Maya

I couldn't stop smiling at the first look photo of our film, 'Thirty days'. 

The feeling was surreal. I will never be able to explain it in words. The inexplicable fear along with the joy to see yourself in the first look pictures was all telling about my journey along the whole world of our film. 

"Maya?" I turned to hear Ajay's voice. "Biscuit?" He asked, munching on his biscuit. 

 I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." When I didn't stop staring at him, he asked, "Anything wrong?"

"Um… no. Just thinking. So many things have changed and I can't believe that I am having my debut movie." 

"I know right? Your dreams are coming true," he said and I nodded at him, turning to look outside the window. We were sitting in the cab and in a few minutes, we would be at our parent's house.

My phone beeped with Akash's message.

Sorry miss, I think I am not gonna make it today. Enjoy the family time anyway. Let's meet another time.

My face fell at the message. With a grumpy pout, I wrote back.

Fine. But we should meet another time okay?

In a few seconds, he replied back.

Sure :)

I sighed. "Hey, Akash is not coming but Lina is coming, right?" I asked just when his phone rang loudly. He sighed at the caller id and showed it to me. "Talk of the devil and there she is." 

I nudged him playfully, as he picked up the call. "Hello bhaiyaaa! Guess where I am? In Pune. I came back from my medical camp and I am waiting here. Where are you anyway?" 

We were already in front of the playground behind our houses. "We are here." As the car came to a halt, we both got out of the car and smiled at Lina who looked like she arrived just now too.

She grinned widely, waving to us as we went to her. "Oh, so the childhood rivals are lovers now. I freaking knew it." She teased. 

Ajay was shocked to see his little sister teasing like that. "Hey, what are you talking about? Kids shouldn't talk that way." He looked taken aback by what Lina had just now said. I blinked at his reaction.

Turning to Lina, I saw her raising her eyebrows, glaring at him. She grimaced, "Kid? Me? Do you want to die?" 

Ajay's mouth went wide when he heard her. "What? I am your elder brother." At that time, Lina got a phone call from her friend. "I? Arguing with my useless brother. I don't even know why he is acting like a father," she said over the phone, walking towards the house. 

"Hey, come here right now. Hey." He kept shouting while following her. I had a big smile on my face. Witnessing their sibling fights had always been so fun for us. I looked around the neighbourhood that had our childhood memories together.

Even if those memories were not all nice yet it was a pretty good time and I miss it so much. 

"Lina, Maya and Ajay! Come in. Come in." My father opened the door and welcomed all of us in. "How are you?" I hugged my father who nodded, "All good and healthy as long as your mother is happy." He joked while laughing out loud.

I smiled and rushed to my mother who was sitting in the dining room and hugged her. "Mom, how are you?" 

"Very happy." She pulled my cheeks when I noticed uncle and aunty sitting beside her. I smiled once again, taking their blessings. 

"How are you both doing?" 

"It's all good in the hood." His mother played with her fingers in the air and interlaced them with my fingers. "It's so nice to see you, Maya. It's been so long."  

"True. I missed you both so much." I turned and smiled at Lina and said, "You too." She came near and hugged me.

Finally, we all were together. 

★★★

"What did you say?" I was shocked at what I just heard. "You mean you send Pranav to meet a girl, but why?" 

My eyes went wide as I asked my mother who looked cool like water. She sipped on her tea and pulled off her specs to turn towards me. Like a confused viewer, I was demanding answers.

"What do you mean why? He should marry now. He is not even seeing a girl so I thought I must take the first step." 

"But why? And who said that he was not seeing a girl? He obviously liked—" I was about to utter it out when I stopped myself from spilling it out before thinking.

"Who? Who is it?" My mother asked to which I had no other option than to tell the truth. "It's…  Ayushi. They both like each other. I am sure of it." 

My mother looked surprised more than shocked. She squints her eyes and asks, "You are not joking, are you?" 

"Why would I? He likes Ayushi so he wouldn't want to marry someone else." 

"Then, it's way better. He can't back out now anyway. He needs to meet the girl now because it's too late to cancel," she said, before getting up from her chair. I kept staring blankly as she left the room. 

What was that? Really? 

I couldn't be any more confused. I ran inside my old room and dialled Pranav's number. 

Why is he not picking up? 

"What happened?" Ajay asked, walking inside the room as I dialled Ayushi's number but same like Pranav, she was also not picking up. 

"Long story." I sighed when he came near to me and pulled my loose hair strands behind my ear. 

"I can listen. Tell me." He placed his cheek in his palm, resting his arm on the window panel in front of me. 

After listening to me, he seemed like he just discovered a new thing. "What? You mean Ayushi and Pranav Bhai are dating?" 

"Not officially but kinda. Wait… you didn't notice?" I was kind of surprised that he didn't know about it. It was obvious that they had something going on.

"No…I didn't." He rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "Now, what are you going to do?" 

