#9 Jeet and Arjun arrive

A dive into what has been happening..

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10:20 pm

Jeet landed in India to the warmest reception from Rishi. It's an unusual delight you can observe to see two old friends together. Rishi was an avid reader and was fiddling with the pages of the new book that he had in his hands. Jeet never forgot to do these small gestures.

"Do we take a taxi to Krish's?", asked Jeet, disturbing Rishi from the spell that the new book had cast over him.

"Oh yes, I've booked one. Let's go!"

Jeet was feeling a strange sensation as he landed in India after three years of exile, the one that he served relentlessly. The two got in the taxi as it hurried past the lavish and extravagant Delhi airport.

"So, how does it feel coming back to India after 3 years?", Rishi asked as they went past from one red light to the other.

"Somethings can't change here though", retorted Jeet as he looked towards the small kids cleaning the windscreen of the vehicles on the signal at their own will. Ladies with their kids tied around their waist as they begged for alms, and some individuals selling fancy goods like devil horns and Harvey balls.

Both of them looked on as red turned to green and their vehicle sped away. Krish's place was still an hour away as both of them engaged in catching up with each others' lives. Time flew and so did their manned vehicle before it came to a halt outside Krish's place.

"Krish would be tired after a whole day of trivia he had to participate in.", remarked Rishi as he took out Jeet's luggage.

"I'm sure he would be. Do we meet him tomorrow morning?"

"Well, I think we can bug him anytime. Moreover he'd be ecstatic having you here. He isn't really expecting you now  with the engagement only 3 days away."

"By the way do you remember Kriti?", Rishi spoke again.

--Arjun

 Arjun's reception in India was much colder than Jeet's. There was luxury and comfort of the best cars in the world but not the warmth and affection of a true old friend. He comforted himself in the luxurious spacious car waiting for him. The chauffeur driven car took him to the grandest of hotels.

He spoke to himself that Krish would get engaged to Isha in the next few days. Knowing this and being in India, he would have to let go of the engagement. Afterall, he had to do 50 days of work in 3 weeks.

He put himself together, shun the emotions and immersed himself in die hard work. Something that took his mind off the other things. Slowly the day gave way to the night and Arjun submitted himself to the cozy well made up bed. As he lay down, he opened his personal e-mail account after a long long time.

There were a plethora of e-mails. From Rishi, his parents, his sister, Isha and Krish. He embarked on reading them all one by one. When did sleep embrace him was a question he failed to answer every morning ever since he became a professional.

Arjun knew he was close to his comrades. If only he could break free!

--At Krish's

Jeet and Rishi climbed up the stairs leading to the terrace as Rishi reminded Jeet of Kriti. They placed Jeet's luggage in the room Rishi was staying in and decided against waking up Krish. Jeet was dying to go up there and revel in the lap of the terrace. They dashed open the door to the terrace.

"Krish"

"Jeet"

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The four of them were in the same city, finally.
Krish is totally unaware. A huge surprise is waiting for him, and a bigger shock may be?

Arjun is not able to find a way out. Is this going to be his realization of how a failure is going to feel like?

And has Rishi struck a chord with Kriti?
Answers are sought.

But we must not forget that rain and storm may both clear the sky, it is the windy day prior that clouds the sky!

to be continued.....