The rain now came to a halt when a mechanical sound started coming out from her bag. The whole incident which happened sometime earlier was so much spontaneous that the sudden sense of reality gave her a jerk and she released herself from his arms at once. She brought out the phone from her bag; the screen was flashing with the caller name "Ma" on the screen. Chhavi looked at Viraf and then received the call.
"Where are you Chhavi? I can't believe that you are behaving so carelessly...do you have any idea what the time is right now?" Urmila's grouchy tone started disgorging over her as usual. Chhavi was listening calmly.
"Now why are you so silent? Say something!"
"Ma...I am at my University...and I came here with your permission, then why are you behaving so weirdly? And it's only 6:00..." But she faced an interruption before completing her words.
"Come home right now Chhavi...Do you know Parth is waiting for you since 45 minutes...?" Urmila stopped to take a breath.
Chhavi frowned for a while, she couldn't understand why Parth was waiting for her,
"Why...what is he doing there?" She said astonished.
"What do you mean? Have you gone mad? Obviously he is waiting for you...Come home right now." And the call got disconnected. She had completely forgotten about Parth and the sudden utterance of his name made her conscious about reality.
"Is everything alright?" She turned to face Viraf, hearing his worried voice from the back.
"Now everything is perfectly alright." She smiled.
"Are you sure...? You are looking a bit tensed!" Viraf said, holding her shoulder gently.
"Nothing Viraf, bas! I have to go..."
"Ok...come I'll drop you."
"No...I..."
"Don't argue. I can't let you go alone like that..." Viraf held her hands.
"Viraf try to understand, I can't go with you right now...if mom senses something I won't be able to handle her..."
Viraf nodded. A sadness again started enveloping her. "Ok...call me after you've reached."
"Yeah...I'll." Viraf released her hands reluctantly. She smiled, a sad heart's smile and started walking towards the main road. She realized what she wanted, but now she had to make them realize her feelings. And the first person will be Parth, yes before Urmila she has to tell him about Viraf today.
A gust of laughter caught her ears when she halted at the doorstep. The door was wide open, and the drawing room was occupied with Parth and his parents. Her mother was sitting on another couch. Chhavi's jaw dropped to see them on the spur of the moment here. It was startling for her as well as shocking as she didn't know that Parth's parents would be here. She entered the room silently. Her footsteps made a slight sound and due to the effect of that Urmila looked at the root of the sound at once.
"Are Chhavi has come..." She shouted, but the exclamation of happiness stung in her ears. The people in the room turned their heads to her.
"Chhavi...seeing you after such a long time. Come here..." Chhavi tried to grin, but the smile didn't cooperate with her. Urmila looked at her from the corner of her eyes. But Chhavi didn't bother.
"Aunty actually I got wet due to the rain...Need to change..." And she went to her room without giving them any chance to counter her. But without looking at Urmila, she understood that she was offended.
She threw her bag on the bed and sat there with a clunk. Anxiety and worry were rambling in her mind. "What is Parth doing here, and that too with his parents? I didn't tell him anything about meeting today, nor did he tell me regarding this, then why is he here? Are they here to finalize my wedding date...but so soon? Why didn't Parth tell me anything about it?"
There were many questions puzzling her, but she didn't find any answer. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door. Chhavi got up from the bed.
"Who is it?" She asked from inside, keeping her voice as normal as possible.
"Parth..."
Chhavi felt an awkward uneasiness hearing his voice and she opened the door after taking some time.
"Come in..." She said and started arranging her study table.
"Where have you been? I was waiting for you..." Parth's voice was agitated.
"But Parth, you didn't tell me that you are coming..." She said in a normal tone while keeping her books away.
"Yeah, actually I wanted to give you a surprise...Why?? Don't you like it...? He tried to hold her waist, a sense of abhorrence gripped her body.
She turned at once and said,"Parth...What if I don't marry you?
"Huh! What are you saying?" Parth smiled mockingly.
"Yeah, Don't you feel that we should think twice before getting married? I mean...is it really a good decision?"
The mild light of the table lamp got mixed up with her unswerving face.
"What are you saying?" Parth didn't believe what she was saying, "It is the stark decision, we have known each other from such a long time..."
"The man who sells tea outside our university, I too know him for quite some years...so according to your logic I should marry him too." She said quite annoyed and folded her hands.
"What is wrong with you? Have you gone totally insane? Tell me one thing, has anything happened at your University? Any fight? Misunderstanding? I think you are upset over any reason...you should take rest!"
Chhavi got a shiver hearing Parth's last word, the word 'University'
reminded her the whole incident which happened today, the warmth of his hug, serenity of his touch, as if the whole incident was happening with her again. His dark and deep eyes, oozing passion and intense love, everything had started enveloping her again. She felt her heart skip a bit.
The rain had started again when he entered into the house. Nobody was around; looking at himself he became tensed because he was fully drenched, so he thought of going to his room stealthily. If his mother saw him like that then nobody could save him from her scolding.
"Viraf..." He stopped and turned slowly, his mother was standing there with a suspicious facial expression. "From where are you coming like this? Drenched like a wet crow?"
