50~ The Protective Brother
"So Hrishit, we are now going to see the cellular jail", Hrishika said over the video call. I followed her and kept my backpack on the window seat of the tourist bus.
"Mummy! I want to be there", Hrishit cried loudly and Hrishika giggled.
I shook my head seeing his dramatic nature.
Unfortunately, Hrishit didn't accompany us on the trip.
Well, he wanted to but dad said that he needs someone to look after the new hospital.
Adhyay was tempted to stay back but seeing his elder brother's misery, Hrishit decided to give up the golden opportunity to fly to Andaman.
As filmic it sounds, it isn't. One of the reasons he stayed back is that he wanted to impress dad.
According to Hrishit, dad thinks that Hrishit is a five year old child who needs his parents every time, these are his words.
So as to prove dad wrong, he suggested that for six days, he handles Adhyay's work and then dad can decide his fate.
Adhyay was almost bewildered seeing Hrishit acting so maturely but then he handed him the keys and dramatically said, "Go on little brother, my hospital is yours for six days".
"Hrishika, don't make him jealous. When I come back, I don't want my hospital staff to run away because he couldn't focus on work", Adhyay sarcastically said as he sat beside me.
Amayra was sticking to him like glue, she is terrified that we will throw her in jail and lock her up there.
Yash bhaiya fed her this, who says this to a child?
"Bhai, when you come back, you will see your staff begging you to retire and pass on the hospital to me, that is your very own little brother", Hrishit spoke through the phone loudly.
"We will see", Adhyay dismissed and settled Amayra on his lap. Adrija and Yash bhaiya boarded the bus too, much to Adhyay's dissent. He was almost going to run away when he found that their room was booked just beside ours. His peaceful trip turned chaotic, in his words.
"Hey! We are early!", Adrija exclaimed and sat on the adjacent seat with a thud.
"No we are on time, it's just others are late", Adhyay said and peaked out of the window.
Adhyay is the most punctual one in the whole group!
He woke me up early because he was scared that we would miss the bus and then ruin the trip.
When we reached the dining hall, we found that we were the first ones to be present there.
After waiting for about an hour, the others started gathering for breakfast. And now, everyone is bathing I suppose.
"No one is late, the other buses have started going", we heard a loud voice and saw Dr. Ishaan wearing sunglasses and throwing his backpack on an empty seat. Adhyay groaned and whispered, "I hate this man".
"Shhh we should thank him Adhyay, he is such a nice soul and not to forget he is your best friend", I mumbled and hit his bicep.
"I thought the same but my idea about him changed when I saw him talking to Hrishika. So nope, I hate him even though he is my best friend", he mumbled back making me roll my eyes.
Soon after the whole bus was packed with doctors and just doctors.
I kind of felt alienated because all their talks are always based on patients and treatment plans.
Initially, I thought that these guys would forget about their work for a few days but nope, they have tension etched on their young faces twenty four seven.
Even Adhyay! God knows how many calls he picked up saying that he will return back next week.
"So Aakriti , what do you do?", Dr. Shreya asked. I looked down in embarrassment. What should I tell everyone? That I left my high paying job at Infosys to pursue writing?
"She is a writer", Adhyay proudly said.
"A writer?", she confirmed as if she couldn't believe what Adhyay said. This part! I hate this the most. People take writers for granted!
"Yeah, she is extremely famous. Ever heard of Author Antara, that's her", Adhyay said, embarrassing me more. I know he is trying to boost my confidence but still, I fear that these people will judge me. They all are doctors!
"Umm nope, I will just google it", Shreya said and sat down on her seat again, googling my name.
"Adhyay can we please not tell anyone what I do?", I whispered.
"Why? What is the problem? It's full publicity! If these people come to know that you write, Atleast half of the, would buy your book to quench their curiosity and then boom!", he animatedly whispered.
"They will judge me!"
"No one is, half of them are troubled by their own lives, their patients and work.
