He found the colours to paint her where the world had left her grey ~ Atticus.

Song of the chapter : Tera Yaar Hu Main by Arijit Singh.

***

The fresh aroma of chocolate cookies fills the room and I smile. Ahh I love baked goods!

I place all the cookies neatly in a tray and take them outside. I place them inside the glass counter as Neelima aunty, the owner of this cafe, walks towards me.

"You're done for the day, love. The cookies look amazing and they smell even more amazing. Thank you" she says.

"Just doing my job aunty" I say and remove my pink apron.

I work in a small cafe named 'Brewed and Baked'. The working hours are hectic but the salary is worth it.

Salary.

I remember maa screaming at me yesterday to give her money. Mujhe pata hai she needed it for alcohol. Jab maine manaa kiya, she threw a fit and broke a beer bottle and left the house.

I look at the bandage on my finger.

It's just a glass cut Avni, aadat hai tujhe toh.

Subah tak vo aayi bhi nahi. That's normal. But that doesn't mean I worry any less.

After dad passed away, maa got really depressed and started drinking. Jo unki fir aadat bann gayi. I somehow completed my education in a government school and college. Jyada paise nahi the toh koi achhi degree bhi nahi mili. Reservations ne toh aur haalat kharab ki.

I've been working in this cafe now for more than three years. Life is not the best but I'm not the one to complain.

"Avni!!"

I smile as the best part of my life, my only happiness, walks through the door as the little bells above chime, indicating a new customer.

Ekansh Rajput.

He smiles his dazzling smile at me which reaches his eyes. The girls in the cafe turn to look at this fine specimen that has just entered and I shake my head, a smile hinting on my lips. It's not their fault, he is a really good looking guy. And he looks amazing in that white shirt and faded jeans.

I love this guy. Really. In this world of darkness, he's my light, my best friend, my support system, my family, my everything.

"Do minute Ekansh. Bass abhi aayi" I say and go to the washroom to freshen up.

Ekansh has been my friend since three years. We met in a movie theatre jaha vo bhi akela aaya tha aur mai bhi.

He is a big bollywood junkie just like me. It was the beginning of 2016 when I had gone to watch Kapoor and Sons. During the scene where their family has a big fight, I was wiping my tears and I heard someone sniffing and sobbing, louder than me, beside me.

And it was him. We discussed the movie later in a cafe and became best friends.

We have a lot in common and yet are so different. He has all, literally all his emotions flashed on his face all the time. Uske mann me jo bhi hota hai vo uske chehre pe dikhta hai. Me, I hide them well. He is the best cook in the world and I can not even make an omelette. Baking is my thing. Cooking - no!

I walk towards him as he stuffs a muffin in his mouth and I wipe away the little icing that he has on the corner of his lips with a tissue.

"Umm.. I yuv 'is" he says with his mouth stuffed.

"I know you love it. Isliye toh maine tumhare liye alag se rakhe hai" I say and hand him the box of his favourite cookies.

"I love you Avni" he says and kisses my cheek.

That's what he and everyone calls me. Avni. Short for Shravni. I don't like my name at all. My mom named me. That reason itself is enough for me to not like it.

"And I love you" I smile as we walk out of the cafe.

"Kaha ja rahe ho? Mera ghar iss taraf hai" I say when he takes the wrong turn.

"Arre mujhe bhai ne bulaya hai kuch kaam se. Vo kar ke I'll drop you home. Come" he says and my eyes widen.

"Unse mujhe nahi milna" I say, stepping back and he laughs.

"Arre bass do minute ka kaam hai. Kuch documents pe sign karni hai bass" he says and takes my hand dragging me with him.

We catch an auto and I start fidgeting in my seat. I've met his elder brother only once before who is three years older than us.

Hriday Rajput.

He has the biggest solicitor firm in India and is the complete opposite of Ekansh. To be honest, I really feel very intimidated by that man.

He is powerful, rich and everything that I'm not.

"Baba kyu itna tension le rahi ho? Vo tumhe kha thodi jaayega" Ekansh says.

"Yaad hai na last time kya hua tha. Mai tumhare ghar, I mean tumhare mansion me tumse milne aayi thi jab unhone darwaza khola tha. And he said 'nahi hume agarbatti ya vacuum cleaner nahi chahiye'" I huff remembering that day.

Mai kya saleswoman dikhti hu?

Ekansh finds the whole situation funny and starts laughing, like he always does when that moment is mentioned.

"Aur fir jab tumne kaha ke tum saleswoman nahi ho tab usne pucha tha ke kis baat ka chanda maangne aayi ho" he reminds me and starts laughing again.

"Ha ha ha very funny" I glare at him.

His laughter completely stops when he looks at the bandage on my finger. "Kya hai ye Avni. Wapas tumhari mom ne-"

"Kuch nahi hai, don't worry. Sabzi kaat rahi thi tab laga" I say and place the other hand on my bandage to hide it.

It's of no use because he takes my hand and looks at it for a few seconds before looking at my face.

