Part-4
The morning sun was shining brightly. Viraf was getting ready for his usual factory inspection. And the other thing was that day he had a meeting fixed with a company owner as he wanted to expand his business now.
"Ma..." he called while combing his hair, but he got no reply. Placing the comb in its place, he came out and saw his mother in the dining hall, sitting idly on a chair. Why is her face so pale? He thought.
"Are you all right?" Viraf asked, standing in front of her. "What happened?"
"Nothing," his mother replied in a fragile tone and took a plate from the table to give him food.
He narrowed his eyes. "Has brother sent any letter?"
His mother nodded.
He sat down, "Listen Ma... I think now you should have accepted the truth..."
He took the plate from his mother's hand, "Don't take too much tension and take care of yourself rather than thinking of him. I'll try to meet him... But only for your sake." She smiled.
The meeting was fixed at 11:30 and he was late. After his brother left them for his career's sake, his mother broke down mentally. That's the only reason he had quit his job and started this small business because he couldn't do what his brother did. His brother sent them one or two letters often, but that was not enough for a mother's heart, which always wanted to see her child in front of her. Viraf was not at all keen to meet with him, but this situation was something different and he had to do it for his mother.
"Viraf..." He was on his bike and was wearing the helmet when he heard someone calling him by his name. He turned and found a local boy there.
"What??" he replied nonchalantly.
"Madam is looking for you..."
A sense of irritation enveloped his face,
"Why?" he asked while putting back his helmet.
"I don't know... But it is urgent... She is in the office. Go and meet her"
The tone of his voice was a little commanding and it was quite normal. Madam aka Savitri Mahtre was a political leader and quite an influential personality of this area. Viraf frowned and after much hesitation, he came to the party office. The room was beautifully decorated. A glass table was situated middle of the room with 8 to 10 comfy chairs. The framed pictures on the walls were gleaming. Over all, a feel good atmosphere was there, Savitri was on the phone.
"No... No... I'll handle it... Don't worry." The boy whispered something in her ears. She looked at Viraf and gestured him to a seat. He sat down in front of her.
"I'll call you later..." She cut the call and looked at him.
"You wanted to meet me... But I am in a little hurry... So..."
Savitri smiled slightly, "You are talking like a mini industrialist... How is your factory going on?"
"The factory is going well..."
She nodded and then said, "And what about your science club?"
"We do shows often... Members are increasing..." Viraf saw the time, "You wanted to tell me something..."
"This... Your science club... You have to do a show..."
"Where?"
"In a university... This coming Sunday..."
"But if it's a Party's campaign, then I'll not do..."
"Why? Why you have so much enmity with our party?" Savitri's lips were curved in a smile.
"It's not about enmity. I want to keep this thing apolitical... that's it."
Savitri's smile became cold. She said nothing.
Viraf stood up from the chair,
"I'll do the show..." And he left.
Chhavi was sitting cross-legged on the sofa and was engrossed in a book. She was wearing a sea-blue spaghetti top and a light brown palazzo pant. Her untied hair was scattered about her shoulders. Outside, the roads were gleaming with street lights, the evening has its own charm. The bell rang with its mechanical sound and Chhavi went to open the door. Urmila was there, back from her office. Without saying anything, Chhavi was again absorbed in the book. Entering in the room, Urmila's eyes stuck with the person who was sitting on another sofa and was busy with his phone. With a smiling face and surprised expression, Urmila came forward.
"You...??" Parth stood up from the sofa.
"Aree... Sit... When did you come back to Pune?"
"Yesterday aunty," he replied while sitting down.
Urmila sat in front of him, she looked at Chhavi, who was still engrossed in the book, with the nook of her eyes. She whispered her name,
"Chhavi..."
"What?" she replied without looking at her.
"What is this? He is sitting here right in-front of you and you are reading this book...???" Her tone of voice was quite angry.
"So what...?" She said while flipping the page.
"Where is your father?"
"Inside..." Urmila shook her head and looking at Parth, she said, "I'll be back in a minute..." And she left.
Entering into their bedroom, Urmila's brows furrowed and she frowned. Shekhar was writing something on his notepad, beside him two dictionaries and books were scattered.
"Listen..."
"Hmm..."
"Chhavi has been reading a book for so long. You should have attended him..." She said coming closer to the table.
"They are spending time together... What can I do there?" He replied without lifting his head.
Urmila snatched his writing pad, Shekhar looked at her.
"Why are you so angry? He is like our own son... I thought to offer him cigarette... But he is a non-smoker... To talk with him about theatre ... Waste of time..." He smiled
"Ufff..." Urmila didn't find any answer.
"You are still reading...put it aside..." Urmila said in a displeased tone while entering into the drawing room. Chhavi put the book on the table reluctantly. Parth smiled to see Urmila.
"You are looking very tired Aunty." He said looking at her.
