What If...

Ajabdeh played all night with the newfound puppy, who was already keeping her on her toes. First, he jumped into the trolley bags and inspected her clothes, alarming Heer and making her laugh. He had fallen in love with a pink lingerie Ajabdeh tied to his head like a bow, laughing harder as he tried to open it, going in rounds. Heer saw her carefree laughter with a smile. She may not like the guy, but he did make her sister laugh. Heer shook her head. Something in her felt really awkward as she cleared her throat to ask.

"Jija??"

"Hmm?"

"Do you... umm... like Kunwar Pratap?" Heer looked scared to ask.

"What?" She frowned and then smiled as the puppy licked her face. "Of course I like him! He is a friend."

"Jija, I meant..."

"Good night, Heeriye." She hugged her sister, then picked the pup up and snuggled in her blanket as Heer stood watching.

"Let's name you, baby?" She heard Ajabdeh talk. "Umm... let us see... You are brown and soft and ... Bruno? No? Bernett? No? Brownie?"

"Woof!" The pup jumped excitedly, making the sisters giggle.

"He likes it." Heer agreed.

"Brownie." Ajabdeh clapped her hands, excitedly, as the dog jumped again.

"Woof!" He wagged his tail as Ajabdeh hugged him.

"She avoided the question." Heer's message to Shakti read as he smiled.

"Didn't say no, right?" He smiled, replying.

Pratap spent a restless night. He had checked the presentations of his dream again and again and stopped smiling at all the changes he had made at her suggestions. 

"Keep the Jharokhas intact, I love them!" She had reminded him. "And that pillar!!" 

He had agreed. He had to make sure everything was perfect. He strolled across his room, then to the roof. Sitting where she had sat a night ago, he remembered things with a smile. 

As Heer slept peacefully, Ajabdeh walked to the open yard with Brownie. She had sat on the dew-laid grass and felt the breeze as Brownie dug up a hole. She stared at him with a smile as her thoughts trailed. Where was she going? What was she doing? A week ago, she was all ready to be the one who refuses the guy on his face, and here she was smiling at his thoughts? To top it all, his family seemed to be in love with her crazy ways. How was that even possible? She had frowned as Brownie brought her a weed.

"A gift? for me?" She smiled. "Aww." He ran back and started digging.

Her thoughts trailed as the stars shone bright. Do these write our destiny? She wondered. Opening her Instagram, she clicked a selfie of her and Brownie, busy digging. "Stars far away, distant, strange, mysteries, writing our fate, changing our destinies. From Afar... Life and its strangest mysteries, one is destiny, another is love! Ps. Meet my baby! He just gifted me a weed! And I am already in Love with Him! #giftfromtheguywhomatters #thankyouP" She hit on the post button. The notification rang almost instantly.

"Pratap Singh Sisodia liked your post." She smiled and frowned. 3am. Why was he awake?

His smile faded at her post as his thoughts trailed to her description of the One. Somewhere in what Ajabdeh said, she believed, she dreamt. He felt so from her words, eyes and smile. And somewhere in all of that was a broken heart, scared to dream, trust or love. This made him feel uneasy. A girl like her didn't deserve to be like this. A girl like her deserved... love. He shook his head the umpteenth time. Love. He never even understood the words and feelings. How it happened, why it happened. He had just had fun, telling romantic lines to girls who saw him as a blank cheque and acted impressed. It was all over their faces! 

But this girl... This girl... needed things more than materialistic pleasures, wealth and fame. She needed something rare, precious and unique, just like her! But... life is so full of possibilities. The three people he trusted most told him that: his idol, his Ranima and his brother. What if... His thoughts trailed in lanes of imagination he had never visited, or dared to. Somehow, putting Ajab in the spot didn't scare him. What scared him was how his thoughts trailed.

