Before Saksham could roll on the ground and laugh even more hysterically, he felt an extremely cold gaze on himself. His laugh immediately paused in the middle. Saksham coughed a little and sat straight once again with a serious expression on his face. He said in a serious tone, "Well, that's really bad. What happened after that?"
Arjun immediately jumped and said, "You can't ask a question again. Her turn is over. You have to spin again."
Savitri also controlled her laugh and nodded. Rules were rules. She can't really break them. So, Saksham once again spun the pen slowly on the table. As the pen started slowing down, Arjun crossed his fingers and prayed that It won't be Savitri's turn. It seemed as if gods heard his plea and the pen stopped while pointing at Saksham. Arjun's eyes brightened immediately and he looked at Saksham as if looking at a prey. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he readied himself to 'pounce' at Saksham the moment he lets his guard down.
Saksham saw the result and thought a little before choosing "truth". Before Arjun could even ask anything, Savitri opened her mouth and shot a question at the speed of lightning.
"Are you and Anitha dating?"
"….."
"….."
Both Saksham and Arjun became speechless as soon as this question came out. Saksham's face immediately dyed in the shade of red when he heard the question. He didn't expect Savitri to ask this question. As for Arjun, he was looking at the smiling Savitri and blushing Saksham with a puzzled gaze. He had no idea that there was something going on between Saksham and his old friend's daughter.
"Why, speechless now? Come on, be honest. Are you both dating?" Savitri asked.
"Well…uhm..y-yeah…We just started dating recently." Saksham blushed.
"What? Really?!" Both Arjun and Savitri exclaimed.
Of course, one exclaimed out of happiness while the other exclaimed with surprise. Savitri always had an idea that her son liked Anitha and she could see that Anitha also had a very good impression of Saksham. That's why she asked in a half-joking manner. Who knew they really were dating? As for Arjun, he didn't know what to feel. He was happy but at the same time, he thought that maybe it was too early for them to date. But in the end, he didn't say anything when he saw Savitri's 'warning' gaze. He changed the words he was going to say and said, "Well, if you have to buy anything for her, don't hesitate to ask us."
Saksham was pleasantly surprised by his parents' reactions. He was expecting a little lecture about how it was really not the age to date or something. Unexpectedly, none of them said a thing, and instead they were really supportive. This made Saksham feel really happy and warm in his heart. At least now, he wouldn't have to lie to his parents if he had to meet Anitha.
"Ok, I am going to spin the pen again," Saksham said.
Savitri and Arjun nodded. The pen slowed down and pointed towards Arjun. But this time, he had learned his lesson and chose "dare". Savitri immediately revealed an evil look when Arjun chose this. She chuckled lightly, sending chills down the spines of Saksham and Arjun. Arjun was faintly regretting taking this option. He had a feeling that Savitri was going to make him do something embarrassing. And lo-and-behold, Savitri took out her phone and searched for a song and played it. She smiled and said, "You have to dance to this song. If the dance doesn't satisfy me, you have to do it again."
Arjun's face became purple as a pig's liver. From childhood till adult, dance is the only thing he had never done. He never had any interest in things like dance so he never bothered to dance too. Even if he did, it was just shaking of his body when he was alone, that's it. And now, Savitri played an unknown genre of music which sounded more like gunfire than actual music (Savitri played a dubstep) and she wanted him to dance to that. He was really regretting taking "dare" now. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Can you change the dare? I really can't dance."
Savitri leisurely opened her mouth and said, "Nope. Rules are rules. You can't change it. And as for the dance, you can just do anything. It just has to make me satisfied."
Saksham wanted to laugh because he knew that his father had never danced in front of people in his entire life. He also wanted to see what his father would do so he just stayed quiet and let his mother deal with his father. And not long after, an 'excellent' dance show began. Arjun moved his body with the beats of the song. His hands were going up and down too. But slowly the beats became faster and faster and at the same time, Arjun's body began to shake quickly too.
He tried to recall every single dance move he had seen in the movies he saw when he was small. Recalling the moves, he started dancing retro style on a dubstep. The combination was so weird that Saksham had to put his face between the two cushions on the sofa to not let his father hear his crazed laughs. As for Savitri, her whole face was red, holding in her laugh. She didn't want to break Arjun's focus and make him stop at this moment so she tried her best to hold her laugh back. Arjun was also lost in a mysterious realm of his own with his eyes closed. He couldn't hear any laughs from Savitri or Saksham which made him think that maybe he was not dancing that badly.
The more he thought about it, the happier he felt. It made him feel as if he had found a new hobby. He decided to dance to this music when he has time. Of course, Savitri and Saksham didn't know about his thoughts and they both laughed wildly in their hearts. Soon, the music ended and Arjun opened his eyes to see Savitri's red face which made him realize that she was captivated by his dance. As for Saksham, he was wiping his tears on his face. Arjun couldn't help but feel proud after seeing this. He took a few steps and sat back down beside Savitri. He coughed lightly and asked, "How was it? Satisfied?"
Savitri almost busted her lungs while trying to hold her laughter and said in a weird tone, "Yes, it was really 'captivating'."
