Not Her

9. Lost ...

The temperature of Bangalore was so mild that Khusi loved it there. Neither too hot, nor too cold. As she stepped out of the washroom a fit of giggles rang out her room, a couple of students leaving the apartment.

Bhaskar had started coaching classes from February and so far, with every passing month, the number of students were increasing at a rapid speed.

She started getting ready for her day. The school had arranged a small excursion to a tourist attraction in the city that day, so Khusi took extra time to do little bit makeup for the photos that would soon be getting uploaded on her IG page.

When she stepped out of her room, Khusi saw the door of the guest room was still apart, as low voices were ringing inside. She strode towards it and saw two girls, standing infront of Bhaskar, as he explained something from a book. One of them was keenly listening to Bhaskar's words, the latter's eyes drifting between Bhaskar's arms and face.

A secret smiling was hovering over her lips, as she leaned more into Bhaskar.

"And that would be it. I would explain the rest, tomorrow, in college." The girls thanked Bhaskar, the second one's smile a little bit extra, as they left.

Khusi leaned on the door frame of the guest room as Bhaskar slumped down on a couch, his shoulder hanging low in fatigue. He had gone to bed late last night but had to wake up early for the classes.

"Here." Sitting down beside Bhaskar, Khusi handed him a mug of coffee, preparing him for the hectic day ahead.

"Thanks." Bhaskar appreciated Khusi doing small things for him. From making the food when he was too busy or tired, even when it's not her day, to giving him a shoulder massages in the middle of night. He felt cherished.

"The Dean had a meeting last week with VC, and they might dispel that bizarre policy regarding professors' salary."

"That's excellent." Khusi was happy for Bhaskar. With the amount of load he took everyday, he didn't deserve anything less.

"Come-on, I will drop you at school," Bhaskar said, getting up from the couch and helding out his hand for Khusi to take. A smile creeped up Khusi's lips at his caring nature.

Bhaskar had his classes from 12 pm that day. And it was just 8:45 am. She wanted him to have his rest-over sleep for the day, before his lengthy classes would drive away whatever energy was left inside him.

"Thanks, but I have a colleague to meet, so I will go by my own today."

Bhaskar was about to intervene when she shut him off with a peck on his lip. He sighed as a small grin broke on his lips. Khusi strode out of the room grabbing her bag from the love-seat on the hallway.

*******

"And who is going to answer this for me?" Khusi chimed, turning away from the blackboard, her eyes romaning across the classroom where more than 50 children were sitting in tiny benches. A few were distracted, chewing on the pencils or scales, a few whispering to the ones sitting beside them and the rest thad their eyes on the blackboard. Some gazes sharp, the rest, distracted.

"Mam, mam!" Countable arms rose up in the air, eager to answer the question, Khusi had asked.

"Yes Rohan."

"Ashoka, the Great."

"Absolutely right Rohan. Excellent!"

The bell boomed around the school, ending the day for the children and Khusi, as they ran out of their classroom, packing their bags.

While returning back to the staff room, a small figure collided with Khusi's legs as she stumbled and swiftly looked back.

An infant.

Khusi's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. The little girl wasn't wearing any uniform, which meant she wasn't a student. She barely looked three years old. Parents were allowed to enter the school, to collect their wards, but only upto a certain parameters.

"Hey sweetie. Where are your parents?" Khusi softly asked the infant, sitting on her haunces infront of her. She wasn't sure whether the child could speak properly or not.

"Falak ... " she mumbled, sucking a lollipop and looking around her. Khusi's eyes halted on the girl's birthmark, on her upper right temple. A weird shaped one, extending upto her hairline.

"Falak? Is that your name?" Khusi asked.

The girl shook her head, scratching it, as spittle ran down her chin. Khusi quickly dug into her bag to look for a handkerchief to clean her face. Her searching paused for a moment when she noticed, the only hanky she had was the customized one Bhaskar had gifted her, a few weeks back, with her name on it. Quickly shaking her head, she took it out and swiped the little girl's chin and nose clean.

She giggled as Khusi wiped her nose and a grin broke out on Khusi's face too, at the sight of pure happiness on her face.

"Me ... Yuti." The girl extended her hand for a handshake and Khusi chuckled at the tiny fingers she held out.

"Hello Yuti. I am ... "

She was just about to introduce herself when her phone rang. Pushing herself on her feet, she retrieved it from her bag, only to see it was Bhaskar.

"Hey! What's up?"

He sighed on the other side of the phone ."I was wondering, would you like to go on a long drive. My classes for the day, are over."

"Really!?" Khusi's excitement peaked. She loved romantic long drives with her significant other.

"Yes," Bhaskar chuckled.

"I'm in. See you in an hour."

As Khusi disconnected the line, she turned back to look at the girl. But her eyes narrowed down when she didn't find anyone.

"Yuti," she called aloud, looking around. But when she saw the school-gate closed, she realised that Yuti surely would have left, with whomever she came.

As she strode out her school compound, her steps came to a halt and her eyes widened in realization.

"My handkerchief!?"

*******

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