Rantara SS - Teen Din [Part 2, P.3]

In the dead of the night, Raghu continued pacing his garage restlessly. It had been like this for the past 3 days'since he had impetuously yelled at and ruthlessly ripped the ghungroo from her ankle. Three days since his aaji had even looked at him. Three days since Mach Mach had said anything to him apart from curtly answering his questions and commands. Three days since'he had caught even a glimpse of her...

She lived across the narrow little lane for god's sake! He had seen her at least once every 15-20mins since the day she had moved in, then where the hell had she been for the last three days? She no longer did any of the things she used to; she didn't come to dry clothes on her balcony, didn't chase after Ishu to eat dinner or do his homework, didn't sit with everyone in the living room sipping their weird Kashmiri keva laughing and joking, and certainly didn't come to his house anymore. He hadn't fired her officially and yet his message had been loud and clear from the moment he had barged in on their little dance competition. Of course she wouldn't come to his house anymore; Raghu knew she was only doing what he had wanted and yet he was just so angry. Fine, she understood she was no longer wanted as his aaji's nurse but did she have to completely hide? It was like she didn't even live there anymore. The thought momentarily brought panic to him, Kya pichli baar ki tarah jaane ka faisla toh nahin karliya, Raghu wondered. But then he remembered Noor aapa drying her clothes every day; Shukravaar ka peella chudidaar, kal ka gulaabi, aur aaj ka haraa, he counted, slowly calming his suddenly racing heart. Ironically, he didn't even realize he had memorized her wardrobe and could distinguish her clothes from those of all the other women in the house...or the fact that he wasn't even thinking about the more obvious signs of her continued stay...the fact that she would go nowhere without Ishu or her mother...

He had sat, stood, and paced his balcony and garage every minute for the last three days and yet the curtains in her room had remained drawn, almost stubbornly so. Aaji and Mach Mach had gone to see her daily and yet adamantly refused to even mention their visit or her condition'not that he had outwardly asked them. But they knew! So what if I didn't ask, they knew what I wanted to know and they just continue to refuse to say anything, his mind answered back, refusing to listen to the voice in his heart which for the past three days had been screaming of his wrongdoing.

Raghu ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he remembered the doctor's advice...was she even changing the bandages on her ankles like she was supposed, he wondered. Thoughts of her burned hand flooded his mind; jalle hue haath pe toh ointment nahin lagaya toh pattiya kya khaakh badle gi? Apne aap ka bikul khyal nahin hai, he sneered. Enough was enough. He needed to see her'now' He quickly pocketed the necessary items and determinedly made his way to the darkened area of her house. With catlike agility, he quickly scaled the pipe and jumped quietly onto her balcony...

*****

Antara had been staring at the ceiling wide awake in the middle of the night as he brother slept peacefully beside her. Thoughts of Raghu, their fights, his anger and the last few days flooded her mind. Even after everything that had happened, she couldn't even bring herself to be angry with him. It was her fault, she knew. She was supposed to be the caretaker, she should have made sure Aaji was sitting and taking care of herself no matter what Aaji said. Why did she allow herself to be dragged into this? Of course he should be angry, Aaji almost fainted for god's sake! Antara continued tossing and turning, sleep completely evading her as it had for the past few days. She looked over at a peacefully sleeping Ishaan next to her and immediately felt her guilt multiply. Raghu had done everything to help her, from getting the city's top doctor for her mother's treatment to arranging an excellent tutor for Ishu (the latter which he hadn't even wanted her to know about), and what had she done? Nothing. She couldn't even properly do the one thing he had asked, rather paid her to do. And instead of facing him and apologizing like she would have normally done, what did she do? She hid. So contrary to her innate nature, so contrary to everything her father had taught her, she hid, like a coward. What was wrong with her? She never behaved like this then what was it about his anger this time that made her behave this way?

Kyunki tu uski aankhon mein tere liye nafrat nahin dekhna chaahti, a little voice inside her piped up. It was true. No matter how many times they fought, him kicking her out of the basti, her slapping him, all those times and countless others they had yelled and fought and yet not once had she seen hatred in his eyes. But from the moment he caught an almost fainting Aaji in his arms, she had seen something different in his eyes; hate. And so she had done something she had never done before...she hid and ran away from the problem. She didn't have the strength to face him yet. This couldn't go on for long. Antara knew sooner or later she would have to come out from her self-imposed exile because she was sure Raghu was not done being upset with her, getting angry at her, hating her...She didn't even consider that it was not hate but something else she saw in his eyes that day...disappointment...

