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Scrollstck- Suganthi Lakshminarayanan
A/N: Finally, here is the last chapter of Part One.
Video Attached: Love Mashup by DJ Chetas. This man is the best Disco Jockey ever!!! And his mashups are the best... Listen to it :)
He held her hand in his.
He tried to grasp the reality of the moment. Just moments ago, seeing her accept his hand for the first time had felt almost surreal. But here it wasâher soft, warm hand nestled in his, a feeling so profound it made him want to leap with joy. His smile was a reflection of the sheer happiness and comfort coursing through him. It was clear from the sparkle in his eyes just how deeply this gesture had touched him.
She was something special, very special.
As he guided her toward the small gate, he couldn't help but reflect on the effort he'd poured into designing their home. He'd never realized how much patience he had until he spent countless hours discussing designs with architects, working closely with an interior designer to match her tastes, and convincing a civil engineer to tolerate his constant input. Every moment had been worth it, for this was not just a houseâit was their dream home.
He could feel her anticipation. It was like going back to the day when they had met for the first time, two strangers yet an amazing connection pulled them together. The way he had understood each emotion like they had lived for eons together was something surprising to him that day, but today he was reliving it with lovely acknowledgment. When had he got so much attached to her was still a question to him.
But there was no time for dwelling on these thoughts. He wanted to savor every moment with her, create beautiful memories, and look back on his life with a sense of fulfillment. His dreams were simple yet profoundâhe wanted to live, grow old, and eventually pass away in her arms.
People had talked about Relationship Goals. Damn them! These were his Life Goals...
With a face filled with very recognizable happiness, with that same dimple on his left cheek, he opened the gate. He hurriedly raised his free hand to stop her from entering. "Wait, Samiksha," his smile widened. "I have something for you."
He watched her narrow her eyes in confusion, biting his cheek to suppress his laughter. Her puzzled expression and the adorable pout on her face were too cute to resist. He ran inside their home, leaving her in suspense.
When he returned, he found her exactly where he had left her, but now her head was lowered, her fingers nervously twisting the end of her caramel-colored saree's pallu. He had always adored that color; it reminded him of the shade she had worn when they were strangers. He looked at her, almost as if she were an angel. For him, she was absolutely an angel.
Shaking off his daydreams, he walked up to her. The clicking sound of his shoes made her look up, her fingers continuing to fidget with the fabric. As he reached her, he noticed her fingers knotting themselves with cloth, something like strangling them.
He gently pried her fingers away from the fabric and took her hand in his. Seeing her blush, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't hurt my sweet girl's fingers. It pains me." He rubbed his chest and laughed as her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of pink.
"Well, my man always scolds me like I'm a little kid. And..." she murmured, "...I like it," she finished with a shy smile.
He was taken aback. Does she like his gentle reprimands? He had thought that a woman like her hated to be dominated by someone, yet she confessed that she liked this. Placing his index finger under her chin, he raised her head, "Really? How so? Why?" he questioned, his brain in chaos.
"Because I loâ"
He was all ears as she said something and stopped, then again said, "Because... because I know you'll never do anything against my wishes," she finished with a sigh, his finger gently caressing her cheek.
He moved closer to her, near, very near to her and she didn't retreat. He tilted her chin up, looking into her. "Of course, my love," he whispered, watching her cheeks turn a permanent shade of red.
He shuffled back and knelt on one knee. As his right knee touched the floor and his left hand held her right, he cleared his throat.
This was not what she had expected when he had asked her out that morning. By Lord Vishnu! They were already engaged and were getting married soon. What was there to get onto bended knee now? But no, her Krishna was too adamant to listen to anything. She was slightly shaking her head negatively, incoherently chanting 'no.no.no.no.no,' but he remained steadfast.
"Samiksha, I don't want to get too cheesy, but I've seen this before..." he said, extending his other hand.
To her surprise, there was no tiny box. Instead, he held a small bronze Kalash filled with rice, placed at the threshold. He released her hand, stood up, and brushed off the dust from his trousers. "I hope you know what to do next," he said, nodding toward the Kalash.
She gaped at him, her eyes wide and lips parted in confusion.
Excuse me?
She wanted to ask him but then refrained herself. She had never imagined that she would be lucky enough to get proposed and all, but this... This was somewhat upsetting!
For a second, she had thought that he was going to propose to her as she had read in many novels. Damn! She forgot that they were novels by foreign authors and not by any Indian. Even, in one of the novels by an Indian author, the hero had proposed to a girl with all those cheesy things. Though she was not an appreciator of the extra cheese and butter concept... she was a girl after all. Seeing her man going down on one knee made her form a new chapter of her novel.
