Chapter 53

49. A Doll’s House

‘Will you marry me?’ She asked and realized he wasn’t alone. She was glad her words had been a whisper.

‘Hello Kirti’ The guy teased who had followed Mayank. She knew this one. He used to live in their neighbourhood years ago. 

‘Did you get something to eat?’ He pulled her bag. She pulled it back. Ammaji sometimes used Kirti as a delivery guy and Mayank’s friends would always jump on her like a bunch of hungry monkeys, expecting food.

‘I am here to talk to Mayank. Mayank?’

He read the urgency in her tone and asked Vishal to leave them alone. 

Vishal acquiesced.  ‘I have a night shoot. Need my beauty sleep. Get your business done within an hour,’ he winked.

‘F*ck off ,’ was Mayank’s rejoinder.

It was while she was returning to her home while playing the conversation in her head that she realized what that wink had meant and she cringed.

XxxX

‘You don’t need to find a groom elsewhere. I am going to marry Mayank.’

‘Who?’ Karuna asked, not believing her ears.

‘Mayank’

‘Over my dead body!’

‘Either I marry him or no one else.’

XxxX

‘Had you flown a kite during the rains, you’d have realised that one is so busy saving one’s own kite, that they do not have time and sense enough to cut others’ kite strings.’

Sana read the message between her ward rounds, slipping her phone back to her apron’s pocket when the senior doctor glanced her way.

XxxX

‘What was this message about? If I still like Mayank? Like seriously like Mayank?’ Shruti asked.

‘I asked Mayank to pretend to be interested in marrying me.’ Kirti did not meet Shruti’s eyes.

‘Oh’

‘This was the only way I knew to stop all the drama. I told Dadi I am marrying him.’

‘He agreed?’

‘I emotionally blackmailed him.’ Kirti confessed.

Silence.

‘If you have any problem I will back out.’

‘What problem would I have? Do whatever you want to do. But how long would the ruse work?’

‘I am hoping for a year.’

‘What do you plan to do this year?’

‘Go to sleep peacefully every night. Eat without anyone cursing me. Move around without anyone judging me that I am stealing their guy.’ Then realising that in order to achieve all this she was actually stealing someone’s guy, she went mum.

‘You’ve lost it. Your priorities are all wrong, Kirti. Wake up!’

‘It is just going to be a pretend relationship.’

‘So? What are you trying to tell me?’

‘It means nothing to either of us.’

‘Well, good luck pretending to be the fiancee of the guy who has been crushing on you for years.’

‘Shruti…’

‘Let’s not talk right now, Kirti.’

XxxX

It was two in the night when Shruti called her  again.

‘I was wondering what kind of a friend you were to have gone and propose the crush of your best friend. Pretend or otherwise.’

Kirti had no answer.

‘What would you have done had the places been reversed? You asked me whether I still liked him? How dare you? Whether I like him or not...there are principles in friendship. I did not expect this from you!’

XxxX

Kirti was for the first time in her life grateful to the SSC body. If not for SSC, Shruti would have never talked to her again.  

They had finally released the results. 

And Shruti had made it! 

Finally a message of Congratulations! You have been provisionally selected.

‘Kirti...Kirti...Kirtii Kirtiii. I can’t believe this! Am I dreaming? Please check the roll no. Is it mine? IS IT MINE ONLY?? Is there any discrepancy? ’ Her hands were trembling.

Kirti who had reached Shruti’s house the moment Shruti had called her, reassured her.

‘Yes, yes it is yours Shruti. How many times do you want me to cross check?’

They jumped in joy, danced around. They had waited for one positive result for years! Sometimes getting out in Prelims, sometimes unable to make through the Mains. It had been a long hustle.

Shruti was crying. Sandy was crying. Kirti’s own eyes were flowing with tears.

‘Kirti, I am shaking.’ Shruti turned to her best friend.

‘You’ve done this, Shruti. You’ve done this. Years of hard work finally paid off.’ She took her friend in her arms and patted her back. ‘You’ve proved to the world your mettle. Your worth!’