"Why don't you move out of that house?" He asks, like the hundreds of times he has asked before and I give the same reply.

"I can't. Vo jaise bhi hai, meri maa hai. How can I abandon her like that" I say softly.

"Shadi ke baad toh jaaogi na pati ke ghar. Tab kya?" He asks.

"Tab ki baat alag hai" I chuckle.

"Mujhe nahi achha lagta jab tum ye sab face karti ho. You don't deserve it" he says.

"I have nowhere else to go" I smile sadly.

"You know I can help you financially, why don't you let me? Mai karta hu tumhare rehne ka arrangement" he says looking at me with dark brown eyes filled with concern.

"Achha thik hai. Tum mujhse shaadi kar lo fir mai tumhare sab paise udaa dungi aur tumhare saath reh bhi lungi" I tease him trying to lighten up the mood.

A little part of me would love to marry him. He's the perfect guy, my best friend, I even love him.

But the bigger part of me knows that he has never thought of me that way. And that's what I love about our relationship. We love each other but we're not in love with each other. Big difference there.

"Eww! Tumse shaadi. Rehne do" he makes a disgusted face.

I laugh and kiss him on his cheek.

"Itne paise hai tumhare paas. Ek gareeb ladki se shaadi kar lo, bhala hoga tumhara" I tease him.

"Vo paise mere nahi, bhai ke hai. Marry him" he says with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Shut up!"

"Bhai even has a crush on you!" he jokes and laughs loudly.

"Seriously now, shut up!" I say shaking my head.

He laughs looking at my flustered expression and the auto rickshaw comes to a stop.

We're in an industrial area and as I get down, I crane my neck to look at the high tower with God knows how many floors in front of me.

I look at my sandals and the strap that is almost broken. Bahot puraane aur gande ho gaye hai. Andar ja ke unka office na kharab kar du..

"Mai rukti hu yaha tum jaao" I say and Ekansh rolls his eyes.

"Chalo andar, sharmaao mat" he says and starts dragging me inside.

"Kya ye puri building sirf unki hai?" I ask as the doors slide open and I'm surrounded with the cool, fresh air of the air conditioner.

"Nahi. Sirf upar ke paanch floors" he says and I gulp, straightening my bright yellow kurti.

Everyone around me is in rich formal wear with not even one thing out of place. The only thing out of place here is me.

Jaise kisi legal document pe kisi ne colourful cartoon banaa diya.

I see a few people looking at me weirdly so I fix my gaze down on the clean marble flooring and keep walking. I keep feeling like I'm about to slip on this smooth marble flooring and fall so I walk stiffly like a robot.

We enter the lift and the liftman is asked to take us to the 50th floor.

Mai toh paanch floors ke upar kabhi gayi nahi.

We reach on the highest floor and the doors slide open. I smile and thank the liftman.

"Bhai hai na cabin me?" Ekansh asks the woman sitting behind a big counter and I see how there are 5 telephones in front of her.

Wow.

She looks up at Ekansh and her eyes light up. "Yes he's waiting for you, sir" she smiles and then her eyes fall on me and her smile falters.

"I'll just call him and inform him" she says and picks up the receiver.

"Mai yahi rukti hu" I say again, plead, to be honest.

"Stop with this shit or I'll kick your ass" he scolds me.

"Sir your brother is here to see you.. okay" she says and hangs up.

"He's asked you to come in" she says giving a bright smile to Ekansh. It's like I'm not even here, but it's better like that.

Ekansh holds my hand and gives me a little smile. He leads me to the end of the passage to a big door with double doors and we enter inside.

The first thing that my eyes catch is the floor to ceiling glass window which overlooks the city of Mumbai. Even the Arabian sea and the Bandra Worli sea link can be seen.

Then my eyes move towards the big book shelf with hundreds of books thicker than the telephone directory. Baba re!

"Hi bhai!" I snap out of my absent mindedness and look at the man sitting behind the huge desk in a huge chair whose huge hands are turned into fists as he stares at me with a stony look.

The way he's looking at me, it feels like he's looking at the chewing gum jo galti se unke mehenge shoes pe chipak gaya. All that without moving a single muscle of his face.

He's wearing a white shirt inside a well fitted grey suit. There's a dust of beard on his strong jaw that is now clenched tightly as his eyes bore into mine.

I look down quickly and stand in the middle of that huge room awkwardly as Ekansh goes and sits in front of him leaning back on the chair and stretching.

This guy!

"Arre tum waha kyu khadi ho aao baitho" he says and I go and sit beside him quietly, without making a sound.

"Maine tumhe aane bola tha Ekansh" his strong, commanding voice reverberates in the room.

Mere school ki principal thi, Mrs. Thakur. Iss duniya ki sabse strict lady. 4th standard me mujhe prove karna tha meri friends ko ke mai bhi Madhuri Dixit jaise naach sakti hu isliye maine table pe khade reh ke chane ke khet me ki signature step perform ki thi.

Fir kya? Girr gayi. Table toot gaya. Meri kamar bhi. But the school authorities were obviously more concerned about the table.

