RAYA Fan Fiction SS : Love Always Complicated

After seven years, he stood outside of the Mumbai airport he closed his eyes and took a deep fresh breath... He has good memories and bad memories with that city.

In this city, he lost his parent his everything. He was from a very happy family: his mom was Krishna Kapoor, his dad Amaranth Kapoor and his favorite person were his Dada ji Amarjeet Kapoor, and his Dadi Amrit Kapoor. One day, when his father was returning home from the office, thugs attacked him. When he was 12, his mom couldn't take the shock and died of illness when he was 15. His grandfather took him after his parents. After the death of his parents, his grandparents also suffered a severe loss in their life. And after the death of his father, his family business also suffered a major loss. Amarjeet ji tried very hard to save their family business, but he could not save their business and Amarjeet ji sold everything and shifted to a small house. After that, he had only one dream for his grandson Ram was to become a big businessman. Amarjeet ji sends Ram to London for his studies. They did a lot for his grandson after his parents' death, 

It had been a long since Ram had visited his family, or it would be better to say what was left of his family. His grandfather was a big businessman in India, from his childhood he saw his father and grandfather working very hard, and Ram didn't fall far away from the tree and wanted to big businessmen like his father and grandfather. And he became a businessman in London, his this decision was the turning point of his life and he could never go back. He chose to be in London and start his business and it's been 7 long years since then and a lot had happened during that. 

Ram's personal life suffered because of his work. He wasn't able to maintain any proper relationship with any woman if you count out the platonic relationship he had with the one girl. But the worst loss was him losing his grandfather and he couldn't even attend his funeral; he wasn't even in the country to attend it. He hadn't visited his country for the past 7 years, although he talked to his Dadi every once in a while he really wanted to visit her he wants to take her with him to London but she denies it and so he decided to take a vacation just to see her.

Ram wanted it to be a great surprise for his lovely grandmother, so he hadn't told her about the visit. He made the cab drop him a bit away from the house so that his Dadi won't be alarmed by the cab's noise. So, he walked towards his Dadi's place the area had changed a lot as he remembered it. There seemed to be some new residents in the area or so it seemed. He took out his phone as he neared the house and called Dadi's home phone.

"Hello?" he heard his Dadi's voice from the other end.

"Guess who", Ram asked her happily.

"Golu putter", she recognized him immediately, "how have you been?", she asked him cheerfully.

"I am good. What about you?" Ram asked her taking a long look at his childhood home.

"Never been better, Puttar," she told happily.

"So what are you up to", he asked as he moved towards the house.

"I am at our place having breakfast Puttar", she told him.

"What are you having, is it tasty?", Ram asked, stepping onto the porch.

"Aloo Paratha and they are wonderful," Dadi replied.

"Mmm… mouth-watering", Ram said as he pushed the doorbell to her house and heard it through the phone as well.

"Oh how I wish you to be here", she said dreamily, and he could sense the sadness in her voice.

The door opened and Ram yelled at the top of his lungs, "SURPRISE!" But it wasn't her grandmother but a young girl who was giving him looks of confusion and bewilderment since he had yelled right in her face. He too was a little surprised to see her there and felt a little embarrassed for doing that to a stranger.

"What's the surprise", his Dadi snapped him out of his initial shock.

"Hey, babe, what's your house no. again?", Ram asked his Dadi, and the girl glared at the mention of the word 'Babe' but she said nothing.

"705, Why?", Dadi answered.

Ram cleared his throat and checked the house number by the door and saw that it was indeed 705 and then asked back, "What lane or street it's on?"

"Malabar Hill", Dadi replied a little confused herself.

Ram looked for a sign to confirm whether he was on the right place or not but he couldn't find a sign so he said to his Dadi, "Babe, I'll call you later, bye."

"Bye", she said cheerfully, "and take care!"

Ram now looked at the beautiful girl who was still giving him puzzled looks. He cleared his throat again,

"Um… miss uh… first of all, I'm sorry. I took you to be someone else," Ram apologized.

"It's okay", she said calmly and casually, but she still seemed a little baffled.

Ram started to move, it was obvious that he was in the wrong place and then he thought that the girl could point him in the right direction, "Uh… can you do me a favor", Ram asked turning back and she stopped midway between closing the door and looked at him a little suspiciously, "all I want to know is where would-be house no. 705 Malabar Hill", Ram asked.
She gave him an even more puzzled look and replied, "This is 705 Malabar Hill!"

"No, it can't be my Dadi lives here", Ram said, shaking his head, mentally crossing his fingers expecting that the girl was joking and hoping that his Dadi didn't give him the wrong address.

"Who are you talking about?", she questioned.

"Mrs. Amrit Amarjeet Kapoor", Ram answered, hoping that if his Dadi made a mistake, then this woman knows her and can take Ram to his Dadi.

"She does live here, come in", She said, opening the door more to let him inside.

"Then you're?", Ram asked stepping in, he didn't recognize the girl and his Dadi said nothing about a caretaker or nurse or whoever she was.

