Kuch Na Kaho • A MiNeil OS •

Kuch Na Kaho

"No, Mr. Makhija! This time, I want those visitation rights..." Neil hissed into his cell phone rather indignantly, the creases on his forehead deepening with every word of caution his pessimistic lawyers appeared to be offering him.

Sipping her warm milk in as unobtrusive a way possible, an unusually docile Mini observed the eclectic mix of emotions on his face as he spoke. She realised that the frown lines marring his forehead seemed to make him look older, more worn out even. Perhaps, they were the physical manifestation of the trials he'd faced in his life thus far...trials that he'd grown accustomed to suppressing his emotions about over the years...Suddenly, she was more wary of the eight year age gap between them which had always seemed of no particular consequence to her, until then.

Quite frankly, Mini had never thought twice about it while falling for him. In fact, it only made sense to her that a man who'd be able to match her expectations when it came to emotional maturity would be at least a couple of years her senior.

Mini'd always known that she'd grown up far too quickly. A large part of her childhood had been spent in emancipating her mom -her 'Babes'-from the cruel clutches of her father and Patiala's dogmatic society. In many ways, she'd become an honorary parent to her Babes, even as a teenager.

And now in her early twenties, when most other girls her age had casual relationships and focussed on their careers, Mini had been given the herculean task of looking after her four year old half sister Arya, who'd been left orphaned rather abruptly by the sudden passing of her parents.

When Mini decided to take up the challenge of raising Arya and managing her mother's restaurant, she knew what she was sacrificing. Not only was she putting her professional aspirations on hold, but was also jeopardizing any chance of a romantic relationship she could've had in the near future. After all, which twenty year old would wilfully date someone with so many familial obligations and responsibilities? Mini understood that it would be too much of a burden on any decent human being, let alone her contemporaries.

Consequently, Mini had focussed all her attention on Arya and her upbringing, making sure that she'd instill in Arya the very same values that her mother and Hanuman uncle would have wanted, freeing her mind from any thoughts of a romantic entanglement.

That is, until Chef Neil Oberoi stumbled into her life and slowly, but steadily, carved out an irrevocable place in her heart.

Mini's heart had remained closed for several years now. She knew that it would take nothing short of a miracle for it to start beating for someone once again. And a miracle, Neil was. Not only for her, but for her little Chutanki Arya as well, who regarded him as her very own genie, just like in a fairytale.

Try as Mini would to figure out exactly when she started to feel for him, she could never pinpoint an exact moment or instance.

Was it when he'd offered her the small kindness of dropping her home when she was running a high fever? A kindness that had heretofore never been offered to her by a mere stranger without expecting anything in return.

Was it when she'd seen how effortlessly he'd managed to charm Arya and even resolve some of the conflicts between Arya and her friends? Something Mini had tried, but failed to accomplish for quite a while, partly owing to her own gruff and blunt ways.

Was it when they'd had a heart to heart conversation about the loss of their parents over a late night cup of coffee? A conversation that she'd never bothered to have with even her closest friends and family.

Or was it on the very first day she watched him cook in her Babes's kitchen, where she noticed him speaking to his ingredients as if they were old comrades instead of inanimate objects, just as her mother once did?