‘I wish he was here so that I could have rubbed it on his face.’ Shruti was talking about Shreyas, the father of her child. Who had married her but left her after landing a government job and his parents had gotten him a better bride, a Brahmin bride who was bringing tonnes of gold as dowry. 

Shruti had never forgotten the fact that head changed colors the moment he had got selected in the State Engineering Services examination as if she was beneath his status now.

‘Oh don’t take the name of Satan at this joyous moment.’ Sandy did not liked Shreyas' mention in her house.

‘Let's go for an ice cream,’ Kirti proposed.

‘Now?’ It was late into the night.

‘Chal na. Some or the other parlour must be open.’

‘Go, child. Sibin is sleeping. I will take care of him.’ Sandy offered.

XxxX

As days passed Karuna began to get comfortable with the idea of Kirti marrying Mayank. He was a nice boy. Steady income was a problem though. But they were not talking about an immediate marriage. Mayank had told Kirti that he would marry her only a year after. He was hoping to come by some projects then. Kirti would also maybe find a better career project. Maybe now that Shruti had cracked the exam, Kirti would derive inspiration from it as well.

Her major driving force behind wanting to marry Kirti so soon was her meeting with Urmila. 

She had wanted to marry the girl before her mother did something to jeopardize it. The reputation that woman had, if it was revealed that Kirti was the daughter of such a woman, no one would accept her.

The advantage of marrying into the Ojha family, Karuna thought,  was that their history was transparent to each other. They knew Urmila and her scandalizing past; would not blame Kirti for it.

XxxX

‘Di, there is no need to be so impulsive. This is your life. Just because something happened at a party, you cut your hair? Because a good for nothing guy called off the alliance, will you marry Mayank? Rather than getting embroiled in this drama, why not focus on your career. You know what your problem is Di, you are very reactive. When Dadi is saying something, there is no need to answer back or argue. Let her spend her energy. Then, when she is calm, we can try to convince her. I had talked to her after you left. She had calmed down. In a few days she would even have been ready to see reason. But you had to go and drop this Mayank bomb?’

‘I was looking for an end to all this drama. I found one. It is easy for you to ask me not to be mercurial or over sensitive because you have an escape in the form of your college. I have been listening to the marriage talks since the day I turned twenty four. Every week, some or the other way, she would sneak in the topic. You think she will see reason? No, she will not. Instead of meeting men who I have never known in my life, I’d rather choose Mayank.’

‘He is not the one for you, Di. I agree he’s nice and kind. But you two...I don’t know. He’s not even at home half of the days. Love? You deserve better, Di. Don’t just settle.’

‘What better? Some economic officer is not coming to marry me!’ She had lashed and then went still.

Biplab, despite having understood everything, did not call it out.

‘Then become one. You have the degree, the capabilities. But you’ve been lazing off, finding excuses.’

‘Right! I am lazy and I don’t want to put in any more effort. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’

‘So you are hell bent on destroying your life?’

‘Think whatever you want to.’

‘In the long run, kisi ko farq nahi padega, Di. The one to be affected and lose the most would be you. There’s still time, I’d rather you use it wisely.’

He had his flight two days later. 

‘Di, think about what I had told you. Please. Please,’ he pleaded as he lugged his bag outside into the courtyard.

Biplab, at least stay for a week for your sister’s engagement. 

‘Classes have already started, Dadi. I cannot,’ he replied, eyeing his sister.

He was disappointed in his sister.

At the airport, he scrolled through the messages on his phone. His phone pinged with a new text from Prasanna. Not opening the message, he simply muted her for a year.

The announcements about his plane were being made, he looked at his sister, his eyes telling her everything that she already knew.

‘Take care,’ she said before hugging him.

Xxxx

She had disappointed almost everyone with her decision to marry Mayank except for one.

Ammaji was on cloud nine. It was as if Lord Shiva had organised a mega wish mart and she had encashed all her Shivaratri fasts.

‘What did you use to say?’ She was heard taunting her husband. ‘No one would give their daughter to our family? Who marries who is all written in fate? Saw how fate likes to play its games?’

[MEMBERSONLY]