Unexpectedly, Arjun put his left leg on top of his right leg and leaned back on the sofa, and said, "Maybe I should have joined some dance group in the college. I might have won many awards for my dance. Ahh…the regret."
Saksham was drinking water when he heard this and immediately sprayed the entire water out of his nose. Fortunately, it was not much so Arjun didn't pay attention to it. Saksham wiped his nose and immediately said, "Yes, you really would have won many awards."
"Alright, spin the pen again. This game is becoming interesting," said Arjun.
Saksham nodded and spun the pen again. The pen slowed down and this time it was pointing at Savitri. Saksham immediately asked, "Mom, how did you and dad started dating?"
Arjun became speechless again. Saksham was digging his embarrassing past again and again. He really just wanted to find a hole and hide in there. But Savitri smiled and said, "Well, after your father threw up all over me at the party, we both had to be sent home. After the taxi was called, it was found out that we both lived just one street away from each other. So, Ramesh asked me if I can send your dad home as it was on the way to my home. I hesitated a little but then I agreed."
"And after sitting inside the taxi, your father slept like a pig. Then, when we reached your dad's home and I went to his home and told father-in-law about what happened at the party and he went to the taxi and pulled your dad out and took him back home. Father-in-law and mother-in-law were really grateful at that time and I took my leave from there thinking that finally, the trouble is over. Who knew things had just begun."
"The next day, your father and his family came to my home to say thanks. After that, our family became friends, and I and your dad had more and more meetings. And as it turns out, we both also went to the same college. So, we also started going to college together. In the last year of college, your knuckle-head father still wasn't able to gather any courage to confess to me. So, one day I told him that a family might be coming to see me for an arranged marriage. I told him this to let him confess. Although it worked, the way your dad confessed was…a little unique."
"That night, I heard someone shouting outside my window. So, I opened the window and looked down to see your drunk father sitting on a trash bin and shouting, 'Savitri! Today, I am here to tell you how much I love you! For the past 2 years, I have not drunk more than I have remembered the things you like and dislike. For the past 2 years, I have had you more in my dreams than myself. I can give you a really happy life. You see this bike I am on? I bought this myself.' And after saying this, your dad patted the trash can under his bum. And by now, not just me, almost everyone nearby was watching the confession."
"But your dad didn't stop here and went on and on about how much he loved me. When I finally couldn't help but feel embarrassed, I asked him if he was drunk and he answered back with a 'Yes, drunk in your love.'"
Saksham laughed loudly at this. Arjun couldn't hold back his shame and shouted, "Don't exaggerate things, woman. Nothing like this ever happened!"
"So, you mean I am lying?" Savitri said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Seeing her eyes, Arjun sat back down and said meekly, "but…but, don't tell the child about this…"
"And why should I not tell him? It's really fortunate that he has not grown as knuckle-head as his father."
"Hey! I am not a knucklehead, it's just that I didn't know how to confess then. I took advice from many people but I still wasn't able to do it. It's not my fault!"
"Then whose fault is it? Mine? You just had one job, and that was to confess and you weren't able to do that. I had already given you all the signals that I liked you but you still weren't able to confess. Hmph!"
Watching his parents start bickering again, Saksham smiled widely. He felt really happy about having such a loving family. He never wants anything to happen to it. But as he thought about this, the things he saw in IOEA. His smile disappeared without a trace and fear wrapped his body. His mutated sixth-sense was once again warning him about something terrible happening in the future. With his current power, he can't stand up against it. He might not even be able to save his family or Anitha. As he thought about this, the despair filled him slowly. He didn't want to be so pessimistic but he couldn't shake off the things that he saw and heard today. The scene of that godly being trying to destroy the universe shook his heart and soul. The deep sense of powerlessness made him want to give up.
At this time, Arjun said, "Alright, enough with the bickering. The last round of this game and we will have dinner then. Saksham, spin the pen."
Saksham came out of the daze and spun the pen again with heavy feelings. This time, the pen once again pointed at Arjun. Arjun thought about it and said, "Situation."
Saksham heard this and asked with a little hoarseness in his voice, "Suppose, the world is going to end. And it is being destroyed by a god-like being. You are just an ant in front of him. Although you have some special powers, they are not comparable to that godly being. You see him destroy place after place and then he comes to our home. What would you do?"
Arjun and Savitri were taken aback when they heard this weird situation. They also saw the bad look on Saksham's face and were a little puzzled. Although they couldn't understand why would Saksham ask this, Arjun still thought seriously about it. After thinking seriously for a while, he said, "you know, for me, You and Savitri are my world. If God wants to destroy the world, then I will try to stop him with my special powers."
"But your powers are not even enough to tickle him," Saksham replied back hoarsely.
"Then I will fight him," Arjun said.
"Then you will die," Saksham replied back.
"But without you both, I will be dead either way. So, why not do my best until the end? If I am just an ant in front of him, then I will 'bite' him again and again until he gets fed up and leaves. As long as there is even a breath left in me, then my 'world' is not something even a god is allowed to destroy."