Navya and Hrida arrived at the shopping mall with a height of 6 floors, they stepped in, the outside noise suddenly vanished and the peaceful and calm environment inside the mall comforted Hrida's mind, and the materialistic things satisfied her eyes. The low hustle and bustle of people's footsteps, and blurred chatter noises made her heart release a long relaxing sigh, which she had been wanting.
They went through floors via elevator /escalator, but they came down to the 3rd floor, which was filled with canteens, food items, snacks, ice-creams, juices, and many more items. Hrida instantly recognized this mall because she had once visited this mall with her parents and they didn't allow her to wander freely but they did buy her whatever she asked them to buy.
In front of Hrida's eyes, those memories of her and her parents came alive as she rotated around, her eyes became glossy and her heart started vibrating loudly, and eventually, her eyes couldn't hide her inner state anymore. She sat still, letting her tears cascade on the café table, the same beads of tears glistening on the plastic tablecloth.
The murmurs of flashbacks brought her heart into a despair state, Tapish placed his paw on her vibrating hand on the table, but her hands were numb to his touch, she could only feel pain being released as hot tears from her eyes.
Navya brought light snacks to their table, and then she noticed Tapish softly 'meowing' but Hrida wasn't responding at all. She leaned and closely observed her face as Hrida kept her head down, she heard her low sobbing sounds, twisting her heart.
She softly called her name, which made her raise her head, Hrida's eyes were red, her cheeks flushed red, and she noticed Navya and immediately rushed to her, hugging her waist. Navya was stunned by her sudden hug; she could sense her vulnerability, so she hugged her back while caressing her hair.
When Hrida was finished sobbing, she spoke in a muffled tone," Navya Didi, Thhank you. I needed this hug. I feel fresh somehow." She turns her head towards Tapish and utters," Thank you, Tapish."
Navya cheers her up with a teasing tone," Hrida, if you stay here gloomy all the time, then your best friend might appear out of nowhere since he is your best friend after all. Then you wouldn't be able to control yourself and jump next to him, won't you? "
Hrida denies with a playful tone," Till now I have resisted his foolish charms successfully, and you think, I won't be able to handle myself….Pfft…Never! "
Navya chuckles," Okay, Miss. Shall we explore other floors as well?"
Hrida answers with a regal tone, " We may, my lady." Navya playfully hits her head, Hrida giggles and her quick excited steps lead them to the next floor filled with cloth sections. Navya and Hrida were busy doing window shopping when all of a sudden Tapish started running and quickly swept inside a pet-related store, Hrida quickly followed her behind after his run, and Navya slowly walked into the store.
Hrida calls out his name in a normal pitch," Tapish, where you go? Tapish! Tapishhhh... Ta-" Her sentence gets abrupt when she observes the store filled with a variety of items, foods, decorations, and accessories for pets.
She was completely enchanted by the cuteness all around her. She explores every section of the store, and she also finds many pet parents, some have cats, some have dogs, and a few of them have rabbits/birds/fish.
She found an extremely cute fish toy, she extended her hand to take it but then a 'meow' sound distracted her, she looked down, noticing a Female Siamese Cat at her feet, while her gaze was jumping from her to the fish toy.
Hrida picks up the fish toy and chuckles in a playful tone," Miss Blue, whose kid you are?..... Hmmm..Ohhhh..you want this fish toy. I liked it too, we both have a similar choice, isn't it...Miss Blue?...Looks like you are like my Tapish..quiet and calm. Here..I won't trouble you any longer."
Miss Blue Cat held it in her mouth and snuggled her head against her leg, and then a sharp 'meow' was heard, she looked to her other side and found Tapish staring at the other cat with a piercing gaze and let out a low growl while pacing towards the other cat.
Hrida calls in for his attention and utters in a scolding tone," Tapishhh….Is this how you talk to a lady? Show her some respect. She was just saying thanks to me for fetching her selected toy. Now, Come with me, let us find some cute things for you, bro."
Tapish imitates Hrida funnily through his facial expression, Hrida playfully directs her glare towards Tapish and Tapish just lets out an innocent 'meow' sound, making Hrida's melt right away. Hrida swoops him in his arms and snuggles her head on his belly, she confesses with a fond tone, " I could never find an adorable cat sibling like you, not even this Beautiful Miss Blue."
Hrida walks into another section while Tapish displays an ' I told you' smirk to that Miss Blue cat, she just stares at him with a confused look, and then Tapish happily walks back in his sister's direction.
Navya is looking through accessories for Tapish, whereas Hrida is picking up necessary cat food items and Tapish is busy strolling the whole store. After a while, Hrida finished buying the necessary items for him, so she looked for him by walking through every section, and at last, she found him gawking at a cap printed with stars over a contrasting space background, Hrida silently glees seeing him mesmerized by an accessory.
She immediately picked it up and delicately put it over his head and bought it for him with the money she found surprisingly in her backpack even after she had spent her leftover money on buying snacks last time. She heartily laughs watching Tapish flaunting his cap and walking like a King.
