Contest One Shots

Mohabbatein Prompt Contest - November - Little Bundle of Love

Author's POV

"I will head inside, you guys enjoy it!" He screamed into his sister's ear so he could be audible amidst the booming sound of crackers. She tilted her head towards him, frowning. He gave her a reassuring smile blinking his eyes and she nodded. He walked back into their home and straight away made his way to his room to avoid any unwanted questions from his mom for returning so early from the cracker bursting fun the kids and youngsters from his society were having. He was never a fan of fireworks but was with his friends or family every time when they would enjoy it. This time, the crowd and noise suffocated him and he felt the urge to be alone stronger than anything else. He sighed, sitting on the bed and unbuckled his watch, sliding it over, onto the side table. He fished out his mobile from pants and unconsciously surfed through the Diwali wishes messages from friends and family, searching for that one name to appear. Realising what he was doing, he shut the app and locked his mobile, throwing it on the bed.

No Abhi! What are you doing? Remember you walked out of it? It's over! Everything is done and you have decided to move on from her!

His mind reminded him but whenever he tried to move ahead, days like these just pulled him towards her, where he missed her so much! It has been three months already but still he misses her just like before. He didn't understand what was happening with him these days!

He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his face, shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts. He felt something brush the back of his ankle which led to him immediately lifting his legs above with panic rushing through his veins. His wide eyes went back to their normal size when he saw Coco walk out from under. The few months old puppy turned her face to look at Abhi with joyful eyes and wagging tail whereas Abhi just glared at her. It was a week before when his sister surprised him by bringing a puppy into the house, reasoning that his owners were moving abroad, who were her friend's family and they wanted to search a loving household for her to stay. Abhi didn't hate dogs but neither had any experience with them before and he was yet to get habituated and friendly with Coco.

"What are you doing here in my room? Get out Coco!" He said in a tired voice, leaning back on the headrest and closing his eyes to find some ease. He felt the similar fur brush near his hand and he opened his eyes to see Coco cuddled up into herself, right beside him. He was surprised that now she had learnt how to climb onto the bed.

"Get down Coco! Not my bed please!" He groaned in frustration but the pup paid no heed to him and didn't move even an inch.

"Don't you understand? Please go! I want to be alone." He scolded her and she raised her head, confused as to what Abhi was saying. He scoffed at her and put his palm on her to push her a bit away at the least but stopped as soon as he felt shivering under his palm. Cocos body jerked and shivered even more when another cracker went off and Abhis eyes softened.

Are you scared little one? He asked in a much calmer voice and Coco looked up at him, her playfulness gone.

"Don't be scared. Its nothing and I am right here!" He caressed her head and stomach for her to calm down. Coco stood up, walked towards him and snuggled close to him, resting her head on his thigh. Abhi's heart warmed at the simple gesture and he kept caressing her, hoping she would calm down. After a few minutes, Coco's shivering reduced and she started licking his hand out of love.

"Eww! I still don't like you licking my hand, so don't lick Coco." Abhi said playfully, pulling his hand away from her mouth but Coco stood up, wagging her tail and looking at him with puppy eyes, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. That face of Coco which seemed to him as if she was smiling and happy got his heart swell in comfort and happiness too.

He raised his hand up, seeing Coco go after his hand and she tried to jump but couldn't hold her balance and landed back on her four feets. He laughed seeing her futile attempts but this time, Coco jumped on him and barked, looking at his hand far away from her reach. She instead resorted to licking his neck and he tried to dodge it, falling down on the bed and she climbed over him, continuing her mischief. This caused an uproar of laughter in the room, with him trying to cover up himself but Coco jumping around, trying to find a way to reach him. He got down from the bed and ran around his room, making it a chase race now. Both stopped their actions after sometime, running out of breath, with a wide smile on both their faces. He sat on the bed and she again climbed next to him.

"No wait! Let's play after sometime, Coco." He rasped, ruffling the fur on her head and she sat quietly, recovering her breath too.

At that moment, Abhi found his heart melting again for someone. A sweet little being was making her small room in his heart and for once since his breakup, he welcomed it. For once, the thought crossed his mind, maybe letting someone in again won't be as hard as he had imagined it to be. Especially not tough, if it were to be a small bundle of love, his Coco.