THIRD PERSON POV.
Radhika slowly walks towards Dev's room. It's been a week since her injury and she can walk around now. It's also the last night of Dev before he goes to Mumbai and then to New Zealand. The dinner was over and Dev was in his room packing. Radhika knocked on the open door and asked "Need any help?" Dev was packing his stuff sitting on the floor and looked up at her. He at once got up and helped Radha to his bed to sit, "Radhi you should have called me."
Radhika sat on the bed and said "Are it's okay. I can walk around now. Plus I have to go back to college, so I should get used to it." Dev nodded and said "But, I would still suggest you take at least a week more off. Till you are fully recovered." Radhika smiled and said "I am fine. Plus it's a new job and taking so many leaves doesn't look good. Anyway, you need any help?" Dev shook his head and said "I am almost packed with just a few things here and there and…" he looked at Radhika with a smirk and continued "...one important thing from your side." Radhika chuckled and forwarded her handkerchief she brought. Dev took it from her and sniffed it, "Same scent." He smiled and kept it in his bag with other important things as Radhika asked, “Why do you need my Handkerchief but?” He came back to her and said “When you miss me you can wear my hoodies but I can’t raid your wardrobe like that na.” She laughs a little as he continues “So I ask for your handkerchief. I like to have something of yours with me”. Radhika smiled and pinched both of his cheeks saying “Such a cute boyfriend I have.”
Dev smiled and sat down beside her and continued "Keep me updated on your Arunachal Pradesh trip. Okay?" Radhika nodded. Dev took Radhika's hand in his and intertwined them. He then asks "Jana jaruri hai kya Arunachal Pradesh. Like, I am just concerned." For Dev it actually meant his proposal plan would be delayed for some more days till she returns. He can't understand why but his proposal plan keeps getting delayed.
Radhika smiles and says "Jaruri hai, warna kyun jati." Radhika then places her hand on his heart and says "Aur jaha pe bhi jau rahungi to yahi na" He chuckled and says "Udhar to apki permanent jaga hai miss professor." Radhika smiles and hugs him. Dev places his chin on her head as she places her head on his heart. Dev and Radhika closed their eyes, absorbing the moment as they both would be deprived of each other's touch for almost two months.
They were hugging each other when they heard Chandani Paddikal calling Dev. Radhika parts away but her wings chain gets tangled with his shirt. Radhika chuckled and said "Hayee kitna filmy." Dev smiles as Radhika tries to detangle it. He says "It means even this chain doesn't want to get separated from me." She laughs as her chain gets separated from his shirt but he nuzzles his nose in her neck kissing her there. Radhika giggles and says placing her hands on his shoulders "Jao, di bula rahi hai." Dev parts away with a slayed smile and walks to the door but before opening it he turns around and says "Please, don't go back to your room. I don't care about anything, I just have a few more hours with you so I am not sleeping in another room." Radhika nods her head giving him one of her best smiles.
Dev goes to Chandani's room with a smile on his face. As he enters He asks "Yes di, you called me?" Chandani nodded and gave him a file saying "I checked the file you gave me. It's all clear and you can sign." Dev smiled and said "Thanks Di." He turned to leave when Chandani called him back "Can I tell you something Dev?" Dev turned around to her again and said "Yea sure." Chandni smiles looking at his brother. She says "I just wanna say, you look happy." Dev smiles again and says "That's because I am. I am really happy right now."
Chandni smiles and gets up. She says "You seem to be happier and more outward now that Radha is in your life. I wanted to say this for a long time. She really changed you for good." Dev says "She did. She is my angel afterall. And now I have only a few more hours before I have to leave and she is waiting. So good night." Chandni chuckled and wished him good night.
Dev comes back to his room to see Radhika waiting for him while she is reading something on the phone. He went behind her and hugged her from behind. Radhika smiled and kept the phone at the side as he kissed her on the cheek and asked "Ready to sleep?" Radhika nodded and both got under the covers switching off the light. She said "You should sleep early. You have a flight to catch." Dev nodded and kissed her lips before pulling her to him to sleep with her cuddled against his body. He hugged her tight and whispered "I missed this so much." Radhika hummed in his embrace and said "Me too."
