ShiVi - Redemption

Chapter 24

Another day, another chapter, this one's quite anti-climatic, might I add! Happy reading!

Chapter 24
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It was a bright shiny day and Raavi had woken up with glee, reminiscing all that had transpired between her and Shiva yesterday. She blushed thinking about him and his advances toward her. She remembered his sincere apology and his genuine attempt to tell her how he feels, feeling ecstatic about everything. She decided to go and get ready as Shiva could be here anytime since he had told her he would drop her to college every day.

Basking in the glory of yesterday's turn of events, Raavi went on humming a slow melodious tune that seemed to be stuck in her head, as she got ready in a black salwar suit. It was no surprise why she had chosen to wear black. It was her bhoothnath's favorite color after all.

Now that she was all set to go, she waited for Shiva outside the front door, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Chalo bhabhi, college chalo" said Krish casually, as he stopped his bike in front of Raavi, surprising her.

She frowned thinking about how Shiva was supposed to be here instead. But she couldn't ask Krish directly, because she didn't know what to say. She was pretty sure Shiva hadn't told anyone what happened between them yesterday and about their deal, and she hadn't confided about it to anyone either. Before she could formulate an excuse to ask Krish, he interrupted her thoughts saying, "Bhabhi jaldi baitho na, aaj waise bhi Shiva ke wajah se late hogaya"

"Shiva ke wajah se matlab?" asked Raavi puzzled.

"Arrey Bhabhi woh kal Shiva ka accident ho gaya tha na, aur kal uss ne mujhse itna kaam karaya uss bahane se ki kya bataoon aap ko main" said Krish complaining irritably.

It didn't sink in at first. But suddenly as the words began to register into her mind, her heart had accelerated and her face became grave.

"Shiva ka accident? Kab kaise? Mujhe Shiva ke paas jaana hai!" exclaimed Raavi, clearly panicking at all the terrible thoughts that kept flooding through her mind. She ran from there, not stopping from the cries of Krish behind her all the way through, till she reached the doorsteps of Pandya Niwas.

Without paying any heed to what she had said in the last few weeks about not wanting to enter Pandya Niwas, she ran all away in. To the surprise of Rishita and Dhara who were in the aangan, looking startled to see her. Before they could say something, she looked around to find no Shiva in the living area, thinking he might be in their room, she rushed off to see him.

The sight that she saw in front of her brought a set of tears to her eyes. There was Shiva, sleeping soundly on the bed, with what looked like a tiny bandage on his forehead and one on his right leg. He looked so peaceful as he slept, relief flooded through her as she drank in his presence. She went and sat beside him sobbing and holding his hand causing him to wake up.

"Chip... chipkali? Kahin main sapna toh nahi dekh raha" said Shiva groggily, as he looked around to check where he was. He saw her holding his hand and squeezed it a little to confirm that this wasn't one of his illusions. As she continued to sob, he reached out to hold her shoulder and asked, "Raavi tu yahan? Aur tu roo kyun rahi hai?" it being his turn to panic.

"Tu sacch mein mujhe pooch raha hai ki main kyun roo rahi hoon, tune mujhe bataya kyun nahi ki tera accident hua?" she asked glowering at him through her tears.

"Arrey chipkali, main bilkul theek hoon, mamuli si chot hai theek ho jaayegi" assured Shiva calming a bit, the worry vanishing from his face.

"Dikh raha hai kitni lagi hai tujhe, main toh sun ke hi itna gabra gayi thi, agar Krish ne nahi bataya hota toh mujhe toh pata bhi nahi chalta" said Raavi furiously.

"Krish ne?" asked Shiva bewildered.

"Haan Krish aaya tha mujhe pick karne, aur baaton baaton mein uss ne bataya mujhe" explained Raavi.

"Arrey haan, main toh tujhe college chodne aane waala tha, pann kal raat yeh accident hua aur Bhabhi ne jabardasti pain killer khilwaaya, jiske wajah se pata ni main ab tak soo raha tha" said Shiva irritated.