They all need an escape and come on, be proud of what you are doing, you write wonderful books, it's much better than working between blood and running through the wards", he explained and kissed my forehead.
I sighed and I nodded, not able to say anything.
"Mumma, no wolly", Amayra said. I smiled and nodded at her as well.
"Wow! You are so famous, Aakriti! I never knew that Dr. Adhyay got married to a world famous author! I am so jealous of you", Shreya exclaimed, turning back. I nervously smiled and felt Adhyay shrugging his shoulders.
"Don't be jealous of her Dr. Shreya, read her books once, you will fall in love with them", Adhyay said with a smile. I groaned, why did he need to say this?
"I would!", she affirmed.
"Everyone, we are here, the infamous Cellular Jail", Dr. Ishaan announced as the bus stopped. Slowly, the people started moving out and we were the last ones.
"Look, he is waiting for Hrishika", Adhyay whispered against my hair when we saw that Ishaan didn't go out. He was sitting in the first seat!
"Can you stop being an overprotective brother?", I scolded and jumped out of the bus. He followed me and held my hand, preventing me from following the trail. We waited for Hrishika to come down.
"I swear Aakriti, if he talks to her once again, I will break his mandible and twist his ear pinna", Adhyay dangerously rasped and I sighed.
Save Hrishika from him, God! Hrishika came down and Adhyay nearly got out of control when he saw that Ishaan only followed Hrishika.
I can't believe that he will harm his best friend now.
"Adhyay!", I yelled and dragged him through his shirt. He is acting like a mad wolf! Amayra held my hand and we both tried to pull him. With much effort, we managed to drag Adhyay to the entrance gate.
"Adhyay, will you calm down for a second?", I asked, panting.
"That's my sister we are talking about!", he exclaimed, taking short tired breaths himself.
"Exactly my point! Your sister has a life and she can make friends.
It's not like every man talks with the intention of becoming her boyfriend", I explained and dragged him to follow the trail.
We were not listening to what the guide was telling us.
Adhyay's eyes were focused on Hrishika who was still conversing with Ishaan.
"Aakriti, I know men are and especially above thirties!"
"You are saying this because you are like this", Adrija piped in along with Yash bhaiya. I giggled but seeing his furious expression, I decided to not make him more angry.
"Point but still yaar", he whined.
"Come on, don't overthink. Nothing will happen to her now, Ishaan is not Aviraj Chaudhary. We know him. He is more innocent than you", Yash bhaiya added, patting Adhyay's back.
"Not to forget, he did my mum's surgery", I reminded him. With a devastated nod, he picked up Amayra and followed the others, leaving us behind. I sighed and looked at Adrija.
"Don't worry, he will be fine. He is just worried about her, we all know how difficult it was to recover Hrishika", Adrija softly said. I nodded sadly and followed her. Let's hope he forgets all this before this trip ends.
After we were done seeing the whole jail area, we boarded back into the buses.
Adhyay didn't speak a thing after that, he was too quiet, much to my dismay.
Actually, no one did. The tour guide explained a lot of merciless events that used to happen in the Cellular Jail during the British Rule and it left an imprint on everyone's mind.
Even I was too scared, these freedom fighters had to suffer a lot for our nation.
"Okay guys, we are done for today. Tomorrow morning we will depart for Havelock Island at eight AM.
We have to board a ferry so everyone should be present at the hotel reception by six", the tour guide announced as we started moving to our rooms.
The resort was beautiful.
There were cottages in between the beautifully planted vegetation, providing a picturesque backdrop.
"Hey!", I heard Dr. Ishaan say. I turned back and smiled.
"Hi", I greeted back.
"I clicked a few random photographs of all the people and guess what, I managed to capture yours and Adhyay's pictures. Wanna see them?", he beamed. I was actually surprised that he clicked everyone's photographs and no one clicked his.
"Of course! Thank You so much Dr. Ishaan", I said. He smiled and handed me his expensive camera. I bought a camera with me but stupid Adhyay didn't let me click any photos. That man had a foul scowl on his face for the whole time!