Dev after a minute felt wetness on his shirt so he parts away a little and asks "Are you crying Radhi?" Radhika sniffs a little and says in a low voice "No." Dev wipes away her tears and asks "What happened? Why are you crying?" Radhika looked at him and said "It's just, I would miss you." Radhika said it with so much love that Dev at once hugged her tight as Radhika buried her face in his chest. Dev sighed and said, "Don't cry Radhi, you know I don't like it. I will come back before you know it." Radhika just hummed in return so Dev said, "Now give me one of your gorgeous smiles. Come on" Radhika chuckled and smiled for him. He smiles back and pecks her lips.
Radhika sniffed again and said "Jaldi jaldi jaana, Khelna aur jaldi se mere paas vapas ana." He chuckles and says as he puts a strand of her hair behind her ear "Tum bhi dhyan se jana conference mai aur jaldi se mere paas wapis ana. I would be waiting for you." Radhika nodded and hugged him again. They both slept in each other's embrace, holding onto what they have.
The next morning Dev had a flight to Mumbai. He had woken up early and was all packed up to leave. Radhika too woke up early and had returned to her room earlier to freshen up. Dev was dressed up for the flight when Radhika reached his door. "All set?" Asked Radhika with a smile. "Nope. I still didn't get my best wishes." replied Dev opening his arms. Radhika chuckled as she went to Dev's arms. He picked her up as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed his forehead, "All the best Dev. Shine brighter than all the stars out there." Radhika whispered with a smile.
Dev smiled and slowly kept her down as they hugged their last goodbye hug. Goodbyes had never been easy for them. Even if they have said it to each other a million times , they just don't get used to it. When he was about to break the hug she held onto his shirt and said "Just 1 more minute." Dev sighs deeply and hugs her even tighter, closing his eyes. After some time they let go of each other as it was time.
Radhika then took the polaroid and said "One picture before you go? We didn't click a single picture during this break." Dev nodded as he hugged her from behind and Radhika raised the polaroid. They both smiled as she clicked the photo. "Click one more for me." Said Dev. Radhika smiled and clicked one more. Radhika handed over the photograph to him and said "Dhyan se rakhna." Dev smiled and nodded as he placed it in his wallet.
Dev kissed her head and said "Love you Jaan. Take care please." Radhika nodded and said "Love you too. You too take care." Dev smiled and nodded. Alas they both came down as his family was waiting downstairs. He hugged everyone goodbye and then sat in the car for the airport. Radhika was standing outside the door as Dev settled in the car. Radhika waved at him saying goodbye. Dev smiled and waved back. The car then zoomed off to the airport and from there to Mumbai and then New Zealand.
Dev's Test series starts in New Zealand and Radhika starts going to college again. She again had to do documentation and preparing for the conference and was busy with it. After her ankle completely healed she shifted back to her apartment as she didn't want to trouble Dev's mother more. They called each other frequently whenever they got time but with the time difference and their schedules being busy, it was a bit difficult.
It was the time for the fourth test match and so ICT had to fly to Auckland the next day and after three days their fourth test match would begin. So far India and New Zealand both have won one-one matches each, so the fourth one was going to be a tie breaker. It was around 3 in the afternoon in India and Radhika was packing for the trip to Arunachal Pradesh which was going to start the next day. She looked at the time and thought Dev would still be awake so she video called him. He had just settled down on his bed ready for the night. He smiled and picked up the video call saying "Hey.". Radhika placed the laptop on the table and said "Hello!"
Dev saw the mess around her and asked “So, how is packing going on?” Radhika huffed and said “Don't ask. I am so confused and there's still a lot to pack.” Dev chuckled and said “Don't forget to pack some warm clothes. It might get a bit chilly in the rainy season and do not forget to get a windcheater.” Radhika nodded, dumping the said clothes on the bed.
He saw she had placed the journal and the polaroid he gave her in a plastic bag and kept it in the bag as well. He asks "Are you going to take them as well?" Radhika looks at what he is pointing at and then says "Of Course udhar bhi pictures click karungi but sambhal ke leke Jaa Rahi hu because kharab nahi honi chahiye." Dev chuckled and nodded.
