Chapter 68

[MEMBERSONLY]

64. Boat Capsized (I)

‘I found something,’ Hardiik mentioned while composing a mail on his phone.

Ahilya who was reading through a file looked at him and raised her brows. The glasses were perched  neatly up on her nose. ‘What?’

‘Somebody is interested in buying a property,’ he replied.

‘And so?’ She asked, without batting an eyelid.

‘Nothing. How long were you going to hide it from me?’

When she remained quiet, he said, ‘You know what I think about it?’

‘I don’t know and have no interest in knowing your opinion.’

‘I think you are a coward!’ He still expressed his opinion.

‘You know why I let you stay with me? It is for such flattering compliments,’ she said, honey, dripping from her tone.

‘I just wanted to remind you that if you lose this opportunity, you won’t get another one like this. I am saying this with the faith that you’re still interested.’

XxxX

‘Kirti, come here. Help me rehearse the lines,’ Mayank called for her.

‘Hmm? Sure,’ she got up from where Radha sat watching television with Matilda huddled at her feet, sleeping. 

It was a wonderful day with Mr. and Mrs.Ojha out visiting an acquaintance. Buta had gotten her the orange candies that she so loved. She had been surprised when Buta had offered her a small square packet filled with a dozen orange balls.

'How did you know?' She had asked, suspiciously. 

'Know what?' He had asked back, his face betraying his puzzlement.

'That I like these,' she replied feeling the hardness of the sweet balls through the plastic.

'Oh, but doesn't everyone like these? I thought this is a part of everyones' childhood.'

'Don't know about others but it was a part of my childhood. I thought they stopped making these. Where did you get these from?'

'Just somewhere,' he had said, evasively.

‘So which lines? What is the context?’ Kirti stretched out her hand, asking for the dialogue sheet.

Mayank looked at her for some time before saying, ‘Actually, leave it. What if you take the lines seriously too? And use it to your advantage some other time. Like you did the last time.’

Hot shame coursed through her. He meant the day she had asked him to pretend to be interested in marrying her. He had in one of his rehearsals with her, jested a marriage proposal and she had used it against him.

‘Yes, rehearsing on your own will be a better idea,’ she was excusing herself when he blocked her way. 

‘Actually,’ he said, stepping into her personal space, ‘this is a nice scene. I wouldn’t mind being taken advantage of. So, the context is...the character has come to meet his ex-girlfriend. The past feelings come to the fore. They have a heated exchange after which they make out. Want to try?’ 

She knew he was messing around but still took several steps back, ‘Why are you being such a jerk, Mayank?’

‘I don’t know. I thought you were taking this marriage seriously and I should too.’

‘What did I do to give you the impression?’ She racked her own brains but could not find any action of hers that could have angered him so.

‘Your bonding with Radha,’ He uttered, looking away, coursing his hands through his hair. 

‘Bonding with Radha? What about it?’ 

‘Why are you taking so much interest in her? You do not have to just because we signed some document. You are going to leave eventually, did you forget that?’

She sighed heavily. ‘Mayank, Shruti, and I were always looking out for Radha. It wasn’t because she was the niece of our friend. We did it for her. We used to take turns taking her to the vaccination center; taking care that she ate and played well. Now is nothing different. Radha is a kid. She relies on us adults to navigate the world. I know you will not like to hear it but she is neglected a lot.’

Mayank, with seething eyes, protested but she put up a hand in the air.

‘No, hear me out.  Last Tuesday, your father forgot to pick her up from school. All alone, she continued to play with the sand outside the school until the watchman spotted her and called me. Two long hours, can you believe it? She did not cry as if she’s used to being forgotten. Your father showed no remorse for it. All he had to say was he cannot continue with this pickup business. I am not finding faults or complaining, I am simply stating the facts. Circumstances have put us in the same sphere and I am being there for her. Just in the same way Sandy aunty had stayed by my side. I will stop living in this house, doesn’t mean I will break my ties with the girl. I don’t know about tomorrow but today I am going to be with her. Doesn’t matter if you like it or not.’

When he did not say anything, she continued, ‘I understand your resentment. But it was all not my fault, was it? You had a choice. I did not force you on gunpoint! You had refused, hadn’t you? Why did you come back? I did not go after you. It was you who came. If you were so resistant to the idea you should not have come!’ 

‘Yes,’ He nodded his head.’I should have left you there so that you could marry that Aggarwal?’ 

‘Yes, you should have! At least he would have treated me better!’

‘You wish!’ He growled.

‘Mayank, I fail to realize what your problem is?!’ She was equal parts angry, frustrated, and tired. If truth be told, she was the one who had gotten the short end of the stick but she wasn't complaining, was she?

‘Yes, that is the problem. Your inability to understand what the problem actually is!’ He stated, cryptically. 

Unable to understand him, she turned away, storming out of the room, the house. She felt someone behind her and turned to find Radha with her rag doll and Matilda, the kitten following her.

‘What is it? Where are you coming barefoot?’ 

‘I will go with you,’ The little girl replied.

‘No, please. Your uncle would not like it. Go to him.’

When she started, the girl still followed her. ‘What did I tell you? Don’t you understand simple words?!’ She shouted and then immediately felt guilty at having done so.

The child’s lips wobbled but she was doing a remarkable job at keeping the tears at bay.

‘Fine, go and wear your sandals and come.’ Radha’s face lighting up, she ran in to wear her slippers. 

They went to sit in Kirti’s front yard where Radha dug out soil with small birch sticks in the hope of finding some treasure while Kirti sat listlessly looking at her roses while old forgotten songs played on her phone. Matilda had taken off to visit her friends.

