Chapter 6

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Harvest Moon Chapter 6

ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA raked a hand through his thick mane as he sat at the dining table eating breakfast with the entire family.

“I hate it that I have to go to Batala.” Arnav whispered to Manav, looking up the stairs hoping to catch a glimpse of Khushi.

“So don’t go.” Manav whispered back, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

“I wish!” Arnav rued, “Manjeet called me last night to let me know he couldn’t solve the problem.” And what an ill-timed call that was. He had just kissed Khushi and before he could say anything to her his phone had rung and Khushi had left by the time he was done with the call. They should be called hell phones! He thought silently.

“Looks like Khushi is still sleeping,” Manorama mami said caustically.

“Khushi was up until dawn helping me clean up after the Jagrata mami,” Anjali reminded her aunt.

“You are up, aren’t you?” Mamiji retorted.

“I am used to Jagrata and more over everyone knows I sleep less.” Anjali pointed out.

“I don’t think we should accept this alliance.” Mamiji declared out of the blue.

Arnav almost chocked on his paratha. What the f@#$?

“Why mami?” Anjali demanded, “I saw you talking to her quiet cordially yesterday.”

“Yes – I did speak to her ---,” Mami agreed. “I also found out that she belongs to a middle class family – may be upper middle class but her father is just a manager in some private company.”

“Mami, please!” Anjali interjected firmly. “It doesn’t matter what her father does. Khushi is a well-educated, working girl. She is independent.”

Arnav recognized his sister’s tone and hoped that mami would watch her words. His sister had zero tolerance for those who discriminated women.

“She is just a teacher!” Mamiji said caustically. 

“And so am I!” Anjali was outraged.  “Khushi has a basic degree in Computer Science and plans to do her Masters later. She is teaching in the interim period.”

 “It doesn’t matter what she does Anjali,” Mamiji dismissed, “Our family doesn’t need a working girl. It matters where she comes from though. We should look for a high-society family that will suit our status.”

Before Arnav could come up with a rejoinder, Naniji said, “The Guptas may not be high-society but are a very respectable family!”

“Arnav, listen to me,” Mamiji said, “Girls who come from these “so-called” respectable families end up being gold diggers!” Manorama said scornfully.

Arnav turned toward Mamiji. “Since I am unable to comprehend this sudden interest in my wellbeing, I will ignore everything you have said. But please refrain from bringing this up again. We don’t talk about guests like that in this house.” He stood up. “I am getting late.” He walked away from the table before he could do some serious damage.

Khushi sat in her room examining herself in the mirror. She wondered if the slight abrasions she felt on her cheeks were visible. Did her lips look swollen? When she heard a knock on her door, her heart began to race and she hurried up to open the door.

“Khushi – you will have to change,” Anjlai wore a beautiful purple and green saree. “Today is Vijay Dashami and Nani expects us downstairs for the pooja. I took the liberty of bringing you another suit I had.”

“I can’t keep wearing your clothes Anjaliji.”

“Khushi – please don’t say all this,” Anjali admonished her, “Would you say the same thing to Payal?”

“No.” She accepted the dress with a smile.

“Khushi, I have been thinking ---” Anjali said, “do you think you be able to give me suggestions for the upcoming cultural programme in our college?”

“Sure Anjaliji --”

“Wonderful!” Anjali exclaimed emphatically, “I will send details through e-mail,” she said, “you can use the Arnav’s laptop to access your mails.

“Sure Anjaliji!” She replied with a smile. She had wanted to ask Anjali about using a computer for accessing e-mails for she had left her laptop back at home.

“Oh wait!” Anjali touched her forehead, “Arnav isn’t home right now. He has gone to Batala. You will have to wait until he returns. Alright Khushi I will go now – see you later.” She left the room.

Khushi paced around in her room wishing she could break something. She had to remind herself that it was not her house.

Arnav had left for Batala – just like he had left earlier, without saying a word. Had last night meant nothing at all to him? Apparently not!

Oh God what had she done? All through her high school in Vancouver, she had warded off advances from the boys in her class, for her parents had been strictly against dating and she had no problems adhering to their wishes. 

Back in Delhi, she had taken a long time to agree to go on a date with Sam and the last time she had met him, she had been uncomfortable with him so much so that she had avoided his kiss.

Why the hell had she given in to Arnav last night? Oh right. She had forgotten the small detail that she was in love with him.

She had always imagined that when she fell in love, that it would be someone like Sam – someone who was suave, sophisticated -- clean shaven.

Of all the people in the world, she had fallen in love with the one person she had declared she wouldn’t marry.

Next morning, Khushi stood in the driveway as Anjali and Manav got ready to go back to Jalandhar.

“I wish you could stay back longer Anjaliji,” Khushi said.

“College starts tomorrow Khushi and our routine begins --” Anjali hugged Khushi and then stood back and touched her cheeks. “I am glad you came to stay with us Khushi.”

