( Yashu di cutting the ribbon to open the chapter)
AWAITING YOUR RETURN
Shivaay was awakened by loud knocks on his door. Rubbing his eyes, he got out of the bed lazily and made his way to open the door. And when he opened the door, he was surprised to see Khanna standing there.
“Itni subha subha kya kar rahe ho yahan, Khanna? Anything urgent?”, he questioned as he went back inside the room and gestured Khanna to follow him.
(What are you doing here so early? Anything urgent?)
“Sir, it’s almost 10 O’Clock”, Khanna replied being confused.
Shivaay furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to look at the clock and just the way Khanna had said, it was almost 10 O’clock.
“How the hell did I sleep so long?” he muttered quietly to himself, running a hand through his greasy black messy hair in frustration.
His eyes moved from the clock to the bed and slowly he understood why he slept so long after a while.
Anika’s dress was there on the bed. Ofcourse, just then Shivaay noticed that the room was filled with her cologne too.
“Anika”, he sighed muttering to himself while closing his eyes taking in her odour to calm his aching nerve.
“Sir?”, Khanna questioned softly.
“Yeah. So, why are you here?”,Shivaay questioned turning to face Khanna.
“You have a meeting lined up in an hour. Mujhe laga aap already aa gaye honge. Par aap nahi aaye. Mujhe laga kuch problem hai. Isliye..”,he explained.
(You have a meeting in an hour. I thought you would have come to the office already. But you weren’t there. So I thought there was some problem. That’s why…)
Shivaay nodded his head and said, “Koi problem nahi hai. I will get ready and come. Tum neeche wait karo.”
(There is nothing wrong. I will get ready and come. You wait downstairs)
Khanna left after saying a small “yes” and Shivaay moved towards the washroom to get ready.
After dressing up, he went through the files. But he couldn’t concentrate. Sighing, he made himself an espresso. He knew the reason behind his disturbed state. Anika. He closed his eyes trying to gather himself. It was not the time to sit and sulk about his lost wife. He had a meeting in few minutes. But all he could think was about Anika and her cologne in the room didn’t help anyways and whatever happened last night too just fuelled his emotions.
He missed her. He missed her to the extent that it hurt him. It hurt him physically, emotionally and mentally, whenever he thought how they could have been, had Anika been there with him even now. She would have been adjusting their bed for the nth time as she would continue rambling about his weird liking for his obnoxious red suit. Then she would sigh and approach him to straighten his tie. He would smile at her and press a kiss to her forehead for which she would wrap her arms around him. Words of encouragement would be shared as she would kiss him on the cheek.
The sound of a notification from his phone pulled Shivaay out of his small happy daydream. He quickly completed his espresso and collected the essential things. Taking a deep breath, he headed downstairs.
When Shivaay went down, he expected that his family members would have already left to complete their respective works. But the situation was exactly opposite. His dadi, badima and ma were just heading out of the dining hall. He could see two silhouettes sitting on the dining table who he guessed to be Rudra and Omkara and Gauri’s voice from the kitchen could be heard from where he was standing.
His mother was the first one to spot him. Pleasantly surprised, she made her way to him and his badima and dadi followed her. He slowed down and stood in front of them. His mother hugged him and he could see his dadi and badima smile at the sight from his peripheral vision. When they pulled out of the hug, his mother gave him a smile as she ruffled his hair fondly. He gave her a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. But that didn’t seem to affect Pinky. She was glad to see him. Then he got blessings from his dadi and hugged her and badima.
“Good morning, Shivaay”, his badima greeted him.
“Good morning, badima. Aap logon ne breakfast kar liya na?”, he questioned the concern evident in his voice.
(Good morning, badima. Did you all have breakfast?)
“Haan, puttar. Please, tun bhi kuch kha le”, his mother requested him. Shivaay gave a small nod and his mother sighed knowing he wouldn’t.
( Yes. Please, you also have something for breakfast)
His dadi came forward slowly and creased his face as her eyes teared up. “Jo bhi hota hai ache ke liye hota hai puttar. Bhagwan par bharosa rakh. Sab kuch teek ho jayega”, she said.
(Whatever happens, happens for good. Have faith in God. Everything will be alright)
Though he could feel his gut tighten at the thought that Anika left him for good, his heart warmed up at his dadi’s words. He could read the words she wanted to say in her eyes. Anika will return. He gave a quick kiss on her forehead and muttered, “Thank you, dadi”.
His dadi patted his cheek and walked to leave. His mother creased his face lovingly and his badi ma gave him a heartfelt smile. He nodded at them with a small smile.
The elder women slowly made their way to their room. They usually spent their time together. Being old and experiencing that tragic incident didn’t make their life any better. When they were alone, their brains went haywire and they ended up crying. So, they were always together. Trying to fight miseries unitedly.
Shivaay let out a sigh and made his way towards the dining table. His family were now just shadow of themselves. They all were affected by the incident. Though it was wrong, it was reassuring a bit to know that he was not the only one who suffered due to Anika’s disappearance. The sight at the dining table distracted Shivaay from the pain and pessimistic thoughts.
Rudra was sleeping with his chin resting on one of his hands while the other hand rested on the table. If someone saw him from the distance, they would think he was in deep thoughts. Om was sleeping with his arms folded over his chest and his mouth was wide open. He was falling every five minutes as he couldn’t sit straight in his sleepy state. And then he would just wake up hurriedly, adjust his position and try to stay awake but eventually he would fail.