She inhaled deeply trying to calm herself down, now that she was sure he was fine."Woh maine suna accident, main darr gayi, kuch samajh nahi aaya, bhaagti hui aayi yahan bina soche" explained Raavi ominous, a fresh set of tears flowing from her eyes.

"Relax Raavi, main theek hoon, doctor ne kaha ki bas 3-4 din mein theek ho jaayega, aur tu hi toh kehti rehti hai ki main Chattan Pandya hoon, toh mujhe kya hoga" said Shiva nonchalantly.She glared at him as he said it, "Mujhe bataya kyun nahi?" she asked punching him on his arm, continuing the glare.

"Woh, woh main tujhe bewajah pareshaan nahi karna chahta tha raat ko" said Shiva smiling sheepishly.

"Pareshaan nahi karna chahta tha? Kal toh bada bol raha tha, hum ek doosre se sab kuch share karenge, aur ek din sab bhool gaya" murmured Raavi angrily, hitting him again.

"Tujhe pata bhi hai meri jaan nikal gayi thi, agar tujhe kuch ho jaata toh—" paused Raavi midway, realising that she was ranting too much.

"Par kuch hua toh nahi na, iss liye shaant ho jaa" said Shiva, as he continued to smile at her warmly. He still couldn't fathom the fact that she was home, if he had known that the mere thought of his accident would have drawn her here, he would have happily gotten injured way back.

His thoughts were interrupted as there was a knock on the door. Dhara peeked her head inside the open door to check if it was okay to enter and came with a tray full of food.

"Main bas dekhne aayi thi ki tu utha hai ki nahi, taaki tujhe nashta de doon" said Dhara placing the tray on the bedside table. She didn't give any reaction to Raavi's presence and pretended like everything was normal.

"Ab fatafat se khaa le, aur zyaada nakhre mat dikha kal raat ki tarah, Raavi teri zimmedari hai ki yeh saara nashta khatam karein, kyun ki mujhse toh iske nakhre handle nahi honge" added Dhara casually to Raavi and walked out of the room before Raavi could protest.

His eyes locked with Raavi as soon as Dhara left the room, he kept looking at her in awe.
"Kya? Ghoor kya raha hai?" asked Raavi clearly annoyed.
"Nahi, woh mujhe yakeen nahi ho raha ki tu sacch mein yahan hai, Pandya Niwas mein, humare room mein, mere saath" confessed Shiva smiling, thrilled that she was here.

"Zyaada khush hone ki zaroorat nahi hai, chup chaap nashta kar" added Raavi dryly.

"Nahi, mujhe nahi khaana" he protested, turning his face away cutely, acting like a kid.

"Khaana toh padega, jaldi theek nahi hona tujhe?" asked Raavi raising an eyebrow questioningly.

When he refused to budge, she said cleverly, "Accha theek hai, tujhe theek nahi hona hai toh mat khaa, mujhe college drop karne ke liye, main kisi aur ko dhoondh loongi" making his head snap back to glare at her with fury.

"Kisi aur ko kyun, main hoon na" said Shiva, a little jealous.

"Toh nashta kar" offering him a spoon full of Poha and keeping it near his mouth. He obliged rather begrudgingly and ate in silence as she kept feeding him quietly.

"Waise tujhe college jaana chahiye" said Shiva suddenly.

"Main tujhe aise chod ke kaise jaa sakti hoon, Shiva" said Raavi, horrified at the thought of leaving him out of her sight.

"Raavi, main theek hoon, aur ghar pe sab hai na mera khayal rakhne ke liye, tujhe classes miss nahi karna chahiye, tere ek hafte baad exams bhi toh shuru honge" said Shiva wisely.

She sighed in defeat, nodding in agreement and getting up to leave despite not wanting to go. Before parting away, she hugged him and whispered, "Thank god, tu theek hai" and added casually, "Main shaam ko aaongi" like it was the right thing to do.

"Shaam ko?" he asked surprised.

"Haan, tune hi toh bola tha, ki har din sham ko mujhe ek-do ghante tere saath bitana hoga" answered Raavi smiling at him and bidding him good bye.

"Bye chipkali" said Shiva with a glowing smile as he settled back comfortably on the bed.

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What did you guys think of Raavi's re-entry to PN?