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जो बरसें सपने बूँद बूँद
नैनों को मूँद मूँद
कैसे मैं चलूँ
देख न सकूं
अनजाने रास्ते
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा इकतारा
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा इकतारा
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा इकतारा
धीमे बोले कोई इकतारा इकतारा
धीमे बोले कोई इकतारा
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा इकतारा
गूंजा सा है कोई इकतारा...✨

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Nitya was standing in front of the mirror, getting ready to go to Maahi's place.

She was wearing a green crop top and baggy jeans, a casual look to go to a friend's house. She applied her moisturizer and sunscreen, and then finished her skincare by applying a tinted lip balm on her lips.

She took the sling bag that she was going to carry and flung it on her shoulder. She walked out of the room to find Adarsh on the sofa, with hundreds of papers sprawled across the table in front of him. He looked focused, he scanned every piece of notes with a concentrated look on his face.

Nitya went towards him and said dramatically. "Mere pyaare bhaiya... Kya aap mujhe meri sakhi ke ghar chhodne ka kasht karenge?" Her voice was sweet, unusually sweet.

[ My dear brother, will you please drop me over at my best friend's house? ]

Adarsh didn't even glance up, he just waved his hand and said, "Abhi nahi, mujhe padhne de... Parso se exams start hone wale hai mere"

[ Not right now, let me study... My exams are starting the day after tomorrow. ]

"Khair thik hai, mai auto se hi chali jaati hoon... mere bhaiya ko toh meri parwah hi nahi hai" Nitya said dramatically, her voice was deliberately low as she faked a disappointed look.

[ Alright then, it's fine, I'll just go by auto... my brother doesn't even care about me. ]

"Haa Haa chali jaa auto se, tu bhi akele travel karna seekh jayegi.." Adarsh said, still looking at his study material.

[ Yes, yes, go by auto. You'll learn to travel alone too. ]

Nitya had not expected this answer. She frowned in disapproval and said, "Fine! Jaa rahi hoon" and stormed off towards the entrance. "Sachme jaa rahi hoon!" She called out after reaching the entrance.

[ Fine! I'm going! ]

[I'm really going alone! ]

Adarsh looked at her and waved his hand, urging her to go. "Jaa na fir, aise ailaan karne ki kya zaroorat hai?"

[ Then go, why is there a need to make such an announcement? ]

Nitya finally stepped out of the house after giving her brother the most 'Are-you-serious-at-this-moment?' look known to mankind.

She stood outside the gate and muttered to herself, "Aise bhaiya kyu diye yaar Madhav!! Mujhe nahi chahiye ye. product bad quality hai, Return le jaiye" She glanced up at the sky, as if Lord Krishna was really hearing her words. "Ab kya karuu? Auto milegi nahi jaldii" She looked around helplessly.

[ Why did you give me a brother like this, Kanhaji!! I don't want him. The product is bad quality — please take the return. ]

[ What should I do now? I'll not find an auto easily ]

Then she spotted an auto arriving in their colony. She glanced up at the sky and muttered to herself, "Wahh yaar Madhav! Itne jaldi baat maan li?? Thank you, thank you!"

[ Wow Madhav! You agreed in minutes? thank you ]

She ran towards the auto, which was two houses away. Then, as soon as she was about to ask the driver to take her to the address, one more voice said out aloud behind her.

"Uncle, yaha paas me jo grocery store hai na, vaha le chaliye please" The voice said. Nitya turned to find Dhruv standing there with a hopeful expression on his face, ready to travel in the auto.

[ Uncle, please take me to the grocery store nearby. ]

"Mai yaha pehle aayi thi kutte!" Nitya exclaimed at him.

[ I came here before you! ]

"Maine pehle bola na.. Toh tu doosra auto dhoondh! Chudail!" Dhruv shot back.

[ I called out earlier, you will find another auto! ]

"Par mai yaha pehle khadi hui, tu toh yaha aane se pehle hi bol pada!" Nitya countered.

[ But I was standing here first — you spoke up even before coming here! ]

"Toh voh teri galti hai, jaldi bolna chahiye tha" Dhruv said matter-of-factly as he shrugged his shoulders.