“I am glad I came,” Khushi smiled. “I enjoyed every minute of the last couple of days. Thank you Anjaliji.”

“Call me Di.” Anjali said surprising Khushi. “You are family now.”

“Bye Khushiji!” Manav waved to her before sliding into the driver’s seat of the SUV.

That afternoon, Khushi sat in the bus en route to Moga. How could she have forgotten why she had agreed to come to Faridkot in the first place? She might have not even remembered if Anjali hadn’t mentioned college reopening. She had called the principal Mrs Shobha Sehgal in advance and had made an appointment for three in the afternoon.

She felt guilty for lying to the principal about looking for a job. She didn’t think the woman would give her an appointment if she had told her the real reason. Khushi was hoping to appeal to her better nature.

It was four before Khushi was able to meet the principal. “Come in.” She said when Khushi knocked on the door. She seemed to busy looking as some documents.

Mrs Sehgal looked up and her eyes went wide.

“My name is Khushi – Khushi Gupta.” Khushi introduced herself. “I called you earlier –“

“Please come and take a seat.” she said. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually I am here to enquire about a student you had studied her 23 years ago,” Khushi said, “her name was Gauri – Patial.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I am her daughter.”

“I don’t understand.” Mrs Sehgal was clearly surprised.

Khushi told her about the accident and about her adoption by the Guptas. “Since my grandfather is not keeping well, I was hoping I can get to know about her life from the college she studied.” She took out the photograph from her purse. “I found this photograph of my mother and her friend. I was hoping there would an old register which has her address.”

“I have to confess something,” Mrs Sehgal said taking out her glasses. “I was her classmate.”

“Oh really?” Khushi smiled at her expectantly. “Can you tell me something about her?”

Mrs Sehgal leaned back in her seat. “I am afraid I can’t help you here. Your mother was a very aloof and unapproachable girl.” She paused, “but she did have one best friend with whom she spent all her time.”

“The girl in the picture?” Khushi said feeling excited.

“Yes – That’s Santosh Gill --,” Mrs Sehgal said looking into her handbag, “I have her parents’ home number with me here but I doubt it will be of any use to you. She married right after college and moved to Amritsar. I heard that her family migrated to Canada after that. I haven’t kept in touch with her. I am sorry Khushi but this is all I know.”

A little later, Khushi stood at the city bus stand waiting for a bus back to Faridkot. She had been waiting for over an hour now but there was no sign of the bus. She felt a little out of place in the bus station with her black track pants and red and black checkered shirt. When her phone rang she picked it up. It was Arnav.

Khushi walked toward the Coffee Day which was opposite the bus stand seething with anger. Arnav had told – no he had ordered her to wait for him at the coffee shop until he got there. He had been livid because she hadn’t told anyone in the house she was stepping out. In her defence she had thought she would be back before Naniji and Mamiji came back from the temple in the evening. Unfortunately she had to wait for the principal for an hour and had missed the bus to Faridkot causing all the delay.

Khushi sat at the coffee shop angry at the way Arnav had yelled at her. Who the hell did he think he was?

“Can I get anything for you madamji?” A young boy stood by her ready to take her order.

She looked at him and said, “I missed my bus to Faridkot. Is there any other way to get there?”

The boy was a little taken aback but he recovered quickly. “Sure madamji. There are tons of private vans that can take you there.”

“Where can I find one?”

“Right on the main road in front of our shop,” he pointed to the glass door, “you will find one every five to ten minutes. But you might want to hurry up because it gets very crowded after sometime.”

“Thanks!” Khushi smiled and offered him some money. “That was very helpful.”

“No thank you madamji.” The boy grinned from ear to ear.

Khushi walked out the shop and looked out for the vans. Just then a white Omni van came and stood in front of her.

“Where do you have to go Madam ji?” The man in the van asked.

Khushi looked inside the van to see people at the back. “Faridkot.”

“Come in.”

She was a grown woman, perfectly capable of making her own decisions, wasn’t she? As she took a step she had the vague feeling that Arnav had called out her name but she was sure she was just hallucinating. She shook her head and got into the van.

Across the main road, Arnav was shocked out of his wits to see Khushi getting into the van. What the f#$% was she doing? “Khushi!” he called out to her but his voice failed to reach her over the noise of the traffic.

F@#$! He cursed loudly when he realized he would have go a little way before being able to take a U turn to follow the vehicle. He tried calling her but her phone was unreachable. He increased the accelerator of his Royal Enfield. He hoped he wouldn’t lose sight of the van.

When he had reached Faridkot an hour earlier he was surprised to find that the house was practically empty. Nani and mami were out on a temple visit but when he tried to find Khushi the nurse had told him that Khushi had stepped for a little while but hadn’t told her where. Finally, the domestic help Hariprakash had remembered seeing Khushi getting into a bus headed toward Moga.

Unfortunately, her phone had been unreachable increasing his anxiety. It had crossed his mind when he had left Faridkot that he was probably overreacting that Khushi had ventured off on her own. But something had prodded him to get onto his bike and go after her.

