“Ishitha Ji, will this do?”, enquired Raftaar. He picked up a bouquet of red roses placed in the queue on the adjacent table. They visited a bouquet shop. Ishitha, in a white salwar and red dupatta pinned on her left, shook her head, with her big fat silver earrings swinging along. She stood at the end of the corridor separating two opposite racks of bouquets. She rushed towards him with a bouquet of white lilies as focal flowers and green tulips constituting the secondary flowers.
“Oh, come on! Red flowers?”, asked she, shrugging along.
“Why? What’s wrong? Girls love red, right?...”, asked he.
“No! See that's why you sound creepy”, suggested she, pointing at the roses. She added, “Thank goodness I’m here! Otherwise, you would have creeped Nisha out..”
“But, why? I’m afraid I’m unable to get your point…”, Raftaar interrupted Ishitha.
“Red is the symbol of love. Don’t you know?”, shouted Ishitha, at which a few couples as well as the shopkeeper smiled at the two. Raftaar looked around and nodded with a wide grin. Ishitha pouted looking around to note all eyes on them.
She neared Raftaar. “See, we are going to the hospital to meet our friend who had surgery the last night. We aren’t attending her wedding! Neither are you proposing to her. Why red then? Did your bloody brains get me now?”, she grumbled. Raftaar nodded and chuckled along, at which Ishitha shrank her eyes and raised her eyebrows along.
“It seems as if a pretty girl is jealous of me buying red roses for another…”, began Raftaar, blushing and whispering in Ishitha’s ears. Ishitha bet his shoulder with her bouquet, in quite an amiable fashion. As they headed towards the billing counter, Ishitha pulled his ears.
May it be a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a couple of years, or even throughout one's life, relishing the most beautiful feeling on Earth-the love, it still matters.
While most couples are almost near the silver jubilee of their wedding anniversary, Alok and Nisha are just about to begin their love life!
Love at any age is love. Why not a middle-aged love story?!
“Ishitha Ji, leave me. What are you doing? Arey it's hurting…”, complained Raftaar. Ishitha pulled his ears closer. She whispered, in return, “I easily get irritated by the vibes of irrelevance. Can’t you infer it regarding your choice now?”
“Oh! I see! That's all?”, asked Raftaar. Ishitha placed the bouquets on the table. She smiled and gestured at the smiling shopkeeper dressed as a waiter at a barbeque restaurant, to begin billing. While he nodded and began, Raftaar winked at her. As he continued chuckling, she sighed. They looked into each others’ eyes for a moment or two.
She broke the silence. “No, of course not! That's not it. Nisha’s Alok saar would have punched you one on your face if you had gifted her your so-called ladies’ favorite red roses.” She grinned at him. She concluded, ”Also, don’t you know how much Dr.Alok is already jealous of you, Raftaar Ji?”
He nodded like the famous interloper doll of Tanjore. He bulged his eyes at her. He acknowledged, “Thank you, Ji, for saving my life…”
“Five hundred rupees, ma’am”, informed the shopkeeper.
“See this is how you sometimes sound creepy through your over-friendly acts although you actually aren't with any wrong intentions”, commented Ishitha, taking her card out of her handbag. As the biller swiped the card, Raftaar defended himself, “How am I supposed to know girls’ mentality? Hahaha!” Ishitha chuckled. “Is it? Who was he who prided just a few seconds ago that he has a doctorate in understanding women’s kinds of stuff of interest?”
They burst out a round of laughter, pointing at each other.
“Mam, your bouquet. Thanks for shopping!”, offered the shopkeeper, to Ishitha. No sooner did she extend her hand to receive it than her eyes shut. She was about to faint when Raftaar wrapped his hands around her shoulders.
“What happened?”, freaked he, patting her cheeks, as drops of sweat rolled down from his forehead. As the others there too shared puzzled faces with each other, Raftaar raised his voice to request a water bottle.
“Sir, here..”, the shopkeeper rushed back for the rescue. He offered it to Raftaar. The latter thanked. He opened the bottle and splashed a few drops on Ishitha’s face.
