"And then you, all of a sudden, meet that one person, and everything feels right"

~Unknown~

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Aabha's silence was an unanticipated reaction, he was prepared to be berated and hoped that she would not resort to throwing a book at him but her silence left him flustered. He was about to say something when she smiled wanly and shrugged, "All that is in the past and I truly never did care much for Reyansh, he is a very nice person, I am sure but we were not really suited to each other. What was the second deal you mentioned?"

Shaurya hesitated, she did not appear to be very angry but she had not said that he was forgiven either, so maybe this would be the chance to make up for his mistake.

"Seeing how I am partly responsible for your disillusionment I will help you believe in love. And since you do not appear to be a person who likes favours, in exchange, you can help me win Nisha again. At the cost of sounding clichéd, I could do with a woman's intuition."

He then held out his hand and asked, "Shall we make the deal?"

Aabha would never know what prompted her to take up that deal, a deal which would change her life in many unexpected ways. But at that instant, there was something about him that she could not refuse, the earnest plea in his eyes was irresistible and his expectant gaze was so enticing that she simply could not say no. Further, she thought that what he asked was quite harmless, so she took the proffered hand and said, "Deal!" trying her best to ignore that spark that coursed through her veins when their hands touched.

And with that, Aabha gathered her books, stuffed them into her satchel and got ready to leave, after they had decided to plan out their course of action from the next day. Refusing his offer of a lift, she gave a small wave of her hand, and ran out of the shop, across the road and disappeared into the milling crowd.

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From the next day, they commenced their joint mission, 'Win Nisha and Convince Aabha'. Shaurya started off with the love stories in his family and friends, he was relieved that he did not have to continue with that book and since Aabha refused to read any books on romance either, he had no other options but to tell her about love stories. Aabha had met his entire family except him, he was away on a business trip, she recalled being told, but was staggered to know that both his Bade papa and his Badi Maa as well his Bhai and bhabhi had a love marriage.

The first one was about his Bade papa who had chanced on his Bade Maa singing and had been so enamoured by her voice that he had immediately gone home and declared to his parents that he would only get married to the owner of that voice, even though he had not evencaught a glimpse of her face. Aabha had heard her sing and agreed that his Badi Maa had a very mellifluous voice. Then there were his cousin Devansh and Maahi who were childhood sweethearts. 

He was not so forthcoming about his parents, but Aabha suspected that theirs was a love marriage too and after a few days of persistent coaxing he spilled their story; his father had to gone to their ancestral village and had met Supriya there. It was love at first sight for her though Prathap, with his quiet and reserved manner, had not been so open about his feelings. Finally tired of waiting Prathap to express what everyone could see, Supriya had taken matters into her hand and forced a confession from him. It was a confession extracted, in the middle of day and in the centre of the village, with most of the villagers as amused witnesses; a story which still got them teased even after almost three decades of married life. 

In spite of the laughter bubbling inside her at Shaurya's abashed expressions, she agreed that all of them were happily married and very much in love to date but she was not to change her mind just because everyone in his family had found love, though it did prompt her to ask, "But if all of your family members had love marriages, why did Reyansh agree to an arranged marriage?"

Shaurya laughed, he had been waiting for it, "That is because there is a sort of competition between the two us, I had already found love and was engaged to be married; while he could not make any girl he liked, fall for him and never liked the girls who professed their love for him. It was sheer desperation on his part."

Aabha nodded, it was exactly what Reyansh would do, the irony was that it had finally led him to fall in love.

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As part of her contribution, Aabha gave a list of flower bouquets that Shaurya would have to send to Nisha during the second week, one each for every single day of the week, in the order she specified: Pink carnations (I'll never forget you); white camellia blossoms (you are adorable); red carnations, (my heart aches for you), orange lilies (devotion), multi-coloured peonies (romance), yellow gladioli, (to strike her heart with passion) to finish with the largest bunch of orchids(love, beauty and strength) that he could obtain. She helped him pick the lines for the notes to accompany the flowers, which he wrote in a beautiful firm handwriting, taking care with each curve and flourish of the letters. She could not help but feel a tiny stab of jealousy, tinged with anger at Nisha, whom she was starting to think was a woman who did not know that value of having a man such as Shaurya in her life.

The third week told her more stories about a few other couples whom he knew and who had a successful love life. She went shopping with him to pick up gifts for Nisha, the fact that she had not responded to any of his bouquet messages had apparently not dampened his spirits. That expedition was a failure, anything she suggested was met with an unequivocal no. Shaurya knew that Aabha's ideas were good but he had also realised that Nisha would never appreciate anything which did not have an expensive price tag.

