One Day At A Time

Chapter Thirty Eight - Time Travel(II)

December 27, 1993
Pune, 10:00am

Arnav shot up in bed to the sound of the phone ringing in the house. Pushing away the blanket in a hurry, he stumbled as he darted towards the living room and rammed straight into Akash on his way out. "The phone!" He cried as he ran, pushing a bewildered Akash out of his way. His heart was thundering against his ribs as he ran down the hallway and into the room, a prayer ringing louder by the second in his head.

Let it be her, God, let it be her, please!

However, he stopped abruptly before he reached the phone table, his shoulders slumping down, immediately realising Shaila had already answered the phone and was speaking to his aunt from Delhi. Closing his eyes after letting out a deep sigh, he turned away from the phone once again, forbidding his mind to crush the indomitable hope of speaking to her. Akash, who was standing there watching him helplessly, raised his hand to say something but paused and then snapped it downwards to form a tiny fist at his side, his body tensing fractionally, feeling the full stinging impact of Arnav's defeated misty eyes on his heart.

Arnav headed straight for the washbasin and splashed cold water on his face. It stung him, the tired, anxious eyes snapping open violently as he hissed in pain.

"Coffee." He heard Akash's grim tone a few minutes later and saw him place the mug on the bedside table as he walked out of the bathroom.

Sitting down on the bed, Arnav rubbed his forehead as an unrelenting headache began to pound his skull once again. "For some reason, I was sure it was her call." He said in a flat tone and picked up the bottle of water on the bedside table and gulped down half of it hurriedly.

Akash stiffened as the words fuelled his already simmering anger. He had watched this man sitting in front of him reduced to a defeated lump of mass overnight. It was awful. Like watching, helplessly from the sidelines, someone slowly drown without being able to do a single thing to help him. "You hungry? Shaila kaki has made some yummy parathas."

"What if she doesn't call—"

Akash reacted swiftly by holding his arm in a tight grip and stared at him, realising that he had not even heard what he had been saying. "Get a grip, Arnav. I know the hell you are in right now, but I want you to eat first."

Arnav kept looking at him for a few odd moments and then nodded as he lifted the mug in his hand. "I was thinking if I should try calling her instead of waiting for her call."

"Okay." Akash surrendered. "I will ask Payal if it's possible to get hold of her Aunt's number."

Sipping on his coffee, Arnav shook his head and kept the mug down on the table with a grimace. "This just isn't tasting the way it's supposed to. Don't know why." He said, forcing a smile on his lips which vanished within moments of registering its presence. Staring at the tiles on the floor, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Anagha Kaki should be free now. She is an early riser, gets through her morning chores pretty quick. Maybe I should check —"

"Have you lost it completely?" Akash snapped. "How many times will you ring her damned doorbell? Khushi has reached Bangalore safely, Arnav. I don't think she's going to call up her home or you again. And when you know she doesn't want to be with you or talk to you, how is talking to Anagha Kaki going to help—"

"This isn't about being with Khush anymore. It's about talking to her once before I accept what she has decided for both of us—"

"Her leaving at the crack of dawn without meeting you wasn't good enough to convince you? Goddamnit, why won't you accept that it—"

Shaking his head, he didn't even attempt to protest other than to say quietly, "It isn't over, Akky. It can't be." He looked away. "Because we've had similar fights before but have always come back to each other the next day in regret or a willingness to sort out an issue."