XxxX

‘You did not tell me that you were coming,’ Kirti accused, hugging the life out of her dear friend.

‘Well, how was I supposed to do that when you weren’t receiving my call?’ Shruti replied, taking a good look at Kirti’s face. She had come the previous night and Kirti had realized only when she was passing their house on her way to the dairy store and found the door open.

‘You look terrible. You’ve not been taking good care of yourself, Kirti,’ she admonished. ‘Look at these dark circles and the hollow cheeks. Have you been eating properly?’

‘Things have been a bit rough,’ was Kirti’s only reply.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier. I had just started with work and couldn’t take leave. You know how it is,’ Shruti explained.

‘I know. No need to apologize. How’s Sibin? Aunty? Your father?’

‘Mama and Daddy are good. They are bickering most of the time but I like to think they are rediscovering each other in the process. Sibin is the happiest. He has made friends. Found dozens of uncles and cousins. There’s a certain George, his fishing partner. All in all, life is well and good.’ Shruti sounded content with her life. ‘Now, you tell me? How’s Dadi? Why wouldn’t you pick my calls?’

‘Dadi is the same. I don’t see any improvement. I don’t know if doctors are even doing anything. It’s been a month and a half now.’ 

‘Come on, Kirti,’ Shruti stood up to come and sit beside Kirti. Her hands going around her in a half hug, she comforted her friend. ‘Dadi is made of sterner stuff. You just see she is going to get up very soon. My father was saying that there was an uncle in our family who had woken up. He’s alive and is happily enjoying life with his grandkids. Have patience and faith.’

They remained silent for some time, Kirti resting in Shruti’s embrace. Then moving away she said, ‘I did not have courage left to answer your call after what I did.’ She did not meet Shruti’s eyes and kept staring at the ground.

‘What did you do? Are you referring to your marriage with Mayank?’

Kirti nodded shamefacedly. ‘In the airport, you had asked me to not marry him and I still went ahead and married him. With what face was I to talk to you?!’

‘Hmm. How is Mayank? Is he treating you well? And Ammaji?’

‘I don’t know,’ Kirti replied, looking up. ‘Ammaji has changed and Mayank hates me. I committed a huge mistake, it seems.’

Shruti remained solemn. ‘Do you know why I asked you not to marry him? Not because I had feelings for him. But because I knew you’d regret making the decision. Why do you think I never acted on my feelings for Mayank? Firstly, he is in love with theatre. He can never be a family man! Second, his mother! Out of one failure of a marriage, I did not want to take another such risk. I was fearing the same for you. And look, here you are unhappy.’

‘I did not understand, Shruti. At that time, I was so cornered and helpless, I had no other choice. Now, it has gotten complicated. There’s Radha. There's the house sale that is not coming through. There’s dwindling funds. So many issues I have no control over,’ her voice broke at the end. She was not crying, she was just frustrated with things spiraling so out of control.

‘What else? Do what you always had in mind.’

‘What I had in mind?’ Kirti looked baffled. 

‘Yes, you wanted a year free right without any naggings. Now you have that. Now that you are married, nobody is after you to marry. No real husband to demand your time. Use it to improve your position, Kirti. Like you had wanted to. Like your father had wanted you to. Remember how we used to curse fate. But take it from me, there’s nothing such as fate. There are only opportunities and choices we make. Take this from me, sooner or later hard work is always rewarded.’

XxxX

Kirti was about to push open the door to Shruti’s house when the heated conversation floating out from inside stopped her from doing so.

‘Mayank, she’s your friend first! Or have you forgotten that? Treat her better, can you?’ 

‘Oh, so now she’s going around bitching about me?’

‘What has gotten into you? You used to like her, didn’t you? You should use this chance to win her over.’

‘Sorry? Like her? Who told you this? Or is it one of the products of your super-intelligent, psychoanalyzing brain?’

‘You do not?’ Kirti could hear the astonishment in Shruti’s voice. ‘Shit! Mayank I told her you like her. Perhaps she approached you because of that?’

No! That wasn’t the reason, Kirti wanted to shriek. She had approached him because he was a dear friend who understood her and would be there for her, she had thought. 

‘Well, then you are equally culpable. How could you even think so? I love you both but in a platonic sense. We’ve practically grown up with each other. I can never look at you both in that way, Shruti!’

Kirti felt worse for Shruti. Mayank had no idea that by stating these words he was breaking Shruti’s heart.

‘And unlike you both,’ Mayank continued, ‘I don’t dwell in fictional worlds! I would have confessed if I liked her.’

‘Fine, but that shouldn’t stop you from being empathetic towards her! She has enough problems…’

‘Problem hai toh mere sar pe sawar…’ he stopped short, ‘I do not like this arrangement. Period.’

Kirti did not return to Ojha house afterward.

Opening her house, she tried shutting off the voices that still reverberated in her head. In order to engage her mind, she began rummaging through old trunks - memories - anything that would put away her mind from the blinding pain that was emerging through her heart.

She found old albums, books, and notebooks. Medals and trophies whose glimmer had been waned by the effect of time and dust. She found notes that Tejas had sent for her, also the notes that Nishit had given her. So similar in their appearance, but sent by two very different people, or were they?

There was her father’s old fountain pen and looking at it, tears began to flow uncontrollably down her cheeks. If he was watching her, would he be proud of her? Wasn’t she wasting away his sacrifice? He would be so disappointed in her! Biplab was out there making him happy. But you, who was his favorite; whom he had so many hopes from, are you going to let him down?

And Dadi, she had wanted her to be happy. She must have hoped that Kirti would find happiness in her marriage. Would she be proud of her now?