The radio's crackle filled the humid air in the Tiwari household as it became difficult to catch frequency. Now it sat mute and a little useless on the table by the rocking chair... on which lay a serene looking Parashar, feeling cold from the mild bouts of wind flowing inside from the open window he lay in front of.

Finally it caught on to the desired radio station, 107.2 and played an old classic. Nivedita looked deeply engrossed in her work in one corner of the living room, the focus uninterrupted. As the melodious voice of Amit Kumar sang the lyrics to Bade Acche Lagte Hai she lost her concentration momentarily. She knew what would happen had her Ma been there with her right then.

She would point out, "You know Dita, your Nanu loved this song. When you were a little kid, staying in his company you too got addicted to it and would hum to it as a three year old as I would do my work! Oh god you were such a cute chubby baby!"

Every single time the song came on; she would repeatedly point it out, again and again. And then begin singing the wrong lyrics, always beginning it with "Bade acche lagte hai ye nadiya- arey nahi 'ye dharti' uff!".

Again and again.

She looked at the radio, and then at her father. So did he.

Such is the bond between a father and daughter.He smiled at her and closed his eyes as he happily listened to the song which played in full melody now, letting a small tear squeeze through his closed eyes.

Five minutes later it wasn't as cold as before, with a cotton bed sheet spread over his legs.

^^^

It was 3pm yet the sun hadn't shone its usual golden today and Nivedita's father had slept through the entire afternoon as she studied the time being. Deciding to take a breather she got up and walked around relaxing her legs doing so. As she realized the time, she mentally berated herself for not waking up her father and serving him lunch.

"Pa, please jaldi utho, it's too late for lunch already!" she shouted running towards the kitchen.

Outside, her father received a call from Ramnath's and apparently the friends had decided a few minutes into the call that the cloudy day was perfect to have a cup of tea and gossip about politics.

Smiling at the cotton bed sheet still covering his feet he decided that today was no day to have lunch but pakoras and a cup of tea. "Beta, don't ask Hareesh to cook anything for today!"

Coming out of the kitchen she asked as to what the occasion was and returned back to inform Kaka of the same. After that, quickly changing into a t- shirt and tracks since the weather was a little chilly, she stood in their verandah waiting for her father, keys jingling in her hand.

Locking the villa, the duo exited the boundary wall and opened up a single huge umbrella as they set out for Shukla Niwas.

^^^

The lush green shrubs and trees in the Shukla household's front porch made the red of the brickwork pop out even more. The peaceful atmosphere highlighted every aspect of nature at that instant for Nivedita.She could suddenly see the minute droplets sliding down each leaf, she could hear the raindrops hitting concrete a hundred meters away, she could smell the earth in the playground right beside the villa where overgrown grass fell on itself, all damped in the rain.

It seemed like poetry, until something stuck out of the picture. A...Harley Davidson? Parked here?

Making a quick note to ask uncle about it, the duo walked up the front porch and rang the chirpy doorbell, soon answered by an ever glowing Reena.

"Namaste ji! It's been so long since I saw my Nivedita, school started and you forgot all about me and my kheer?" she said, directing the question to Nivedita, letting them into the house.

"Maaf kar dijiye ise, I'll make sure she visits you every week." The father mockingly defended his daughter.

Nivedita smiled in response and continued to look around until she saw something that caught her eye, a wooden chessboard.

The same one which she had seen the first time she had visited this place after moving to Delhi; she could recognize the engraving of the 'king' and 'queen' chess pieces on the boxwood. She looked around once more, only to confirm its owner. Maybe she simply didn't wish to acknowledge his being there and would feel pacified had someone else shown up. She wasn't ready for social interaction today.

By the time everyone had made themselves comfortable in the living room illuminated by the bluish lights entering from the floor to ceiling open windows, her mind had lost interest in the chess board and settled into the snacks placed in front of her.

"Ek to late aye, and now you have the audacity to rub your victory in the old man's face?" had to be Ramnath uncle's voice, she turned her head to wish him greetings, only to be met by someone else's eyes.

Hazel brown eyes, which crinkled with laughter due to a joke which she had missed out on, she gazed with ...

Rather lack of amusement. She knew he would be there.

"Parashar, you took quite the time to get here today." There was a tone of suggestion in Ramnath's voice.

"Did I miss something bhaisaab?" she watched her father go into deep thinking and come back with an, "oH". And then he walked over to his dear friend to hug him and say , "Janmdin ki dher saari shubhkamnaye bhaisahab!"

The smile on Abhimanyu's face gave it away. He knew and she didn't. Is he planning on stealing everything from her? Nivedita, stop being kiddish; she mentally chided herself.

As Parashar settled down with Ramnath again he noticed the presence of a boy. "And who might this young man be?"

"Oh yes, meet Abhimanyu. He is Thaapar's son. Normally I should have met him through his father at the tennis club but lo and behold, this young man had me defeated and made his identity known to me himself." Parahsar's eyebrows arched as he smiled towards the boy.

Ramnath turned towards Nivedita and asked, "Oh you must be knowing him right, beta? You two are in the same school."

"We do." She said.

"We do." He said.

As Reena entered with a tray of tea followed by the house –help who carried some more snacks, she commented "At least she wouldn't be bored by our old people talk now!"

Splendid.

"Auntie, you know very well there is nothing like that. Who can like anything over your commentary on the daily news?" she jokingly said, playing along the mood ignoring his presence for a while.

On the other hand Abhimanyu felt like he was intruding upon a family moment as he sat in the living room watching the elderly converse and Nivedita smiling at their words. Of course, he could be doing the same...except, she looked like she was a comforting inclusion and he was not.

