ANDROMEDA

CHAPTER-2

Hello lovely people of wattpad. Here's the 2nd chapter. Hope you guys enjoy this.

With all the hopes in this world and moist eyes while looking straight at me, he asked again, "Rani-Pari???"

That was it, I no longer had the power in me to stay silent to that. How could I stay silent to that? How could I stay silent to the call of my childhood friend?

"Haan Balveer.", I replied with a couple of tear drops falling out of my eyes and a smile on my lips.

Balveer and Rani-Pari. No this isn't what we call each other. When we were kids, while playing we used to act like he was Balveer and I used to enact Rani-Pari. We used wands made up of paper. It was crazy. But we were crazy kids together. Out of everything that stuck with us because we made fun of ourselves when we grew up a little and turned teens. We had another member, Shahneel didi. She was little elder to us but got involved in our craziness as if she was younger than both of us. We three were a group. A tight knit group. Best friends. Our families were the reason of this situation.

My father travelled a lot initially to find a perfect place for his business. And that eventually took us to Mohali where we met the Gills. Lakhwinder uncle (Shubman's father) had decided to move to a better place with more connections for a young Shubman. He wanted to move to a place where young Shubman could properly get trained for cricket. He was 7 at that time and while people thought of him to be crazy for doing this for such a young kid back then, we all could see the results of that crazy decision now. The entire Gill family had moved to Mohali from Fazilka, which was probably the best place in that time nearby. They'd moved there a couple of months before us. And when we moved there, we found a place just beside them. We were neighbours. I was very young, 5 years old when all of this happened. All I remember is one fine evening when five years old Aradhana went crying to her mother saying she doesn't like it here because she had no friends here. And that was the moment it all began. My mother held my hand in one of her hands and took a basket of fruits in the other. Both of us went to the house next door. I couldn't make out what was happening. My mother rang the door bell and the door was opened by a ten year old Shahneel. That was the first time I saw her. We went inside and there I met Keart aunty and small Shubman. Our mothers made us friends and bonded themselves as well. Shahneel di and Shubman also had no friends other than each other. And it is from there that all of it began.

There was absolute shock on his face when his brain registered what I'd said.

That was it. He lunged forward and enclosed me in a bear hug. After the hug registered in my mind which took a couple of seconds, I hugged him back. He pulled back and looked at me in disbelief.

"Where were you Aru? Kahan thi tum? Contact bhi nahi kiya.", he exclaimed with a tinge of agitation in his voice.

"I thought tum bhul gaye hoge. Isliye I..". I couldn't even complete my entire statement when he shot back at me.

"Bhul jayunga? Aur voh bhi tumhe? Pagal ho tum? Okay leave me aside for a minute. Mumma Aru. Mumma papa both missed you so much. Kitni baar randomly unhe tumhara khayal aata tha. Shahneel Aru. Oh my God! Voh to pakka pagal ho jayegi ye jaanke ki we've met again. She used to call so much on those two numbers that we had, hoping that someday you'll pick up. But even they went out of service. She missed you so much.

I don't think it would be wrong of me to say that the entire Gill family was my solace. They showered me with so much of love whether it be Keart aunty or Lakhwinder uncle. Shubman was my best friend, my homie. We literally grew up together. And Shahneel didi, she was my go to person for almost everything.

"Bol kuch bhai!!", he exclaimed and with that I was brought back to the current scenario.

"Sorry yaar!". I couldn't say anything more. There was nothing to say. But fortunately Ishaan chipped in and saved me.