What If...Ajabdeh shook her head, taking out a carefully hidden cigarette from her purse. Puffing at it, she stared at the sky again. She couldn't stop those thoughts, could she? Why did she feel so guilty? Why did she want to know why she was perfect for him in his mother's eyes? Why, for once, did her heart sink when he told her what he told her? Just why?

"Woof!" Brownie was at the door. She got up. "Time for some sleep, baby." She shook off everything. "I need to help a friend tomorrow. He needs me!"

"Dadabhai?" His sleep was broken by Shakti's voice at dawn as he realised he had fallen asleep on the couch. 

"Why are you here?" He had frowned.

"Was just... umm... came for some fresh air."He shrugged, scratching his head.

"Dadabhai... " Shakti had stopped him. 

"What is it?" he frowned cluelessly.

" Do you like Ajabdeh? Enough now?" Shakti asked with a genuine voice, "For the marriage?" His face looked rather worried as Pratap's throat went a little dry.

"Shakti, I told you before, I..." He tried to sound casual.

"You don't like her, then?" Shakti asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's not that!" came an immediate protest that made him smile faintly. 

It was followed by carefully chosen words, "We come with purposes and destiny. Shakti, Ajab and I are not meant to be... like... we are the best how we are now, just need the parents to get that we are not really the kind of people who can spend an entire life together, with one person."

" Why not?" Shakti frowned. "Tell me!"

"Because... Because...it's just... umm..." He was blank! 

His intelligent brother would never be convinced by anything less than perfect. For a moment, Pratap couldn't shake off his thoughts from last night. He had once, just once, thought to himself, what if they were married? He didn't even want to admit that to himself out loud. It scared him and put his friendship at stake. But he had thought of it. Consciously enough. He had imagined to himself, what if this worked out, what if Ajabdeh was really Mrs Ajabdeh Pratap Singh Punwar? With the Pup, and her bonding with Ranima over rituals, helping Shakti with his business ideas, and going with him to Chavand, wouldn't life be... Perfect? He had dreaded his own thoughts. He cursed the alcohol in his system for it as his heart thumped; her saree-clad image flashed in his mind. He had gulped down his drink raw to make it go.

Pratap now stared at his watch. "Oh shit, I am late, I will catch you later." He dashed off, keeping Shakti staring at him as he went with a sigh.

Ajabdeh had frowned thrice at him, staring out of the window of the Land Rover, his fingers playing on the file, while the driver drove quietly from Surajgarh to Udaipur. Pratap was fiddling with the file in his hand and was unusually quiet ever since she shot a "good morning" at him. Neither had he replied back, nor had he waved to Heer, who said a rather polite "All the best, Kunwarsa". He seemed to be in a different zone since the previous day. This made her frown. He was still staring out of the window. Tapping his file in a rhythm... he had not even shown her what he was carrying inside.

She sighed thrice to give signs of boredom in vain. He looked handsome in the blue suit and white shirt with the tie all in place, she had noticed. She, however, was not sure of the grey knee-length corporate skirt and white shirt Heer had suggested, but she was in no mood for early morning drama with her sister. She had, however, let her hair loose, not listening to her sister’s suggestions. While Pratap’s car waited at the gates, she had made sure her sister knew when to feed the puppy and how to play with him.

“I named him Brownie,” Ajabdeh spoke after thirty minutes of dead silence and file tapping.

“Hmm. Who?” Pratap seemed lost, staring at her.

“The puppy. Brownie.” She reminded him and frowned. “Are you all right?”

“Just nervous.” He shrugged. “This is practically my first meeting, solo and important!” he smiled faintly. “I am glad you liked Brownie.”

“Breath!” She showed him how to inhale and exhale, making him smile. 

“I know what will lighten your mood!”

“What?” He asked eagerly.

“Bhaiya, do turn on some music!” The driver switched on the radio. “There, music!” she smiled.

