PART 19

Khushi was having an incredibly tedious day.She had spent the better part staring at the frothy canopy of her bed under hawk-eyed surveillance of her jiji and buwaji,who had taken to feed her tasteless porridge and khichdi the entire day so much so that she sincerely doubted that her spicy food addicted taste buds were damaged forever!

She yawned lazily,flippin g through the channels on T.V.

‘’Khushi bitiya!’’a soft voice called from the doorway.

‘’Maa!Papa!’’she squealed,jumping up from the bed.

She ran towards her parents and caught them in a tight bear hug.

Garima and Shashi Gupta staggered a bit under their missile of joy and embraced her lovingly.

Nobody could tell that they were her foster parents,by looking at the bond they shared.

Khushi was merely 6 years old when her parents-Garima’s sister and brother-in-law-had passed away.Since then Guptas had accepted khushi under their wings,loving her even more than their own daughter Payal.

‘’Khushi how are you?Jiji just now told me what happened last night.Are you hurt?’’Garima asked concernedly ,holding  khushi  by her shoulders.

‘’Maa,I’m absolutely fine!’’Khushi  replied patiently.

‘’See that’s why I was stopping you from joining the police force!Its simply not a girl’s job to run around catching goons.Bless your chief that he found you on time,otherwise God only knows what would’ve happened!’’Garima was hysterical.

‘’Maa please!’’Khushi didn’t like it when her mother’s prejudices spoke through her.

‘’Garimaji,calm down!Nothing can happen to our khushi.My daughter is strong enough to look after herself.Besides Devi Maiya’s blessing are with her.No one can so much as touch our khushi!’’Shashi said reasonably,a subtle tinge of pride in his voice.

‘’Yeah,what more can I speak now!You two will turn deaf ears just like always.You can’t understand the anxiety of a mother!’’Garima sobbed.

‘’Oho Maa,please don’t cry.Nothing is going to happen to me!You’re with me aren’t you?..Noe lets go and eat.Its good you came,otherwise I would’ve soon starved to death,thanks to your jiji and Payaliya!’’Khushi pouted ,hiding behind her mother to escape the evil glares of her jiji and buwaji.

Garima smiled.Her anger and fear dissipitating in thin air at the childishness of her daughter.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘’Chote,why aren’t you eating anything?Is everything Okay?’’Armaan asked,eyeing the almost untouched food of ASR.

Raizadas were having a sumptuous dinner,talking happily.Everyone looked up at ASR.

‘’Nothing important jijaji.Just thinking about an important case!’’ASR muttered.

‘’Oh!’’

Nobody looked convinced,but they didn’t ask anything.Instead they looked at Akash questioningly who smiled conspiratorially.

ASR finished his food half-heartedly and slouched off to his room.

‘’ Akash what’s wrong with chote?’’Anjali asked raising her eyebrow.

‘’Di,Khushi was on a leave today!’’Akash explained grinning from ear to ear.

His one-liner was enough to explain ASR’s spleen.

Arnav,tossed and turned on his bed restlessly,sleep miles away from him.Finally he gave up to his unsettling torment and picked up his phone.

Khushi was taken aback to see ASR’s name flashing on the screen.Trembling she answered the phone.

‘’Hello!’’there was no voice from the other end.

‘’Arnavji!’’she called uncertainly.

ASR’s heart swell with an inexplicable,unknown feeling as he heard his name from her mouth and the words tumbled out.

‘’Khushi how are you?’’

Khushi was thrown off guard.This was totally unexpected!

‘’I’m fine Sir!’’she aid softly.

The word ‘Sir’ snapped him into perspectives and reminded him who he was.

‘’Good,that means you don’t have an excuse to stay absent and loll around,wasting time in your house!We’ve a meeting with the Commissioner of Gurgaon tomorrow ,related to security of the place since it is one of the hotspots in this drug racket.I want you to come with me.So,I shall expect you tomorrow at 8 am sharp!’’

The line went dead.Khushi gaped at the phone in disbelief.

‘’Laadgovernor!’’she growled,her nose flaring.

ASR fell into a peaceful slumber with a smirk on his face.