Radhika then sat on the bed and said "Let me tell you what all is going to happen exactly as it's a bit different from last time." Dev sat straight as it was important and told her to go ahead. Radhika said "So the first three days we would have a conference with experienced people speaking. This time it's about how we can properly guide students to take a proper Bachelor's in which they are really interested and let them know their options as many don't even know that. After the conference the professors are going to get separated in small groups and are going to go to rural areas to explain the students in some schools and Jr. Colleges different types of courses, how they can apply, what all those courses can offer. You know, kind of to promote students to get higher education and not just stop at 12th or 10th."
Dev nodded understanding everything. He then asked, "So you are going to go to a rural area." Radhika nodded and said "But not just me, my colleagues from this college who are Ravi and Sanika. Also there would be professors from other colleges as well." Dev nodded and said "Okay but be safe okay. Don't roam around alone." Radhika smiled and said "Don't worry I will take care of myself."
Dev nodded and snidely asked “And this Ravi is…” Radhika knew very well what his all time jealous boyfriend was implying. She shook her head and said "He is Engaged Dev. Usne abhi abhi propose kiya hai apne girlfriend ko." Now this has gained his interest. He was going to propose to Radhika as well so he tried asking questions to Radhika. "Acha kaise kiya?" Radhika folded the clothes and said "Oh the cheesiest way possible. He proposed right in the middle of a shopping mall. Like it's good that he proposed but I felt it's a bit tacky to propose like that."
Dev nodded and asked further, "So you think it's a bit too much?" Radhika gave it a thought and said "Yea a bit. It should be a little cozy, just the two of them. It should be an intimate moment shared by them, only them." Dev nodded mentally taking notes. She looked at her clock and said "Chalo you go to sleep you have a flight tomorrow na?" Dev nodded and said "Bye. And text me when you leave and reach there." Radhika nodded and gave him a flying kiss before cutting the call.
Dev smiled but the call got him thinking. He was so excited to propose but how was he gonna do it. If he was being honest he was not that great at planning romantic gestures. It was always Radhika planning or suggesting something intimate and romantic for them and so he never actually did it.
He took his iPad and started searching for some ideas on how to propose. He needs it to be perfect. He was engrossed in reading that he didn't notice when Ishan walked in. "Kya dekh raha hai?" Asked Ishan which startled Dev and instinctively he held his iPad to his chest so Ishan wouldn't see what he was searching for. ICT didn't know yet that Dev was gonna propose. He was gonna tell after proposing.
Ishan raised his eyebrows and asked "Kya dekh raha tha?" Dev nervously laughed and kept the iPad at the side and casually said "Kuch bhi nahi." But was Ishan gonna let it go. Absolutely not. Ishan and Dev both looked at each other and then Ishan straight away dived on his bed to get the iPad but Dev took it before he reached it.
"Kya chupa Raha hai jo mujhe bhi nahi bol sakta?" Ishan asked as he tried to reach the iPad which Dev was trying to keep away from him. Shubhman entered the room at that time and saw Ishan and Dev wrestling on the bed. Before he could ask them anything, Ishan shouted "Take the iPad Shubhman." Ishan held Dev as Subhuman at once took the iPad from Dev. Shubhman switched on the iPad as he asked "Esa kya hai isme jo tum log…" Shubhman stopped mid sentence as he saw what Dev was searching. His mouth was wide open and you could clearly see the excitement on his face.
Dev slowly came towards him and said in a peaceful voice "Shubhman, shant okay." But was Shubhman gonna be calm about it. The answer again is absolutely not. "Gav valoo…" Shubhman shouted as he ran out of the room banging on everyone’s room to call them out. Dev and Ishan too rushed out as Dev groaned "Yaar iske gale Mai loudspeaker hai kya." Everybody came out and Sanjana said "Kya hua itna kyu chilla rahe ho Shubhman?" Shubhman was already jumping in his place as he said "Dev is gonna propose to Radhu !!"
There were gasps all around the hallway. "Oh My God!!" Exclaimed Aashita as everybody started hooting and congratulating him. Ishan said "Are waa. Aab to mai official Radha ko bhabhi bulane vala hu." Ruturaj interjected "Mai to Dev ko jiju bulanga. I am on Radha's side." Before Dev could say anything Shubhman jumped in the conversation "Same Same. Mai bhi Dev ko jiju bolunga. I am on Radhu's side for this wedding." Dev calmed down the jumping beings around him and said "Guys shant." "Are abhi Shanti vanti nahi aab to dhol nagade bajenge." Cheered Hardik.