Hrida encourages him with a cheery tone," Tapish! Here, comes our gracious and cool King of ours, our Majesty, 'The King of Meowsomeness'.Woahhhhh..*giggles* "
After a few minutes, Hrida asks with twinkling curiosity in her eyes," Is there a library here by any chance, Didi? Tell me please, the answer is probably 'Yes'. Is it? "
Navya nods her head; Hrida grabs her hand and drags her along with her to find the library, Navya chuckles at her excited eyes darting everywhere to finally rest at a huge library on the 5th floor. Hrida gasps in awe," Waaaaahhh….I have never been to this section. Is this library or heaven? Seriously, I have never seen a prettiest library such as this. Eeehhhh* screeches*
I can't believe….I am in such a ... beautiful….place. You know, Didi, I am big….like quite a big fan of books….I always wanted to visit a library. It's my first time visiting a library except for my school library, of course.
Wooshhh..It's so refreshing, I can smell the scent of books from here, I feel so light-hearted seeing huge piles of books." Tapish purrs happily, but a few of the people inside shush him, Tapish lets out a confused 'meow'.
Hrida explains with a low-pitched tone," Tapish, You need to lower your volume, we are in a library, so no sound, okay?" Tapish answers with a low-toned 'meow'.
Navya is just observing Hrida's relaxed expression, she looks most peaceful right now, Navya ponders," Looks like these books can do what I was trying to make her feel for the past days. Maybe, these books can be my next method to make her understand how to break free from a cycle of chaos and escapism. Hmmmm."
Hrida inhaled a long breath, she could feel the peaceful silence circulating within her entire body, the sound of pages turning, books being picked out from book racks, and low whisper reading voices filled her heart with splashing waves of satisfaction.
Hrida looks through every rack and picks out 3 books in total with pages of approximately 200-300. Navya also picks a few books that she is planning to buy. Tapish joins with Hrida in reading; he just stares at the paper with a focused gaze and reads with the reading pace of Hrida.
Hrida asks for Navya's phone silently without disturbing Tapish's unbreakable focus on the page, she snaps a picture of Tapish reading a book, and she displays a mischievous smile to Navya, to which Navya becomes startled, and before she could think, Hrida silently achieved her goal.
She gave back her phone, Navya checked her phone, but there was nothing, she looked through her photo gallery, videos, social media apps, etc. and more but she didn't find anything. Hrida bursts into giggles after witnessing Navya's hilarious expression, she covers her mouth so the noise doesn't come out, and Navya then understands that she purposefully enacted that to fool her.
Navya sends a playful glare towards her and comments with a surprised tone," You are such a secret troublemaker. Aughhh..I never expected that from you…in a good way..obviously."
Hrida had completed two books already within an hour and the current book, which she almost read half of the book. Hrida picked out a beautiful animal-printed envelope from the tote bag ( Filled with bought items like Tapish's items, food items, a few stationery items, and a few other items.) She also took out a blank sheet of paper and pen.
She started writing something, which made both Tapish and Navya curious, so they tried to sneak a glance over her letter but they couldn't as she blocked their view with her arm placed on the top of the paper. She wrote an apology letter to Lakshman bhaiya without revealing her location and her current state.
Hrida politely asks Navya with a pleading tone," Navya Didi, could you do me a favor? It's not something big but still, you are free to deny my favor. Actually, could you deliver this letter to Lakshman Bhaiya, ' The Police Officer' by mail or some other way?
There is no pressure on you, you have already done so much for me and I don't intend to irritate you as Lakhsman Bhaiya can be a little extra curious and ask a lot of questions….like really a lot."
Navya thinks about her request for some minutes then declares her answer with a pique of interest hint from her voice," I don't mind at all helping you. Your request is accepted and about your Lakshman Bhaiya, I will handle him. To be honest, I want to meet this peculiar person, hmmm...
I am interested enough to analyze him face to face, so I am going to deliver it personally although the mail method is fast and easy. But, since I love sweet challenges, I choose to deliver this in person.
And, Don't worry, dear, Navya has already prepared my expected answers to his expected questions. Okay, now, first I will escort both of you home, and then I will go to the police station. Let's go."
Hrida stubbornly insists with a soft tone," Navya Didi, I still haven't completed reading the other half of this book, I wouldn't feel satisfied if I left it in an incomplete state. I want to stay for some minutes more, till then you can go, deliver the letter and return here, we will be here waiting for you. Please..pleasse..pleaseeee.."
Navya didn't want to agree to this offer but Hrida remained insistent for long, so she couldn't resist her cuteness anymore, and ultimately she accepted her deal. Before She exits the mall, she decides in her head," I will quickly deliver and return, I can't risk her being alone for more than a few minutes. She had already had very bad experiences until now, I won't let anyone hurt her ever again."
Navya retires from the police station on her scooter at normal speed, when she comes across The Pune Police Station, she notices a group including Inspector Lakshman relaxing at the park, but the interesting part is Inspector Lakshman is doing a funny imitation of a woman, which draws her closer to them. Then she was clearly able to hear their conversation;
Inspector Lakshman groans with a sarcastic imitating tone of a woman," Oh God, what a sight, Soma! Look how beautiful you keep your room, and Lakshman, you are now an adult, still, your room looks like a scattered nest.