[ Then it's your fault you didn't call out earlier ]

Then, a voice called out from inside the gate of his own home, "Ayee Dhruv! Ruk! Andar aa mummy kuch aur saaman bhi bata rahi hai... list hi lekar jaa" Neel called out, he peeked out of the gate and gestured his hand to urge Dhruv to come inside. When Dhruv agreed, he went back inside, unaware that he had helped someone to win an argument.

[ Hey Dhruv! Wait! Come inside, Mom is telling some more things to buy... take the list with you.]

"Achha bhaiya aap isko mat lekar jaana.. Mai abhi aaya" Dhruv said to the auto driver as he pointed at Nitya and then went in , ready to make the list of things that Kajal was planning to add.

[ Bhaiya don't take her as a passenger,I'll come in a minute. ]

"Arree bhaiya, yeh ladka aise hi auto rok ke rakhta hai aur fir din bhar nahi aata... aapko pata hai kitne baar isne aise auto roka hai? Pichhle 2 saal se aisi hi harkatein hai iski... Isse achha aap mujhe le chaliye" Nitya lied gracefully as soon as she saw Dhruv retreating back towards his house.

[ Hey brother, this boy just stops the auto like this and then doesn't come back for the whole day... do you know how many times he has stopped an auto like this? He's been doing the same thing for the past two years... It would be better if you just take me instead. ]

The auto driver nodded in return. Nitya told him the address of Maahi's house and sat in the passenger seat, grinning to herself proudly for dealing with the situation.

When Dhruv returned, he found out that the auto was nowhere to be found. "Chudail kahin ki" he muttered under his breath and walked towards the grocery store instead.

Nitya reached her destination and handed the auto driver her fare. She walked towards the entrance of the Ahuja residence and rang the bell.

The door opened a few seconds later, Maahi was standing there in her comfortable pajamas.

"Tu yaha kya kar rahi hai Nitya? Bataya bhi nahi aane wali hai" Maahi said with a confused frown on her face.

[ What are you doing here, Nitya? You didn't even tell me you were coming. ]

"Aree chal chal.. Tujhse kaunsa kaam hai mujhe" She nudged Maahi's shoulder and entered without invitation, as if she had owned the place since birth. "Uncle aunty kaha hai?" She asked Maahi, looking around for Maahi's parents.

[ Oh, come on... it's not like I have any work with you anyway. ]

[ Where is uncle and aunty? ]

"Yaha hoon beti.. Bol kya kaam hai" Manish called out from the sofa. A laptop rested in front of him with his trading going on. He glanced at Nitya with a fatherly query written all over his face. "Aunty hospital me hai" He added.

[ I'm here beti, tell me what work you have ]

[ Aunty is in the hospital ]

"Aree uncle! Voh aap dono ki 3 din pehle anniversary thi na toh mai gifts lekar aayi thi... Aunty ko abhi hi hospital jaana tha kyaa!" Nitya said as she sat across from him on the sofa with Maahi beside her.

[ Oh uncle! Your anniversary was three days ago, right? So I brought gifts... Did aunty have to go to the hospital right now! ]

Nitya opened her sling bag and slid out a delicate men's wristwatch and a beautiful pair of jhumkas that shimmered as soon as they came in contact with the light in the room.

"Aree beti, in sab ki kya zaroorat thi?" Manish said, his voice laced with gratitude and a flicker of fatherly love.

[ Aree there was no need for all this.. ]

"Haww uncle! Ek baar beti bolte ho aur ab formality kar rahe? Aapne toh mujhe paraaya kar diya" Nitya said dramatically, placing a hand over her head in a pretentiously sorrowful gesture.

[ Oh wow, uncle! One moment you call me your daughter and now you're being so formal? You've made me feel like an outsider. ]

"Nautanki kaheen ki" Manish chuckled affectionately, shaking his head in amusement. Nitya got up and sat beside him to place the wrist watch on his hand. She smiled in pure delight.

[ Dramatic girl! ]

"Dekha! Kya choice hai meri... ekdum top notch! Aunty ko ye earrings aap hi de dena uncle, mujhe iss chudail pe bilkul bharosa nahi hai" Nitya said as she narrowed her eyes and pointed at Maahi.

[ See! What a great choice I have... absolutely top-notch! Uncle, you give these earrings to aunty yourself — I don't trust this witch at all. ]

Maahi was speechless and clearly done with her antics. She just blinked. Once, twice. And then she said in mock indignation, "Haa Haa, mai toh side character hoon yaha! Hai na papa?" She looked at Nitya to Manish, then back at Nitya. Both of them were grinning with amusement, seeing Maahi's frustration unfold.

