First Flame

Part 1 Willing 

Arnav Singh Raizada, MA, ML, Advocate, was written on the name board outside the house.

Arnav entered the home, talking on the phone.

“He killed her, damn it. All the proof is against him. How could I take the case? There is no single loophole to break the case. I have gone through the case file thoroughly. There is no hope. I’m not taking the case…” Arnav disconnected the call.

He saw Ratna standing with a pooja plate in her hand.

“Can’t you talk pleasantly while entering home, Chotte? Killing, breaking… God…” she sighed.

“Mom, your son is a criminal lawyer. How could he talk pleasantly?” He chuckled.

“I wish Khushi doesn’t hear you… Don’t know what she will think…”

“She will get used to it, because she is bold, unlike you,” he smiled.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah…”

“How do you know she is bold?” Ratna frowned.

Arnav smiled.

“Is there anything I didn’t know?”

That was when they heard,

“Yes, there is something you don’t know…” Came from the staircase.

Arnav rolled his eyes, seeing his sister, Aruna, standing.

“What was that?”

“Do you think he liked Khushi when you showed her photograph to him?” Aruna asked.

Ratna nodded hurriedly.

“No, he liked her even before that…”

“What do you mean?”

“He already met her once… but at that time, he had no idea who she was. When you showed her photograph to him, he was flat…” Aruna laughed.

Arnav tapped her head playfully.

“Why? What did she do?” Ratna asked curiously.

“Bhai, tell her the story, how your hearty queen stole your heart…” Aruna said.

Ratna looked at Arnav.

“What will you do if your phone slips from your hand?” Arnav asked.

“I will shout in fear…” Ratna said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Exactly… everyone does that the same, but do you know what Khushi did?”

“What?”

“She tapped the dropped phone upward with her leg and caught it in her hand…”

Ratna widened her eyes.

“Is it?”

“Yeah, I unintentionally saw that and…”

Cutting him off,

“And the first flame was fired in his heart…” Aruna teased.

“Hey, do you know how strong an attitude it takes to handle the situation? Everyone would become nervous and tensed if they dropped the phone. She handled it so coolly… that’s a rare attitude…”

“He is right… if I had been in her place, I would have shouted and made people look at me…” Ratna chuckled.

“Mom, when are we going to buy wedding clothes?” Aruna asked.

“We will do it when we buy Khushi’s lehenga…”

“Mom, make sure she likes it...”

“Yes, your honour…” She said teasingly.

“Mom. It’s her wedding. I want her to be fully satisfied with everything…”

“Mmm… Mom, if he is so concerned about his going-to-be wife to this extent, think about what he will do after she becomes his wife…” Aruna asked.

“Of course, I will be more concerned about my wife… so what?”

“See, didn’t I say… he will not support us if his wife fights with us…”

“Thank God, you understood my stand. So, don’t fight with my wife…” Arnav said, smiling.

“Aru, do one thing…” Ratna said.

“What?”

“Instead of buttering your brother, do that with your sister-in-law… what say?”

“I think it will be the best idea. She will consider us…” Aruna sighed.

“Did you talk to Khushi?” Ratna asked.

“Yeah, I’m talking to her every day without a phone number…” Arnav said with a disappointed tone.

“Arvindji asked Shashiji to give you her phone number…”

“But he didn’t give me…”

“I think he will give you today or tomorrow…”

“Bhai, don’t wait for elders to do it for you. Khushi may think you are unromantic…” Aruna pulled his leg.

Arnav was struck, but he didn’t show that on his face. Being a lawyer, didn’t he know girls’ mentality nowadays? That day, he also saw a girl filing a case against her husband only because he was unromantic.

“Shut up, you idiot… would anyone think like that just because he doesn’t talk to her?” Ratna said.

“Mom, don’t think like your generation of women. You don’t know about our generation of girls. They won’t think twice about divorcing their husband if they are not romantic…”

Ratna looked at Arnav, who nodded yes. That made Ratna stunned.