She slowly opened her eyes and stood erect. “Thanks!”, she thanked him, in a weak and soft voice.
“Are you fine?”, enquired Raftaar, grabbing her cheeks in his hands. Ishitha smiled at his anxious eyes. “Raftaar!”, she called him, rolling her eyeballs hither and thither at his palms. “Oops!”, exclaimed he, removing his hands slowly. “I was tensed…I’m sorry if I was creepy again…”, he apologized, grabbing the bouquet.
“Nothing to worry about. I was tensed after you told me about Nisha’s surgery”, explained Ishitha as they walked out of the florist store. “I didn’t have my breakfast today. My mind worked up a lot thinking about her heavy bleeding, the sudden critical medical situation of hers, and most importantly, I will screw Dr.Alok once he returns to college after his week off. Oh lord! Why did he treat her like that?...”, she questioned him.
“Hmm! I am to be blamed”, surrendered he.
“What?”, asked Ishitha, taking the bouquet back from his hands. He rubbed his hands. He justified, walking away from her, “In fact, I suspected Dr.Alok…I couldn’t digest how he suddenly declared that he was indeed separated from his wife with whom he had been claiming to live to date. So, I asked Nisha to confirm once…We can’t trust anyone in the contemporary era. I have seen cases of deceit as a psychologist so I wanted to ensure that our friend was in a safer zone.”
“True! You have a point. It's common to confirm likewise in arranged marriages. But, love?...”, hesitated Ishitha. Raftaar turned back, asking for a vote, “So, are you on Nisha’s side or Alok’s?” Ishitha chuckled, choosing, “Nisha’s investigation wasn’t overthinking. But, Alok failed to understand her. I feel that he found it harder to put himself in her shoes. Coming to this matter, he acted quite short-tempered.”
“Perfect point, Ji!”, exclaimed Raftaar, as they shook hands. “Also, don’t screw poor Alok too much. Got it?”, suggested he. She shook her head.
He highlighted, “Nisha didn’t utter a word about her fight with Alok. I called her today as she was missing from her flat for more than a day. Our call got cut. She thus only shared about her surgery. I happened to call Alok’s maid Sarla to learn details of Nisha’s findings on Alok’s marital status. She told me everything and that's how I got to know. So,..”
Ishitha nodded. Raftaar showed a thumbs-up sign. He pointed at the Dabba opposite. “First of all, let's finish our breakfasts.”
“What! Didn’t you eat too?”, enquired she, throwing her mouth open. He nodded, smiling along. “I spoke to Nisha. You called me. I invested all my time just to console you. You girls didn’t let me have my breakfast!” They chuckled at each other.
On the other hand, Nisha, in the pink patient dress with a white collar, was busy breathing in and out, lying on the hospital bed. She had loosened all her hair on the left in the front. She turned to face the other side; her eyes continuing to remain closed in deep sleep.
The ‘ICU’ in bold red was no longer engraved on the ward’s door. Professor Alok slid the door open. He shrank his eyes as he moved the handle. His fingers firmly embraced the black handle of his tiny Tupperware lunch bag.
He sighed at Nisha dozing off in her own world. “Sexy! Nisha medam is still sleeping. Thank great heavens that the door didn’t creak to wake her up.”
As he headed towards the table beside the patient’s bed, he blushed at her innocent sleeping face. She suddenly caught her stomach. She turned about once again, but this time, near the corner.
“Careful, Nisha!”, exclaimed he, rushing to catch her by the waist before she fell down from the bed. Nisha opened her eyes slowly. She blushed at witnessing herself being wrapped in his cozy arms. His light brown eyes grew meeker as they dived into her black dilating pupils.
“Why are you acting like a baby? Won’t you see where you are on the bed before turning round and round like the song goes…teddy bear turn around”, he warned her, as he helped her sit straight. He erected the white pillow behind her and helped her lean back comfortably. She chuckled, blushing along and correcting him,” No saar, you are the teddy bear. of every Valentine's Day forever!” She pulled his cheeks.