It was crazy in the hallway as everybody was happy. Dev then said "Haa par guys abhi tak maine pucha nahi hai so it's supposed to be a secret, Okay?" Everybody nodded but the boys Ishan, Shubhman and Ruturaj hugged their brother tight as Ruturaj said "Congratulations Dev. You better take care of my best friend, you have found a gem." Dev smiled and nodded. Everyone went back to their rooms after as they had a flight tomorrow.
Dev went back to his room and sat on his bed. He took out their photo from the wallet and looked at it. All the proposal talk has made him miss her more. He smiled as he thought how much she liked his gift and even the journal. And then the light bulb in his mind went off. He thought of a perfect way to propose to her. He would give her a love letter as she would love a love letter and then he would go on one knee to propose to her. He at once went to the desk and took a paper to write one.
He was not a person who was interested in writing but he thought of writing whatever he felt for her in it. He smiled as he added a little information which even she didn't remember. He finished the letter and kept it safely in the bag. He smiled as he had a perfect plan now.
It's night time in Bangalore and Radhika does her final packing. She had also packed some of Dev's hoodies with her. When she is packing medicines she looks at her old sleeping pills. She sits down in the chair looking at them. She used to have it when she was not able to sleep due to nightmares. But from the time Dev and she had been together she actually never experienced nightmares nor did she need sleeping pills to sleep now. She smiled and kept the pills aside, not packing them. She doesn't need it anymore.
The next morning, Radhika met her two colleagues, Sanika and Ravi at the station. They all reached Arunachal Pradesh and Radhika took a deep breath of the fresh air. "This feels good." Said Sanika to which Radhika smiled and nodded. Ravi too nodded as they boarded the taxi to the hotel. They looked outside the taxi and saw they were in the main city. They reached the hotel and checked in.
Radhika looked at the view outside and said to Sanika, her roommate "Yaar idhar log vacation pe aate hai. Hum kaam kaise karenge?" Sanika laughed and said "Actually there's a reason Arunachal Pradesh is chosen this year. Like according to this year's main agenda, it makes sense to have it in a place where it's still a major thing." Radhika nodded as they both took out their laptops and prepared themselves for the conference.
The first three days of the seminar went well and now came the practical work. They had to go to different colleges and talk about it and also to some rural areas. Radhika, Sanika and Ravi had to travel more towards the east with some other professors as the college's were divided. They were supposed to travel on Monday to the colleges assigned to them, so they had Saturday, Sunday off.
Sanika had heard from one of the professors that there's a monastery nearby and some of the professors were going to volunteer for two days to teach the monks English. She really wanted to go there so she was convincing Radhika. "Sanika, we got only two days off. We can explore the city. Why do you want to teach here as well?" asked Radhika. Sanika fisted her hand and said with determination "Because, that's what I am. A teacher."
Radhika folded her hands and gave her a look which said give me the real reason. Sanika huffed and said "Okay fine. A really cute professor is also going to volunteer and I want to talk to him. Come on Radhika please come with me. I want my wingwoman" Sanika batted her eyebrows leaving no stone unturned for Radhika to say no. Radhika chuckled and said "I can't believe a wingwoman can also be used with reference to teaching together." Sanika hugged Radhika saying "Thank you so much. Plus you would love it as well."
Radhika nodded and thought about what could go wrong. She likes peaceful places and doing some volunteer work in a monastery that to teaching would really be good. So Radhika and Sanika joined other professors during the weekend and she enjoyed it more than she thought she would.
On Saturday professors took the classes in the morning and in the afternoon they were all free to explore the monastery as tourists were allowed to visit. Radhika pushed Sanika and her crush to go explore the monastery privately so they could understand each other more. She always supported love stories. Radhika on the other hand was mostly in the assembly/ prayer hall just meditating in front of the Buddha statue. She felt so peaceful in the monastery that she could have stayed there forever.
When the professors were leaving in the evening one of the locals who visited the monastery said "Be careful when you are going back to the hotel." An elderly male professor asked "Why?" The local said "Actually there have been many cases of people going missing, actually females going missing. It's rare when a tourist goes missing as it's mostly the locals but take care." The male professor nodded and said "Thank you for informing." The local smiled and went on his way.
