"Am I not invited?" he asked.
"Of...Of course, you are," Somya stammered, and for hiding it, she quickly added, "Don't be too greedy. It's only decided cards are yet to be published."
"No, I m quite happy that finally, you got someone else to trouble."
After hanging up with her, Varun started feeling an unknown emptiness inside him. He felt uneasy about something, but he can't point out what is it. He was about to get back to his work when Rahul came to disturb him.
"What's up, brother!" Rahul said while taking a seat on the sofa.
"Nothing," but then without thinking, he added, "There's a marriage going to happen in our neighborhood."
"Which one?" Rahul asked, but Varun was lost, in his own thoughts, so he didn't hear him.
"The Singhals? The Rawals?" Rahul started guessing, but then he remembered that his brother had no idea about their neighbors, so how can he tell they're getting married.
"The Sharmas," Varun said suddenly.
"Sharma? You mean those who live just opposite to us?" Rahul asked, and Varun nods at him.
"But how do you know?"
"Somya."
"Huh?"
"She is getting married."
"What? But you said it was our neighbor? Oh, no. Don't tell me she..." Rahul's eyes widened in realization. He knew about his brother's everyday hangouts with her, and he was happy about the changes coming in his brother lately. Now he is feeling like there is already something big going on between these two. He started planning on how to steal his brother's phone when he isn't around to get the details.
Varun was absentminded, so Rahul grabbed this chance to extracted every information about Somya from him. Varun was very cooperative today and told him everything.
After a lengthy interrogation, Rahul concluded that his brother had lost something important from his chest cavity. Now, Varun's body is here, but his heart is on the opposite side of the street with her. But knowing his brother's nature very well, he knew there is no point in telling this to him. Varun won't believe him, so he will let him find it on his own.
Somya was writing her diary at this time. She used to write a diary since her school days. She still maintains it before going to bed every night.
Today she wrote about her feelings for marriage, how she is feeling sweet and sour at the same time.
Writing helps people to let all their worries and confusions out and reach better conclusions to their problems.
As always she ended her today's diary note with a thought,
'We are all broken.
That's how the light gets in.'
She felt a little relieved after doing it. She patted Rocky and went to sleep after settling him on his small mattress near her bed.
Next day,
Varun woke up and out of habit, went to the balcony to check on his neighbor. But after looking towards her house, his eyebrows frowned.
There, he saw her standing at the door of her house with a stranger. 'Must be her fiance,' he snorted. 'Look at her. Yesterday, she was making such a face as if she is ready to die, and just the next day, she is happily waving her tail in front of him.' His mood dimmed. He grabbed his coat and strode towards the stairs.
Rahul and Mrs. Kashyap spotted him coming down from the stairs.
"Good Morning, beta*,"
"Good Morning, brother,"
they both wished morning to him.
"Good Morning," Varun replied with a glance of few seconds to them and then directly headed towards the main door.
"Hey, Varun! Breakfast is here," Rahul yelled when he saw Varun not joining them on the table.
"I have some works to do. I'll eat in the office. Good day, Maa*."
"But...," Rahul tried to protest, but he retreated after seeing his brother's icy glare.
"What's wrong with him today?" asked Mrs. Kashyap after Varun left the house.
For the past month, Mrs. Kashyap was living tension-free after noticing the positive changes in her son. She always felt sorry for his son and wanted to help him, but she doesn't know how to do it. Now, she had finally seen him being his older self again, talking and greeting her like he used to do before. So, she felt her happiness going over the moon.
Today wasn't the first day when Varun skipped a meal, but today was the first day from the past few weeks when she saw his cold self again.
Mrs. Divya Kashyap knew that there is something different with Varun. She can't point a finger at it, but she can feel it. Whenever Varun is angry over something, the environment near him becomes cold automatically. When he smiles, he is capable of drowning any girl in his charms. He looks like a celestial being to even her, his own mother.
But she believes it is because she is blessed to have him as her son, and Mahakal* had showered his blessings on him.
"Rahul, it's time for your brother to get married," she told Rahul," I had selected few girls for him. I want you to help me in choosing a perfect wife for your brother."
Rahul got startled by this piece of information, but he soon recovered and replied with a grin,
"Maa*, I promise you, together we will find a great spouse for him."
Mrs. Kashyap happily hugged him.
Rahul smirked while thinking, 'Here I was finding ways for you to realize your feelings for her, but now it looks like I don't need to find it anymore.'
Unknown to this conspiracy of Mother and Son at home, Varun was driving towards his office. Right now, he was blowing horns non-stop over the cars stopping his way like crazy. He is feeling extremely angry for no reason.
When Rahul reached the office, he met with a dead silence everywhere. His brows frowned, 'What happened here?'
He grabbed one of the employees sitting in the front and asked her, "Why are you all acting dead?"
As soon as the female employee saw her, her eyes widened as if she met her life savior. Everyone present there had the same reaction on their faces. They all know well that their two bosses are poles apart in nature. If Varun is an unreachable king sitting in his seclusion then Rahul is a friendly God for them.
They all gave Rahul a look of expectation.
"Okay, tell me. What happened?" Rahul asked.
~It's you.
It's always been you~