purvi opened the door for ishita, as she entered with a smile. 

"good morning." greeted ishita, as she walked to the kitchen, where she kept her bag. 

"uhh, mummy ki ek  friend hai, suman aunty, woh bagal ki society mein rehti hai..." informed purvi. 

"unhe bartan-safai ke liye..." confirmed ishita as purvi nodded in agreement. 

"maine address aur number savita aunty ko message kardiya tha...suman aunty ko bas jald-se-jald kaam pe jaana hai, toh woh most probably aaj hi rakhlengi unhe..."stated purvi. 

"uhmm, thanks, yeh toh bahaut acha ho gaya..." responded ishita. 

"woh actually yeh bhi chahti hai ki unki beti ko wahi bus stop se lele, aur khaana dede, safaai wagera karne ke saath...woh uske extra paise dengi...don't worry, maine maa se baat, woh aunty ka time adjust kardengi.." assured purvi. 

ishita was left speechless at purvi's gesture, only when her gaze fell on dushyant's room, that she realised what might have been the intentions behind it. 

"tumhari dushyant se baat hui thi?" questioned ishita, as purvi sensed she might get provoked. 

"mere saath aogi zara, kuch dekhana hai tumhe.." requested purvi, as ishita followed behind her, to purvi's room. 

ishita stood by the door, with her arms crossed. purvi, opened the drawer to her dressing table, as she seemed to find something. 

"andar aaona!" exclaimed purvi, as ishita entered, glancing at the drawer, to see what she might be looking for. 

purvi got up, as she signalled ishita to sit on the bed, which she did, reluctantly. 

purvi sat alongside her, as she opened up a fist, to reveal a pair of earrings. 

"i was around 17, tab hum log diwali shopping kar rahe the, uss dauran meri nazar inpe badhi, hum already budget se upar shopping kar chuke the, and even after diwali discount yeh bahaut expensive the...mann maarke, maine nahi khareede. uske 4 mahine baad mera birthday tha, tab bhaiya ne mujhe yeh gift kiya...unhone uss saal apne liye naye kapde nahi liye the, yeh lene ke liye." narrated purvi, as ishita glanced at them. 

"mrs bakshi weight loose karna chahti hai, woh lift ki jagah stairs use karti hai. bhaiya ko woh coincidence se nahi mili thi, he went after her, jab woh guard se kaamwali bhejne ko bolke  gayi thi. he really loves you, woh genuinely tumhari problem solve karna chahte the, tumhe khush dekhna chahte the." explained purvi. 

"purvi, baat woh nahi hai.." stated ishita. 

"ishita, yaar, pure delhi mein yeh eklauti society toh hai nahi jahan aunty kaam karsakti hai....nahi puri delhi koi aur pharmacy nahi hai jahan tu kam kar sakti hai...tere worst case scenario mein bhi, ek naukri jaane pe, dusri mil hi jaayegi na? baaki, tumhe sach mein lagta hai, ki main papa ko nikalne dungi tumhe...arre main kya, bhaiya jaan na lele papa ki..." comforted purvi, as ishita chuckled. 

"waise, yeh tum pe zyada ache lagenge.." said purvi, as she handed over the earrings to ishita. she was about to hand them back, when purvi insisted for her to keep them. 

"now after all this aside, if you do genuinely love him, kal yeh pehenke aa jaana. ok?" asked purvi, as ishita accepted, hesitantly. 

                                                             ***

ishita rubbed her fingers across the earrings, as she contemplated whether to wear them or not. suddenly, she felt some footsteps approaching. she turned to find dushyant in front of her sight. 

ishita was breathless when she looked at him. 

"uhh, woh, peanut butter chahiye tha, woh mere toast ke liye..." pointed dushyant to the peanut butter. 

ishita got aside, for him to take it. she smelled his deodorant, as he walked past her. the smell was driving her wild. 

he picked it up, as when walking out, he took a glimpse of her. she didn't look up to him, as she hid the earrings away. 

he sensed a discomfort in her, maybe it was due to the fact he was around, he wondered, so he left. 

ishita glanced at the earrings, temptation of wearing them came to her. 

"ishita!" called neelu, as ishita immediately ran to her room. 

                                                                     ***

purvi and dushyant waited for the lift. 

"purvi, kya plan pakka rahi ho?" questioned dushyant, as purvi was astonished. 

"uhh, kya plan?" questioned purvi back. 

"ishita ke paas woh gift kya kar raha hai joh maine tujhe tere 17th birthday pe diya tha!" exclaimed dushyant. 

"maine usse gift kardiya.." replied purvi casually, as dushyant glared at her. 

"kya? apne mujhe diya tha na, ab maine usse de diya.." remarked purvi. 

"it's just not about you, ok? i wish koi mujhe bata deta uss waqt, ki duniya nahi tabah ho jayegi agar main bas kisi ke saath time spend karun, kyunki pyaar karti hoon...uske dar jayas hai, mere dar se bahaut zyada, joh mujhe behla fuslake manwaye gaye the...but, if she really can be happy with you, why shouldn't she?" expressed purvi her intentions. 

"purvi, i know you mean well, but so did mom, jab unhone tumhe samjhaya tha ki tumhe kavin se kyun nahi milna chahiye hai...just, don't force anything on her, main nahi chahta usse aisa lage ki usse zaroori hai, meri feelings iss tarah return karna..she's already in  a bad place, i don't want to make it worse.." admitted dushyant. 

"i left the decision to her...but i don't see why she would say no." responded purvi, as there was a slight glow in dushyant's face, upon hearing it, but he scoffed. 

"so strange na, humare baap ki involvement kisi bhi tarah se, humse kisi na kisiko cheen hi leti hain." remarked dushyant. 

"i don't think iss baar unki involvement hogi.." stated purvi. 

"well, you can always hope..." expressed dushyant his ambivalence. 

                                                                 ***

"7, 8, 9....very good, 10...very good...ab aapka pair hilne laga hai..." said ishita, as she rested her feet. 

"aur mera band bajna bhi shuru ho gaya hai..." remarked neelu, as they shared a chuckle. 

"sach kahoon, apna pair hilte dekhti hoon na, lagta hai, ki shayad mujhe meri purani zindagi mil jayein dobara." expressed neelu her desires. 

"hmm, kabhi-kabhi kuch cheeze hoti haina, life bilkul hi badal jaati hai..." responded ishita. 

"main teacher thi pehle...pol science padhati thi, ek sarkaari school mein...meri thanka se hi ghar, gaadi, sabke loan ki kisht jaati thi...woh toh shukar hai ab yeh kharche nahi hai...warna shayad sarr pe chat bhi na hoti..."expressed neelu her despair. 

"par ek achi cheez zaroor hui...tum aa gayi..." stated neelu, as ishita looked at her with surprise. 

"dushyant, bahaut pehle se hi, hum sab se door ho raha tha...uske aur uske papa ki ladaai bhattar ho gayi thi pichle saal...phir yeh accident, usne ghar hi aana band kardiya tha. ab tum aa gayi ho, mere se na sahi, woh aur purvi toh dobara baat karne lage hain...thodi si hi sahi, par khushi toh hai uski life mein..." explained neelu, as she attempted to move a bit forward, as ishita supported her. 

"mujhe pata hai kya chal raha hai tum dono ke beech...and mujhe koi problem nahi hai, main jaanti hoon tumhara dil saaf hai...bas, sameer ko na pata chale beta..unka aur dushyant ka rishta aur kharab ho jayega." stated neelu, as ishita nodded in agreement, and wondered what would she do. 

                                                   ***

author's note: so, what do you think she'll do?