He did not understand if what he felt was real, as a product of the negligence he often felt at home... or if that negligence had made him insecure overall.Thus, he chose to move over to the front porch with his lovable companion, the chess board.

^^^

Placing the last chess piece, the king, sitting on the straw table chair set Abhimanyu gazed at the greenery flourishing in the pleasant rain; until he heard the shuffling of feet and turned around to see a nonchalant Nivedita bring two cups of coffee.

Her long dark hair was tied into a bun and specs hung on her worn out t-shirt. The hue of the atmosphere made her pink lips pop and her dark circles illuminated with undertones of blue.

Passing a cup to him she sat on the opposite straw chair silently, unaware of how he had picturised her.

After observing the table, she picked up a chess piece fallen near Abhimanyu's feet; placing the queen at her rightful position, she completed or, say, began the game.

It was only then that Abhimanyu realized how long he had spent in simply observing her. Should I ask her for a game? Or just play by myself?

"Don't you think it's a little odd to sit out here all alone when people are inside? It might give the wrong vibe."

That was one of the longest sentences she had spoken to him in all the two weeks they had known each other.

They might as well play now. "Black or white?" he asked.

"Black." She replied as she sipped her coffee.

Abhimanyu moved the pawn in front of his king to free his queen and bishop. That is the most predictable move ever, Nivedita thought to herself. She was right to quite an extent.She moved the knight and waited for his answer to the question asked.

"These people are family to me, they understand me and let me treat this place as my own." He shrugged.

Nodding to the reply a childish jealousy took over her when he referred to them as his own. Does he even know how long back she went with them? She hated how idiotically childish she would become when around him at times.

"Have the notes been of any help?" What was one supposed to talk about?

"Yes, thank you."

"You sound truly grateful." he murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing." She wasn't supposed to hear that.

The game continued in silence with the exception of the raindrops hitting the road and the wind's low whistles. Nivedita stared at the bougainvillea shrub swaying in the monsoon winds as she waited for Abhimanyu to make a move. She was six moves away from giving a checkmate.

"Do you like the rain?"

"Yes." She said and gave a gentle smile.

Okay, maybe she doesn't hate me. Or maybe she just loves the rains; thought a confused Abhimanyu.

"How come you are out here accompanying me?" he asked genuinely curious this time.

"Auntie-uncle sent me out here, told me to give you coffee and... company, I guess."

"Hmm."

"Do you dislike me?" he asked, castling his king.

Now that was a question which had effectively caught her off guard. He did not seem the meek kid at all, but his sudden question almost made her like his confidence. Her tilted posture, head facing away, all had become alert in a subtle manner. Her spine turned straight, neck aligned with it and pupils contracted slightly.

"What gave you that idea?" she almost smiled.

"So I am to presume you naturally ignore everyone you see?" he jokingly asked.

As his lips lifted up in a smile she noticed the blue undertones of his eye bags, similar to her own. There were other things worth a look though.Maybe the black soft curls of his unkempt hair, or his eyes? But none of that seemed to matter at that very minute.

Relaxing in her chair, legs in a lotus position she looked away and replied, "No, that is not the case. Neither do I dislike you anymore." maybe, not all of it was true.

"Anymore?" he asked, continuing the game.

As she bent over to move the Rook forward she looked straight into his eyes to reply, "No." Maybe this way she would accept it as well. She was definitely going to win this game.

She chose to elaborate when he didn't speak for a while. "Yes I did not have the best impression of you initially. I tried my level best over here to keep up with the standards, the change and what not. But nothing ever seemed to be worthy enough of a single word of acknowledgement compared to you."

He desperately wanted to laugh at her words for that was the last reason he could ever imagine for him being disliked by anyone. But he chose to contain it for some more time as it would disrespect her feelings. Maybe it was his fault for being ignorant of his own presence.

"Moving to this city was the last of my wishes. And maybe I saw the hard work I put into establishing myself here as a self boost, a reason to make me feel settled about this place. I thought that maybe if I felt rewarded I would eventually like being here, just for the heck of it. It would become a reason to stay."

"I was being idiotic though, I haven't been here long enough." she said it half to herself and half to him.

"Why don't we simply characterize this as acting out?"

Is he serious? She just gifted him her soul according to her standards and he is calling them mood swings?

She gave him the duh-est look possible. Scratch all of that, I still don't like you.

Caving into his chair after making another move he continues with a small smile, "Sab kuch itna complicate karna zaroori to nahi. Why not just label it as acting out due to moving into a city which you don't feel like is yours? Aise to, all the time humans label each other as animals. What is so wrong in simply admitting we are animals who can't adapt as easily as they are labeled out to be?"

He said such words in such a calm voice that it took her almost a minute to understand the gravity of his words. And when she did, all she could do was stare, expressionless; as he stared back with a smile as the rhythm of the raindrops created a background score. She saved the reaction for later.

"Check" she placed her queen in front of his king. "Mate."

"Beta, let's go home." Parashar's voice broke the stare down.

As Ramnath followed his friend to the front porch, watching his two favorite kids play his favorite game he bent to observe the board. His eyebrows arched in confusion. He knew Abhimanyu's game very well. What was this?

"Young man, what is this? You have had your knight cornered her king all this while. One move with your king and it would have been mate."

What? How could she miss this? More importantly,

He had let her win.

^^^

Please vote,share and comment!

In this rewrite, I wished to make the characters a little less mature than they were (at least in their thoughts), because well... they are supposed to act like kids aren't they?