Chapter 9

Author's POV:

Both Daksha and Aarna reached their apartment which was shared by all four of them. They chose this apartment as it was closer to their hospital and to the company where Aarushi was working but Yuktha frequently stayed with her mother to accompany her in her free time.

As soon as Aarna entered the apartment, she slumped on the sofa in the living area as if she was the one who had an almost day-long journey, traveling from one continent to another, instead of Daksha. Looking at her, Daksha shook her head helplessly.

Yuktha came out of her room to greet them.

"I thought you were already left for the hospital," Daksha said, seeing Yuktha at home at this hour.

"I would have but one of the scheduled appointments got canceled at the last minute," saying this Yuktha went to grab an apple from the fruit basket and asked Daksha if she wanted one, to which she declined.

"I had those sandwiches made by Aaru just now. Aaru brought them along with her while coming to fetch me. It was the first edible thing she has ever made. They were tasty," Daksha said to which Yuktha looked at her in confusion.

After hearing what Daksha had said, Aarna stood up from the sofa with a jerk.

"Akka, you must be tired from all the traveling. Why don't you freshen up and take some rest for a while? We have all the time in the world. We can talk later," urged Aarna, with a hint of fear in her voice, in an attempt to desperately save her dear life.

She thought nobody would be home by the time they would reach the apartment. So, she was sure that her little lie would never be caught but she did not expect Yuktha to appear out of anywhere.

Hence, she tried to make a move to her room as quickly as she could. Seeing her weird behavior, Yuktha somewhat guessed what might have happened. She knew very well that Aarna made a fool out of her dear friend.

She looked at Aarna with a smile, silently threatening her that she was going to rat out her little lie.

Aaru pleaded with her through her eyes but Yuktha didn't even budge a little. Who would say 'no' to the upcoming entertainment?

Seeing that nothing was going to work, Aarna made a quick run to her room and intended to shut herself in the room completely for the entire day.

"Stop right there Aaru baby. Where are you going.? Do you only love and care for your Daksha Akka? What about me.? Please make some sandwiches for me as well. Even I am also hungry, and I want to taste the magic of your hands," said Yuktha, looking smugly at Aarna.

"Akka, that...I will prepare them for you in the evening. You see, I am so tired after picking up Daksha Akka from the airport," Aarna said, trying to convince Yuktha.

Even though Daksha didn't know what was happening, she knew that Yuktha was deliberately playing with Aarna.

"Let her go. I will prepare them for you," saying this Daksha tried to stand up but Yuktha stopped her by holding her hand.

"You didn't understand anything at all, right? God! Save this silly friend of mine," Yuktha said the former part loudly but muttered the later part under her breath.

"Girl, she made a fool out of you. She cannot even differentiate the salt from sugar properly. How did you even believe her when she told you that she made such a simple sandwich without burning down our entire kitchen?" Yuktha asked in an exaggerating manner.

Daksha immediately explained what Aarna had told her at the airport when she asked the reason behind her reaching late.

"You believed her? Wait, let me explain what exactly had happened. Our baby Aaru watched her favorite k-drama till midnight and woke up very late. Rishu(nickname for Aarushi) made some pasta for all of us. In addition to waking up late, this madam completely gobbled down your share which Rishu had kept aside for you," Yuktha said while pointing her finger at Aarna.

"When Rishu queried about that, she even dared to say that she saw the pasta leftovers on the dining table and thought that nobody wanted it. So, she ate as she didn’t want it to go to waste. Such a huge favor she did on us, isn’t it? Poor Rishu! She had to make your breakfast again, so she made some sandwiches for you and even got late for her office," Yuktha explained everything to Daksha in a dramatic voice.

After saying this, she gave a look to Aarna which meant 'run for your dear life.'

Immediately, Daksha started chasing Aarna who was running to save her precious life.

"Akka. I know I was wrong. Leave me this one time. If you want to taste my special dishes, all you need to do is ask for it. For that, there is no need for you to run behind me, begging me to do it. You are my sister; you don't need to beg me. If not for you, for whom will I prepare my magical food?" Aarna said only to welcome a cushion to hit the back of her head.

When she saw her scooty keys on the teapoy, she immediately grabbed them and started running for the main door.

"Akka, I just remembered something. Yesterday, Indra Anna invited me to their home as my pedhamma is missing me so much, "she emphasized. "So, I am going there. Bye." She shut the door with a thud after running out of it.

"Go, go. It's not like you are going to stay there forever, right? Once you come back, I will show you who I am," Daksha shouted from inside while Aarna stood outside the door.

She placed a hand on her heart and started taking deep breaths to control the panting caused by the cat and mouse chase, all the while praising herself for her amazing brain.

"Hmph...I am a big fool if I return today. I will inquire of my Rishu baby about the situation and then only I will come back. She is my innocent darling and it is so easy to manipulate her," Aarna thought to herself smugly after hearing Daksha's warnings from inside.

Raising her invisible collar after praising her wonderful brain once again, she walked out like a proud peacock.