PART 17:-
DHARAM AND SIA'S FORMAL INTRODUCTION
Dharam had to literally cut the back side of his pants to get free. He was too embarrassed to tell Nivriti. So he sat at the dining table till no one was in sight. He went upstairs and changed his pants. Later he headed for the garage and took out his Corolla. He drove off to Crosswords. He went to the Crossword Book Store situated at Peddar Road. It is the biggest book store in Mumbai. He easily got parking space. He parked the car and went inside the shop.
Dharam was almost close to crazy inside the store. This always happened to him whenever he went to a book store. He wouldn't know what to choose and would end up buying more books then he needed. But even so, he would finish reading all of them as quickly as possible.
He kept glancing through all the sections with a carry bag in his hand. He reached the Fiction Section and started looking for the book he came for. He took out the book and read the back page of the cover. It looked interested. He put it in his bag and started looking for more books.
After a few minutes, Dharam heard the tinkling sound of a payal. It was highly unlikely that Dharam could think about something other than books when he had come to such a big store. He didn't know why he couldn't avoid the sound of this approaching payal. The sounds stopped and Dharam felt that that person was right behind him. A very soft voice spoke from behind, "Excuse Me."
Dharam immediately recognized that voice. He turned around. It was her. It was Sia. She was looking gorgeous as usual. This time she was wearing a red chudidaar studded with mirror work. She had matching long red earrings each having a small piece of mirror as the center piece. She had a small red bindi on her forehead. Her eyes were lined finely with a black coloured eyeliner. She had a little mascara on her eye lashes while she flaunted a thick lining of kajal. Her lips were covered with a thin layer of transparent shiny lip gloss. Her necklace was red and also had mirror works on it. She wore metal red bangles which had a sparkling effect. She also wore matching red coloured mojri on her feet.
Dharam just looked at her and never stopped looking. Those few moments felt like hours for Dharam. But it still wasn't enough. He realized after some time that his steady gaze was making her feel a little uncomfortable. He immediately shifted his gaze from her. Dharam finally spoke to break the silence.
Dharam:- Yes?
Sia:-Could you please move aside?
Dharam shifted to one side. Sia was staring at him for a few moments.
Sia:-I think I have seen you somewhere? Have we met before?
Dharam was about to answer when Sia said……..
Sia:- Oh! Ya! I remember. I sat beside you in college a few days ago isn't it?
Dharam was just choking up. He didn't have the voice to speak. In reply he just nodded in approval to her question.
Sia (Smiles!):- Now isn't it a small world.
Sia saw that Dharam was holding the book 'Twilight'.
Sia:- Oh My God! What a coincidence! Even I was looking for the same book. Strange isn't it? I don't think we have formally introduced ourselves.
Dharam was still staring at her. Sia continued.
Sia:- Hi my name is…………..
"Sia!" a lady in her early forties was calling out to her.
Sia:- Oh! I'm sorry but I have to go. It was nice meeting you uhhhh…..
Dharam just managed to say his name.
Dharam:- Dharam. My name is Dharam.
Sia:- It was nice meeting you Dharam.
Saying so Sia grabbed one of the Twilight books kept on the shelf and walked away. Dharam kept staring at her and kept hearing the tinkling sound of her payal until it faded away. As she walked out of the store, Dharam fell on a couch nearby. Unknowing to him, he was blushing profusely. So, he finally knew her name.
Dharam (To Himself):- So her name is Sia. Her name is as beautiful as her face. The best thing is that she didn't forget me. Even our interests match. And what a coincidence, she was looking for the same book. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
Saying this, Dharam continued to blush and started reading his book without absorbing or understanding anything that he was reading. He was still thinking about his wonderful meeting with probably the girl of his dreams.
The enormous 1000 square feet bedroom comprised of a huge king sized bed made of Mahogany wood whose mattress was covered by a light orange coloured bedsheet. Fours pillows of the same colour were kept erect on the dark wood head rest. At the side of the bed was a huge oak wood cupboard with a sliding glass door. In front of the bed was a grand piano which had a glossy black colour.
A small girl was jumping up and down on the mattress. She was wearing a knee length baby pink coloured cotton frock with white laces. The sleeves of her frock had a puffed up look. She had shoulder length hair that was presently wet. It was towel dried but still had some moisture. She was wearing a pink necklace having a bunny pendant and wore matching bunny earrings.
The girl continued to vigorously jump up and down on the bed. She was enjoying herself till the door of the bedroom opened. A man in his mid 30's entered the room. The small girl immediately stopped jumping and sat down on the bed innocently. "Time for your nap", the man said as he sat on the bed, resting his back on the head rest. Obediently, the girl went to him and sat on his lap. The man made her lie down on his legs and started to stroke her forehead gently. The girl was smiling and slowly started to fall asleep. Just before she fell asleep she heard the man saying," I love you my sweet Princess."
