PICNIC

Veer woke me up early in the morning at 6. I got ready and came downstairs. Veer was already there waiting for me. He asked me Arjun's number and called him to where he was. Arjun said that he'll be here in 10 minutes. So, Veer went to prepare coffee for us and I was checking if we have packed everything or not.

Soon, Arjun has come and called Veer and asked us to come out so that we can leave. But Veer asked him to come in and have coffee with us. So, Arjun has come inside. Arjun has also liked Veer's coffee. Now, he has also become a fan of Veer's coffee. After having coffee, we left for Anshu's house in Arjun's car. After reaching home, uncle asked us to have breakfast so that we can leave for farm house. We all had Aloo Paratha with curd for breakfast and then we left for farm house.

It was a drive of 2 hours. We left in 2 cars, we four went in a car and aunty, uncle came in a car. Veer and Arjun drove the car by taking turns. But by the time we reached our destination, we were all tired. So, we went to our rooms to rest for a while.

Veer and Arjun are sharing room. Anshu and me are sharing one room. After resting for an hour, we got freshened up and then went downstairs to see what uncle and aunty were doing. Veer and Arjun hasn't come down yet. Aunty was preparing lunch for us and uncle was helping aunty.

I was shocked seeing uncle helping aunty in cooking. So, even Anshu and I joined them. We were cutting vegetables, while aunty and uncle were cooking. That's when Veer and Arjun has come. Veer came and stood beside aunty and asked aunty what she was cooking. She said that she was preparing Palak paneer, Dal makhni and roti. Veer said that he'll prepare momos for everyone.

Uncle was shocked and asked him, "Veer beta, you know cooking?" I replied instead of Veer, "Yes uncle, he's very good at cooking. I love pasta when he makes it for me." Then Arjun said, "Uncle you should taste Veer's coffee, it's the best coffee I've ever had till date." Veer said, "Thanks for the compliments. Aunty after finishing your cooking, you please let me know, then I'll make momos." Aunty nodded her head in approval.

Veer also sat beside us and was cutting vegetables for veg momos. He prepared everything so that he can start cooking as soon as aunty finishes cooking. We all were having fun in Kitchen. It remembered me our old times, when Veer's mom used to be there. When we used to go to farmhouse and enjoy our weekends there. It's been so long since we've gone to farm house. After aunty has passed away, we have never gone to that farm house.

I felt as if someone was looking at me, so I turned aside and saw Arjun staring me. As soon as turned towards him, he asked me if I'm okay with his eyes. I nodded my head and we continued doing our works. We finished our job of cutting vegetables, but we sat there only till aunty and uncle finish cooking.

Meanwhile, Veer said that he'll knead wheat floor for rotis. After finishing kneading the floor, he said he'll make rotis also. But I said I want to try once and asked him to teach me. Seeing me even Anshu and Arjun has come. We all tried making rotis, but among our three, Arjun was better. Then later Veer made rotis for all.

Later after aunty finished cooking, Veer started making momos. Everyone were there in kitchen and watching Veer preparing momos. I excused myself and came out. I decided to stroll outside in the garden for a while. I sat down on a bench and was thinking how my life has took a turn in a week. If everything had gone right, then I would have been married to Nikhil by this time. And we would have been in our Honeymoon trip. But things changed, and today I'm here with these new people who has become my new family. Aunty, uncle, Anshu all of them are so sweet. They take good care of me and even Arjun cares for me. Though, he looks like tough nut from outside but he's too good at heart. Situations has made him like that. I really felt bad yesterday when he said that he has no one in this world. It was very difficult for Veer when aunty has passed away. I wonder how Arjun had managed when both his parents passed away.

Everything is so nice here and that is scaring me. I'm scared of happiness, what if something might happen again. I cannot face one more betrayal. When I was lost in my own thoughts, I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was.

Arjun was standing there, he was looking concerned for me. He asked, "Are you okay Dhrithi?" I replied, "I'm fine." He sat beside me and said, "Care to share your thoughts" I said, "I'm missing my father. Vinod uncle reminds me of my father. When we were small, we used to go to farm house like this for weekends. We used to enjoy a lot. Veer's mumma used to make our favorite cupcakes whenever we went to our farm house. But we stopped going to farm house, after aunty passed away. When we were having fun inside, all the old memories flashed in front me. Even Veer must be also thinking the same. But he's good at masking his emotions in front of everyone and never let anyone to see his pain. He's doing all this to divert his attention."

Arjun smiled and said, "You both care a lot for each other. I've never seen any friends like you two. You people are very lucky." I smiled and said, "Yes, I'm very lucky to have him in my life. But tell me about you. Are you okay?"

He stammered and said, "What happened to me? I'm perfectly fine." I replied, "Don't think that I'm a fool. I know even you are missing your parents. It's okay to share your pain, you'll feel lighter." He said, "I'm missing my parents. Aunty and uncle very much like my parents. Even they used to be friendly with my friends and used to do masti. All my friends used to come home every sunday, specially for my Mom's biryani. Everything was so beautiful and I was so happy. I didn't know what pain is until my parents passed away. After that even my friends stopped coming home and I was very lonely. And I couldn't live in Mumbai after that. So, I came here for studies and then got settled down here itself. After that I've never gone to India. My parents has left me enough money and properties, but what will I do with all of them when I've no one in this world. Even my relatives who didn't cared for me when my parents passed away, came to me when all the money and properties got transferred to me. But I didn't let them come close to me. Not because I wanted to safeguard my money but I don't want any fake relations. So, now no one knows where I am. Now seeing you all taking care of me and treating one among you is making me feel overwhelmed. I'm so happy with all the love I'm receiving from you all. I'll forever be grateful to you all."

I replied, "Arjun, you're a nice man and you really deserve love and happiness. You shouldn't think of all these things now. Just enjoy these moments and be happy. You know, you look good when you smile. I don't like that angry poker face of yours. You look really funny when you're angry."

He said, "So, you're making fun of me?" I chuckled and said, "No, I'm saying the truth. You can ask anyone if you want." Before Arjun could say anything, we heard uncle calling us for lunch and we went in.

We settled down on the dining table and aunty started serving food for us. After serving she was still standing beside uncle and waiting for us to finish. But we asked aunty to join us and have food along with us. Veer's momos were very yummy. We all had our lunch. And after lunch, uncle said that he made lassi for us. He also kept competition that who'll drink more lassis. Veer has won in the competition by drinking 6 glasses. Arjun was close to Veer. He drank 5 and half glasses. But we all had so much fun during the competition. Papa has called, so I excused myself and went to talk to him. I told him everything what we did from yesterday. He was also very happy that Veer and I are happy and enjoying here. He cut the call after talking for a while. And then inside to see what other's were doing.