She blinked rapidly to ease that sinking feeling in her heart and slowly kicked that Kalash. She was staring at that object as it fell, sprinkling the rice grains out of it. It didn't feel that bad to her now when she understood how different her Krishna was, nothing like others who mostly copied that old concept of impressing their beloved. He was something else, her special one, her better half. Or was he everything, not just the better half?
She heard a loud clapping sound and jerked her face toward the direction of its source. She saw him, happily clapping for her, his dimple deepening with his grin. His pearly white smile made that sad part of her vaporize into nothing.
Hell with proposing and ring!
She would just accept him even if Gods in heaven seized oxygen from her lungs, she would accept him even if the world was against them. She would accept him even if she was against herself because he was within her.
"I never thought you were so religious," she remarked, to which he smirked.
"Believe it or not, I am a little bit religious. Maa made sure about it," he said, gesturing for her to enter first.
As they walked through the garden, filled with yellow roses and interspersed with her favorite jasmines, her heart swelled with happiness. He had noticed her love for jasmine flowers and had incorporated them into their gardenâa small but significant gesture that meant so much to her.
When they reached the wooden door of their home, he unlocked it and invited her inside. She hesitated, recalling the ritual from her sister's wedding. "Well... That ritual which you did there... wasn't it supposed to be done here, in this place?" she asked, remembering the tradition.
She observed him scratching his left brow, disturbing the minute cut very lightly, "Huh... Yeah... I think I forgot to do it correctly..." he said, "I was so excited that I misinterpreted the ritual," he smiled sheepishly and shook his head making her laugh.
She teased him, "I didn't know Krishna Veer Singh could make mistakes." Her laughter filled the air as she entered the hall.
They entertained each other touring their way through the house. Talking about some petty issues and giggling because of their silly answers. They were like this whenever they separated themselves from others, together busy in their little bubble and content with the knowledge that no one could break this. They weren't just happy because they were engaged, they were happy because, after a long fight, their parents were with them. They were going to be lucky enough to start a new life with the blessing of their parents. And that doubled the reason to be happy.
Only a single room was left and she knew what it was. She saw him, his eyes focused on her as she nervously glanced in his direction. Her hand trembled when he held it in his and proceeded forward.
As she entered the room, she was speechless. Literally. She was in awe of that room. It reminded her of a design from her past, the design which she used to show his father to renovate her room. Her father had always ignored her. And her memory had faded, forgetting about that design. But now, everything returned in full force, gushing into her brain and she stood like an ice, completely frozen.
"Samiksha..." his voice was very soft as if caressing her, loving more. And she came back to the present, to their home.
She scanned the room, each nook and cranny, which was so perfect like her dream came true. While scanning, her eyes caught a glass photo frame, placed near the lampshade. She moved toward that direction, hypnotized to see what it was.
Lifting it in her right hand, she looked at Krishna silently smiling beside her. As she turned the beautiful piece of art, a loud gasp escaped from her mouth. She felt his hand touching hers and leaned back against his torso.
"Shush... I love you even when you cry like a baby," he whispered, his voice gentle. "But that doesn't mean I want to see you like this."
She closed her eyes as she realized from his words that she was sobbing.
How can he...?
Tears were spilling down uncontrollably from her eyes as she tried to believe what her eyes were envisioning.
It was there, the paper in which she had drawn his eyes that day.
The same paper that she had kept for years; that same paper that was a secret to everyone, except Alisha; that same paper with which she lived her life for five years. And that same paper which he had carefully framed in an intricately designed glass shield.
"Samiksha, please," he said softly, "don't cry, my love. I feel bad for making you cry."
Before he could complete his sentence, she turned and hugged him tightly, the same way as she had in her dream.
"No... No, Krishna," she mumbled, her face buried in his chest as she sobbed. Deciding something in her small heart, she raised her head. Her eyes connected with his dark ones and she cupped his jaw.
He didn't say anything, he couldn't utter a word.
He held her in his arms as she looked at him. No, she was not looking at him, she was looking into him. She was searching his soul, the same way when he had confessed his love to her for the first time. She was having a battle in her little head, which was visible in her eyes and he calmed her. He kept quiet and kept wiping her tears as they rolled down her cheeks.
"Krishna," she sniffed, "I-I..." Her words were tangled in a new wave of tears.
He understood her struggle, but instead of pressing her, he said, "It's okay, Samiksha. We can talk later when you're..." He left the sentence unfinished, his own anticipation palpable.
"No... I want to say it now," she whispered again, "I-I love you."
And for the first time, his eyes glistened with tears, reflecting the depth of their mutual love.
She loved him. He loved her. They both were in love.
~*~