Friends.,
This short story is my take on the REALIZATION of Anandi., w.r.t her feelings for Shiv .
Somehow, I feel, this realization for Anandi will be an instantaneous moment, after absorbing, over the period of time., what a gem of a man Shiv is' Just as,it had been for Shiv.
My story is woven around the thought process Anandi had, comparing herself to a leaf drifting in a wind'..though not same'but similar'I hope I've done justice to this plot.
I apologize if I may be disappointing any of you who have different view on the subject'.As said'this is just my take.
I'am most Thankful to my beloved cousin, for helping me in fine tuning my vocabulary .
Lastly., MYRA'This is specially for you'.with a hope that u will like it'
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The story will be divided into 2 parts '..and will be in the POV of Anandi.
The setting is one afternoon at CH., the wedding date of AnSh is around the corner' Anandi has been invited for a Family Lunch by the Shekhars'
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REALIZATION
Silently I slip outside into the well kept and beautiful shady garden of CH for a stroll., all by myself., on this surprisingly breezy late afternoon'leaving Shiv & the family to their joyful conversation and lively banter.
My eyes fall on a flower that has fallen on the ground'It is a beautiful flower full of intoxicating scent , and would have danced daintily to the soft breeze when it had not fallen to the ground'.
I slowly pick up the flower'make myself comfortable on a nearby cement bench'inhale its wonderful scent for a moment and begin to pluck the petals off... one by one and simply let the breeze take them away. I watch as gravity causes the petals to spiral down and fall towards the ground. Many people would see this action as a meaningless thing but to me it means everything. This simple action is weighing up my options; the outcome is always the same though, never changing.
The petals I pluck off are always trying to float away with the wind, but are forever getting pulled downwards to the ground below. This simple action is telling me that even if I do confess , my relationship with Shiv would probably never work out after all'
Confessing my feelings would be the start of my journey. It will be hard to get the courage at first. When I do gather the right amount of courage, I am hoping it will be easy and it will feel almost natural to confess these feelings so similar to love.
Things had changed. Things are definitely different now. I have been dancing around it, dodging it for months.., Gone are the walls, the barriers, the pretense that we are only friends, even if we are best friends. There was more than friendship there now and I'am beginning to acknowledge it.
Looking back at our journey from past few months till now., I have a myriad of emotions etched in my memory'
There were looks ' long, unbroken stares in some cases, when our eyes met and we no longer looked away. We held each others' gaze, searching for the words to describe what we were feeling for each other, what we were allowing to happen' finally.
There were touches too.. usually quick, usually too brief but powerful nonetheless. Powerful because they were intentional, and we both knew it. Powerful because, there was pent up love, and passion in us. When we touched, even the slightest brush of an arm against an arm, a small squeeze of the hand , it was like magic.
There's so much more between us, I just don't want to scratch the surface'
I think I had loved him from the very beginning, as if he had always carried around a piece of my heart that was lost and finally found the day we met.
I knew it even then, when I look back at times, he had come to my rescue or to my side when I was hurt. That is his greatest gift of all , an unwavering sense of loyalty and devotion.
He is also the first to make me smile when my world is grey, bring me out of my shell, when all you want to do is retreat into a corner.
I was watched over by him., protected by him., guided by him., He found me my spirit, challenged me., engaged me., gave me a reason to smile, to love, to believe.
I am pretty sure it is love, but by being in love with someone, will that stop things from going sour'? I do not believe that , it's probable that a person could fall out of love just as easily as they fell into it in the first place'..
If I confessed, I would be like the petal floating away, hoping that the wind would lift me up and I could continue with my adventure without having gravity pulling me back down to the ground, to the harshness of reality that is certainly the rejection.
Rejection is what I fear the most, as it has happened with me before.. I guess that is the main reason I've never given much thought to confessing my love. Why risk it when I am so positive that no matter how many petals I pull off I will never be able to float away without falling. I will not be able to get up by myself again if I am rejected. Someone needs to be there to hoist me up. Simply picking up a petal from the ground is giving it a second chance, but if I fall I doubt my legs will be able to bear the weight of my crestfallen form once again.
I will never be sure for certain whether or not this relationship will work but I guess all I can do is go for it.
I stand up as the last petal makes its last fleeting attempt to stay above the ground, .
I then see Shiv walking towards me'He sees me and with happiness as well as relief etched on his face, begins to rush towards me with longer strides.
Looking at him at that moment, a sense of realization dawns upon me..,
It had not been an easy road for us'still my road never diverged from him'.wherever I was., I knew where my home would be'it would be with him.
I don't know., if I'll ever be able to find the words to tell him what all he is to me'but one thing is for certain., my world is a better place b'coz ShivRaj Shekhar is in it and I'll love him till the day I die..
May be it won't be so bad confessing to him, he might pick me up if I fall. Who knows, he might even be the one to never let me fall'.
But then., that moment of my confession may not be now'. For sure., some time in near future'..
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Final part updated on pg. 4'.
Your feedback in all forms is appreciated'.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
