Journey of Hope

CHAPTER:- 14

In the corner side of the park, a seven year old girl was standing, bowing her head down. A boy of ten years old was scolding her, while she kept looking towards the ground. The boy sighed, seeing her carefree attitude.

"Isu! It's bad manner.", said a seven year old girl. Her pronunciation was still not clear.

"What?", asked Ishaan in confusion.

"You are shouting on a girl, that too a poor little girl of six years only." She replied, blinking her eyes like an innocent doll.

"Oh really! Then is it a good for that poor little girl to hit her a friend, that too knowingly?" Ishaan sarcastically asked, hitting the girl on her forehead.

"Yes." She angrily replied, rubbing her forehead, where Ishaan had hit her earlier.

"Asu!" Ishaan called her, as if warning her to listen him. Asu looked at him in her big doe shaped eyes. They were glistened with tears.

"He teased me. He said that Mamma and Papa left me because I am a bad girl. But, Asu is a good girl, right?" She asked innocently.

Ishaan looked at her. She was three years younger to him. His friends teased him whenever he talked with her. It was not matching to the personality of a boy to talk to a girl, that too three years younger to him. Well, for an ten years old Ishaan, being a man was a huge achievement. Like his aged boys, he was learning to walk like his Dad, while the tie was loosely hanging around his neck.

He started to play football. He stopped crying over little things. He started to hide his desperation for chocolates. He was no more excitedly play with flowers, because those habits were girly. This was the age of change, and Ishaan was changing according to the stereotypes.

Then one day, while playing football, he hit a girl's forehead. He had seen her several times in the park, sitting alone in the corner bench, doing nothing but starring at them playing. He didn't miss the longing in her eyes, but ignored it.

Then that day, when he saw her crying, something inside him felt empty. He was restless and the reason was not known to him. Was it because he had hit the ball or because she was hurt by the ball! He couldn't sleep that night. Next morning, he ran to the park, but she was no where to be found. Three days passed, and Ishaan stopped playing football. He desperately searched for that girl. In frustration, he threw his favourite football in store room.

When on the fourth day, the girl entered the park with a smile on her face, Ishaan understood the reason behind his restlessness. It was her tears. From that day he did his best to stop her from crying. Her smile became his peace.

He forgot about copying the attitude of typical men. He became her first and only best friend. He played badminton with her. He watched disney movies with her. He braided her hair, and decorated them with different coloured flowers. For her one smile, he forgot the rules of world.

"Yes, My Asu is always a good girl. So she won't be bad ever, even if someone will instigate her to be bad." Ishaan said, wiping her tears. His heart lost its sanity seeing tears in those favorite eyes of his. "Now come with me."

"Ryan!", called Ishaan. The boy named Ryan turned around. Ishaan went near him. "Asu! Come here." Ishaan called, and Asu went near him, glaring Ryan at the same time. "Say sorry to Ryan."

Listening to Ishaan, Ryan smirked, while Asu tightened her fist.

"Isu... He will tease me again." She said to Ishaan, gritting her teeth. Short tempered girl she was!

"Asu, you are my good girl, right?" Ishaan blackmailed her with words. "Come on, now say sorry."

"Sorry." Asu said. She didn't want to upset Ishaan. He was her only friend.

"Aye little pot! Your sorry won't heal my nose. Just get out of my sight, if you don't want me to hit you back." Ryan arrogantly replied. His bully gang wouldn't appreciate that a little girl had punched him right on his face.

But this was enough to break the last string of patience of an impatient Asu. She marched towards Ryan like an angry bull, but Ishaan held her waist from behind.

"Asu! You are my good girl right?" Ishaan said and swing Asu, preventing her to punch Ryan again.

"But... He is teasing me." She cried in anger. Ryan was still smirking at her.

"Still, you are my good girl." Ishaan said pointing his index finger to her. She stayed silent, but still gritted her teeth in anger. "But I never said that I am a good boy.", said Ishaan and punched Ryan.

Ryan was too shocked to react. "Yeah. Now the name, 'swelled nose' suits you perfectly.", said Ishaan, winking at Asu. Ryan was about to hit him, but seeing Asu he dropped the plan.

He ran towards his home, probably to complain his mother.

"That was amazing, Isu." Asu said, jumping like a little bunny.

"Nobody has the right to make my Asu cry. But, you are a good girl. So tell me, and I will teach lesson to everyone who hurt you. Understand?" Ishaan said, cupping Asu's face.

"Yes, I know. You are my protector. But you should have let me handle that Ryan too." Asu complained.

"Oh! You would have handled him! Little pot!" Ishaan teased, pinching her nose tip.

"Isu!" She called his name in a warning tone.

"Asu!" He mimicked her.

"I will beat you now, till you are not memorising my name as Asu." She said with a tight lipped smile.

"Sure, Little Pot! First catch me." He said and ran around.

She also ran behind him. "Isu..." She called in between. He turned around to find her sitting in the middle of the park. He ran towards her, but slowly everything were disappearing into thin air.