“Is that true?”

“She is right. We are seeing many divorce cases with silly reasons, like, he doesn’t talk romantically, he listens to his mother’s words a lot, he asked me to cook…”

“Whaaat? Is this all a reason?”

Arnav nodded.

“What’s the meaning of family?”

“Mom, according to them, men should also do house chores. In your generation, men worked, and women took care of the house. They felt proud of being HOME MAKERS, but nowadays girls are not like that. They are earning. When they are equally taking care of the family, why should they do everything like a servant?”

“Sharing the work is justified, but is listening to his mother wrong? For that, should anyone get a divorce?”

“Somebody does…”

“Thank God, we got Khushi as our daughter-in-law…” Ratna thanked God.

“Mom, enough of thanking God. Get Khushi’s number. I need it.” Arnav said.

“What will you give me if I do that?” Aruna demanded.

“Anything…”

“Done…”

Arnav went to his room, smiling. He had seen everyone talking to the Groom/Bride once the wedding was fixed. He also wanted to talk to his bride like that, but her father didn’t give a grip.

“Mom, call Garima aunty and ask for Bhabi’s phone number.” Aruna nagged Ratna.

“I already asked her, but she didn’t give…”

“Ok, give me her number. I will talk to her.”

Taking her phone, Ratna dictated Garima’s number. After feeding it into her phone, Aruna called Garima. The call was attended on the third ring.

“Hello, who is speaking?”

“Aunty, this is Aruna Singh Raizada…”

“Oh, beta, you… How are you?”

“I’m fine… I would like to talk to Bhabi. Give me her number, aunty…”

“She is here only… I will pass my phone…” Garima said, disappointing Aruna.

Without wasting time, Aruna rushed to Arnav’s room. As his room door was open, she entered. She gestured to Arnav, pointing at her phone and turned the speaker on. He was supposed to ask her, but stopped hearing,

“Hello…” in Khushi’s voice.

“Hi, Bhabi, I’m Aruna speaking…”

“Hi, how are you?”

“Good… but I’m so fed up…”

“Why?”

“It’s because my friends teased me.”

“Why?”

“It’s because I don’t even know my going to be sister-in-law’s phone number.”

Khushi was silent.

“You know how much my brother is willing to talk to you?” Aruna said it on purpose to tease Arnav, but she saw him smiling. That stated that he was truly willing to talk to her.

“Wait a minute… talk to him…” she passed the phone to Arnav.

Taking it, he turned the speaker off and spoke.

“Hi…”

There was silence on the other side.

“Khushi… are you there?”

“Haan…”

“How are you?”

“Fine…”

“I expect your parents to give your number…”

“Actually, our family is conservative…”

“Oh… but talking on phone won’t harm it, I suppose…”

Khushi was silent.

“Do you like me? Are you willing in this marriage?”

Still silence. Arnav was about to ask her something but stopped, hearing,

“Why are you blushing, Khushi? Talk…” Garima said.

“Crazy Girl…” Garima said and talked.

“Hello, Aruna beta, what did you ask her that she is blushing like that and running away?”

Arnav hurriedly passed the phone to Aruna, gesturing to her to talk.

“What, aunty?”

“She ran away in shyness. What did you ask her?”

“I just asked if she liked my brother…”

“I guessed it, seeing her blushing…” Garima laughed.

“Give me her phone number, aunty…”

“She won’t attend any phone call from an unknown number, beta.”

“Ok, then give her my number.”

“Anyhow, it’s only a week for a wedding. We all will become busy. Where will we get time to talk on the phone?”

Aruna sighed and gave her a thumbs-down. Arnav rolled his eyes.

“Ok, aunty…” she disconnected the call.

“Bhai, was that truly Khushi who tapped the phone with her leg and caught it?”

Arnav pressed his lips. Didn’t he know it was indeed Khushi?

“I don’t know how you will get her on the track…” she said, walking.

Arnav stood, smiling.

To be continued…