“Aye medam! Be serious. I remind you again that you have just undergone surgery!”, he pointed out. “What if you had fallen down? What if it complicated something?...”, he rebuked her softly, as he grabbed two packets and cut them with a pair of scissors beside. He unwinded the lid to open his big blue flask. He poured the hot water into a small white bowl.
“Aww! I love you, Alok saar. Thank you for saving my life!”, she thanked. She kissed her non-thumb fingers of the right hand. She closed her eyes and gifted a flying kiss at him. He closed his right fist and brought it near his chest. He blushed, thanking her, “Medam, it's not you. I should keep thanking you throughout our life for all the love you have been showering on me.” He closed his eyes and threw a flying kiss back.
He blushed, emptying the packets into the bowl. She peeped, moving her head hither and thither around the flask, hindering her curiosity, asking, “Saar, what’s for my lunch?Fruits?”
“Nah!”, refused he, stirring and correcting, “Soup, bruh!”
“Yuck! I hate soups”, refused she, shrinking her face and inverting her lips. She shook her head and mourned. He chuckled, dragging the stool from beside the table near her bed. No sooner had he sat than he dug out the heapy first spoon. She closed her mouth and turned her face away.
“Please drink it, medam! It's good for your health. The doctor too has recommended the same. It will help you feel better. Listen to me…”, reassured he, moving the spoon hither and thither, beside her lips. “Open your mouth. Aye! Don’t act kiddish…”, said he, chuckling and moving the spoon along.
“No way, saar! I once had a bitter experience with mushroom soup. It sucked more than tasting saline kaju katli. I once adjusted at Ishitha's dinner but can't resist any longer. Saar, understand!”, screamed she, smiling and moving her head away to escape the spoon. He shook his head and neared the spoon to her lips, clinging the bowl to her lips like that of a joey to its mother kangaroo.
“No!”, Nisha refused, screaming, for the second time. “I will have fruits instead. Fruits are healthier too! You can confirm with the doctor later.” She caught his hand.
She emphasized, “Alok saar, I’m ready to have anything else you prepare with your pure-hearted hands. You feed me green and tasteless beans, I will eat. You feed me the boring beetroot curry, I am prepared to eat. You feed me ugly upma, I would love to eat it but not this. Please.”
He replaced the spoon in the bowl. He chuckled, asking, “Looks like you don’t like anything healthy.” As he laughed, she caught her palms together. She tightened them, promising, “I like them but do not love them yet will consider eating them because you, my love, prepared them and filled them with love.”
“Sexy! Medam, stop the drama to have lunch”, said he, bringing the spoon closer to her mouth again. She moved her head a little behind. “First have soup then I will give you fruits. That's your prescribed food plan. Come on, now!”
As she continued shaking her head, he leaned forward and closed his eyes. She breathed hard as he kissed her left cheek. She blushed, running her fingers through his moderately dense beard, a mix of grey and black, in color.
“Look into my eyes and drink the soup. You won’t feel it like a punishment”, suggested he, bringing a spoon close to her mouth. She observed his light brown eyes. She opened her mouth slowly. As he began pushing the soup in, spoon after spoon, she raised her eyebrows after gulping every mouth in. He chuckled and kept reminding her to catch his lovely eyes every time she hated the soup. “Focus on my eyes, Nisha medam.”
“Done, medam!”, he declared, shrugging and displaying the empty bowl at her. Her mouth continued to remain open. She closed it at once.
“Sexy! Looks like someone needs more and more of this soup. Shall I prepare one more bowl? I have no issues. It's damn chill”, he teased her. She shook her head rapidly. They burst a round of laughter, blushing along.
“Good girl, my sweetie!”, he praised her, kissing her forehead. She chuckled and wrapped her hands around him. She closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest.
Will Dr.Alok misunderstand Raftaar and Nisha's friendship?
Dear readers,
Thank you for following my series and reading the episode. Rate it and write your review, give it a heart and share it in your circle whenever you are free. Your voice matters a lot to me.
