Chapter 10 // Acaronar //

Chapter 10  //Acaronar //

[ (v.,). To tenderly pull or draw someone closer — to hold, as for affection, comfort or warmth; to fondle, to caress; to embrace, to protect ]

It was much later when Shiva and Raavi disengaged from each other and decided to get ready for the day ahead. They had a couple of things to get done before they went on the date that Shiva had planned for them. Shiva had to meet a few prospective clients for the expansion of Pandya Stores to Hyderabad. He was very well prepared for the meeting, although the usual antsy feeling in the pit of his stomach had started taking over as he got ready, putting together his files that he needed for the meetings. He wondered if the nervousness of cracking a prospective deal, the exhilaration and the adrenaline after cracking a deal would ever fade, the rush and the rollercoaster of emotions that he went through each workday were incredible, almost as if surreal. Krish had always teased him about being a workaholic to the bone, but he knew he was far from one, it was their circumstances and what happened with Raavi that made him a complete workaholic. As he kissed Raavi goodbye and got into the car that the company had sent, Shiva travelled a long way down memory lane, back to the day when it seemed as if everything had gone wrong. 

His father had passed away, his mother was inconsolable, she was paralysed from the waist down, she had gone into deep shock, his Gaumbi had started taking care of the store, he didn’t know what to do, what to feel, Krish was still a toddler, Dev and him tried being good boys for Gautam, to be able to make life just a tad bit easier for him, but it was hard. Shiva was smarting from the loss of his father, the one man that he idolised enough to want to be like him, for Darshan Pandya was not only a good father, but he was a good man and husband too. Shiva had learnt so many things from him at such a tender age. His father always taught him to be courteous to everybody, to be kind to everyone, for one doesn’t know the misery another goes through. He grew up watching his father take care of everyone and everything around him, be it the store, the kids or their mother, he was an exemplary man and Shiva only wished he would be half the man that his father was. 

He had always thought that there was enough time, after all they were supposed to have a lifetime ahead, then again things never go according to plan. In the span of one day his blissful and uncomplicated life just came crashing down, tables were turned and his emotions were all over the place. For the duration of his so far extremely short life everything had been simple and straight as a line, he loved his family, he loved his Raavi, he loved Pandya Store and he was extremely fond of food, he didn’t like his mama all that much, but he absolutely hated his Maami and Anita. There wasn’t a particular reason as to why he hated them so much, but he always got an extremely negative vibe from the both of them, it wasn’t like he didn’t try to be civil and polite, but there was only so much a 10 year old boy could take from an extremely twisted woman. 

For a while it seemed as if that had been the biggest tragedy in his life, he had lost a father, technically lost a mother and wasn’t sure if he had his best friend with him anymore. Life had all of a sudden stopped seeming so appealing to him, everything was boring and dull, life went on. Just as he was about to get used to how his life was, all hell broke loose upon them, Anita, that maami ki bhatiji along with maami had left his entire family humiliated, in front of all of Somnath, although Dhara Di had stepped in and was now Dhara Bhabhi the humiliation wasn’t forgotten easily. Shiva thought of himself as a creature of pride, self respect mattered to him, and in his mind by refusing to marry his brother Anita had tried to taint that. The reputation of the Pandya’s was at risk, in a way it was barely hanging onto what was left of it after their fathers demise and the way the store went into loss almost immediately. 

Things at home weren’t pleasant at all, his mother hated Dhara Bhabhi, and Shiva could not for the life of him understand why there was so much hatred for the girl who had stepped up and tried mending wounds. She had in a way sacrificed her dreams, let go of the future she could have had, all to help his family, Shiva was grateful for her. She was an extremely gentle woman, she rarely screamed, her patience seemed endless, and he was sure had it been anyone else in place of her they would’ve blown their fuse a few short days after being a part of his family. They truly were a chaotic bunch, 3 kids below the age of 10, a paralysed but spunky middle-aged woman and a young man struggling to make sure that the chaos doesn’t end up overwhelming everyone. 

It had been a few months since Dhara Bhabhi had joined the family, in a way she had taken over everything in Pandya Niwas. Shiva had gotten used to the chaos in the house, in a way all the loudness, the clumsiness and the lack of order  in his house soothed him, but ever since Dhara Bhabhi was there, everything in the house seemed too good to be true, there were no out of shape, burnt rotis to eat during dinner time, and every sabzi she made seemed to be spiced to perfection, he couldn’t point out a single flaw in her and that overwhelmed him. She couldn’t be so perfect, or at least she wasn’t supposed to be, after all wasn’t she just human like the rest of them?

In a way the manner in which she was extremely selfless, meticulous and empathetic scared Shiva. His Raavi had also been like that, except Raavi seemed so much more innocent. There was a bright sparkle in her doe-like eyes, it was omnipresent, and no matter what happened that sparkle never dimmed, she was always happy and tried to make everyone around her happy. She was the one person who was entirely successful in softening his mother, ever since they were young. Raavi had his mother wrapped around her little finger, his mothers entire being softened whenever she laid eyes on Raavi, but then again who wouldn’t be enamoured with her. She was for all purposes and intents the perfect child, well-mannered, she listened to elders, never troubled anyone, and yet there was a certain aura of mischief that always surrounded her. She was mischievous in ways that endeared her to all those around her, even his prickly mother. 

