Out skirts of Delhi, 8:40pm....

3rd person's pov.....

             A man who seems to be in his mid 40's, dressed in a black hoodie and black sweat pants, runs into a quiet alley, with a huge back pack on his back.
           He swiftly takes various turns and bumps and finally enters into a narrow passage way. He slows down and walks up to the house located at the farthest  corner of the alley.  He looks around himself to make sure that nobody followed him there and bangs softly on the door.

           The building doesn't actually look like a house.  It looks like a large, worn out garage. The light above his flickers on and the door opens with a creak.
           There stands a short, lean man dressed in a cheap kurta and pajama, rubbing his groggy eyes. He looks at the person infront of him and his eyes widen in shock. He opens his mouth after few seconds and says,

M: Shekhar bhai!!

          The person infront of him just smirks and says,

Sh: Kaise ho, Imraan?

         But the other person, now known as Imraan, just pulls Shekhar inside, by his wrist. He then looks outside to make sure that nobody saw them and closes the door with a 'thud'.
       He turns back only to see Shekhar emptying his backpack, sitting on an almost broken sofa. Imraan then opens his mouth to clarify his queries.

I: Shekhar bhai! When did you come back to India? W..where have you been all these days?

Sh: Yaar Imraan! How many questions do you ask? We are meeting after many days and won't you even hug me.

        And then, Shekhar and Imraan hug each other, of course, the latter doubtfully.

I: Bhai! Seriously, where have you been? I thought...um..you were dead. The media and The Police were saying many bad things about you. Sunke bohot bura laga, bhai!

Sh:(chuckling) Bura laga! Imraan, I think you have an idea about the things we do. We are no saints. (Smirking) whatever you have heard about me is 100 percent true. I had done that and still doing it. Accha! Tell me, what have you heard about me?

I: wahi drugs, human and organ trafficking,etc....

Sh: Hmm..everything is right. But I see, they hid the main matter.

I:  Main matter! Matlab....woh wali baat.

Sh:(chuckling) woh wali baat?! Ha! wahi baat!

I:(awkwardly) Anyways, need a drink, bhai?

Sh: Beer?

I: Brandi.

       Saying this, Imraan moves into another room, which looks like a pathetic excuse for a kitchen.  He returns back after few mins with a liquor bottle and two glasses. Soon they started attacking it like it is their last day on Earth. Soon their words started slurring and their vision blurred.

I: Bhai, Now tell me! Where were you all these days? You look so different.

S: Where have I been?(smirking) in hell. Past 6 years were the worst days of my life. All these years, I took shit from each and every person. But now, it's over. Everybody will know what 'Shekhar Bharadwaj' means.

I:(gulping)what are you going to do, bhai?

Sh:(smiling) You need not know that Imran.I have my plans. But one thing is for sure! Oberois are going to see hell in the coming days, for taking away what is meant to be mine.

I: Bhai! Just tell me what can I do.

Sh: That's my boy. I need you to execute the first step of  my plan. And for that, you need to come with me for Mumbai.

I: Teek hein, Bhai!

                  ***************

Oberoi mansion, 9:00pm....

Gauri's pov......

          Today has been a really tiring day. My muscles are sore from all the shopping. Now, I just want a good night sleep. I still need to give everybody the presents I bought for them. Meals are tedious process in O.M. Of course, there are servants  who bring everything to their plates. But for every meal, each and every family member should meet rest of the family, talk to them about their day, about their work and every other thing. Don't ask me the reason, but I don't find this thing very appealing.

            However, one thing I noticed is I have never seen Om at any of these meals, be it morning, afternoon or evening. And after dinner when everybody sat in the living room, I decided to give them their presents.It took only 15mins to give everybody their gifts.
           They really liked the gifts and I feel happy. The youngsters really felt guilty because I bought them really expensive gifts but I didn't mind. Their feelings felt genuine and I am happy to know that there are atleast few people around me.

           Soon elders retired to their rooms while Rudra planned a late night pool time for youngsters since there is a weekend ahead. At this moment, I really feel like crying. As I opened my mouth to deny Rudra's idea, didi tightly squeezed my hand making me silent. Oh God! How more can my sister be annoying? I know this is her plan to make me socialize with the younger Oberoi clan. But how many times should I tell her that I am already friends with them? If she can't trust me, she can ask them. They will surely say how friendly I am.

            We soon reached the pool,
of course, with me sulking. But nobody seems to pay any heed to me. We entered into the pool area and I saw Om already sitting by the pool, with his knees folded to his chest. Ofcourse, Rudra being Rudra, entered with a bang, bringing Om out of his stupor. He looked at us and immediately gave a pleasant smile. I would say, even though Om has a problem in expressing his feelings through words, his one smile would compensate it all.

          Soon we all settled by the pool. Om is sitting between me and Shivaay jiju, while didi is sitting between jiju and Rudy , Prinku and Bhavya beside Rudra. However, we are sitting in a semicircle and there is atleast a foot distance between me and Om. 
          A few mins have passed and I feel really thankful for Om being there beside me. You may ask why!
Let me tell you. Currently Jiju and didi are cuddled up against each other, playing with each other's fingers, mumbling sweet nothings with each other. So, it's no use of asking them anything. Then  there are Rudy, Prinku and Bhavu who are playing some game among themselves. But, I don't see any game going on there. There are just lots of paper pieces and occasional banters. They asked me to join them but I don't like mess and so I politely denied their offer.

