“Then start from the beginning.”
1:15 a.m Pandey Nivas August 21st 2018After their talk, Thapki couldn’t stop thinking about him. He had grown so mature, yet he was still a child in a man’s body. A man child, as she liked to call him. Bihaan used to hate it; he had thought it sounded weird, but Thapki didn’t care. It described what he was. Although he wasn’t that short, and very tall instead. This led her to go off trail in her thoughts thinking about his looks. Bihaan did not have a six pack, unlike Dhruv. He had a flat stomach. But he was very humble about that, which Thapki adored. His muscles were not buff, yet they were all she wanted. He was chitti to the max. His fair skin was similar to Thapki’s, but he had gotten a tan over the two years. Probably from the hot sun in Mumbai.
The skin tone reminded her of cream coffee, which three years ago she never had but longed to taste. Bihaan had known that. When he and Thapki had their emotional, private moments enclosed behind the privacy of closed doors, they had learned so much about each other. He had then taken her to one of the near cafés around Noida, and she had tried one. On her insistence, he tried one too. It tasted heavenly .She is reminded of the time when they shared their first kiss. She had told Bihaan she had never kissed anyone. He had started to tease her, making kissy noises, smacking his lips, despite the fact he had never kissed anyone either.
Thapki had felt anger rush into her, but it quickly disappeared with the idea she had thought of. Bihaan, making a pouty face, closing his eyes, was taken aback by the loud smack on his lips. He had looked at her, eyes wide open, while Thapki smirked in satisfaction. They both had secretly liked it, maybe even more, but they were too shy to accept it. Thapki smiles at the memories. Tears fall from her eyes, rolling all the way down to her curled up lips. She wasn’t sure if she was smiling anymore. She hears an elicited scream come from somewhere near,and realizes it was coming from her own mouth. She didn’t care if someone woke up; she was done caring. She just wanted one thing, and when she asked for one thing in her whole life from God, he had given it, but it was too far away to reach .The sound of footsteps startles Thapki. She covers her mouth, trying to stop the tears and her noises, but they don’t halt. It gets closer and closer, and she hears the door creak open. Through the crack, she can’t see who it is. What if it was someone who wants to kidnap me? She thought. Dhruv had affected her badly.
She grabs Bihaan’s old baseball bat leaning against their closet, and heads closer to the door. She would whack him/her in the head, and that way she would stay safe. Had she gone crazy? Bihaan’s ‘death’ must have hit her in the knockers. The door opens further. Thapki readies herself, hoping this won’t backfire. What if it was Dadima? Or Maa? Or Bauji? That would definitely be a bad idea. The door was finally open. She assesses the person for two seconds, who was wearing a hoodie. Obviously a boy. Classic kidnapper clothing. Without any second thought or a warning, not even letting him speak, she whips the bat towards his head. Huh?! She opens her scrunched eyes and sees that he had grabbed ahold of the bat before it hit him. She watches him clutch the bat with one hand and pull the hoodie back. The revealed person takes her aback.”Gajaab. Nice aim, Mahan Atma.” It was Bihaan!
Thapki cringes, and heat started to overwhelm her face. Bihaan raises his eyebrows. “Is it safe to let go, or am I your punch bag?” Thapki nods. He lets go hesitantly, and turns back. Thapki panics. “W-w-wait! Don’t go!” Thapki shouts. Bihaan stops and walks back. “Why? Are you okay? I heard screaming so I decided to check. Promise, no hanky panky business! Don’t whack me.” Bihaan pleads. Is he seriously scared? And that too, of me?! Thapki rolls her eyes and the absurdity of the situation. “I’ll whack your ass if you don’t get i-i-in here.”Bihaan smirks at this. “Gajaaaaab.”
She hears him mutter. Her heart stops for a second, but the reality of the situation brings her back to normal. He enters the room, and looks around. A safe is kept beside the closet. The hammock catches his eye. “Wow…” He says, astonished. He plunks himself into the hammock and sighs. Thapki, annoyed, groans. “Can you come here? O-o-on the bed?” Bihaan reluctantly sits in front of Thapki.”So…” “I-I-I don’t even know what to do with my life. How can I go on like this, marrying such a jerk? What am I su-” Thapki drones robotically, until Bihaan stops her midway. “I can’t help you if you don’t start properly.” Thapki raises her eyebrows at this.”Look. If I want to help you, you have to tell me your story. Would you like to tell me a story, Thapki?” He asks. She nods. “Then start from the beginning.”