"I live with her", She replied, closing the door.

"Kaun hain, Priya putter?", his Dadi asked, slowing descending the steps with the help of the walking stick.

"I don't know, says he's your grandson", the girl said, moving to help his Dadi with the last few steps.
His grandmother noticed him and he moved toward his Dadi to give her a hug. She hugged him back and said, "Golu putter I don't believe you're finally here", she felt warm as always and he was happy to have hugged her cause she was the only motherly figure in his life not to mention his only family and the source of love for him.

"I'm happy to see you too, Dadi", Ram said in a hoarse voice.

They let go of each other and his Dadi examined him from head to toe, "tum ab bhot bade ho Gaye ho Puttar. Ab tum Wo mere Golu putter nahi rahe. Anyway, Ram this is Priya Sharma, my friend's granddaughter, and Priya this is my grandson Ram, the one I talk about a lot," she said introducing them.

They said hello to each other and Priya went into the kitchen. Ram left his luggage by the door side and walked with his Dadi to the living room, "This place, hasn't changed at all", Ram said, taking a seat on the couch. This house was exactly as he remembered; even the walls had the same color.

"Yes, thanks to Priya, she cleans the house and organizes everything. I no longer can do those", she said as Priya walked out of the kitchen and placed a plate of aloo paratha on the coffee table for him. He thanked her, and she gave him a nod and smile. He started his breakfast as he hadn't had anything since the time he had boarded the airplane. He watched Priya walk upstairs and then back to his grandmother, who was watching him eat with an un-faltered smile on her face.

"These are yummy Dadi but tastier than before. Your cooking has improved", Ram complimented her, just to start a conversation.

His grandmother laughed in response and Ram didn't know what was so funny, "I didn't make those, I can't make those. Priya's the one doing everything here", Dadi told him as her laughs died down.

Priya walked down the stairs, with her handbag and said, "Dadi I'm off to work now, take care and if you need anything just call me", and then she turned to Ram and said, "Please call me, if you need anything."

Ram just gave her a nod, and she left for work. He finished his breakfast with his Dadi telling him about what happening in her life n' all, mostly cherishing her old memories. Ram moved to the kitchen to keep the dirty plates and almost instinctively opened the drawer where his Dadi used to keep the cutlery. And he was glad that everything was in place.

Ram walked back and sat next to his Dadi, who was busy watching TV, "So, why is this Priya living with you?", Ram tried to ask his Dadi as casually as he could. As far as he could see, Priya had a job and could support herself, so her living together with his grandmother was a little suspicious.

"Because I am old now and I need someone to look after the house," Dadi replied not taking her eyes off the TV screen, "And besides I promised my friend that I'd look after Priya when my friend was in her deathbed but it's more like Priya looking after me than me looking after her."

"So what is she like?" Ram asked, trying to know what exactly was her motive in staying with his grandmother.

"Oh, Priya is a very nice girl. She takes care of me, the house, bills, and almost everything", Dadi told him.

"And she takes money from you to pay those bills", Ram asked. Maybe his suspicions about Priya were true.

"Ram!", Dadi looked at him in shock.

"Are you doubting Priya?"

"Dadi, it's not like that… I was just trying to be cautious", Ram tried to explain.

"Ram, Priya is a nice girl, she's been taking care of everything perfectly without complaining or anything", his grandmother told him sounding very convinced and she seemed very pleased with Priya, "And to answer your question, she hasn't asked for a single penny of me for any expenses, she pays it off of her own pocket. I wonder what I'd do when she gets married and leaves," Dadi sounded a little sad as if talking about her own daughter.

"So she has a boyfriend then?", Ram couldn't help but ask. He was convinced that Priya wasn't an immediate threat and he could keep an eye on her while he was here to know more about her background.

"Oh no, no, no, absolutely not", Dadi answered him shaking her head wildly, "I don't know why but she seems somewhat reluctant at the thought of marriage, says she won't leave me alone, stupid girl," his Dadi gave an amused laugh, "Maybe you can convince her," she said suggestively.

Ram cleared his throat, "So where would I be sleeping", Ram asked, changing the topic.

"I'm sorry putter but I thought you never going to come back", Dadi replied sounding a little sad Ram couldn't blame her since it was his fault for staying away for so long, "I gave your room to Priya."

"Oh alright," Ram said understandably, "I'd sleep on the couch, I suppose."

"That's very sweet of you, Puttar," Dadi said.

"But I need to keep my luggage somewhere and need a shower," Ram said, pointing to his luggage by the door.

"Oh, keep it in my bedroom and you can use the bathroom in my room. And if you want to rest now, you can use my bed, since I'll watch a couple of shows now," she told him.

"No, I'll just have a shower for now", Ram said moving upstairs to his grandparent's room to get a shower.

The rest of the day Ram spent reminiscing about his good past with his grandmother, as she told him about all the stories he troubled her and his grandfather with and how he had changed so much from what she knew both physically and personality-wise. Ram asked her about all the unaccounted years he's been away and all she could tell him about was Priya this and that, and he couldn't help but wonder how come his grandmother didn't mention her when he called. The only reason he could think of was that he probably called during Priya's work hours and the conversation was never over 5-10 minutes because it was all he could manage within his tight schedule.