[ Yeah yeah, I'm the side character her.. Right dad? ]

"Idharr aa" Manish called out softly. Maahi grinned and sat on his other side. He slid both his arms around the shoulders of his daughters in a side hug.

[ Come here ]

Nitya was not their biological daughter, but Manish and Rashi had never considered her any less of that. Neither had Meera and Rajeev differentiated in both of them.

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The evening was rushed and it literally screamed chaos from every corner of the house. The Arora residence was filled with the seriousness of the responsibility of the host

Today was the evening when the Mehras were coming for dinner.

"Tum dono! Abhi ke abhi utho! Change into decent clothes! Voh log aate hi honge" Meera said sternly to both of her children, who were both very interested in watching the TV.

[ You two! Get up right now! Change into decent clothes! They must be arriving any moment. ]

Paying no attention to their mother's stern remarks, Nitya and Adarsh were quarrelling over who the real villain was in the series they were watching.

"Mai bol rahi hoon na voh hai, Gian kaheen ke bhaiya!" Nitya said in frustration, pointing at the character that she thought was the real villain.

[ I'm telling you, it's him — honestly, brother!]

"Gian?? Agar mai Gian toh tu voh Gian ki behen Jaiko!" Adarsh shot back at her. "Aur villain pakka voh hi hai, dekh na voh kitna idhar udhar dekh raha hai nervously" Adarsh pointed at a character with certainty.

[ Gian?? If I'm Gian, then you're Gian's sister Jaiko! ]

[ And the villain is definitely him just look at how nervously he's looking around here and there.]

As their banter was about to take a turn where they would not stop at just verbal fighting and argument, two hands smacked their individual heads.

The smack was not at all the light and playful smack.

It hurt, and they winced in pain and turned.

They turned to find their father, Rajeev Arora. An apron was still loosely tied across his body. His expression practically screamed, agar abhi uthe nahi...toh pata hai tumhe kya hoga.

That one look was enough. Their usually lively father gave that expression only when he was genuinely frustrated. Both of them gulped audibly and got up.

"Haa papa, ho rahe hai taiyar" Adarsh blurted out, quickly turning off the TV with the remote and looking absolutely anywhere except for the direction of the expression on his father's face.

[ Yes papa, we're getting ready now ]

"Ha papa, mai jaa rahi taiyar hone.." Nitya blurted out quickly before turning away and she practically ran to her bedroom, leaving Adarsh to handle the situation alone.

[ Yes papa, I'm going to get ready ]

Adarsh muttered something like "gaddar kahin ki" under his breath and then turned to his father, with the sweetest smile.

[ Such a traitor! ]

"Papa mai bhi taiyar hokar aata hoon" He said and turned to his bedroom immediately.

[ Papa, I'll just come after getting ready ]

Nitya was humming soft tunes in her room as she skimmed through the dresses, she picked up a pink kurti. It was casual, a kind of outfit you wear to look comfortable yet presentable.

She returned from the washroom after changing and walked towards the dressing table. She completed her skincare and just applied a layer of compact powder and a tinted lip balm.

Her hair was left open, the soft curls framing her face as they fell on her shoulders.

She looked gorgeous. Ethereal.

She glanced at her reflection and smiled. She then picked up a small black bindi, and applied it to her forehead. That completed her look.

"Kuch toh baat hai mujhme... Aise hi koi itna Sundar nahi dikh sakta" She said as she made a quick gesture of warding off evil eyes. She performed the gesture on the reflection on the mirror in front of her. "Kisi ki Nazar na Lage" She said.

[ There must be something special about me... No one can look this beautiful just like that. ]

[ Hope no one casts an evil eye on me. ]

She had not gotten any information related to the boy in the balcony, not that she tried. She had dismissed it as a silly little attraction that would go away easily and quickly brushed it off

Nitya walked into the living room and saw that her father was still in the kitchen with her mother. They were both preparing the dishes themselves as the cook only worked for the afternoons when they were usually not at home.

"Aap log hume taiyar hone ke liye bolkar khud aise avataar me khade hai!" Nitya exclaimed dramatically. "Jaiye dono, ye mai aur bhaiya kar lenge" she added as she nudged her parents out of the kitchen.