The fourth week they stopped thinking about ideas to woo Nisha back. The fifth week they simply sat at the coffee shop, as both had run out of ideas. Aabha was slightly euphoric about the whole thing and she said, "Shaurya, you were supposed to convince me about love, which you seem to have failed, so what do you plan to do next?"

It was a very dejected Shaurya who answered, "I have no clue but I will not give up, some way or the other I will convince you that love exists. I will never give up on you, Aabha!"

She gave a dramatic sigh, packed her books and bid him goodnight.

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They continued to meet, but that was because they had grown used to each other's company. He started carrying his laptop and work to the coffee shop where they discussed their interests and their dreams, despite constant telephonic interruptions from his office or her home. And Aabha missed him when he would go on his business trips, a fact she would never ever admit to herself, let alone anyone else.

It was almost three months after their first conversation that Aabha finally ventured to question Shaurya about Nisha. She had had a very long day at the college where she had gone to meet the Dean who had quite firmly dissuaded her from taking up her preferred topic for her research consideration. She was also seriously contemplating whether she should simply continue with her studies or continue putting her dreams on hold. She had wanted to pursue her doctorate but with the Reyansh / Ishaani fiasco, it had been relegated to the back burner.

At home, things were no better, as Ishaani continued with her stand of refusing to consider Reyansh which was now resulting in open vocal disagreements about everyday mundane things, today's argument between her parents seemed to have touched every topic under the sun with no conclusions. The coffee shop had offered no respite during the week he had been away; it seemed bright and garish in his absence. She did not know why she had chosen that day to ask about Nisha but it had been troubling her for quite some time and she wanted to get it out of her system.

Shaurya did not answer her immediately and she had to ask him a couple of times more before he gave her the answer, Nisha had shifted to Mumbai a month ago, following her wedding.

Aabha sat unsure of how to react, she knew she was supposed to be feeling sorry for him but instead she felt elated, and that was so wrong, she thought. It was irrational and stupid but then she could not help it. Her heart vacillated between sadness for Shaurya and an unacceptable cheer but her mind would have nothing of it, it slyly whispered, 'it appears your curse has rubbed off on him too, he too has lost the woman he loved,' and finally unable to bear that voice, she blurted out, "I am so sorry, Shaurya, my family curse seems to have rubbed off on you..." 

She faltered when she saw his face turn stony and he fiercely replied, "you are not responsible for Nisha not coming back into my life, I will not have you thinking that. Do you understand?"

Aabha lapsed into a stunned silence hearing the fury in his voice and found her eyes growing misty. She was surprised at herself, she rarely cried but then she was quite upset with the news and bewildered with the ferocity of his reaction; when suddenly she found a soft square of linen being put into her hands. Despite the gravity of the situation and the fact that she was feeling miserable for Shaurya, she gave a watery smile at the sight of the handkerchief. 'Of course, he would have one to offer it to any damsel in distress', she thought. Removing her glasses, she wiped her tears away and looked at Shaurya over the edge of his handkerchief; her eyes limpid pools of abject misery.

When Shaurya saw the misery in her eyes, he softened, understanding that she was feeling upset for him. And when Aabha folded the kerchief and stuffed into her bag, mumbling about it having washed before she could return it to him, he knew that she was rambling as she was not sure what to say. Hesitantly, Shaurya took her hands in his, they were small and soft and cold, she did not pull them away and nor did she react when he tightened his hold on them, "Aabha, please, every story that fails is not your fault. Will you stop blaming yourself?"

She simply nodded, unsureof what to say.They spent the rest of the evening in absolute silence, neither willing to speak nor relinquish their hands. Aabha could offer no comfort and even though she agreed with what Shaurya said, she could not get rid of the nagging feeling that maybe if they had tried harder Shaurya could have won Nisha back. She also was irked with the unacceptable joy that seemed to fill her heart at the news that Nisha was no longer in Shaurya's life. Aabha was quite lost in her confusion and Shaurya was worried for her. Their coffees grew cold and finally Aabha mumbled, "Walk me home, Shaurya, please; I do not want to go alone."

And this ends their past stories and should be the start of a future, after all, it would a walk to remember.

Do read and let me know your views, as I always say, all feedback, good or bad, is welcome.

Love,
Nyna