It was these very thoughts that were running through her head when she heard a faint thud on her balcony. A part of her had been expecting him sooner, she was surprised he had managed to control his anger for three whole days'but she still wasn't ready to face him. So Antara quickly closed her eyes feigning sleep and thanking god that Ishaan slept like a rock...

*****

Raghu had finally made it up the pipe and onto her balcony when he looked at her closed balcony door. She hardly ever locked it, he knew, the only time being when she was purposely trying to keep him out. He momentarily paused, thinking about how he would get in if the door was locked until he realized it was only Antara and Ishu in the room now. Her mother and Noor Aapa had been moved to another guest room last week. With a sly smile, he made his way over. If she was going to lock the door, he would just bang on it until she opened it...

However, it never came to that. Raghu all but gave it a gentle push and the door squeaked open to reveal a peacefully sleeping Antara. Raghu just stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of her after three long days and nights. He had stopped being mad at her long ago. Somewhere deep down he had always known that she would never jeopardize Aaji's health even while he was yelling at her. Yet he had taken his anger out on her knowing full well there was probably another side to the story. And so upon returning from the doctor when Aaji had told him what really happened, that she had been sitting the whole time, that from the moment she got up Antara had been trying to make her sit, the little remaining anger that was still present immediately evaporated and was replaced with waves and waves of guilt. Instead of anger, it had been guilt and worry that had eaten away at him for the past few days. But as he finally laid his eyes on her, all his anxiety and frustration magically disappeared, replaced by a calm just seeing her in the flesh before him. As he finally stepped in and discreetly closed the balcony doors behind him, his eyes immediately went to her bandaged ankle. His temper immediately spiked upon seeing her in a chudidaar. Doctor ne kaha tha ke ghaav pe patti ke sivai koi kapda yaah tight cheez nahin baandhni chaahiye, lekin phir bhi yeh aeydi ne yeh pehna hai! Raghu walked to the bed and sat down at the foot, giving her a determined look. Slowly, he unsnapped the buttons on her chudiddar and rolled it up, revealing a smooth and creamy calf. Raghu gulped as he tried to bury the strange feelings that stirred every time he was near her and tried concentrating on the task at hand. As he unraveled the bandage, he was surprised to see that even after several days the wound was far from healing. With a guilty sigh, he fished out the ointment and fresh bandage from his pockets and gently redressed her wound all the while keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't wake up. But Antara didn't even stir, let alone wake up. She just continued to lay there absolutely still...looking a little strange...barely even breathing...like...like she was pretending! Raghu stood there flabbergasted, not knowing if he should be angry or laugh at her antics. Mujhe patta hai ke tu nattak kar rahi hai Miss Kaul, kyunki jab tu asal mein sotti hai tab tera mooh aise kas ke bandh nahi hota, tere hoat phule hue hote hai, Raghu grinned as he thought back to the night she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He hadn't even realized he had been staring at her then, but the memory now brought a smile to his face. All he had wanted to do was lick that sauce off her face but he had been pretending he hated her for so long that he hadn't had the guts to even wipe it off let alone lick it off...

But the hell that he had been in for the past three days had made one thing crystal clear to him; he had feelings for Antara and he would be damned if he would back down from them. Raghunath Naik does not run away from anything. And in that moment, he decided that not only would he humor his Miss Kaul in this little game she was playing but by the end of it, she would be his...

With resolute steps, he made his way over to her cupboard and one by one took out every chudiddar pant she owned and put them in an empty bag. "Ab kya karegi Antara? Doctor ki baat seedhe tareeke se nahin maann ni thi, toh ab bhugat. Ek bhi chudiddar milega hi nahin, toh apne aap baat maann ni hogi," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. Raghu had been about to make his way out with the bag when a thought struck him. With a smirk, he made his way back to her bed and slowly bent towards Antara. Oh she was definitely awake! Raghu almost burst out laughing as he saw Antara all but stop breathing and look as if she wanted the mattress to swallow her as she sensed his proximity. Tu nahin jaanti tu kisse paanga le rahi hai Miss Kaul, he thought with almost diabolical glee. He gently ran a thumb across her bottom lip before placing a quick but firm kiss on her cheek. "Sleep tight Miss Kaul," he whispered in her ear before quickly leaving. Oh how he wished he could have stuck around to see the expression on her face but he knew if he wanted this to work, he had to stick to the plan. Antara was not even going to know what hit her, Raghu grinned as he made his way home...

*****