Radhika asked, "What does he mean by females going missing?" The male professor who talked to the local said "Must be some fishy business. Let's just not go out in the night and stay away from this matter. We are here for a few days anyway." Everybody nodded as they went back to the hotel.
The next day again in the morning the professors taught the children and later on some stayed at Monastery while others went out to the city to explore. Radhika didn't leave and stayed with some professors in the Monastery. In the afternoon Radhika talked to other monks with some other professors discussing about their life, buddhism. In the evening, they even played some games with the children. The children loved Radhika as she was a good teacher and outside the class she also seemed like a kid like them.
One of the old monks who was very well respected in the Monastery also met Radhika. He talked to Radhika and he could see why the monastery kids and other monks talked about her. He recognised Radhika as a good and pure soul and therefore admireded Radhika as a good person.
It was evening and Radhika was looking at the sunset from the Monastery. The scenery was beautiful from up there and Radhika tried to soak in the moment. Now that she was a bit far away from her regular life she was looking at it from a third person point of view. In the peaceful environment she thought of her life and how far she has come along.
She was so engrossed in thinking she didn't notice the old monk standing beside her, "What are you thinking kid?" Radhika looked up and folded her palms together near her chest in a prayer-like fashion and bowed her head slightly, paying respect as he was one of the oldest monks in the Monastery. He smiled and also greatted her in the same way. He asked again "So what were you thinking kid?"
She smiles as she says "Nothing just thinking about life. How it has turned out to be now. Reflecting on how life has unfolded and led to my present. It has not been that easy for me from the beginning but lately it has shown me the other side of the coin. Happiness. I have this incredible family now, loving parents and a person who I love so much and he loves me back even more than I could ever imagine. There was a time when I thought I wasn't lucky enough to have this happiness in my life but it gave me. It feels like I am exactly where I wanted to be. Life has shown some mercy on me lately and I am grateful for that." Radhika finishes it with a placid smile and happy tears in her eyes.
The monk just smiles and says "If you do good deeds and stay positive Life will give it back to you in ways you would never imagine. You are a good soul Radhika and I hope life always shows its mercy to you and keeps you happy." He raised his hand to bless Radhika. Radhika smiled and bowed her head.
It was around 12:30 am in India and around 7 am in Auckland when Radhika called Dev. Dev was getting ready for the 4th day of the test match when he received the call, "Hello." Said Dev through the phone. "Hello, Dev can you hear me?" Asked Radhika as she was standing on the balcony to talk to him. "Yea Radhi I can hear you. Seriously, where are you Jaan? It feels like you are living in a jungle or something. It's so hard to contact you."
Radhika huffed and said "Yea the network is bad plus there's also some wifi issues over here, but I am all good okay." Dev blew a breath of relief as it was actually a relief to hear from her. "That's good. You are going to a different place right?" Radhika said "Yes I have to go to a local school of a village and some other jr. colleges so I am going more towards the east." Dev nodded and said "Okay. I would have to go now. Catch some sleep and call me when you reach the new place, okay?" "Okay Dev. And play well. All the best Jaan." Radhika said especially the last word to bring a smile on his face. She was successful as Dev did smile and said "Thanks, bye." "Bye." Said Radhika as they kept the phone.
Dev went for the match after that and had a blast. India ruled out New Zealand at a pretty low score and India had to make just 270 to seal the test match and the series. The opening pair of Dev and Shubhman entered the ground. Shubhman got out at 32 but Dev kept on going. He played for the rest of the day and scored 60 runs putting India in a very good position for the fifth day.
In India Radhika, Sanika, Ravi and Some other professors from other colleges traveled more towards the east to tell the students what options they have in future if they want to pursue further education. As it was a rural area their staying arrangements were done in a hotel which was not much of a hotel but a house.
The professors took their bags from the bus as a man came out of the hotel. "Welcome, welcome. Aap sab vo pradhyapak hai na?" Ravi nodded and said "Haa hum sab vahi hai." The man nodded and said "Ji namaste hum hai Praveen Babu. Iss hotel ke karta dharta hum hi hai. Aayi aap ko pura hotel dikha deta hu. Bada hi khubsurat hai." He said, gesturing for them to come inside.