 He had thankfully been able to reach her when he was half way to Moga and he had specifically told her to stay put there. A simple suggestion which she hadn’t adhered to. What the f@#$ was wrong with her?

There it was! He heaved a sigh of relief when he was able to spot the vehicle at a distance. He had followed his instinct and stayed on the highway toward Faridkot and it had paid off. Thankfully, a picture of a famous film actress on the back window had helped him distinguish the van amongst so many others. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic blocking him from actually catching up to the vehicle and the speed at which the van was going didn’t help.

He saw that the van had stayed on the NH 95 instead of taking a left turn toward NH15 that lead to Faridkot. Arnav wondered if she had taken the wrong van or was it just possible that all his fears were coming true and Khushi was indeed in some danger.

As the last passenger got off, Khushi sat in the van wondering if she was a tad impulsive getting on to the van. What would Arnav have done when he realized she wasn’t at Coffee Day, she thought. Would he have enquired inside and realized she had taken a ride back to Faridkot? She should call him. Khushi took her phone out of her purse to realize there was no signal. Damn!

As darkness closed in, she began to wonder if the van was going in the right direction. Shouldn’t they have reached Faridkot by now? “Bhai saab?” she addressed the driver, “when will we reach Faridkot?”

“Very soon.” The man grunted without looking back at her.

“I thought we should have reached by now.” She prodded.

“Go back to your seat.”

Khushi knew something was not right the moment he has said that. Oh God! What was she going to do now? She wished she could call Arnav right now. He was probably on the same road back to Faridkot. Then an idea flashed to her and she decided to give it a try.

“Hello? Arnavji!” She spoke loudly into the phone. “yes yes I am in that white van –

The driver looked back at her for a moment and Khushi smiled back at him confidently.

“What? You want us to stop? Oh you are right behind us and you will pick me up?”

Suddenly the driver stopped the vehicle and turned toward her. “Stop this non sense!” He barked at her. “I know you are faking it because there is no signal on this road.”

“I am not faking!” Khushi insisted, “look – why don’t you just drop me off right here. I will wait for him.”

“Give me you phone!” he demanded angrily.

“Why are you doing this?” Khushi implored, “Please let me go.”

“Shut up!” He advanced toward her.

Just then, a bike zoomed up in front of the vehicle.

“Khushi?” Arnav opened the door to the van and rushed inside. “Are you okay?”

Arnav’s face was contorted with something akin to fear. She threw her arms around him. “I am fine.” She muttered with relief.

Arnav stepped back to see the driver making a run for it into the woods. “Stay right here,” he told her, “I will be back.” Arnav stepped off the van and ran in the direction in which the man and taken off.

Ten minutes later, Arnav came back panting and out of breath Khushi heaved a sigh of relief.

“Why did you have to go after that man?” She demanded angrily. “What if something had happened to you.”

“Stop talking!” Arnav glowered. “Let’s get of here!” He walked to the bike and switched on the engine.

Khushi got onto the bike her eyes brimming with unshed tears but she refused to cry.

“Hold on to me,” he said, “I don’t want you to fall off and cause me more problems.”

Khushi sat with her hands folded in the middle feeling the cold wind hit her body mercilessly but she refused to heed his words. But when the bike hit a bad patch after a distance she was forced to change her stance and she automatically wrapped her hand around his waist.

“I told you to hold on to me didn’t I?” He barked.

“I know this was a deliberate ploy on your part to make me do you bidding!” She said, her lips close to his ears.

“Oh please!”  Arnav shot back.

This girl would the death of him yet, Arnav thought trying his best to keep his mind on the road. He had been finding it extremely difficult to concentrate the moment she had pressed herself to his back and wrapped her hands around him. And when she had spoken into his ear, he was afraid he was going to lose control of the vehicle. And then she had gone silent with her face pressed to his shoulder.

 “Where are we going?” Khushi said, when Arnav turned into a dark dirt road. She couldn’t see clearly it looked like there were fields on either side of the road.

Arnav stopped the bike in front of a house like structure. “Get off the bike!”

Khushi got off feeling cold without the warmth of Arnav’s body next to hers. While she shivered, Arnav parked the bike and holding her hand in his, he briskly walked toward the house and switched on the porch light. Kneeling down on the floor, he extracted a key from the inside the switchboard.

“How did you know the key was there?” She said in wonder.

He stepped into the house and switched on the lights. The light from the only bulb in the room filled the room with a dim ambience.

Khushi realized that Arnav was angry with her for listening to him and she had no intention of going anywhere near him in this mood. “I think I will find my way back home ---“

Arnav walked up to her and pulled her inside, shut the door with a bang. “You are not going anywhere!”

“I want to go home!”

“The hell we are!” Arnav growled, “I drove all the way from Batala, came looking for you to Moga, followed you to Ferozepur.

“Ferozepur?” Khushi said, her eyes going wide with shock.                          

“Yes!”