"I am calling them but these people are not even picking it up. I am so frustrated." I could have broken some things to calm myself but I knew that wouldn't help. I was seriously losing it thinking that Pranav said yes to meeting the girls when he already seemed to like Ayushi.

"Don't be so frustrated. I am sure he has thought something." 

"Don't you know him? He can be so dumb and so righteous sometimes that it makes me nauseous." I shook my head vigorously at the frustration growing inside me. "He was even involved in so many incidents. He was the 'Nice Boy' of the school." 

Ajay became silent after hearing that. He asked, cluelessly, "Really?" I looked at him and rushed my fingers over my hair. 

It was during our high school when a group of students who were always causing trouble was about to get suspended because of vandalism when my upright brother came in and took the entire responsibility. 

The principal and teachers who knew his character gave up and didn't suspend the students. They left them with a warning. That incident was something that gained him a lot of fans and students named him as the 'Nice boy'.

"That must have been so nice. Popular boy of the school." Ajay seemed quite impressed. 

I chuckled humorlessly. "As if. My dummy brother is too good for the world. That's the problem." I sat down in the bed, helplessly.

"Maya, trust your brother. It's not a high school time decision… It's about marriage. I am sure he has a plan." Ajay placed a caring hand over my head. It was like the warmth was spreading over my body, sending chills down my spine. I turned just at the wrong time to get myself stuck in an awkward situation. His face was near mine and I could feel his breath on my cheeks.

I blinked and looked up to see him staring intently without wavering. 

"What did I see? Sorry sorry." Lina whisper-yelled, breaking our trance as she went out of the room as fast as she entered it while rubbing her eyes for seeing something that wasn't supposed to be seen.

We both coughed as Ajay got up and went behind her shouting, "Hey, come back. You didn't learn to knock or what? Hey, you dare to ignore me." I shook my head at them. Both siblings are the same— weirdos. 

I fanned my face to calm down. But my brother and Ayushi's thoughts never left me. 

★★★

"Maya, did you eat well?" Ajay's mother and my aunty asked, smiling at me. I was so hungry that I could die but now I was full after eating the butter paneer and naan. 

"Yes, It was delicious." She smiled when I showed a thumbs up, complimenting her food.

"Hey, pumpkin, bring a cup of water," Ajay ordered his sister as soon as he entered the room, nudging her with his elbow. 

He was just enjoying his time in my parent's house while I was here in his parent's old house. It was still well and good now we cleaned this room up. 

Lina gave a death glare to his brother and said, "What? You want to die or something." She pulled his collar and was about to get into a fist fight.

"I am your big brother." 

"And I am your little sister. Get your water yourself." Lina yelled, raising her chin up in pride. 

I was pretty much enjoying this fight. It really didn't change all these years. They can be too weird. They feel like they would kill each other but they love each other equally too. Well, that's what siblings are, right? 

"Maya, I had to say something." There was a deafening silence after Ajay spoke. I looked at Lina who had an expressionless face. He seemed hesitant. My heart beat raced as time passed. 

"What?" He didn't look like he was confident enough to say it. "I…" He paused, taking a deep breath.

My heart paused for a second. No way, can it be what I am thinking?

No, he will possibly not propose or something here, right? But what if he asks me to marry him? Will we get married then? 

My overthinking brain jumped onto too many alternatives and too many possible and fantastical outcomes. 

"I was saying…" The suspense was building inside me as I had an awkward feeling inside me. I wanted my thoughts to come true and also not come true. 

"I was saying that… Pranav bhai came…" With that, he broke all my thoughts that came out of my useless overthinking. I still don't know if I was happy or upset after hearing that. "...with his girlfriend… or rather to-be-wife." 

That shook my senses alert. My eyes went wide and without wasting a time I rushed outside, picking up my cardigan that was lying on the sofa. "You should have said that earlier," I told Ajay who rushed behind me along with Lina. 

"I must get this thing done for good," I mumbled, rushing through the open door. 

"Where is Pranav?" I asked my mother who pointed towards the room that belonged to him as a kid. I banged harshly on the door when Ajay and Lina stood behind me. They looked at each other.

In a matter of seconds, Pranav opened the door. "Oh, Maya. What's wrong?" He asked, worriedly to see Maya breathing heavily, piercing glances at him. I pushed him aside and entered the room.

"It's a boy's room. Stop loitering around in a man's room without permission. You are not a monkey anymore," he said, chuckling. As I looked around the room, I couldn't find anyone. I turned to Pranav who shuddered at my deadly glance. 

"Where did you hide the girl? Where is she?" 

Pranav looked flustered and shocked. "W…what? What do you mean? Hide? Hey, what do you think of me?"

"Tell me where she is. Your to-be-wife?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

Pranav smirked and pointed his finger towards the door of the room. I looked back to see a girl in a blue long dress and black leggings. Her face was covered with a black mask. Her long hair went up to her waist as she smiled with her eyes. The eyes were quite familiar to me.

She then pulled off her mask and it left me stunned. After minutes of silence, I was finally able to utter, "Ayushi!"

~•~

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