He took some time to answer, then said, "Today was the programme...I told you nah...then when I was coming back, the rain started and I got drenched..." He smiled, but seeing his mother as firm as before, he restricted his smile.
"Why are you staring at me like this?" He said in a weird tone looking at his mother who was staring at him. But she didn't give any answer. Viraf turned back to move, when her voice made him stop again.
"Who is the girl?" Viraf felt abashed hearing his mother. He didn't understand how his mother could ask him this question all of a sudden. Has anybody seen them together today when they were on the road? Or was she randomly asking him this question? He became perplexed.
"Aree...what is her name?" He again heard his mother's voice.
"Who are you talking about?" He asked in a gullible tone."No one... Go and change." She replied smiling and was about to move when Viraf said, "Ma...how did you know that..."
But before he could complete his question, his mother came closer to him and caressed his hair.
"Bring her once to our house...I want to meet her. Now go...if you stand here like this, you would catch a cold." She was his mother, how could he even think that he could diddle her. He nodded and left. His mother smiled to see him happy.
Chhavi was lying on the bed after Parth and his family left. Since then she hadn't gone to meet anyone including her mother. She could hear from the room her mother telling someone over the phone how good Parth was, his family, how much they cared for her. Chhavi was irritated; anger, hatred, pain she felt everything together. The morning had started beautifully, but suddenly Parth's entry again ruined everything. She didn't understand why everyone was behaving like without Parth there was nobody who she can marry. In what respect did people believe that he was perfect for her? A feeling of excruciation was gripping her. Was that his hard-heartedness, which had bewitched everybody? Or his firmness which made her mother enthralled? She heard her mother's voice calling her for dinner. She got up and came to the dining room; Shekhar too was there, eating silently. Urmila was offended, she knew that, but today she didn't feel any urge to manofy her.
"I was thinking to postpone the marriage..." Chhavi said.
Urmila and Shekhar both stared at her at once.
"Why?" Urmila's harsh voice asked.
"I think I should wait for my Ph.D to complete."
"You can do that after your marriage...and Parth's family won't agree to postpone the marriage, furthermore, they already postponed it when his grandfather died...now if we tell them to do this again they won't agree." Urmila said while pouring water into the glasses.
"Now I have to do things with their choice? I can't...Sorry." And she left, making her dumbfounded.
After dinner, Viraf was sitting unmindfully on the balcony when a vibration came from his phone. His expectation was set, but the caller's name gave him a momentary irritation. After two rings, he received the call.
"Hello..."
"I must say that I am lucky...you received the call..." Savitri's husky voice said in one breath. Viraf felt a little annoyed , he didn't like Savitri for her extremely intrusive nature, though he replied keeping his voice as polite as possible.
"Is there anything important?"
"Yes...certainly...could you come to the office now?" Her raucous voice asked.
Viraf frowned, "Actually, at this time I can't...but I will come tomorrow."
He heard the sound of her cranky smile, "Ok...as you wish, and anyway for you, everything's perfectly all right."
"Good night." Viraf said and cut the call at once. The night seemed darker.
"Is there something which is bothering you?" Chhavi looked at the doorstep from where Shekhar's voice came. She was reading a book before going to sleep. Seeing her father, she closed the book.
"Suddenly why are you asking me this?" she asked.
"Just like that...since childhood you shared everything with me. If today you want to say anything, you can...I'm here..." He smiled.
"Papa, I think you should now tell ma about the golden handshake."
"Golden handshake!!!!!" They both didn't notice when Urmila came there.
"Yes...actually..." Shekhar got up from the bed, Chhavi rose as well.
"When did it happen?" Urmila's voice was extremely cold. Chhavi felt an unknown fear looking at Urmila, she stood like a motionless statue.
"A few days ago..." His timid voice replied back.
"Why you didn't tell me that?" Urmila's voice rose a bit higher.
"What would you do after knowing this news?"
"Don't you feel any shame? The whole life I'm dying little by little and today you hide this from me?"
Shekhar looked at her in a bemusing way, "I thought... you couldn't take the news...I was helpless too, I don't want to give you pain anymore... since 25 years I'm dying too by guilt...guilt of not being the person who you want, guilt of never being able to give you anything except pain..." Shekhar kept his head down.
"You spend your whole life by just thinking...the person with whom I fell in love...I never wanted to change him, I know you left everything, your dream, your passion, I never wanted to see you as a robot... when the love we shared suddenly became mere understanding, I didn't even notice..." Her voice was shaking, a teardrop fell from her eyes, Shekhar touched her shoulder gently, Urmila placed her hand over his palm.
"I'm still alive, my theatre group is still alive. Nothing will happen...I never let your dream to be dead..." Shekhar's calm voice replied.
Chhavi felt a thin pain in her chest, first time for them, for both, for their love which is still alive deep down in their hearts. She turned her face towards the wall, their shadows were there, shivering through the light... She realized people change but their shadows never change!
TO BE CONTINUED...
🥳
Cricket
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