A Flight of Love

Chapter 13 - Sister of the Bride

Akshara quietly snuck up behind her sister, Shefali and engulfed her into a big bear hug in her tiny arms.

"Hello Di!" She said, swinging Shefali in her arms.

"Hello Akshi, how are you?"

Akshara let go of Shefali and flung herself onto the bed, laying on top of all the outfits Shefali was digging through.

"Are Akshi! What are you doing?! These are my wedding outfits!"

"Come sit with me, Di! I missed you!"

Shefali shook her head at Akshara's childishness before moving her clothes carefully to the edge of the bed and sitting down, leaning her back against the headboard. Akshara placed her head onto Shefali's lap and closed her eyes. Peace. She felt at peace.

Shefali ran her fingers through Akshara's hair, "Thaak gayi?"

"Hmm," Akshara nodded in agreement, her eyes still shut tight as she relaxed against the touch of her elder sister's hands caressing her forehead.

"Kyun? Was the flight that bad?"

Remnants of the last 24 hours of her plane journey flashed before her eyes. The kiss, the soft caresses of his hands as he calmed her down, her confession about her parents and how it related to her fear of flying. The way he helped her at the Dubai airport. The drinks they shared. The one faithful night where the both let go of their inhibitions. All it flashed before her eyes like a movie.

Akshara opened her eyes in an instant. No. She needed to stop thinking about it. Whatever Abhimanyu and her had shared, all the conversations, the kisses, the moments, that night...it was going to be nothing but a memory. A very good memory that she would cherish for the rest of her life.

"No, the flight was decent. It was okay."

It was better than decent. Better than decent but she couldn't tell anyone that. Not even her closest confidant, her sister.

"Di, can I ask you a question?" Akshara asked looking up at Shefali's face, after much hesitation.

"Hmm, pooch."

"Why...why didn't anyone mention anything about Abhimanyu before? Parth Jiju ka bhai...Abhimanyu..." She prayed to god she wasn't being too obvious or that her sister was not going to think too much of her question.

Shefali raised an eyebrow, "Kyun? Kuch hua?"

"No, nothing." Liar! "It's just that we were on the same flight from NYC to Dubai and we even sat beside each other but we didn't know about each other. I just found out who he was when we landed at the Udaipur airport."

"Did you guys not talk to each other? At all?" Shefali probed.

Yes, we talked. And then we also did much more than just talk. "No. We didn't. Not too much. Just basic hello, hi."

"Oh, okay..."

Why did Shefali sound so disappointed at her confession? "Was he not at your Tilak?"

"No. No he wasn't. Abhimanyu stays in Mumbai mostly, taking care of the Birla Hospital's Mumbai branch. He had quite a few important surgeries that day that couldn't be postponed so he couldn't make it. Nahin toh you would have met him then."

"Oh...okay..." Now why was she the disappointed one ?

"And don't you remember? After we told you one of his brothers couldn't come, you were like 'What kind of a brother misses his own brother's Tilak?' And then went on a rant about how could someone be such a workaholic that he couldn't even take one day off from work."

Oh yeah, right. That. It was slowly coming back to her. "But you never told me his name!"

"Oh, we did. But you were so engrossed in your rant that you didn't hear his name or his reason for not coming. He was busy saving the life of a 5 year old boy who needed immediate surgery. But no, ek baar jo tu bolne lagti hai toh rukhfi kahan hai."

Saving the life of a 5 year old boy. Yeah, she could see Abhimanyu doing that. He was a very dedicated doctor and a caring one at that. She'd seen a glimpse of it in the flight when he handled her panic attack during the turbulence. He was a great doctor.

"Okay, fine I am sorry. It was my fault. But why did no one mention anything about him afterwards?"

"We'll, you went to USA and his plans for coming for the wedding were not finalized. We didn't know if he'd be able to make it or not and so I guess in all the wedding preparations, it just slipped out from under the radar. But why are you so curious about Abhimanyu?"

Shefali patted Akshara's shoulders and helped her get up from her lap.

"Not interested, Di." Lies. She was very, very, very interested in him. Every single part of her was interested in him. "He's team groom, which means he's the enemy. At least for the next 10 days. Rest of the Birla siblings and cousins, we have them figured out. It's just this one. And wasn't it you who told me to know our enemies' strengths and weaknesses before you attack them?"

Akshara glanced over at her sister to see if she bought her explanation. She needed to be very careful. The last thing she needed was anyone in her family catching onto whatever feelings or emotions she was feeling for Abhimanyu. Or at the very worst, finding out the real details of what conspired between them in the last 24 hours.

Shefali laughed, "Yes, yes. How can I forget. The famous tashan of Ladkiwale v/s Ladkewale."

There was a slight knock on the door before it opened and Mimi, her great grandmother walked on in. Akshara ran over to give Mimi a hug.

"Mimiiii!"

"Akshu! Kaisi hai meri bachi?" She asked, placing her hand against Akshara's cheeks.

"Bilkul theek, Mimi."

"Jaise hi Kairav ne bataya ki tu aagayi main bhaag kar chali aayi, tujhse milne!"

"Haww Mimi. Bhaag kar kyun aayi aap? Walk karke aati."

"Chup ka Shaitaan." She replied, laughing whilst giving Akshara a light pat on her cheek. "Waise kya baatein ho rahi thi, apas mein dono behno ki?"

Akshara came to a standstill. Mimi was smart. If Shefali even started to mention her questions about Abhimanyu, Mimi would catch on. She didn't want that.

"Kuch nahin, Mimi. Akshu bas..."

Akshara stretched her arms wide and faked a yawn. "Mimi, Di, I'm tired. Is it okay if I go take a nap?"

"Haan, haan. Jaa, soo jaa. But aaj yaad hai ya, ladkewalon ke saath dinner hai, 8pm. Bhul na maat."

"Dinner kyun?"

"To kickstart the wedding week events. We were just waiting for you and Abhimanyu. Now that you're both here, we can finally start the real wedding events." Shefali explained.

She was going to have to face Abhimanyu again. She knew she was going to have to face him eventually during the wedding but didn't expect it to be this soon.

"I'll be there."

"What'll you wear tonight?" Shefali asked.

"I don't know. Haven't decided yet. I'll see." Her wardrobe was the least of her worries.

"Tum fikar mat karo. Go sleep. Hum tumhare liye kapde bhej denge."

"Ji, Mimi." Akshara replied as she left Shefali's room and headed towards her room, with Abhimanyu's words "This conversation is not over. Not by a long shot," ringing in her ears.