Ananya woke up with a jerk. She was sweating profusely. Her hospital robe was wet. The fan and AC was of no use. Her sweating didn't stop. She reached for the glass of water that was kept beside her bed. She drank some water and started fanning herself with The Times Of India. Her sweating finally subsided after a few minutes of fanning. Just then, Dr Meenal entered the room. She saw Ananya's state and immediately guessed.
Meenal:- Another bad dream?
Ananya:- Yup!
Meenal was getting very concerned. Usually as the years pass people tend to phase over the bad experiences of the past. Even if they did get nightmares, it would subside with time. It seemed like Ananya's nightmares kept getting worse as the years passed by.
Meenal:- I have been saying this to you for years. It time to forget what happened. Ananya, you can never move on in life if you don't forget what happened to you.
Ananya:- That's exactly what I want.
Meenal:- What do you mean?
Ananya:- I don't have any intention of forgetting what happened to me. The pain will lessen if I forget. I don't want that to happen.
Dr Meenal signed hearing this. It was almost impossible to convince Ananya in this topic. Dr Meenal always had to accept defeat.
Meenal:- Here. I have come to have lunch with you.
Saying so Dr Meenal gave Ananya her dabba which she had prepared. Ananya opened her dabba and saw the brilliantly smelling paratha's which were smeared with a layer of butter. Her mouth immediately started watering. She didn't even wait for Dr Meenal to open her own tiffin. Ananya started gulping sown one paratha after another. After eating three huge paratha's, Ananya was finally full. Dr Meenal had just finished one. Looking at Ananya's contented face, Dr Meenal started smiling. You couldn't find Ananya so content very often. Only Ananya's Mom and Dr Meenal's cooking could bring that kind of a contented smile on her face. Dr Meenal prayed every day that Ananya could have that contented smile on her face every moment of her life. Till date her prayers haven't been answered.
Dharam was day dreaming all the way from the store to his house. He was half awake when he selected the books he wanted to buy. He entered his house. Veer was lounging on the living room couch and watching TV when Dharam entered. Dharam came and sat beside Veer. He was staring at the TV screen but was still thinking about Sia. Veer looked at Dharam and knew that something was wrong.
Veer:- Show me the books that you bought.
Veer took the plastic bag from Dharam's hand.
Dharam had bought three books. Veer looked at the titles of each book one by one. He read them out aloud.
Veer:- 'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer… Boring……….
Veer:- 'Breaking Dawn' by Stephenie Meyer… Boring….. Looks like you are falling in love with Stephenie Meyer.
Veer kept the two books on the couch and looked at the title of the third book. Veer was completely frozen. He couldn't believe what he saw. After a few minutes of realization Veer finally spoke.
Veer:- Why did you buy this book?
Dharam came back to the real world when Veer asked him the question. Even Dharam did not know which books he had bought. He took the book from Veer's hand. He saw the title and was as frozen as Veer was initially. To Dharam's disbelief, he had subconsciously bought a book titled 'What To Do During Pregnancy'. There was silence in the living room for 10 minutes.
Veer finally broke the silence.
Veer (Teasingly):- Dharam….. How could you not tell me about all this? Yeh kab hua…………… kaise hua…………….. kiske saath hua????????????????????
Veer started laughing uncontrollably. He was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes. Dharam was speechless. He was so embarrassed that he started blushing again. He finally spoke.
Dharam:- I might have bought it by mistake. I'll go and return it.
Veer was still laughing. He could control his laughter only after 10 minutes.
Veer:- This is highly unlike you. You never buy the wrong books. Tell me, what happened to you in the book store.
Dharam:- Nothing.
Unknowingly Dharam started blushing. Veer saw this and knew immediately.
Veer:- Oh……… My………….. God!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You met that girl again, didn't you?
Dharam:- What? Which girl?
Veer:- That salwar kameez girl you sat next to on the first day.
Dharam:- I don't know what you are talking about. By the way, why are you saying this?
Veer:- Don't lie to me. You were blushing exactly like this when you were staring at her. You met her at the store today, didn't you?
Dharam:- That's not true. I didn't blush when I looked at Sia.
Veer (Teasingly!):- Oh……….. So her name is Sia………..
Dharam slapped his forehead for committing such a huge crime of stupidity.
Veer (Sings!):- Dharam and Sia sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G……………
Dharam:- VEER……………
And as usual, Dharam and Veer were at it again.
Vanshaj
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