            See, my words might make you think that others including didi aren't caring about me. But that's not the case. The thing is my way of socializing is clearly different from theirs and I am not bothered by that. I then looked at Om who is still sitting in his previous position, looking at the crystal clear water,lost in thoughts. I didn't want to disturb him. So I started scrolling through my phone, checking my non existing notifications. Literally, I feel irritated to the core. Whatever Om might think, I decided to talk to him. Few words won't hurt, will they?
          I just thought of calling Om but suddenly he himself turned to me, startling me.

O: Hey Gauri! Did m..my family like the gg..gifts, I..I mean um..what did they say?

         God!!! Literally, I couldn't hear even a single word he was saying. His tone was so low that I felt I was hallucinating. I felt embarresed to ask him to repeat what he was saying. So, I just looked at him confused and he mirrored my expression. I don't know what he has understood but he started speaking again.

O: I mean...gifts um...you gave them, right?!

G:(smiling) Oh gifts! Yeah, I gave them already . They liked the gifts.  I should really thank you. You really have a nice taste.

O:(blushing) aisa kuch nahi hai.

            He is really cute. He looks very younger due to his body texture and his antiques. I wonder what his age is. And then suddenly I remembered an important thing and called Om again.

G: Accha Om! Ab tumhe yaha pe koi important kaam hai kya?

O: n..nahi! K..kyun?

G: vo...I need to talk something important with you. Can you come with me for few mins?

O: S..sure.

        And then we intimated the rest of the group and left from there. But the look didi was giving me while we left, huhhh!!! I wanted to kill her.  I don't know what happiness elder siblings get by teasing the younger ones.

          Then I and Om came to the guest room, which is currently my room. I opened the door and went inside but I saw Om still standing outside fiddling with his fingers.

G: Om andar aao na! What happened?

O: N..nahi. I am f..fine here.

G: Om! it's ok. Please come in.

O: ok.

       And finally he came in.
Thank God! I didn't have to convince him hard.

O: What's the matt..ter?

G:(smiling) The matter is......'Tan..tadaa'!!!

          Saying this, I handed him the gift pack I held behind me. To say the least, he is confused. Ofcourse, he should be. Because, he didn't know I bought a gift for him also. He has this look of surprise on his face, he looks like a toddler who is given a teddy bear twice his size.

O:(surprised) It's a book, I think.

           He hasn't stuttered this time. I like his voice. No Gauri! What the hell are you thinking? Just shut up and concentrate.

G: Open and see it.

              He took of the tape pieces and gift wrapper carefully. Ofcourse, it's a book. But the expression on his face is so eye catching, I can't explain it in words.

O: "ART&FEAR" by David Bayles and Ted Orland. G..god! Gauri, I love th..this book. Th..thank you.
Thank you so much.

G: Thank God! So you didn't have this book? You know I was scared that you might have this book.

O: Actually, I..I 'had' this b..book.  But I lost it w...when my g..gall..lery was remod..delled. (smiling) Thank you.

           Though I feel a little bad, I decided not to show it up. So, I smiled at him genuinely.

O: Gauri! Muj..jhe bhi tu..tumhe kuch dena hain! Can you w..wait for few mins?

G: sure.

          Soon he left my room leaving me in my thoughts. It's been few mins and he came back. There is a package in his hand and I can't understand  what is inside it. He came to me smiling and handed me the package. I carefully opened the package only to find a digital camera.
             Whatever I am feeling now regarding this gift is not expressible in the form of words. Because, photography is my passion. If not today, some other day I will take a step to fulfill my passion. I thought nobody knows this matter except Anika didi. But guess what, I was wrong.

O: Do you l..like the g..gift?

G:(shocked) I love it. But how do you know that I love photography?

O: Bhab..bi has said once. This cam..mera is a gift for your succ..ess from all of us.  I h..hope that you succ..eed in photography in the same way as you h..have done in b..business.
(smiling) All the best.

G: Thank you, so much.

O: Fine then. I'll l..leave. Good night.

G: Good night.

             With that, he left me alone in my room. Buying this camera might not be a big deal for him. Ofcourse, he is rich. But what melts my heart is his effort and his genuine words. His actions don't seem like obligation. It almost brought tears to my eyes. You might be thinking what's a big deal in this. The thing is, he proved to me that my passion is not a waste of time by gifting me this camera. I don't  know if I will be successful in fulfilling my dreams of photography. But one thing is for sure, this camera will always be special to me.

          The most surprising thing, though I don't want to admit is, Om has occupied a precious position in my heart in a single day. Just a single day. I don't even know how.  Now it doesn't seem wrong to think about him for hours and hours. It feels nice to think about a lovely person for hours than thinking about business and calculations.
.....................................................................................

Hey guys😊,

So here is the next chapter.....

Do read and tell me your views.

Till then,

Take care and bye✋✋💙