She walked towards the dining table and stopped before the pasta, her eyes flickering for a moment before she remembered that she was on a diet. She then made her way towards the fridge and began searching for something in it,almost absentmindedly.

Nitya nudged her father’s shoulders and shifted her gaze towards her mother. He understood it immediately. He went towards the kitchen and took out a plate. He served the pasta on the plate with practiced ease and went towards her with measured and steady steps.

Meera stopped her absentminded research and began to turn away from the kitchen towards the hall.

Rajeev stepped before her, extended the plate with one hand and raised his other to grip his ears in a gesture of apology. “Sorry na yaar” He said.

Meera’s lips twitched and she looked away to hide a smile, she quickly composed her expression and said sternly, “I’m on a diet.”

“Arree kya zaroorat hai diet karne ki, itni fit toh ho.. Ab khaa lo thoda sa, vaise bhi its quite healthy” Rajeev said, trying to persuade her as much as possible.

[ Aree, what's the need to follow a diet? You are fit and fine! Anyways, this pasta is healthy.]

“Tum doctor hote hue bhi aisi baat karte hue sharam nahi aayi?” Meera said as she grabbed the plate, lips twitching despite her efforts to stay composed.

[ Don't you have any shame in being a doctor and saying these ridiculous things? ]

Nitya, Maahi and Adarsh slid a hand to their faces to hide a chuckle, but it escaped anyway.

Meera sat down before them, her earlier outburst forgotten as she started to eat her pasta. Rajeev sat beside her, grinning like he’d won the world.

Maahi checked the time on her watch and said, “Chal Nitya mujhe late ho raha hai, ab mai chalti hoon ghar…” She said as Nitya nodded. Maahi hurried to Nitya’s room, picked up her stationary supplies and was walking towards the entrance when Adarsh called out, “Arree Maahi ruk, akeli mat jaa.. I’ll drop you” He said and stood up, grabbing his bike keys.

[ Nitya, it's getting late.. i should leave now ]

[ Aree Maahi wait, it's getting late… don't go alone, I'll drop you ]

“Bhaiya koi zaroo-” Maahi was about to say when Meera intervened, “Kyu zaroorat nahi hai? Adarsh jaa use chhod kar aa” And Maahi just smiled and nodded.

[ Bhaiya no need- ]

[ How is there no need? Adarsh go and drop her ]

Just as they went outside, Nitya remembered the memory of the day and decided to share it with her parents. She narrated the incident of her unexpected meet with Dhruv and explained that his family had shifted just across from them.

“Kyaa?? Nandini ya Kajal ko phone laga kar keh dungi ki parso dinner par aajana.. Vaise bhi hospital me utna kaam nahi hai toh 8 baje bula lenge sabko…” Meera said as Rajeev nodded.

[ What?? I’ll call Nandini or Kajal and tell them to come over for dinner the day after tomorrow. Anyway, there isn’t that much work at the hospital, so we’ll invite everyone around 8 o’clock. ]

Adarsh returned after dropping Maahi and everyone of them went to their own rooms, the elders were fast asleep but Nitya was awake - reading her favourite book online.

This was her old habit. She was not able to sleep at night when she had slept almost 4 hours in the afternoon.

She switched apps and opened instagram, intending to scroll for a few minutes before sleeping. The notifications tab caught her eye and the friend request from Dhruv lay before her.

“Silently finding Art in every star of the universe” She read his bio and rolled her eyes so hard they were about to get stuck. “Kutta aesthetic bane ka try kar raha” she muttered under her breath and accepted the follow request.

[ This dog is trying to be aesthetic ]

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How was the chapter??🎀✨

Your favourite moments??✨

Btw MD ka pehla milan bhi MD ka hi hua! ( Maahi + Dhruv = MD) 💌

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