The hotel was really at an amazing spot as one can see mountains. "This place is actually nice." Said Ravi to Radhika and Sanika to which they both agreed. They were at the backside where they saw a river flowing. "Wohh there's a river as well." Said one of the professors as he stepped forward to the river but Praveen at once shouted "Sahab nahi!"
The professor stopped dead in his tracks as others turned to Praveen, surprised as well. Praveen continued, "Sahab jitni khubsoorat ye nadi dikhti hai utni hi khatarnak hai. Iska bhav (flow) bahut tez hai. Jo ek baar iske bhav mai phas gaya to uski lash (dead body) bhi nahi milti." Everybody moved a step back from the river as they heard Praveen. "Isiliye sahab aur madam, koi iss Nadi ke paas na jaye. Baki idhar ek acha phoolon ka bagicha (garden) hai aap waha chaliye, aaye." Everybody nodded as they moved to the garden. Radhika too moved with others but looked over her shoulder once to the river. It was really beautiful, thought Radhika.
They were in the garden looking at flowers when one of the professors shouted "Oh Wow! We have full signal here." Everybody immediately took out their phone and indeed they had full signals. It was a normal thing but finding signals in this valley and that to a full signal really felt like winning a lottery. "Finally I can call my fiance." Said Ravi as he went to the side to call her. Sanika too took out her phone and said "I will also check up on my mom back home. I’ll be back in a minute." Radhika nodded as she looked through her phone.
She looked at the time and thought it was perfect to call him as it's around 8:30 in Auckland, So she video calls Dev from there. Dev was just going down for dinner when his phone rang. "Wow a video call? Today's definitely my lucky day." Said Dev as it was the first time she video called since she left for Arunachal Pradesh. Radhika chuckled and said "Well the internet specifically in this region is superb so I can video call you. Like hotel Mai bhi itna signal nahi aa raha tha jitna yaha bahar garden Mai hai."
Dev chuckles and says "BTW the background looks awesome. It's a beautiful place." Radhika nodded excitedly and said "It sure is. You know what, take me to everyone else as well na. I want to show where I am staying to everyone." He nods and takes the phone to the dining hall and says "Everybody Radha's here." And he showed the phone to them.
Everybody got out of their seats to say hello to Radhika. Shubhman said dramatically "Finally aap ke darshan hue! Kaha Jungle mai gayi hai aap." Anushka smacked him on his shoulder and said laughing, "Nautanki. Kaise ho Radha and how is Arunachal Pradesh?" "Well let me show you." Said Radhika as she flips her camera and shows her the surroundings. It was a picturistic scenery. "Oh wow it's so beautiful." Said KL as he looked at the screen. Radhika said "Yea it's so beautiful. Aur mujhe ye mere hotel ke garden se dikh raha hai. Look at these small beautiful flower gardens, they are so pretty, aur yahan peeche ek river bhi hai. Vaha jana allowed nahi hai par the view from my room would be awesome."
"Looks like you are having fun." Says Rahul Dravid. Radhika nodded happily and said "Ye sab itna khubsurat hai mera Maan to yaha baas Jane ka kar raha hai." At once Rahul Dravid said "Hey vesa kuch nahi karna hai. I will be waiting for you back home so come soon." Radhika laughs and says "Of Course Dada I am gonna come back. I was just saying."
She then says "Chalo ab mujhe Dev se baat karni hai so bye guys." They all said bye to Radhika as Dev took the phone to the garden and sat on one of the benches. Dev asked "So how is it, all good?" Radhika nodded and said "Yeh. Tomorrow we will be going to some Jr. Colleges and all. Yaar this place is so beautiful, I wish you were here with me." Dev smiled and said "I wish the same too. I miss you, so much." "I miss you too. Vaise someone scored some big runs in the match today ha." Dev smiled and said "It was a good day but the match isn't over." Radhika nodded and said "I know but I am gonna wake up early tomorrow to watch your match."