“Good Morning Rajasthan! RJ Naveet here, and today’s topic is “What’s Your Story?” This made Pratap stare at Ajabdeh and back at the radio eagerly. “We all have stories to share in life, inspirations, motivations, love, tragedy, comedy. We want entries from budding writers within a week, and the best will be featured on the show and may also get published, who knows!”

“You can try this.” Pratap smiled.

“Nah, I don’t have a story worth telling.” Ajabdeh shrugged, smiling, “Yet," she added.

“Ab suniye agla gana requested from the film Badri Ki Dulhaniya, enjoy all you Lovers!”

The music filled in as the car zoomed through the highways.

Tu jo nazron ke samne kal hoga nahi, Tujhko dekhe bin main maar na jau kahi…

Tujhko bhul jau kaise, Mane na manaye kaise, Tu bataa….

Roke na ruke Naina…. Teri ore hai inhe rehna…

“Depressing! Bhaiya, change it!” Pratap smiled at Ajabdeh’s irked expression and shook his head as "Kaala chasma" came on air!.

Heer opened the Ramayana quite eagerly and smiled at the replaced piece of paper.

“Love is not pain. Love is what makes its presence felt via the pain. Love is a dream we dream, even if we are scared of them. Love brings pain as we expect more from that one person and the relationship. If not for pain, could love be felt so deeply? Think about it, stranger!

Ps. Can I know your name?”

Heer smiled at the words and scribbled down her thoughts.

“Miss Stranger here, I shine like a diamond, and my favourite fictional character is Ranjhnaa. Guess my name!

Ps. You can tell me yours first, Ajnabee!”

The “Mughal Industries” head office at Udaipur was a large area with three wings of buildings and an open lawn with a fountain up front. The guards at gate no.5 saluted as the Land Rover with Surajgarh’s royal emblem zoomed through the gate and onto the main entrance.

“This way, sir.” Jalal’s designated officer led them to the boardroom at 9.45 am sharp and asked rather politely, “You want tea or coffee, Ma’am?”

“No, just Jalal!” Ajabdeh’s serious expression confused the man as Pratap shook his head with, “No, nothing! Thank You, Mr Ahmed.”

“Sir will be here any minute.” The man left in a hurry as Pratap and Ajabdeh took seats across from each other in the empty boardroom.

“I noticed those employees were staring weirdly at you!” Ajabdeh frowned.

“Well, at us! They haven’t seen Pratap Singh in here for a meeting before that, too, with a girl.” He smiled sheepishly, looking cute in a way.

“Aww! One of his many?” Ajabdeh smirked, narrowing her eyes. Eyes met and thumped in denials.

“ One and only friend of the opposite gender!” He smiled back, inhaling to stop the thumping “But let's keep it that way for them!”

“Yah!” Ajabdeh tapped at the table, looking at her watch. “Jalal seems punctual. 10 means 10!”

“He is. Especially at work!” Pratap agreed, still fiddling with his file.

“What’s in that?” Ajabdeh asked at last.

“Pictures of the area, the plans, features I want, I made a presentation yesterday on it.”

“Hmm.” She frowned some more. “It’s an important day, where is your tilak?!”

“ Umm… Actually, I couldn’t tell Ranima about the meeting, hence …” He stopped watching her fiddle with her handbag and take out a red lipstick as he frowned. 

“What are you doing?” He asked suspiciously.

In the next moment, Ajabdeh Punwar walked up to him, and he could feel her breath on his forehead as she dabbed a little red lipstick on her index finger, pressed it against his forehead and did a tilak with her thumb.

“There! Ayushmaan Bhava!” She smirked.

“Umm… should I touch your feet now?” He asked, confused.

“You can!” She shrugged, smiling at him, as she leaned against his chair, still standing, and he chuckled, “Get lost!” 

Jalal entered to see Ajabdeh Punwar almost leaning over his childhood friend, with what looked like lipstick in hand.

“Ahem!” He made them stare at the door as Ajabdeh straightened herself and flashed a smile. 

