Bhalla House - a few days later, Friday July 27th, 8 pm
"Ishimaa, I'm done," Ruhi slid her plate away from her with her palm.
"No beta, pehle yeh saare vegetables finish karo." Ishita pointed to the veggies that Ruhi had discarded while eating pulao.
[No beta, finish all your vegetables first.]
"No Ishimaa, yeh vegetables kitne gande hain. Yuck."
[These vegetables are so gross.]
"Ruhi. Aise nahi bolte. Dadi ne kitne pyaar se saara khaana banaya hai."
[Don't say like that. Dadi has made the food with such love.]
"But I don't like vegetables."
"Ruhi! Ishimaa ko gussa ayega abhi. Finish your food please. Vegetables are healthy for you, you know that right?" [Ishimaa will get mad now.]
Ishita and Ruhi were caught in a metaphorical tug of war at the dinner table. She was slowly getting into the habit of eating by herself, but that brought along another challenge. Her pickiness, especially when it came to veggies, leading to a tiff between mother and daughter. It was a rare sight however, and even now, no one was around to see it. Raman and Romi had yet to come home, Rinki was busy studying, and Toshi and Omprakash were inside playing a game of chess.
"No mumma, pleeeease....?" Ruhi made the most adorable eyes at Ishita and she almost gave in. Almost.
"Yeh nakhre dadi ko ullu bana sakte hain, mujhe nahi. Come on, finish your veggies."
[You can fool your dadi with these eyes but not me.]
Ishita took the spoon in her hand, scooped up all the vegetables, and stuffed them in Ruhi's mouth.
"Good girl."
"Kaun kise ullu bana sakta hain?" Toshi was standing at the edge of the dining room with her hands on her hips. "Kya boli tu, Ishita?"
[Who can fool whom? What did you say Ishita?]
"Kuch nahi mummyji, woh to Ruhi nakhre kar rahi thi ki use vegetables nahi khaane. Isiliye maine kaha ki yeh nakhre mujh pe nahin chalenge."
[Nothing mummyji, Ruhi was adamant on not eating her vegetables. So I said that she can't fool me like that.]
Ishita took another spoonful of the remaining veggies and fed Ruhi the last bite. "Dekha Ru? Finish bhi ho gaya. Good job."
[Did you see that Ru? It's all finished already.]
"Ishimaa, main TV dekhu?" [Can I watch TV?]
"Ok beta. But only 30 minutes. Uske baad hum reading karenge, okay?" [After that, we have to do reading, okay?]
"Ok mumma!"
"Wait baccha, aapki plate to rakh do!" [Put your plate in the sink.]
"Rehne de, main rakh deti hoon." Toshi grabbed the plate from Ruhi's spot and threw it in the sink. [Let it be, I'll take it.]
Ruhi had already planted herself in front of the TV and tuned into the cartoon channel. Ishita tidied up the dining table and joined her mother-in-law in the kitchen.
"Laiyiye mummyji, kuch help kar doon aap ki?"
[Mummyji, what can I help you with?]
"Rehne de. Main kar loongi. Tujhe kya lagta hain? Mai budhi ho gayi hoon? Mujhe ghar sambhaalna nahi aata?"
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Connected: A YHM Story ✔️
FanfictionFour separate souls -- Raman, Ishita, Ruhi, and Adi -- in four separate cities; but somehow CONNECTED. How? Read to find out.... Ishita Iyer has been dreaming of a life as a dentist, wife, and mother, but destiny plays a cruel joke on her, as her dr...