Dev shook his head and said "Don't do that. We start here at 9, which means around 2:30 in the morning for you. You shouldn't be awake for so long." Radhika actually kind of knew he would score a century and she didn't want to miss it so she said "Oh come on I will sleep early. I cannot afford to not watch the last day. I am gonna watch you play. I don't want to miss it for the world." Dev knew there was no use of debating on this as they both knew she would watch it. Dev said "Okay but please take care of yourself."
Radhika nodded and said "Now go for dinner and get some sleep. You are waise bhi a heavy sleeper." "I am a heavy sleeper only when you are there with me." Radhika huffed and said "Yaar don't make me miss you more." Dev laughs and says "Chalo bye you also take some rest." Radhika nods but before Dev could end the call she says,
"Dev wait."
"What? Kuch kehna hai?"
"Ha. Something very important."
"Kya?"
"I love you." Radhika said with a smile.
Dev chuckled and said "I love you too bye." Radhika said with a smile "Wait for me. I will come back as soon as possible." Dev nodded and said "I'll wait for you. Bye." Radhika said bye and cut the call. She went inside the hotel to get some rest as she wanted to watch the match at night.
Dev was going back inside when his phone pinged. His eyes widened as it was a text from Radhika's sister. He opened it and read
'We will come to India in two weeks to discuss everything. We would like to talk to your family before we move forward with the wedding.'
Dev couldn't believe what he read. So that means, her family was okay with their relationship. He came back running to the dinning hall and said about the message he received to everyone. "So vo maan gaye?" Asked Virat happily. "Shayad. Like at least they are coming to talk, that's a positive step." Anushka and Athiya hugged him as everyone else was happy as finally the only problem with their relationship was solved.
Rahul Dravid looked at the happy Dev and smiled, internally thinking his plan worked. When Dev came back from the USA and told him that the plan didn't work, he took the matters in his hand. He and Vijeta themselves called Radhika's family and explained to them. They talked about how even they considered Radhika as their daughter and Dev would be perfect for her. Rahul Dravid smiled as that talk really worked, but no one had to know so he kept quiet. After dinner they went to bed early as tomorrow was an important day, in many ways.
In Auckland the match started the next day with Dev and Ishan entering the field. The ladies were sitting in the stands watching the match. Indeed Dev was in his tune and runs were coming in. Ishan did get out in the middle so Dev had to slow down and play safe. It was Rishabh on the field with him.
Everyone was sitting on the benches and everyone was waiting not just for the win but for Dev's another century as he was on 96 now. Ishan came and put a hand on Shubhman's shoulder who was biting his nails and vigorously shaking his leg. Virat and KL too were outside and all eyes were on the ball.
The first ball of the over was a dot ball where the commentator praised his maturity at this crucial point to not jump into the situation. He still looked calm and composed but everyone can feel the tension on the crease, dressing room and the stadium. Then on the second ball he hit it and he started to run for the run while the ball went between the two fielders and it went for a four.
There was silence for a second but then the whole stadium came to life with shouts, dhols and everything. The dressing room went crazy with everyone clapping and jumping on each other. Dev jumped in delight and took his helmet off and swung the bat to everyone and then towards the dressing room balcony.
The ladies got up from the seat and clapped for Dev and were extremely happy but the match wasn't over. Dhanashree was surfing through her phone when she suddenly shouted "Oh God! This can't be true!" All the ladies looked at her confused, as Athiya asked "What happened?" Dhanashree looked like she had seen a ghost. With shaky hands she showed the screen to other ladies.
The colour of their faces drained as they read. "How?" Athiya whispered, covering her mouth. Sanjana choked on tears as she said "But how? Ese achanak se…" They all were in a state of shock. "We can't even do anything. We are all the way here." Said Dhanashree crying. Anushka knew she had to take charge. She took a deep breath and said "Let… let me call Ajinkya and Rohit. They are in India and they can do something." She said and rushed to the side to call them.
Everybody looked disturbed when Natasha said "Ladies, ladies calm down." "How can we Nats. After this news, what if something has happened?" Said Aashita crying. Natasha said "But we would have to stay calm. Boys sometimes look at us and if we're stressed they would find out something is wrong."
All the ladies looked at the ground to see the game was still going on. Due to the news they completely forget about it. They wiped their tears and Athiya said "Do boys know?" Sanjana shook her head and said "No they submit their phones before the match and the TV in the dressing room only displays the match so there's no way they know." "The boys are gonna be devastated. Just think about Dev…" said Dhanashree crying again.