Bhabhi( Sister-in-law), how have you been handling your son along with their tantrums? Soma is organized in all things except for the proper arrangement of his things, I just think this is more difficult than critical criminal cases. Oh God, I need a tea to re-energize my spirit."
Everyone laughs hearing Lakshman's dramatic mimicry of Mrs. Kimaya ( Soma's mom), Navya just chuckles after watching his performance. Navya decides to play along with the act and appears as a wild card guest in front of them, they are all gawking at her with a clueless expression.
Navya starts her act, muttering with a touch of masculinity in her pose and voice, " Bhabhi, What were you saying about me?
I am ' The Mischievous Inspector Lakshman' who pulls pranks, mimics others' voices, and just asks a bunch of questions. I am like a question bank, if you poke me, you will get a question but you won't get any answer from me unless you want to get another question.
I mean, look at me, I am young and handsome but still a little girl got scared because of me. Aughh..my good looks have gone to waste. Tchhhh…
Where is Kritak, ummm…yes you, tell me, do you think anyone can beat my mischievousness level in the whole police station? Tell me, Young man !"
Kritak stutters and then bursts into a fit of laughter, later all join in following his laughter, while Lakshman inspects her with suspicious eyes and an annoyed frown on his lips.
Lakshman clears his throat and questions her with an annoyed tone," Who you might be, young lady? Whomsoever you are, don't you have the courtesy to not eavesdrop on other's conversation? Are you here to report something or just came here to waste our time, young lady?"
Navya snickers," I am not a young lady, I am a conscious woman and I am well aware of the value of time. I'm here to deliver something important."
Lakshman smirks with a teasing tone," Oh sorry, I didn't identify you correctly. Okay, let me rephrase my sentence. Old woman, may I know what is the important thing that we need to receive? Could you pass it to me, gracious old woman? "
Navya groaned under her breath but kept her cool and simply dragged out the envelope from her bag and forwarded it to him. He dumbly stared at the envelope, then he glanced at her and then at the envelope, meanwhile, Kritak cooed with a teasing tone," Dhansi ji, looks like our sir got his first love letter. How romantic! Isn't it an adorable sight, Kimaya mam? "
Kimaya simply gave him teasing glances, but then Navya burst their bubble and cleared their misunderstanding with a disbelief tone," I am sorry to burst your bubble but I think you got it wrong. I…I didn't write this letter, this letter is another girl, who wants to convey something to him. And that girl is someone close and familiar to you, Inspector Lakshman. So, here, read it, please. It's urgent."
His gaze fell upon the animal patterns on the envelope, he grinned at the choice of the envelope cover, and he took out the letter, unfolded it, and started reading the letter in his mind while others were giving him teasing glances that went unnoticed by Lakshman but Navya is annoyed at their indication.
Navya thought that it was best time to leave before he started his questioning session again, she silently turned and was almost going to escape but Lakshman's voice stopped her," Miss Voice Artist! Where are you leaving? First tell me, who gave you this letter? Who wrote this letter? And how did she reach out to you? Miss….?"
Navya turns back and utters with a neutral tone," My work was only limited to delivering this envelope and nothing else, so I can't tell you anything, Mister."
Lakshman examined her eyes with raised eyebrows, and inspected her with a polite tone," Miss, Who wrote this letter? Honestly speak out the truth, right now."
Navya grins with a gentle tone, " Do you think I will be scared by your look and start blabbering out?
Nope, not happening. As I am a psychologist, this trick of yours won't apply to me. And, you should know by already about who has written this letter. Tch..Tch..It looks like your memory is getting old, old man. Hmmm."
Lakshman is baffled by her statement while Dhansi ji and Kritak are enjoying the show so far and keep their mouths shut even though their muffled laughter sounds are audible to everyone.
Meanwhile, Hrida strolled through each floor because her feet couldn't sit still for a longer time, but then a particular dress store captivated her attention, and she stepped in without giving any second thoughts. Tapish had already entered the store and maintained the pace with Hrida initially but eventually, he glides through each corner of the dress store while Hrida is drinking in the beauty of unique dresses around her.
But something caught her attention, her eyes remained stuck on the jeans and shirts of the boy's section, those shirt styles reminded her of Shashi, his voice ringing in her mind, Hrida exclaimed with a deep sigh, " Shashi's taste in clothes is quite good and I am a fan of his choices since childhood although I haven't worn these type of clothes, maybe someday I will.
I really miss Shashi. I can't stay angry at him for more than a minute. I wish he was here with me. Hmmmm."
Out of the blue, her ears caught a faintly familiar voice, she immediately twirled in that direction, and her eyes widened in surprise, She gasped in a low tone," Oh my god! How? When? Ummmm...What should I do? What should I...Idiot! It's obvious, I need to hide right away and also keep Tapish's paws away from them. Tapishhhhh...Oh no!
Where has he gone? Not now, if by chance, they sight Tapish then they will surely know that I am here. I have to find Tapish fast.."