"Adhyay looks angry in this", he added with a laugh as I looked at the snaps. I nodded and grumbled, "He was angry for no reason at all, stupid man".
I looked at all the pictures and said, "That is so thoughtful of you to click everyone's pictures, did you get your pictures clicked?"
"Aah no, I like being in the shadows", he stated with a chuckle.
"Pictures are memories, after ten years if you say you visited Andaman Islands, no one would believe you if you don't have pictures", I said and handed him back the camera.
"True but I don't think anyone would be interested to know about my experiences", he said with a pained expression. I narrowed my eyes in confusion and asked, "Why? Your parents would want to know, you must have a girlfriend or something".
"Well parents yes, but I don't have a girlfriend or something", he said and chuckled.
"Oh you will have one in the future", I said, dismissing the fact that he doesn't have anyone in his life.
"Well Aakriti, there is a woman but I don't think we are possible", he said and something clicked in my mind. There is a woman and I think Adhyay was right. I gulped when I realised that Adhyay was right all along.
"Why?", I asked, trying to act as if that woman was not my sister in law.
Shrugging his shoulders he said, "I don't think she likes me".
"Oh", I mumbled. If he is really talking about Hrishika then Adhyay is gonna be so mad. He will kill Ishaan!
"Is she by any chance Hrishika?", I whispered, looking at him. His once smiling face changed into an astonished one like he was trying to hide that what I said was correct.
"N-no! W-why would you say that", he stammered, fueling my suspicion.
"Because you made it obvious", I stated like it was the most simplest thing I had ever said.
"I didn't", he whispered.
"You did, you were sticking with her the whole time", I whispered, looking at the surroundings. If Adhyay hears this then expect this trip to be cancelled.
"Gosh, that means-
"Adhyay knows about your secret crush too", I whisper yelled.
He closed his eyes for a moment and covered his face with his palms.
"Aakriti? What are you doing? Amayra is asking for you", I heard Adhyay call through the hotel room.
I took in a sharp breath and yelled, "I am here, just seeing the exotic plants around". I lied and I felt bad about this.
"Fine", he yelled from the other side. I heard the door close with a thud. Taking a relieved breath, I said, "Look, if you really like her, prove it. Hrishika didn't have a nice experience last time and that is why Adhyay is more protective."
"I just don't like her, I love her! I just never said it", he exclaimed.
"Okay Romeo, be careful", I said and walked back into my room. He sighed and started walking away.
"What did he say?", Adhyay asked as soon as I entered the room. With a sigh, I said, "Photos, he was showing me the photos he clicked."
"Okay", he answered and plopped on the bed. How did he get convinced so early? No further questions, how is that possible?
"Hey! What happened?" i asked, sitting behind him. He shook his head, looking at the ceiling throughout. Amayra was asleep, she must be so tired today.
I slowly ran my hands in his hair and said, "Tell me".
He looked up in my eyes and said, "I am just worried about her, I am not against love but I don't want to see her like that again. It shattered me, Aakriti, my little sister was going through a lot and I just don't want anything to happen to her now."
"Adhyay, we don't know if she has the same feelings for him", I softly murmured, massaging his head. He worries too much.
"I know", he mumbled. I dropped a small kiss on his forehead and said, "Now will you help me choose my outfit for the evening? It's a gala night today. "
"The dress code is blue, go away", he said, dismissing me off and also ruining my efforts to distract him.
"Fine, let's have a stroll round the resort hmm?", I softly asked. He moved away from me and replied, "Hundred marks for the efforts wifey but I am in mood to do something else".
"What?", I asked. With a slight lopsided grin, he pulled my hand. Our chests crashed together as he murmured, "How about we start the baby making process?"
I gulped and, hitting his chest, said, "Amayra is asleep!"
"We can always take a shower", he replied and stood up from the bed. With a wink, he went inside the bathroom and said, "I am waiting". Still trying to decipher his sudden change of mood, I followed him to the bathroom.