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Ishaan's Pov

"Asuuuuu...", I woke up, calling her name loudly. Ahh! The same dream again! I sighed.

This was sticking to me like an unforgettable memory. Earlier Dad was aware about this, but he never shared this with Mom. I have only asked him to do so, as I didn't want to tense Mom. Dad did suggest me for some therapy session. I did attend them, obeying them, but everything failed.

When Dad asked the psychiatrist about this, he said that it was me, who was holding the memory back. Dad just patted my back and never sent me for another therapy session.

He accepted the fact that, Asu was not an imaginable character of mine, but she existed. She was a part of past, which was lived by me. She was not in my mind, but captured my entire existence. Well, Asu was the memory - which I was going to cherish forever. From that day, these dreams became peace to me and I found my lost friend in these dreams.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked around my surrounding. Everything seemed unfamiliar. Wait, I was not in my room. Infact there was no such room in our mansion. Where am I?

"Ishaan! Are you fine?" I heard someone's worried voice. I knew this voice. I looked at her, and my guess was so right. This was her only - Ashia. "Wait, I will bring water now." She said, tucking the fallen hair strands behind her ear.

"Where am I?" I awkwardly asked her. I was still hesitant to talk, looking at her face.

"In my house." She casually said.

It was not normal for me to wake up in a stranger's house, that too a girl. But her casual behaviour calmed me a little. That's when I realised that my head was paining.

"Why my head is paining like, it will burst into pieces?" I asked her, massaging my forehead.

"Because you have drunk off the limit yesterday?" She replied, forcing a smile on her face.

"What?" I asked in confusion, as the hangover was still high inside my head.

"Yesterday night - Night club - shinee shine - parking space - we bumped - we had drink - you kept drinking - our conversation - then you passed out, remember?" She said, pointing at everything like a teacher. Honestly, it was too irritating for me.

"Oh, wait! You made a good summary. Are you supposed to give a literature exam here?" I asked, with a tight lipped smile.

"Excuse me." She said in anger. And now, everything seemed normal to me. Her eyes lost their charm during her casual behaviour. Definitely a devil she was!

"You are excused. My head is blasting. I am not in a mood to argue with you." I said, faking attitude. Well, my attitude was nothing in front of this Ms. Attitude Queen! And that's triggered her.

"For God's sake, Mr. Ishaan Samantray! Wake from your dreamland. I am not here to babysit you. Leave my house, now." She said, directing me to leave her house. But how could I leave this easily! Not at least, I would have left, obeying her. Her big fat ego would have boasted more.

"I haven't come here with my own will. You have brought me here. So now it's your responsibility. Take me home." I said, pulling the blanket over me.

"Fine sleep here peacefully then. I had already informed your mother about your staying over here, in my residence." She casually said, folding her hands. And how much I hate this casualness of hers'! But at that moment, I had better topic to consider.

"You did what?" I asked again, thinking that I had heard wrong. Not in the earth, she would have informed my mother about my alcohol addiction.

"You heard right. I messaged your mother about you staying over here. And being an worried mother of an innocent child, she immediately called, and I introduced myself as your friend. By the way, she was surprised hearing a feminine voice." She said, showing her fake smile.

"Don't lie. How would you have Mom's number?" I inquired to test the truth in her claim.

"Did I tell you that, I use your phone for messaging your Mom?" She mocked me.

"You can't. My phone was locked." I said, smiling proudly. But, her face didn't loose the smile. And to cross check, I opened my call log. There was a recieved call from my mother. "Hey, are you a hacker or what?"

"Do I need professional hacking skills to open your phone? Your finger print was enough." She said, flipping her hair and turned around to leave.

"It's wrong. You opened my phone with my finger print, when I was sleeping. This is illegal." I shouted, throwing the blanket and jumped from the bed.

"So go and file a complaint. The police station is nearby only. But you have to leave my house for that. Will you do the honor now Mr. Ishaan Samantray?" She said, turning around.

"You look better like this." I said, commenting over her look. The messy hairs and mickey pyjama - still she managed to look cute. But, I said in a teasing manner, as she was hurting my ego again and again.

"Oh, I can imagine the best look of yours, when your mother will ask you about your sleep over at my place." She said, smiling sweetly.

"You little devil!" I cried.

"Are you forgetting? You are the bad boy here." She again replied, with same sassiness.

"What?" I asked. Honestly I was confused. I had no memory of last night, and she took enough advantage of that.

"Go and answer your Mom." She smiled too sweetly, that instigated my ego. But, I stayed silent, as she was one step away from me.

"I will see you soon, Ms. Ashia?" I stopped, not knowing her surname.

"Name is enough to call me Mr." She said, pushing me out of her house.

But, I didn't miss the color-drained face of hers' when I mentioned about surname. There was a lot of thing to discover about this little devil aka Miss Ashia, but at that moment, I had to handle my Mom. she must be waiting for me whole night.