“ Welcome, welcome, make yourself at home! Did I interrupt something?” Jalal asked, smirking, amused as Pratap opened his mouth with a frown.

“No, not what you think!” Ajabdeh spoke before him and moved to sit on her chair, taking the file he had placed with her.

“I will need that!” Pratap frowned.

“No, you don’t.” She smiled from across the table. 

“You thought from here!” She pointed at his left chest, where his heart was actually thumping more nervously all of a sudden. “You will give the presentation from here, not some piece of paper!”

“She is right.” Jalal took the file from Ajabdeh and sat down at the head of the table. 

“My interior and architectural team will be here any minute now, then we can start.”

“Wait a minute.” Jalal frowned at Pratap’s forehead. “Is that lipstick?” Pratap, in a reflex, wiped off the tilak while Ajabdeh fretted, hurt and said, “You wiped off the sign of my love!” with a giggle as Jalal laughed, staring at his friend's smile at her. The knock at the door stopped her giggling.

“Come in.” Jalal sat up straight in his chair, straightening his beige suit. The tinted glass door opened, and a lady in a turquoise blue long Kurti and a dupatta over her head stood and greeted Jalal with a traditional salaam and a smile. Two men followed her in.

“She is Ruqaiya, the head of the interior…” Jalal started the introduction as Ajabdeh looked up and jumped up, shocking everyone.

“Oh, My God! Ruqs!”

“Ajabdeh? Punwar?” Ruqaiya asked, eyes widening at the sudden hug she received. “What are you doing here? Umm… this was a Sisodia meeting, right?" She stared at Jalal, who murmured, “She is also now…” and received a kick beneath the table from his fake-smiling best friend.

“Ruqs! Such a long time! After College…. You are the interior head! Oh my god!” Ajabdeh gushed like she was about to cry.

“Umm, yes, she is the best.” Jalal flashed a smile as his hazel eyes met Ruqaiya’s dark black ones, and she looked away, smiling. Ajabdeh noticed that and stared at Pratap, who seemed rather preoccupied staring at the File which was now with Jalal.

“Here, Mr Singh.” Ruqaiya’s address made him smile as she introduced her team, “This is Mr Hakim Khan and Mr Jaimal Rathore. My team.”

“We will begin once the architectural team arrives,” Jalal informed. “Please take your seats.”

Ajabdeh dragged Ruqaiya beside her, asking in rather an eagerness, “So, how do you know Jalal?”

“Umm… I worked with him a couple of times…” Ruqaiya stared at Jalal, who continued, “She was an intern when her boss did this in the office.”

“Then Jalal offered me my first independent work, at their ancestral home in Agra.” She smiled at him.

“You did well.” Jalal smiled back.

“Khan Bab... I mean, Mr Khan… umm… said I can redo their other properties as well.” Ruqaiya smiled at Ajabdeh, who suddenly rose, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Pri… Kunwar Pratap.” Ajabdeh’s tone of respect made Jalal and Pratap stare at her in surprise.

“Team meeting, outside the door.” She was about to walk out as Pratap frowned, a clueless “Excuse me," and followed.

“What now?”

“Did you see them?” She smirked.

“Whom?” Pratap frowned cluelessly.

“Ruqaiya and Jalal, I think they are…” She clapped her hands softly, making him look around.

“One of his many, probably.” Pratap shrugged casually.

“How many of them call Mr Khan Khan Baba, Princy? Use your brains and ask him!”

“Okay, okay, I will.” He waved his hands defensively “Happy?”

“Umm, yes, I'm telling you I got a couple of vibes there!” She pointed, smirking.

“Now what the hell is that?” He asked, surprised.

“You know vibes… from people… who are or will be potential couples.”

“WOW! You are crazy! Who else gives you such vibes, huh?” he seemed rather amused.

“Umm... siblings!” She laughed. Pratap shook his head and gestured her back towards the boardroom.