This brought genuine smile, though small, enough for making people who loved Shivaay happy. He coughed to gain their attention once he saw that they all were getting late for work. And that woke up Rudra and Om. They rubbed their eyes lazily and gave Shivaay a wide sleepy smile when they saw the smile on his face.
Just then, Gauri entered with breakfast in her hands and a few servants were helping her. Shivaay immediately went and started helping her.
“Tun soyi nahi? Tumhe aaram karna chahiye Gauri.” Shivaay said as they arranged the platters.
( Didn’t you sleep? You have to rest, Gauri)
“Arey Bhaiyya! Mein 9 baje tak so hi rahi thi. Mein wahi tho karti hoon. Khaana, peena and sona. Ofcourse, kuch aur cheezien bhi karti hoon. But yahi mera main job hai. Aur waise bhi, jab aap log chale jaoge, mein sone hi wali hoon”, Gauri replied as she waved the matter off as it was nothing that bothered her.
(Oho Bhaiyya! I slept till 9. And I do that only. Eating, drinking and sleeping are the only things I do now. Ofcourse, I do other stuff. But these three are my main jobs. And moreover, when you all leave, I am going to sleep only. )
Shivaay shook his head and then he finally noticed that Bhavya was missing.
“Bhavya kahan chali gayi?”, Shivaay questioned still scanning the area.
( Where is Bhavya?)
“Woh subah subah kisi case ke kaam mein chali gayi. Woh theft wala.” Gauri replied.
(She has gone to work on her case. Tha case about the theft.)
Shivaay nodded his head and sat down with Gauri. Rudra, Om and Gauri filled their plates with rotis and daal while Shivaay just picked a green apple.
Gauri furrowed her eyebrows at him as she said, “Yeh kya kha rahe ho? Come on, bhaiyya. Aaj apko kuch na kuch heavy khaana padega”
“Next time. Pakka”, Shivaay repeated his most common excuse while going through his files, it has become his habit to repeatedly dodge off the healthy food he was supposed to consume as he had lost his appetite to his depressed state that didn’t make him feel hungry and somehow the emptiness in his stomach felt soothing.
Gauri, Omkara and Rudra shared a look with each other and shook their head helplessly. Shivaay always indulged himself in work to forget about all his miseries. The youngsters had tried hard to get him to talk to them as they had felt shutting down was not a very good option. But they could do nothing about it. So, knowing Shivaay’s character and his feelings, the youngsters stopped forcing him and started adapting themselves to the ways he was getting used too. That was the reason they made no comment about him working even while eating. Gauri gave a small smile as Omkara squeezed her hand reassuringly. Rudra let out a sigh. Everyone continued eating quietly.
Shivaay got up after a few minutes and gathered his things.
“Teek hai, guys. See you soon. Gauri, apna khayal rakhna.” He called out as he left the dining room.
(Okay everyone, I have to leave. See you soon. Gauri, take care of yourself)
The remaining three people watched him till he went out of the main door.
“Kab woh normal honge?”, Gauri questioned as she turned to face the two brothers, “It is so clear. Woh bohot hi zyada pain mein hai. He is suffering more and more every day. Kal raat, mujhe laga woh theek ho jayenge par aaj…. Wapis, back to being sad. Mein.. Hum kuch.. Kab woh teek honge?”
(When will he be alright?It is so clear. He is in so much pain. He is suffering more and more everyday. Last night.. I thought .. He was alright. But today, he is back to being sad. I..We… When will he be alright?)
“Only if Anika bhabhi returns..”, Om trailed off as he drew patterns on the empty plate.
“When Bhabhi returns”, Rudra corrected him and continued, “We have to be optimistic. Unhe humari saath chahiye. Na ki logical reasoning and analytical explanations. So, talk positive things in front of him. Unko Anika bhabhi khi zaroorat hai. If we can’t bring her back, atleast we can help him find her or maybe just stay by his side hoping for the best.”
(When Anika Bhabhi returns. We have to be optimistic. He need our support and not the logical reasoning and analytical explanation. So, talk positive things in front of him. He needs Anika Bhabhi. If we can’t bring her back, atleast we can help him find her or maybe just stay by his side hoping for the best.)
Gauri smiled at his words and Omkara nodded his head, a thoughtful look not leaving his face.
Shivaay made his way out of the mansion and held his files out to be taken, looking at the three posh cars standing at the entrance one behind the other. His assistants were quick enough to come and collect all the things from his hand. One of them handed his goggles to him while the other quickly made way to the first car and placed the things inside. When Shivaay took the goggles, the other assistant also got in the first car. Then the first car proceeded to leave. After the first car left his span of vision, Shivaay gestured his bodyguards to get in the third car who obliged quickly.
After Anita’s disappearance, personal security for every Oberoi member was increased. The car in which their family members travelled would be preceded and followed by cars with bodyguards.
“Khanna, we can leave”, Shivaay said as he descended the stairs. Khanna gave a quick nod as he moved towards Shivaay’s car and opened the door.
And just as Shivaay was about to enter his car, a voice called out to stop him.
“Shivaay”.
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Hope you enjoyed reading the chapter.
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Loads of love,
Hassi. ^_^