Ram had his dinner, which he had to order from a restaurant since Priya didn't show up at her usual time, which made Ram suspect her even more but he didn't mention it to Dadi and just enjoyed the dinner with her as she worried a bit about Priya, reassuring herself that Priya could be late sometimes. She retired to her room around 9:00PM and Ram settled on the couch watching a movie. The movie was at its climax when the home phone rang and Ram moved to get it.

"Ram Kapoor here", Ram answered monotonously.

"Ram?", there was a woman at the other end.

"Who's this?", Ram asked suspiciously, nobody that knew this number knows that he was there.

"Hey, it's Priya", she spoke, and he realized that yes she was the only one knowing that he was here, "Uh… can you tell Dadi that I'll be coming home after 11'o'clock, I had to do an extra shift?", she asked.

"Yeah sure", Ram agreed to it and his suspicion level came down just a bit.
"And please make sure she has her meds", Priya almost pleaded on the phone.

"Alright, will do. Anything else?", Ram asked her.

"No, nothing more, and thanks", she said, sounding really relieved.

"It's okay", Ram replied, getting a feeling that his suspicions were spineless.

"Alright I have to go now", Priya said, and he hummed in response, and then she hung up.

Ram looked at the receiver; he just couldn't make his mind up about Priya. He thought she was very suspicious of living with his Dadi, but it didn't seem like that. Some of her behaviors were very suspicious but they were all normal. Maybe it was all in his head. He sighed, thinking although he was off work his mind was still in work mode. He kept the receiver back and headed up to Dadi's room.

"Dadi, did you take your meds?", Ram asked opening the door.

His Dadi was lying on the bed, reading a book; she looked at him and then said,

"Who told you about my meds?"

"Oh, it was Priya she just called and asked me to make sure you have your meds," Ram told her, walking further into the room.

"Is she coming late or something," Dadi asked him concerned.

"Dadi, how do you know all that she is coming late, now where are your meds," Ram asked her.

"There," Dadi pointed out the box to him and then answered his question,

"Because she's the one who gives me meds, you see when she gets back from work."

"Do you do anything without her?", Ram asked, giving her a glass of water and her meds according to the prescription.

"Yes, a couple of personal things", Dadi replied and gulped all meds down in one go.

"Dadi", Ram said, sighing at her sense of humor.

"Ram, she's so dependable and trustworthy. Now I can't imagine my life without her," Dadi told him looking at him dreamily, "Golu I have an idea why don't you two get married," Dadi spoke excitedly.

"What?! What was in those meds," Ram said surprised, "I can't marry someone I barely know."

"Oh… I'll tell you all about her," Dadi cleared her throat as if about to make a speech and then started, "She is beautiful as you can see, an excellent cook, caring and loving person. She can adjust herself almost anywhere."

"Dadi I'm not ready for it", Ram told her, laughing a little at the idea.

"How long are you going to wait, 3 more years and nobody will marry you, strike the iron when it's hot," Dadi spoke seriously, canceling his excuse.

"She's not my type", Ram said, making another excuse so that his Dadi might drop the topic.

"Oh… she's definitely your type I know," Dadi emphasized more on the topic.

"But Dadi…", Ram tried to speak.

"It's Okay," Dadi said sadly, "I know you don't want to get married. You have changed a lot, you both have. You both have lost yourself somewhere in between," she added in disappointment.

"What do you mean by both", Ram asked, confused. He knew what changed her, was there something that changed Priya too.

"From both, I mean 'You' and 'Priya'. You have changed after we lost everything in that incident and she has changed after her grandparents' death. You know there was a time I just love to see her laugh all day and now I sometimes I don't realize that she's in the same room with me," Dadi said with sadness in her voice, "She's always concerned about me and stressing over my health. It's like she fears loneliness."

Both Ram and his Dadi sat sharing the silence. Ram couldn't help but empathize with Priya, although they had a different reason they both didn't want to end up lonely. And for Ram, the only person keeping him company was his Dadi. His friends were there too, but Dadi was the last person he could call family and someone able to look through his Businessman personality. And if she'd leave him too, then he'd definitely feel lonelier than ever.

"Dadi, Priya said that she would work till 11 o'clock," Ram told her, shaking aside that discomforting feeling.

"What?! That girl is completely gone mad, it's not safe to roam around in this area in the middle of the night, there are thugs, thieves and god know what. Ram you have brought her home safely," Dadi said, panicking.

"Yes sure", Ram agreed. After all, it would be the best chance to know her background at work, "Where she works?", Ram asked.

"City hospital; she goes by the name of Dr. Priya Sharma", Dadi told him and he was surprised to know that she was a doctor.

"Okay then I should get moving it's 10:30 now", Ram said getting up and heading out, "Good Night, Dadi!", he wished her as he exited the room.

"Good Night", she wished him back with a smile.