In a few minutes, the architectural team arrived, headed by Mr Shallavan Tanwar.

“Sorry for being late.” The tall man about their age shook hands briskly with Jalal and Pratap. “Traffic here!”

“Miss Punwar.” Ajabdeh extended her hand with a smile, as the handsome man smiled back approvingly “Miss Punwar, Punwar Industries?”

“Mr Tanwar, you recently worked with the ITS group, right? I loved that project.”

“You seem interested in such news.” He appreciated it with a smile, “You, my lady, have a pretty smile.”

“Thank you.” Pratap frowned as she tilted her head with a smile.

“Umm, since we are already late, let us begin.” He addressed Jalal, who agreed.

Pratap rose from his seat as Jalal indicated to his just-arrived assistant to insert the drive into the projecting device. Pratap gave a confident display of determination about his dream project. Jalal was clearly impressed by how he was clear about what he wanted and what he didn’t. Ajabdeh had nodded confident approval thrice as he looked at her with a smile on the points they had discussed together. He was doing perfectly all right; a part of her felt proud of him.

“And I will end by saying, you will not regret being a part of this great opportunity as I have decided that 70% of the profit goes to the Sisodia Trust for the Poor and our NGOs to help the needy and the remaining 30% will be used to help in the upliftment of Surajgarh, providing the residents of the village with basic necessities, clean environment, water, electricity, hospital and schooling as well as roads and street lights.”

“Excuse me, Mr Singh” Mr Tanwar frowned at him. “You are saying, this whole project will add no profit to the Sisodia Group?”

“Well, Mr Tanwar.” Pratap smiled, “Every other business of ours does that; this one is for the people of Surajgarh who were once our subjects and still give us immense respect.”

“I'm sorry to say this, Mr Singh, but it seems what I heard of you was correct,” Shallavan smirked slightly.

“Pardon?” Pratap frowned.

“You seem rather ignorant about how a business should work; at this rate, you will drag down the Sisodias to a loss.”

“Mr Shallavan.” Jalal interrupted before Pratap could speak, “I feel your job is to do the architectural heritage restoration and if you can not do that….”

“I think Jalal…” Ajabdeh spoke up as the men stared at her, “What he feels is his opinion. Am sure Mr Shallavan meant things in our best interest; hope you do an excellent job at the restorations.” Ajabdeh got up and extended her hand as Mr Tanwar did. 

“Thank you, Miss Punwar. I didn’t want to offend anyone.”

“We know that, isn’t it, Pratap?” Ajabdeh smiled at Pratap, who looked away.

“We must take your leave now.” Both teams rose as Ajabdeh insisted Ruqaiya stay back for a coffee with her.

“I swear I don’t want him on my team!” Pratap blurted as soon as Mr Tanwar closed the door behind him.

“But he is the best!” Jalal reasoned.

“He's snobbish. Flirty. Arrogant.” Pratap was irked.

“So are you.” Ajabdeh frowned at him.

“I am not…” he stopped at her stare. “Now, yeah, praise him!”

“Listen, Pratap, I don’t know much about business, but I am sure even Jalal will agree with me that it's safe to be diplomatic at times.”

“She is right.” Jalal agreed. “His opinion. Ignore, bro.”

“ I praised him, coz we need him to get the best job done, I didn’t even mean he’s right!” Ajabdeh stared at Pratap, who nodded reluctantly. “Whatever you do with your profit shouldn’t be his business.”

“Yeah. And a little flirting always helps get what you want.” Jalal smiled at Ajabdeh’s nod and immediately added “Not that I… ever… do that!” making Ajabdeh steal a glance at Ruqaiya, who smiled.

“Calm this guy down with some cold coffee or drinks, Jalal.” Ajabdeh got up.

“Where are you going?” Pratap frowned.

“We.” She corrected “...Are going to catch up with each other over coffee.” She strolled out with Ruqaiya, bidding him a formal goodbye as he sat with Jalal at his office.