[ You told us to get ready, and you yourselves are standing here in this kind of appearance! ]

[ Go get ready, Me and bhaiya will handle this ]

"Tu rehne de, kitchen udaana nahi hai hume, Adarsh ko aane de, uske bharose chhod toh sakte hai" Meera said, mocking Nitya's attempt to even help. "Aur nahi toh kya... pichhli baar bas ek katori laane ko bola tha toh puri pav bhaji neeche gira di thi.." Rajeev added, agreeing with his wife.

[ You leave it — we don't want the kitchen to get blown up. Let Adarsh come; at least we can trust him with it. ]

[ Exactly... last time we just asked her to bring a small bowl, and she ended up dropping the entire pav bhaji on the floor. ]

Adarsh entered the kitchen just then and with the most responsible and sincere nod, he said to his parents, "Mummy papa aap dono jaiye taiyar hoiye.. mai yaha manage kar lunga"

[ Mom, Dad.. You both get ready, I will manage this ]

Both the parents nodded and went to change into presentable clothes, leaving Adarsh with a responsible demeanor and Nitya with a sulking expression and a disappointed pout.

"Vaise Gian bhaiya, aapko nahi lagta uss kutte Dhruv ke liye itna sab karna pagalpan hai..." Nitya said, glancing at Adarsh in mock seriousness and pretended to think as if what she had said was some universal truth.

[ By the way, Gian bhaiya, don't you think doing so much for that dog Dhruv is a bit crazy? ]

"Sirf Dhruv nahi hai, uncle aunty bhi hai, Neel, uske parents bhi shayad aayenge Aaj" Adarsh said seriously, still stirring the curry in the pot.

[ It's not just Dhruv — uncle and aunty are there too, and Neel as well. His parents might also come today. ]

"Aur Gian bolna band kar, meri pyaari behen Jaiko" He said sweetly, too sweet.

[ And stop calling me Gian, my dear sister Jaiko! ]

"Hmm right.." Nitya said absentmindedly, and then she picked up her phone and started watching reels, scrolling mindlessly.

"Nitya, namak de toh zara" Adarsh said to her as she was closer to the salt container.

[ Nitya, pass me the salt container ]

Nitya picked up the container and gave it to him, still looking at her phone and double tapping the reels she liked.

Adarsh took the container and then smacked the back of her head hard. She winced and turned towards him. "Gian bhaiya!! Aapki himmat kaise hui?" She said in mock indignation.

[ How dare you, bhaiya? ]

"Ye sugar hai! Mujhe namak chahiye tha... Gadhii phone me ghus matt zyada, dhyaan de apni surroundings par" Adarsh said, his tone serious with authority.

[ This is sugar! I needed salt... Don't bury yourself in your phone so much, pay attention to your surroundings. ]

"Abhi 11th me jaane wali hai, pata hai 11th me kitne changes hote hai? Aise phone chalane se nahi chalega tera kaam... Kitni padhai hoti-" Adarsh added and just as he was about to give her a full fledged speech about the overuse of digital devices, Nitya cut him off.

[ You're about to go into 11th grade. do you know how many changes happen in 11th? You won't get by just using your phone like this... there's so much studying to do— ]

"Yaar Bhaiya! Aap bhi na... aap bhi mummy papa se kam nahi ho!" Nitya said, irritation visible on her face and then she grabbed the salt container and yanked it in Adarsh's hand.

[ Bhaiya, you are no less than mom dad ]

Then she stormed off from the kitchen, irritated and frustrated to the core. She sat comfortably in the living room, the soft cushions of the sofa providing her comfort. She continued scrolling reels on her phone, paying no attention to her brother's words.

Meera and Rajeev appeared, fully changed into comfortable and presentable clothes and went towards the kitchen. When they saw that Adarsh had successfully completed the final stirring and filled the dishes in serving bowls, they sighed in relief.

Meera, Rajeev and Adarsh carefully kept the serving bowls on the dining table, followed by the plates and cutlery. Nitya was still scrolling on her phone.

Then the doorbell rang.

Nitya got up to open the door, still looking at her phone.

She opened the door and glanced up. Her eyes widened in a mix of confusion and pure recognition. She just blinked. Once, twice, thrice and even four times.

Because standing in front of her was the same boy at the balcony.

Neel.

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Word count : 3.1K

Thoda boring tha I know par I promise next chapter will be good!❤️

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