Girls' day out

Two days had passed relatively normally, without any further trouble or dreams. This fact was somewhat relaxing to Nitya while also anxiety-inducing at the same time. She tried to jerk the unsettling thought away, along with the lingering memory of the events in her dreams, thinking that it couldn't be possible- she didn't even know if the person was real or not. But those thoughts were immediately replaced with the realization that Kabir had actually visited her in the hospital that day and had walked in when she had been talking to herself, and scolding herself out loud! 'What could be the explanation for that- how had she woken up, knowing something that had not even happened yet? '

'All this was getting super weird, she was probably just overthinking. She needed to focus on her research paper.' She got up from the bed with this concluding thought, grabbed the books and started going through the material. It had not even been ten minutes, when Meisha entered her room, exclaiming "Look, di! I have brought you something!" Nitya raised her head to see what the little one had brought for her and saw that the girl was holding a velvety box in her hands. Within the box, lay two rings with the letter 'N' carved on one ring, and 'J' on the other- NJ, for her initials.

Nitya flashed Meisha a large smile, holding up the rings. After she had inspected them closely, she asked in awe, "Where did you find them?"

"I actually had them customized as your birthday gift, but Bhaiya told me that you will probably not be here for your birthday. That's why I thought I would give them to you early, so you can wear them for your presentation as good luck charms!" Meisha said with a smile, then added with a startling realization "I hope there will be no problem in that!?" It had not occurred to her beforehand, to consider the possibility that there might be some kind of issue because of them.

Nitya grinned "First of all- aww, these are so pretty, I really love you! And secondly, of course not, sweetie! I can wear whatever accessories I like during the presentation, you don't have to worry about that!"

Meisha sighed with relief and hugged Nitya with a load of affection.

Nitya eventually pulled out of the hug and asked, "So tell me, what do you want as a return gift? I'm thinking of taking you to some of my favourite places for sight-seeing, and then we can go and eat something tasty. Sounds good?"

"Yes, absolutely! Yes!"

"Okay, so go and get changed, meanwhile I will inform Bhaiya about this. I'm sorry Meisha, I know that you might have gotten bored to death in the past two days, haven't you?"

"No, I actually did not, because you know how much I love hip-hop songs and dramas! And I have recently added Korean songs and Korean dramas to the list, so I have been spending my days watching them. I didn't get a lot of spare time to watch them while my exams were ongoing, hence I have a lot to cover up, no?!" She completed her sentence in an over-dramatic flair of exhaustion, leaving Nitya cracking up with laughter. She then continued, "I think I must go now, as I need some time to get ready. I want to get a lot of pictures clicked and we'll make Surbhi di jealous!"

"Of course, kiddo. Just take as much time as you want to get ready, and tell me, where do you want to go first?"

"Anywhere you want! It's your treat so you choose this time, and I will be selecting the place for the next time. Okay?"

"Okay! Now go and let me know when you're ready."

As soon as Meisha left the room, Nitya called Mehul to ask for permission as her brother's protective self was still upfront and the rational one was somewhere on standby! It was funny how we always tend to take care of those we consider our family without a second thought; without considering their reactions on the matter, and taking their obedience for granted. This behavior may give rise to a dark side as well; emotions and rationality, both are important for a healthy relationship, otherwise the two people sharing that relationship might face problems. It would give rise to a dynamic resembling uneven and unbalanced scales, where one of them is getting stressed by showering more than required amounts of love and care and still fearing that it might not be enough, and the other one is getting choked by the excess amount of it. This is why it is said that communication is key, not only for the relationships which we create and nurture throughout our lives, but also in the relationships which are fated as blood bonds. She knew this fact very well, and it was a blessing that Mehul also understood this. But sometimes, just sometimes when his fatherly instinct got out from within its chamber, he tended to forget this and started to act like the overprotective type, who would never let his sister vanish from his sight for a minute, if he had the chance.

Mehul received the call and immediately launched into inquiry. "Hello, Nikku? Is everything alright?"

His voice dragged Nitya out from her thoughts. "Yes, hello, Dada? I am taking Meisha to some places nearby, as she might be getting bored. She has been here for the past three days and hasn't gone out even once!"

"But, but- you are still...not well," Mehul replied after a pause.

"Oh come on Dada! I am totally fine and you also know this fact, but you just don't want to accept it, do you?"

"Okay, you win! But be careful and do remember to share your location with me! Please?" Mehul asked politely.

"Deal! Now I am hanging up. Bye bye, see you in the evening."

"Bye, kiddo!"

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Meisha was roaming all around the city like an enthusiastic bunny, hopping here and there, from one place to another. Meanwhile, Nitya was following her like paparazzi following a celebrity, busy capturing every possible moment on camera. She didn't want to waste a single second that might lead her to miss clicking an important picture of their little sister.

Alas! Nitya collided with someone and turned around, mumbling an apology. She looked up, only to see that it was Natasha standing in front of her, with a smirk on her face.

Meisha clocked the encounter and quickly came to stand near her; she had not been introduced to Natasha yet, but she knew that she had been one of Surbhi's classmates, and Nitya and Surbhi's former roommate as well.

"Sorry," Nitya spoke once again, a little louder and was about to move from there. She didn't want to talk to her, neither did she want any scene to be created, so she completed her sentence. "I am really sorry, I didn't see you there. Now please excuse us, as we have somewhere to be." Saying this, she grabbed Meisha's hand and turned to walk away, but then she heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks.

"Yeah, you better be sorry!"

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