20 Chapter 19

Daksha's POV:

I woke up usually early in the morning and got ready for the hospital. After having breakfast, I went to the hospital. Today is really a busy day for me.

I got back to back appointments and two surgeries that are lined up. I didn't even get the time to visit Sarada Aunty. It's five o’clock in the evening.

I hurriedly had a sandwich as I didn't have my lunch this afternoon due to the surgeries.

I didn't have anything in my schedule and I was completely free to do whatever I wanted.

After checking on the patients once again, I went to Sarada Aunty's room to spend some time with her before going home.

When I went to her room, I saw her talking with Sudha Aunty seriously, in hushed tones.

Arjun was also present there doing something on his laptop. Upon seeing me, they stopped talking to each other.

I went inside and greeted them. Sarada Aunty asked me to sit beside her. I did the same and soon an hour passed with us being involved in casual talking.

"I didn't expect you to be the same Daksha about whom Sudha had always been on a praising spree in front of me. Really, it's a small world," Sarada Aunty said to me in a happy tone.

"Yeah. I also came to know about it yesterday only. Aarna is the one who told me about it," I replied to her.

Seeing the time was already 6:30, I decided to take my leave as Yuktha was also coming with me today and it was already time for her to get off her duty.

"I will take my leave, Aunty. I have to pick my friend up too. I will visit you again tomorrow. Sudha Aunty, I am leaving now. Take care, Aunty. If anything happens, I am just a call away. So, don't hesitate to contact me," I said to them and was about to leave but Sarada Aunty stopped me and gave me my car keys which I had lost yesterday.

"Daksha, stop and I think these are your car keys which you had lost yesterday. I found them near my bed. So, I kept them for you," Sarada aunty said after handing me the keys.

"Yes, these are mine only. Thanks for keeping them, Aunty. Today morning I used spare keys for my car. Okay, bye, Aunty. Yuktha must be waiting for me," I replied.

All the while, Arjun didn't even lift his face to see us and completely immersed himself in whatever he was doing.

"Talking about Yuktha, you all are friends to that devil for namesake only. If you are her friends, why did you guys never come to spend some time with me? I even met Aarushi but I never got a chance to talk or spend time with Yuktha. I only heard about her from Aaru. Girls, make some time for me and visit me," Sudha said in a complaining tone.

"Sure, Aunty. As for Yuktha, I will ask her to meet you. Usually, she spends most of her free time with her mom only. So, she didn't get a chance to meet you. I will tag her along with me on my next visit. I'll leave now." I replied and walked out of the room.

I saw from the corner of my eyes that Arjun stood up from the chair after putting his laptop aside. He started walking behind me.

Once I was completely out of the room, I turned to him and looked at him questioningly to which he just shrugged his shoulders in return.

"Why are you following me like a lost puppy?" I questioned him again.

"Don't think too highly of yourself. I came here to ask you about my shirt as I can't ask you about it in front of them," he said, making me remember about the shirt which I had completely forgotten in a hurry.

"I didn't bring it with me today. So, I will give it back to you tomorrow," I told him instead of telling him that I had totally forgotten about his shirt.

"You didn't bring it with you because you didn't have the heart to part with my shirt..right. I understand. You can keep that shirt with yourself. I don't need it anymore. Consider it as a present for you from my side," he said that with his usual smirk on his face and started going inside the room, leaving me dumbfounded.

"You...stop there. Who wants your stinky shirt? I will return it to you. I don't want it. Hey, are you listening to me?" I shouted at his back but he completely ignored me and went inside the room.

"What a narcissistic jerk. Who wants his shirt? Does he think that everyone is dying to get his shirt? If he is, then I have to clarify his misconception in my next meeting. Stupid fellow," while cursing him under my breath, I went to Yuktha's cabin to see whether she finished with her work or not.

She had completed her work and was already waiting for me there. After that, we both went to my car and started towards our apartment.

"What's with your long face today? Did something happen?" she asked upon sensing my mood.

"Nothing has happened. How is aunty doing?" I asked her to completely divert her attention as I didn't want to discuss it for now.

"Surely something has happened. I won't force you though. Talk to me when you feel like doing it. As for my mom, she is fine. She is going to Bangalore for ten days to attend the guest lectures in one of the universities there," she replied.

I am really grateful to God for giving me, such wonderful friends. Even when they have their own share of problems in their life, they never fail to support me.

Sometimes I wondered whether I actually deserved their love or not, but I didn't dare to voice it out. If I did, I would be dead meat for sure.

"I will, for sure, and ask Aunty to stop taking so much stress at this age. She doesn't have to work this much. You are settled now and even before that, you guys didn't lack money. So, ask her to work less." I said to her as Aunty always travels to other places for guest lectures and it is not good for her to travel so much at this age.

"She won't listen to me. I am really tired of convincing her. If I insist on her too much, she would just ask me to get married and give her grandchildren, so that she can retire from her job and spend her time with her grandchildren," she said with a huff and shook her head.

"Hahaha...Then do it. I will also get to play with little Yuki baby," I teased her while laughing.

"God, stop calling me with that name. It's really disgusting. Now you are laughing at my plight. Don't forget, you will also get your share of woes. If Indraja Aunty is not insisting on you to get married, I think she is planning something big for you. Then it will be my turn to laugh at your face," she said but I chose to ignore it.

We reached our flat and went inside. The whole flat is so quiet as if there was no one inside it but if I remembered it correctly, Aarna must be in the flat only as there was no chance for her to go to her aunt's place as Sudha Aunty was still in the hospital with Sarada Aunty.

We both went to her room to see if she was there or not. The room was completely dark. I switched on the lights and saw that Aarna was lying on the bed, curled up like a ball.

We immediately rushed to her side and saw her sleeping with dried tear marks on her face. It didn't take much time for us to understand what had happened.

It must be something related to her mom or she might be missing her sister and father. I kept my hand on her head and caressed her hair while Yuktha covered her properly with a blanket.

"This girl..." I sighed in my heart. We both went out of her room before closing the door slowly.

"I don't know when they will both start to understand each other. They are hurting themselves. Aarna behaves like she doesn't need her mother and aunty behaves like she doesn't have a daughter. They clearly love each other, yet they will ignore each other. This girl aced the skill of hiding her pain behind that silly smile," I said thinking about the mother and daughter relationship.

"Yeah. If we didn't see it with our own eyes, it's really difficult for us to guess that this is the same girl who cried herself to sleep," Yuktha said with a sigh.

"Okay. Let her sleep. Go and take a rest for some time. You really worked very hard in these last few days. After I get freshened up I will start preparing the dinner. Rishu must be on her way," I said to her and she shook her head negatively.

"No. I don't need any rest. We both can prepare dinner. Rishu is the youngest one among us. We should be pampering her. Instead, she is the one who always takes care of our needs. Let's prepare their favorite dishes. It will even help in improving Aarna's mood," Yuktha said and I nodded in agreement with her.

We both went to our rooms to freshen up. After that, we both prepared the dinner, and meanwhile, Rishu also returned from her office and helped us in setting the dining table.

Then she went to call Aarna for dinner. Aarna came to eat with her signature smile on her face, returning to her cheerful self as if she wasn't the one who cried earlier.

I sighed at her behavior and our dinner passed with the usual bickering of Yuktha and Aarna.

After dinner, we went to our rooms. Upon entering the room, I immediately reached for his shirt and dropped it in a laundry basket, mentally making a note to wash it as the first thing the next morning.