Krish and Raavi were sitting and chatting. Rishita was feeling lonely. Dev had again gone to the market to buy their ration so she was just roaming around the Haveli all alone. Looking over at Krish and Raavi laughing, she felt like joining them. She had not spoken to Krish since the Kesar incident so it felt weird. But she didn't want to be alone so she went and stood at a distance, playing with her phone.
"Mujhe toh pehle se hi pata tha ki woh prank Shiva ka hoga. Yeh kaam na sirf Shiva hi kar sakta hai." Raavi pouted.
"Aap bhi toh uski baato mein aa gayi thi!" Krish laughed.
"Pata nahi kaise woh bhootnath mujhe apne lapete mein le leta hai." Raavi whined. "Woh kuch bhi sweetly mujhse kehta hai toh main mana nahi kar pati."
"Aap pighal jati ho."
"Tumlog kaunse prank ki baat kar rahe ho?" Rishita asked. She couldn't control herself.
"Dev, Shiva aur maine ek dance kiya tha school mein. Pura western song tha, par usne mujhe kha ki Indian dance karna hai. Toh stage pe main bharatnatyam karne lag gayi aur Shiva aur Dev dhoom macha le mein dance karne lage. Phir sabne mera kya mazak uraya."
Rishita was jealous. No matter what she did, she could never be a part of their childhood stories. They were so close together and she was an outsider.
"Tumlog bachpan mein bohot fun karte the na?" Rishita asked. "Tumhara best friend kaun tha Raavi?"
Raavi came to Pandya house. It was friendship's day. She came with three friendship bands in hand. She found Krish first and she tied one on his hand. Then she found Dev and tied one on his hand. Shiva was nowhere to be seen.
"Dhara di Shiva kaha hai?" Raavi asked.
"Gaumbi ke saath bahar gaya hai kuch kaam ke liye. Raat ho jayegi lautne mein." Dhara told her.
Raavi knew he had gone out with Gaumbi just to annoy her. He always made it impossible for her to tie friendship bands on him, but she always tied it one way or the other. Even today, she would. No matter what. Dev and Krish insisted on taking her out for lunch. She did go, but she couldn't stop thinking about Shiva. They dropped her home. She asked Krish to call her whenever Shiva would return.
It was 7PM when Krish called. Shiva was home, but Raavi knew her Maasi wouldn't let her go at this time. So she snuck out the window and went to Pandya house. Everyone there was shocked to see her so late in the evening.
"Ae maami ki behen ki beti, time dekha hai? Jab mann kare tapak jati hai yaha pe."
"Tujhe kya laga tu bhaag jayega toh tu bach jayega?" She showed him the friendship band.
"Hum bade ho chuke hai. Yeh bachpana nahi gaya tera?" Shiva asked.
Raavi shook her head. "Tu toh mera bestie hai. Tujhe kaise nahi bandhu?" Raavi laughed as he took a step back.
He threatened her with a vase that he picked up. Raavi was too stubborn to care. She was going to tie this on his hand, even if he smashed the vase on her head. Dev came and took the vase away. Raavi quickly went and tied it on his hand. He threw it away, but Raavi had won. With a mock smile, she hugged him. Dhara, later, made him drop her home since it was very late.
"Kya soch rahi ho?" Rishita asked.
"Kuch nahi." Raavi said. "Koi best friend nahi tha. Teeno same the mere liye. Shiva toh bas aise ulte seedhe pranks karta tha bas."
"Tum teeno idhar kya khichdi paka rahe ho?" Shiva joined them on the terrace.
Raavi was suddenly scared. What if this bhootnath ruined the perfect illusion she had created in Rishita's mind about their relationship? Or worse, what if she asked him questions about their relationship?
"Main isse puch rahi thi ki tum teeno mein se iska best friend kaun tha." Rishita said. "Par isne tumhara naam nahi liya."
"Friends? Yeh aur mein?"
"Tu maan ya na maan." Raavi said.
"Ae gadheri, tu meri number one dushman hai. Aur kuch nahi." Shiva said.
"Aap dono phir se shuru ho gaye." Krish said. "Aap dono ki dushmani mein bhi pyaar tha."
This earned his a tapli on his head from Shiva. Krish suddenly remembered something and grinned. "Sach bola toh itna gussa? Raavi bhabhi ke birthday pe har saal cake kaun laga tha?"
"Bhabhi lane kehti thi isiliye." Shiva said.
"Haa par tu ek din pehle jaake Raavi bhabhi ke liye specially unka favourite cake order kar aata tha. Bhabhi toh kabhi favour ki koi baat nahi karti thi, tu hi jaake chocolate cake order karta tha."
Raavi was surprised. She had always assumed it was Dhara or Dev who got the cake for her. Shiva got her her favourite cake? It didn't make any sense.
"Par mere 18th birthday ko butterscotch kyu laya tha phir?" Raavi asked. "Tujhe pata hai mujhe bilkul pasand nahi butterscotch."
"Woh Dev laya tha. Isliye." Krish said. He wished he could make Raavi understand how Shiva was the one for her, but she could be extremely dumb at times.
Suddenly Raavi's phone rang and everyone's eyes landed on it. Krish's eyes widened seeing their sleeping selfie as her lockscreen. Shiva looked shocked and before he could say anything, Raavi pulled him away from them. He definitely would have said something wrong in front of Rishita. She took him to their room and closed the door.
"Ae maami-" Shiva started.
"Ae maami ki behen ki beti," Raavi copied him. "Yeh photo kab li? Abhi delete kar warna.." Raavi showed him her fist. Then she laughed. "Maine aaj subah li thi. Bohot cute picture hai aur main delete nahi karne wali. Tujhe jo karna hai kar."
Saying this, she left. Shiva was left with his mouth open. His chipkali was back. He smiled. She was the same Raavi she had been before their marriage. He liked this stubborn, old version of Raavi much more than the new crying Raavi. He only wished she would keep laughing this way, and never cry again.