Principal ke office jaana pada tha aur waha unke saamne baith ke meri thodi si susu darr ke maare nikal gayi thi.

Why am I mentioning this now you ask?

Mrs. Thakur inke saamne angel lagegi. And that's a really strong statement coming from me.

"Ha toh mai aa gaya hu, bhai" Ekansh retorts.

Marwaayega ye!

"Sirf tumhe" his brother states, keeping his anger at bay.

"But maine Avni se promise kiya tha ke mai usse milunga aur tumne achanak bulaya. Now how could I ditch her na? Toh- arre you remember Avni na?" Ekansh laughs beside me and pokes me in the arm with his finger.

Ekansh!

"Arre agarbatti wala incident? Saleswoman? Jo meri dost nikli? Fir-"

"Just sign these papers Ekansh" his cool voice filled with irritation makes a shiver run down my spine.

Ekansh sighs beside me and signs the papers before him. "Done?" He asks. I can see his brother nod from my peripheral vision.

"Chalo Avni mai tumhe bhai ke favourite burger shop le chalta hu. Yahi paas me hai. Fir ghar jaayenge" he says as we both get up.

I give him a smile and nod.

Finally! Jaan chhuti.

"Bhai tum bhi chalo na. Maza aayega. Aapka kaam toh ho hi gaya hoga. Saath baj ke gaye hai waise bhi".

My smile is completely wiped off my face when those words leave Ekansh's mouth and I glare at him as subtly as possible.

"Mujhe kaam hai. Tum jaao" his brother says and the smile is back on my face.

Bach gayi.

I turn to leave.

"Bhai chalo na please. Aap mere liye kabhi time nahi nikaalte. Bass kaam kaam. Can't you spare thirty minutes for your cute little brother?"

I groan internally and look back at Ekansh who is now making a puppy dog face. Ye face? Ab toh I already know ke ye aayenge.

Hanuman chalisa bol le, Avni.

"Fine" he says in a clipped tone.

Ekansh bahot maar khayega ab mujhse.

I leave the room and Ekansh follows me.

"Mai ghar ja rahi hu Ekansh. Mujhe unke saath burger nahi khana" I say, taking long strides.

The receptionist quickly gets up looking at her boss leave his cabin and I punch the lift button.

"Toh pizza kha lo" Ekansh says and I glare at him. This time, not subtly.

"Bahot time baad maane hai bhai. Please ruk jaao na" he says as the doors to the lift open and I stomp inside.

"Maratha Mandir me DDLJ dekhne jaayenge kal I promise" he says with a little smirk on his face and I look at him from the corner of my eye.

"Hmm" I say and he kisses my cheek as I chuckle.

I look up to see him talking seriously to the receptionist as she keeps on nodding.

Then he walks towards us and I look away as he enters the lift.

He stands right in front of me and I press myself further behind. His broad back blocks the whole of my view and I see Ekansh covering his mouth and snickering.

Isme kya hai hassne jaisa? Matlab kuch bhi?

We reach the ground floor and as soon as he gets out the whole office comes to a standstill and then in a millisecond everyone is back to work in double the speed.

Wow again!

We go and stand in front of the building waiting for his brother's car and his and mine phone ring at the same time.

Ekansh rolls his eyes as his brother answers the phone and I remove my dabba phone to see the name 'maa' flashing on the little screen.

"Hello maa?"

"Chaabi kaha hai" she asks.

"Vohi rakhi hai hamesha wali jagah pe" I say.

"Nahi hai yaha" she slurs angrily.

"Mai toh nahi leke aayi" I say and shuffle in my purse.

"Hello maa mere paas nahi hai vohi hogi dekho na" I say still looking in my purse.

"Chup kyu ho gayi bol na mand ladki" she says in irritation.

"Maa mere paas nahi hai" I state calmly.

"Hello? Arre bol" she shouts.

Aawaz nahi aa rahi unhe shayad.

"Hello?" I walk a little ahead and look into the phone. Itne bade industrial area me network problem?

"Hello? He-"

"AVNI" I hear the voice over the loud honk of a truck as I'm blinded by its headlights and I'm harshly pushed ahead.

A car screeches to a stop as I hit my head on the footpath. All in the matter of two seconds.

I blink away my tears as my heartbeats get faster and I panic. Dread fills me chest as I look beside me in horror.

I see the lifeless form of Ekansh as the pool of blood below his head gets bigger and bigger turning his crisp white shirt into a colour of deep red.

My vision turns blank for a few seconds as everything goes into slow motion.

Hriday comes running towards him as I try to get up and scream his name.

Ekansh doesn't respond.

He comes and picks him up and screams something.

Ekansh doesn't respond.

He starts shaking him and screams at the people surrounding us.

Ekansh doesn't respond.

A shooting pain rings through my head as everything comes back to normal speed and I gasp and run towards him.

"Ekansh!"

***

First chapter of Dono Jud ke Judaa. I have so much in mind for this story and I can't wait for your views on this very first chapter. Please do vote, comment and share. And as always.. ily :)