Shiva was disturbed by the similarity between Dhara Bhabhi and Raavi, and in a way that pushed him away from her. He didn’t want to be vulnerable with her, out of all of his brothers he was the only one who stayed away from her. While Dev had taken a few days to warm up to her, Krish had quickly attached himself to her seeking the maternal comfort she had tried to provide them with, but Shiva was still cautious. He didn’t know what life had in store for them, after all it seemed all that was coming their way was a bunch of curveballs that wreaked havoc on the very roots of their life. They were all smarting from loss, and barring his mother and himself all of them had taken refuge in Dhara’s warmth. They had allowed her to soothe their pain, his brother in way had taken to Dhara as if moth to flame, except Shiva hoped her flames wouldn’t consume him, he had been through enough already. Krish had gotten back a mother figure and Dev was silent as ever, but Shiva was to be unmoved, she was just his sister-in-law, he didn’t want her to be his mother-figure, he had his maa, and no one ever was going to take her place. 

It took Shiva more than a few months to allow himself to get close to her, it was 6 months into Dhara and Gautam’s marriage, and things seemed to be looking up for them. Ever since Dhara Bhabhi had entered their life he had been terrified of the change she would bring to their lives. It wasn’t just the simple things like making sure the house was spick and span and that they were all fed and took care of themselves, Dhara Bhabhi had begun helping at the store too. Following the times she used to help he noticed the way Gaumbi would begin to stand taller, the burden that was on his shoulders seemed like it wouldn’t crush him, he looked happier, he looked healthier. Dhara bhabhi was well on her way to heal his brother. 

It was one fine evening, no one was home, Dev had gone to one of their friends houses, Krish was at Jamna Kaki’s house playing with her grandkids, his mother was in her room, resting and his brother was out with his bhabhi, at least it seemed like so, until he heard someone whimper in pain. Alarmed he ran to where the sound originated from, stopping short of his elder brothers room, he knocked twice, and was met with a feeble voice asking him to come inside, hesitant he stepped over the doorway, to find Dhara Bhabhi hunched over on the little couch, panicked he rushed to see if she was alright. Her toe was bleeding profusely, without thinking twice he rushed to help her sit down and to treat the wound. Her toe had scraped against the old table and a little splinter of wood managed to prick her, hence the excessive bleeding. He sat down on the floor to bandage her foot, and as he had finished wrapping up the bandage, Bhabhi’s hand caressed his hair, patting at his head lightly. He looked up startled and confused, she looked at him and smiled tenderly, almost in a mother-like fashion,

“Thank you baccha”

Three simple words, and Shiva felt something inside of him splinter, something in his heart broke and something else healed. A shard pieced itself back together and for once he was unable to hold back the tears that sprouted from his eyes steady rivulets pouring down and landing on the pristine floor. It didn’t take his Bhabhi long to figure out he was crying, her warm hands soon wiped away each tear that poured from his eyes, what was supposed to be a gesture of comfort overwhelmed him instead. He hadn’t felt this sort of warmth ever since his father passed away and he had stopped talking to Raavi. No one had called him baccha and held him, his mother was incapable of doing so and his brother had been too busy trying to piece everyone back together. His haphazard attempt only managed to worsen the pain, little shards of his heart poked within his ribcage, causing him unending pain, every time he looked at his fathers photo hanging on the wall of their house, every time he was Raavi giggling away with one of his family members, the shards poked deeper and deeper, there seemed to be no respite. Now after almost a year, he felt a little part of himself heal, maybe not all was lost. 

Dhara bhabhi had grown panicked when he refused to stop crying and soon enough he found himself in her embrace. His head tucked safely into the warmth of her shoulders, she was patting his head and back in order to calm him down. He had finally allowed himself to cry after an entire year of enduring loss after loss, he finally let the tears burst forth. He cried for the loss he went through, the pain of losing a parent, the pain of losing the one person who had been his entire world. He wept for god only knows how long, he wept until his loud sobs reduced to pitiful little whimpers, wept until he could no more. Nestled in the warmth of a maternal embrace he was lulled to sleep by a steady heartbeat, beating away like a tender lullaby. 

The next time he opened his eyes he was panicked, he didn’t know how he managed to fall asleep, the sun was bright and blazing as he looked outside the window, he was definitely late for school, how his bhabhi didn’t wake him up was beyond him. As he thought of his bhabhi, she appeared, walking into the room with a plate of food, chagrined by his actions last night her refused to look at her. She silently fed him, and he ate without complaint. Her food was always delightful, and she always knows just how much to serve him, so he ate to his hearts content, hoping she wouldn’t bring up last night. 

“Shiva, baccha, why were you crying like that last night?”

Her tender voice laced with concern loosened his tongue, he couldn’t help himself anymore, and so he broke down all over again, sputtering, whimpering and sobbing, all while trying to talk. To her credit, his bhabhi bore through all of that, sitting by him and not giving up on him, despite the amount of times he seemed to evade her. She was relentless and he finally gave in, opening up to the woman, allowing himself to hope one last time. 

“We’re here sir”

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the chauffeur, thanking him he quickly walked out, ready to face everything headed his way. 

—

While elsewhere Dev was extremely tensed. He had never been good with girls, almost too shy to talk to them, scared he would mess up. And now he was going to go on a date, with a girl he really really liked, he didn’t know what to do, how to act. He absolutely couldn’t approach his brothers, they wouldn’t let him live it down if he ever approached them seeking first date advice. He just desperately hoped that he wouldn’t mess today up. 

—

A.N: So here it is after almost 6 months! I hope y’all this update and I’m sorry if this was not what you expected but, the author I was when I started and the author I am now are very different and hence the change in writing style, also the chapter is significantly shorter than my usual updates, that’s because I had put up a poll on twitter asking y’all if you want shorter and frequent updates or longer and delayed updates, and since most of y’all voted for shorter and much more frequent updates, here I am with this one!

Also anyone who wants to be tagged please mention so in the comments!