Athiya then said "Let's keep it till us till the time they are playing. Let the match get over and then we will say it to them." Everybody nodded as they tried to keep calm but were shaking with nervousness. Anushka came back and said Ajinkya and Rohit were looking into the matter but it's still early so they can't do much. Anushka was scared as to what would happen. She just prayed nothing had happened to her.
The match was over and India won. The prize distribution took place and even the trophy was handed over to ICT. Athiya said "We should go to the dressing room and tell them. We should be the ones to tell them." Everyone nodded as Anushka said "We would have to be strong for them." They nodded and went down to the dressing room.
Dev and Rahul Dravid were still on the ground for the interview while everyone else was in the dressing room with their phones. Shubhman was surfing through his phone when he saw something. His face turned pale as he read it. He at once stood up which made the chair he was sitting on fall. Everybody looked at him while his eyes were fixed on his mobile screen. It seemed like he just phased out as they tried calling his name but he didn't respond at all. KL and Virat came and placed a hand on Shubhman's shoulder and KL asked "Shubhman kya hua?" Shubhman looked up at KL with unshed tears in his eyes and in a hoarse voice asked a single question "Radhu Kahan gayi hai?" KL got confused with the question and asked again "Kyu par aur hua kya hai? Tu itna disturbed lag kyu raha hai?"
Shubhman asked again "Bhai, Radhika kaha gayi hai." Virat thought that if he is taking her full name it must be something important so he answered the question of which everybody in this room including Shubhman knew "Arunachal Pradesh." The minute the words came out of Virat's mouth, Shubhman closed his eyes in shear grief. A single tear slid down from his eye as he sat on the ground looking blankly at the ground. Everybody got alerted at his behavior and KL sat in front of him and asked, shaking his shoulders "Shubhman ho kya raha hai?! Seedha seedha bol !"
Shubhman just forwarded his phone to KL without a single word looking at the ground the whole time. KL took the phone in frustration as he just couldn't understand what's happening. KL and Virat both read what was written on the phone and for a second KL lost his balance. Shreyas held him from behind "Bhai sambhal ke." Said Shreyas. At that moment, Virat couldn't understand a word and didn't know what he read, what to say, what to do.
Slowly Everybody read it and there was a dead silence in the room, no one could understand what had happened. It felt like they were all in a bad dream. The ladies came rushing to the dressing room and looked at the gloomy environment and Natasha said "I guess you guys heard?"
Anushka went to Virat who was sitting on the chair totally spaced out. Anushka came and kneeled in front of him and said "Virat, Virat?" Virat looked up at Anushka, his face didn't look like King Kholi, it was the face of a frightened big brother. "Nushkie… Radha… She's there…" Anushka cupped his face and said "I know, I know Virat, I know. But you have to pull yourself together. We have to pull ourselves together, for Radha, for Dev. We would have to be strong for Dev, Jammy bhai, we have to."
Athiya cupped KL's face to gain his attention and said "Exactly KL. We have to be strong for them." KL looked at Athiya and asked "She would be fine na?" at that moment even Athiya was unsure. She too was frightened but she still nodded and said "Yes,She would be. We cannot lose hope. Come on we have to fight for her. She would be alright." KL nodded a bit but was unsure.
Dev and Rahul Dravid came to the dressing room with smiles on their face but it faded as they saw everyone disturbed. Dev saw Shubhman and Ruturaj sitting in the corner, he guessed crying and everybody else looked miserable. Dev asked, "What is happening?" Hearing Dev everybody got up. They all were shocked to hear the news themselves, they couldn't imagine what would be Dev’s or Rahul Dravid’s reaction. They all dont know how to break the news to them. Dev received nothing but silence in return and he felt something's not right.
He again asked "Okay, what's happening? We just won a series, I scored a century in New Zealand and we are not celebrating any of it. What's wrong? Why is everyone crying?" Ishan came forward with a phone and said "You should…" Ishan gulped down his tears and said, "You should take a look at this…" Dev scrunched his eyebrows as he took the phone from Ishan and looked at the phone which read,
'An earthquake of 7.5 magnitude has taken place in the eastern region of Arunachal Pradesh.'