Cold Love by Amieya Prabhaker Read Free Book Online

bench, as his
friends hold onto him in time. The guy immediately bounces back, pulling a
knife from his pocket. Riya intervenes immediately, sensing trouble.
    “Listen, we don’t need any
trouble. Take it easy… Arjun, come with me!” she pulls Arjun back using all her
strength, as he resists, “Arjun!”
    “ How
dare he!” Arjun is now furious and ready for a fight.
    “ Arjun,
for God’s sake please let’s go!” 
    “ Oye
hero! Go run and hide behind your girlfriend!” they all laugh, seeing that Riya
has convinced Arjun to leave. Riya holds Arjun’s arm tightly, pulling him
briskly along with her on the pathway. Arjun is fuming inside, and suddenly
turns around, shouting back at the ruffians, “You guys stay here… I am coming!”
    “ Yeah!
Yeah! Come back if you dare! Drop your bird back home! We are not going anywhere!”
    Riya and Arjun briskly walk
away from the park, silent, with Arjun fuming with rage. They reach home in a
few minutes and Riya firmly pulls Arjun’s hand along to bring him inside.
Unfortunately for her, no one else is home. Arjun sits on the sofa and turns
the television on. Meanwhile, Riya quickly calls Kamla and narrates the
incident.
    “ A unty, Papa and mummy are not at home
either. I’ve asked them to come soon. … Yes… he is fine now, but he was really
mad at them in the park. … No, please don’t worry, I’ll keep him here. …Yes,
bye.”
    Riya goes over to sit on the
sofa next to Arjun and tries to start a casual conversation. But Arjun does not
respond as he is still angry and also annoyed at Riya for not letting him
respond to the vulgar behavior of the ruffians. Riya desperately tries to brush
the incident aside casually. 
    “ Seems
like this is your first time walking alongside a beautiful girl in India! This
is not America or Europe, mister. You will find such wierdos on the streets
everywhere… And they say you should ignore the dogs barking on the streets!”
    “ I’ll
break his nose! How dare he speak about you like that?”
     “ Please
let it go Arjun… just forget it! For my sake…pretty please…!” she tries to
offer him a coke, but Arjun is not interested; he’s still in a very serious
mood. Suddenly, Arjun gets up and starts walking.
    “ Where
are you going?” Riya anxiously runs around and closes the main door, pocketing
the keys. “ You are
not going anywhere, Arjun. Give me your car keys please!” The car keys are
still on the table by the television. Riya quickly latches on to them before
Arjun can move.
    “ Listen
Arjun! You are not going anywhere! Pinky promise if you try to go away from
me!” she moves her tiny finger in a quick gesture and clasps it around his.
    “I don’t believe in such
stupid promises,” Arjun immediately takes his finger away with a quick jerk.
    “ But
I do!” Riya remains composed and calm, “And if after touching each other, a
promise is broken, something really awful happens. That means… that since you
have touched me, if you break the promise something terrible will happen to me.
So if you care even a bit about me…”
    Arjun stares at her for a
moment, as Riya pleads with her eyes, begging him to stay. Although
unconvinced, Arjun grudgingly returns to the sofa.
    “Please don’t be so angry…
just let it go!” She holds Arjun’s face in her hand, “You are such a little
kid, you know.”
    Arjun gently shrugs her hand
off. Riya’s phone starts to ring that very moment and she picks it up quickly.
She speaks on the phone and returns in a few minutes back to the sofa next to
Arjun. They sit there watching the TV for a while, although Arjun is just
switching channels blindly. Suddenly the doorbell rings. Riya rushes to open
the door and is excited as well as relieved to see the family back.
    “ Beta,
what happened?” Kamla asks as she enters. They talk inaudibly at the door and
she quickly walks over to the sofa to hug her son. “Arjun beta, these things
should be ignored … … OK?”