Akash impatiently took a drag from his cigarette and looked at his watch.
"She was supposed to call me after she landed," he thought to himself.
He paced around the monitor, which said that her flight had landed. And yet, 20 minutes since then, there was no sign of her.
Akash always hated waiting. He'd gotten used to it at this point. He was always the punctual one in the two. But he still hated it.
And then he saw her walk out of the Arrivals gate. Sanjana was a 5 foot 5, petite girl. Her outfit of choice was a crop top and daisy dukes. She enjoyed wearing them because it showed off her hourglass figure and her well toned legs. And when she saw her brother, she ran straight to him and engulfed him in a hug.
"Hiiiiii! I'm sorry I didn't call you after I landed. I got caught up at baggage claim. An elderly man thought my suitcase was his and it took a while to explain to him."
"That's alright. Did you have a good flight?"
"Yessss. I was chatting with this woman from South Bombay, she was telling me about a cafe that I should really visit?"
"Leopold Cafe? Yeah, it's their crown jewel."
"Do you think we'd have time?"
"Maybe Monday. Getting to South Bombay at this time on a Friday evening is hell."
"Oh alright. But we haaaaave to visit it, it sounds amazing."
"Sure, we'll find time. I'm parked this way."
Akash and Sanjana made small talk, while they got into his car. They hadn't seen each other in a few months. It was fun to FaceTime each other once in a while, but Akash's work kept him busy, and Sanjana was in her final year of college. Besides, there was no substitute for real company.
"So, what's our plan for tomorrow?" she asked her brother while plugging her phone into his car's system.
"We've got to be up early, we'd probably take around four hours to reach Lavasa. We can grab breakfast along the way. If we're up early enough, we should get there by lunchtime."
"And you've got us a place to stay?"
"Yes, it's all planned out."
Of course it was planned out. How could it not be? It was their special weekend. Akash had chosen the perfect place for the weekend. Lavasa was a small private town, built on hills surrounding a lake. It was a scenic spot. It was mostly cool all year round, and there were barely any people there. It was a great place to getaway from the hustle-bustle of city life and to just spend time with each other. And it was only gonna be the two of them.
Akash and Sanjana made one of these trips annually. Akash would meticulously plan out the details, while Sanjana enjoyed showing up and having fun. It was their thing. Even their parents loved the fact that their children spent time with each other. Akash and Sanjana had always been close, they never had serious fights, and Akash being the big brother, always took good care of her.
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They next day, Akash and Sanjana caught up with each other on the road. She told him about her new boyfriend, Raunak. Raunak was apparently a metalhead, and had a college band. He was working on album he hoped to release soon. Maybe even go on tour. The more she talked about him, the more he sounded like a basic jock. Akash never quite approved of her boyfriends. It was obvious why he didn't. But he had made peace with the fact that Sanjana enjoyed the company of other men. After all, Akash himself was dating Anisha. Anisha was a lawyer. She was smart, resourceful and she cared for Akash. And they were getting serious.
"Sooooo. Are you gonna ask Anisha the question?"
"What?! No, I haven't really thought about it."
"Now you're lying. You're 26, you're well settled and you've been with this woman for almost a year and half. She's 27 and she's doing well in her career too. You're both in the right place for this. Are you telling me that you haven't seriously considered asking her?"
"Well...I have. Or at least, I've considered that she might be waiting for me to ask her."
"And?"
"I honestly don't know how."
"It's not very hard. You walk up to her and ask her to marry you."
"Well, when you put it that way."
"Seriously, what's stopping you?"
Akash didn't answer that. He knew exactly what was stopping him. He couldn't bring himself to say it though. Not when it could change the mood of the trip.
"Mom and dad were asking me about this too. They think it's time that you finally do it."
"Listen. I want to talk to you about this. But just not now. Can we do it later this weekend? I promise we'll discuss this again."
Sanjana did not prod her brother anymore. Her brother was not one to break promises, and she decided that she would move on to more cheery topics.
After a few hours on the expressway and an hour in the hills, coupled with the loudest pop music possible, they finally reached their destination. Akash had picked a nice hotel which had a great view of the lake. They got their luggage out and walked up to the reception.
"Hi, I have a room booked here in the name of Akash."
The receptionist looked at the two of them and said, "Sir, I'm not sure if you were aware, but our hotel policy states that we cannot accommodate unmarried couples."
"But we're a married couple," said Akash, handing over their IDs. In a conservative country like India, this was always a problem. But not for Akash and Sanjana. The receptionist looked at their ID cards and saw that they had the same surname, and handed them back. This was a well oiled routine. Nobody expected a brother and sister to show up announcing themselves as a married couple. It was an easy lie, one they had used to get private time with each other every year.
"I'm sorry, sir. Let me finish up here and I'll take you up to your room."
It had always helped that Akash and Sanjana looked nothing alike. He was about 5 foot 10, of fair brown skin. He was well built and she was a petite, dusky girl. Akash took after his father, and Sanjana after her mother. Their personalities were nothing alike, either. Akash was stoic and subdued, whereas Sanjana was boisterous and bubbly.
Once they were put into their rooms, Sanjana ran out to the balcony and looked out at the blue, shimmering lake just across.
"Wowwwww. It's beautiful! How did pick this place?"