PEHLI MOHABBAT

# 45 { Part 2}

Chapter not edited.

{  F O R T Y - F I V E  }

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Arjun saw Aarushi walking out of the girl's hostel. She signed the register, entering her name. When she turned around, her face was ashen, lips almost blue, worn out of any colour. Her limbs moved as if some inexperienced person was controlling them remotely and her eyes were wide, looking right at him, but not really. 

"You sure you don't want me to come?" He asked as she now stood in front of him. He could see her eyes swollen red. She looked a lot weaker, unlike the ever chirping strong women, he knew. She moved her head in denial, unable to speak. Nodding his head, he sat on his bike, waiting for her to sit back. 

In less than fifteen minutes they both were standing outside the same cafè, mentioned in the address. Aarushi got down the bike and without a word walked inside the cafè. Arjun on the other hand, instead of heading back, parked his bike at a corner, a place from where he could see Aarushi sitting on a table near the wide window. 

Aarushi composed herself on a table, nearby window. The coffee table was a round tin tray on legs. The surface was brightly painted, doubtless once perfect. Upon it was the image of a robin in snow, a symbol of life amid the cold. The table legs were iron rods curled at the base, rising upward, somewhat organically. She traced her fingers around them, imagining them to be vines reaching for wintry sunshine.

She was never a coffee person, the reason why she always wanted to drink it as a kid, was only because her father would. She smiled as the memory flashed in front of her, when she had accidentally put a spoonful of coffee powder in her mouth. As a seven year old child, she had been shocked at first of how different it tasted from the coffee her baba made. " It doesn't taste sweet baba!"  She had said scrunching her face. More memories came one after the other, the ambiance of the cafe, its homey aroma, drawing Aarushi's soul into its cocoon for a few blessed moments.

Until, she saw a familiar yet unfamiliar women pushing the cafè door and walking inside, which made her smile disappear. Dressed in peach coloured kurta with a plazo that ended at at her ankles, the lady seemed to be in her early thirties. A designer handbag dangled from her skinny arm, perfect cerise stitching over the finest creamy hued italian leather. The cotton trims matched both the thread and the exact shade the lipstick she wore, her mouth resting in a natural pout. A moment later her lips drewn into a pensive scowl under increasingly arched eyebrows, as she searched around the cafè. 

Until, her eyes met with Aarushi and her lips turned upwards into a warm smile. But unlike the lady, Aarushi welcomed her with a small smile. Walking upto her, the women stood across the table, extending her arm. "Hi, Mihika Goganio." 

"Aarushi." She folded her hand, as a gesture of respect, before sitting down. 

"It's so good to finally meet you Aarushi." Mihika said. The tone of her voice said the opposite. She turned to sit, feeling the slight give in the wood, any creak being lost beneath the sound of the chattering in the surrounding. 

"Can't say the same." Aarushi sighed, she shook her head, when a boy came to take the order. "How did you got my number?" 

" From Shrabona, your cousin's fiancèe. We live in the same building. " She replied with a smile. Her smile faded when Aarushi simply nodded. " I know Aarushi, that our family has unknowingly given you a lot of pain. And I'm really sorry about that-"