"No, actually so much pressure in the office..." she replied. "How is your mother?" Sitting in front of him she asked.
"Mom is good...busy with her duties and social work...today she has gone to Uncle's home..."
Urmila didn't understand, "Is it an old-age home?"
"No..no actually it's my mother's uncle's home. He is going through a down-phase in life. Last month he got a heart-attack, and aunty is an asthma patient...so mom goes there quite often"
"And their children?"
"Of course...They have one son who is in Vancouver and one daughter...she is in Mumbai...busy with her own life. Actually at this age there are thousands of health related problems and all..that too throughout the year...how they can attend?"
Chhavi was silent for long, "You mean that children can't look after them?" Now her voice rose a little bit.
"Of course...he is sending lots and lots of money..."
She nodded.
"You mean doing away with dollars?"
"What do you expect? He, at the peak of his career come back here to take care of his parents..?? Be practical!"
"In old-age every person becomes helpless...this is the reality." Urmila said unmindfully as if she saw her senility in her imagination. Chhavi turned to her mother hearing her.
"Ma, I do not agree with this discussion, and Parth every child should have a responsibility just like every parent does...and that is normal."
Parth laughed.
"There can be a huge debate on this topic. Parents should learn how to keep themselves busy and if you talk about health related issues that can be taken care of with money...If my parent was sick that doesn't mean that I have to be there for them...quitting my own job..."
"You mean we have to erase all our sentiments and emotions...? Well, I don't agree."
"But I do... I do a job and if i get something bigger then I shall belong to that place."
"You want to be sold...?"
"Yes..why not??"
Urmila caught his words, "Have you got anything big?"
"Actually a casual talk with a Delhi based company happened some days earlier...but nothing is finalized. I'll let you know."
Chhavi looked at him at once. If this marriage happened then she would have to go with him to Delhi and with this thought a familiar face became visible in front of her eyes, her heart stopped for a bit and a sudden fear engrossed her.
"Why don't you both go for an evening stroll?"
Chhavi was startled hearing her mother's voice, she looked at her with a dull expression. Urmila tapped her shoulder gently,
"What...??"
"I have no mood to do so." And she left at once which made them both surprised.
The night was dark, Viraf was at the factory till now. The meeting was quite successful; they told him to create a new fragrance in order to get their first project. In front of him were some of the testing vials situated in a row. He was writing the components of it, suddenly his eyes stuck with a perfume bottle which was lying in a corner of the table. The perfume was the same which Chhavi used that day, and on the day of the reception she told him the name of it, the name was odd; Deadly'. The name itself brought a feeling of the murderer, but who is the killer? The perfume itself? Or the girl who used it? He smiled at this thought.
Urmila came to Chhavi's room in search of her, after that argument between them she hadn't come back. Parth too had gone. Chhavi was standing at the balcony. The darkness of the night was intense, the Gulmohar tree of the compound gate was looking like an abstract sculpture. Isn't this road looking like a river...What was that... "Pitch dark," She smiled unmindfully, a line came across her mind.
"...alone in the loneliness of this hour of the dead..." What was the next line? She tried to remember, but she got no answer from her brain instead a thought occurred, if Parth wants to take her along with him to Delhi? The very thought made her heart skip a bit once again...but things like these were settled from earlier, then why was she feeling so miserable today? As if everything which was happening was all wrong...everything is falling apart... and why is she remembering Viraf so much today? Does it mean that she...?
He took the bottle, sprayed it on his wrist, and smelled it, surprising! The smell was not the same! What were the components? Bergamot oil...light essence of eucalyptus...what else? He smelled again. A kind of flowery fragrance...unfamiliar flower... not like jasmine or lavender... is it ylang ylang? Or fixative? Why it seems like civetone?? Then it was floral! Why he didn't understand that day...? That day he got a weird smell? Like a new leaf... Short on wild... did she have a specific smell of herself or was it something else? He rested his head on the chair and closed his eyes.
"Chhavi."
She turned to her mother, keeping her expression as normal as far as possible, but she couldn't give her mother's eyes a diddle.
"What happened to you?" She asked in an anxious tone,
Her face had a guise of suppressed emotions; as if a sudden cloud had overcast a spring sky.
"I don't want to do this marriage." She said looking at the opaque horizon faraway.
"Why?" Urmila's voice was cold.
"Because I can't live without you...papa...and...and..." She stopped to take a breath, Urmila was gazing at her with a misgiving eye.
"Ma can't you just stop this marriage...?" her ardour voice said.
"But why? There must be a reason behind it..." The mild breeze which was blowing was cold, an acute stillness was congealed in that darkness.
Chhavi shook her head calmly,
"That's the thing Ma... there is no reason behind it...to make this marriage."
"What are you saying...??? What happened to you?" She placed her hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know...but there is something missing Ma..." She said in a calm voice and turned her face again to that frozen darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...
CID
