New IPKKND FF: Across The Universe Part 3 Page 24 - Page 18

Rest of the story on the blog!!

Chapter Three: Someone Like You

"Where did he get the bloody money to pay the lawyers?" Arnav asked scathingly but the man behind the desk seemed unfazed. He had been handling the case for two years and knew the deceased husband well, his erratic mood swings, like a pendulum between extreme anger and extreme despair, never reaching a middle ground.

"I don't know Mr. Raizada," Asad Khan said keeping his voice calm yet deadly serious, knowing any attempt at defusing the situation with humor or patronizing clichs would earn him at best a broken chair. "But we know the appeal holds no weight after the High Court gave a guilty verdict, unless they have some new evidence to clear the name of the accused."

"I saw him with my own eyes," Arnav said, a low pained growl as he re-lived that moment for the tenth time that day. "I have waited two years for this corrupt system to give Khushi justice, I cannot wait any longer," Arnav said getting up, "I want this appeal over and done with by the end of the month; I want Shyam Manohar Jha on death row before diwali," he said with finality and walked out the Defense Lawyers office.

*

"Hello hi bye bye," Manorma said looking Aanchal up and down, "Phati saree part two?"

"Ji?" Aanchal asked completely stumped by what was without a doubt Picasso's wet dream come to life with the vibrant mix of clashing colors all over her body, her face caked with makeup the features magnified and some distorted.

"This is my mother-in-law," Payal said trying hard to hide her smirk at Aanchal's flabbergasted expression. "She used to call Khushi phati saree."

"Oh," Aanchal said stepping forward and touching the older woman's feet. "Namaste Ma ji," standing up "and I love that shade of green," she said pointing to Manorma's green and purple eye shadow, "could you help me mix it for my next project?" she asked brightly.

"Hello hi? Project?" Manorma looked confused.

"She's an artist Ma ji," Payal said, "she paints."

"Oh," Manorma's face brightened a big smile on her face. "Then you can make my very number one photo picture!"

"Sure," Aanchal said, already slotting Manorma for any Picasso themed assignment.

"Let's have dinner Ma ji?" Payal asked steering her to the dining room with the rest of the family and Aanchal noticed the absence of men. The Raizada women sat around the table with gaping holes in the middle where their men were supposed to be, their absence not only felt but made more prominent when the women refused to fill in the spaces they occupied, as a silent vigil for their return.

"Jiji, where's Jija ji?" Aanchal asked taking the available seat next to Dadi, pretty sure that it belonged to one of the Raizada men, but she didn't see any sense in sitting all the way down the table far from everyone else.

"He is in Sri Lanka with Babu ji," Payal explained as she served the rice. "Your Jija ji had some retail outlets to approve before purchase and Babuji's friend is in the hospital, so he is visiting him."

"Oh which reminds me," Aanchal said slapping her palm on her forehead and then giving Payal an apologetic smile. "Shashi Kaka sent a package for you; I'll give it to you after dinner."

"And how are the Gupta's bitya?" Divyani asked pleasantly, happy that conversation wasn't strained as it usually was, with Arnav in his room and the rest of the family caught in the pervading gloom. The advent of one young girl had changed that.

"They are well," Aanchal said smiling at the old woman who reminded her of Turkey Mousie back home, an old friendly woman who had turkeys all over her house and treated them like the grandchildren she didn't have. "Garima Kaki was so happy to finally be back in Lucknow; she has her entire social circle there you know. And Shashi Kaka is busy with the sweet shop. Buaji doesn't like it though, says she misses Delhi too much."

"Then she should visit more often, the fat cow," Manorma said with nonchalance but she couldn't hide the fondness from her voice.

"She can barely walk to the bathroom she's put on so much weight," Aanchal said matter-of-factly taking a spoonful of rice, looking surprised when all the women started to laugh out loud. "But she has," she said looking around her with wide eyes.

"Oh, we believe you bitya," Divyani said. "So tell me bitya, what do you like to eat?"

"I love daal, all kinds of daal," Aanchal said spooning more daal on her rice.

"And I bet you love jalebi," Anjali said smiling at the young girl wistfully.

"I like them," the girl said sincerely, her eyes on the daal she was mixing in to her rice, "But I don't love them. I love bhaloushahi!" she said suddenly looking up, her eyes shining and her smile orgasmic.

"And what vegetable do you like?" Manorma asked. "Potatoes, right?"

"Potatoes are nice but I can't stop from over eating when someone makes aubergine! I love aubergine!" Aanchal said with enthusiasm.

Payal came back in to the dining room with a stack of roti where the three Raizada women exchanged saddened glances before diving in to the conversation with renewed gusto, because the young girl was infectious, even if she wasn't their Khushi.

*

Arnav stormed in to the house, the doors banging but he didn't care. He was half way down the hall when he heard distant laughter, with one tinkling laugh rising above them all, like a soft bubbling brook that soothed and calmed. As if in a trance he strode forward till his feet gained memento and he was running, because he knew only one woman who could laugh like that.

He came to a halt in the living room, his entire body rigid at the sight before him. Khushi sat with her back to him, her long braid running down her slender back clad in exquisite blue, her buttocks rising up as she leaned forward to wipe something off Rakhi's forehead. Prem was hiding behind one of the sofas and Khushi was making a game of looking for him with Rakhi.

His lips trembled as they tried to smile, to laugh in relief that she was safe and sound and very much alive, but they hadn't smiled in so long that he found it hard, as if he had forgotten how to.

"Prem," Khushi called, as if she couldn't see him, her sing song voice music to Arnav's ears. "Where did Prem go Rakhi?" she asked as she crawled forward on all fours, while Prem and Rakhi snickered in anticipation, and then she pounced on the little child who squealed before all three of them slumped to the floor laughing.

"OK, now bed time," Khushi said standing up, walking back a few steps till she was just a hairs breath away from him, her hands on her hips, while the children began to whine, begging for one more round of play. Arnav couldn't hold back anymore, desperate to see her full in the face, to touch her, breathe her in, to hold her forever.

He lifted his hand and clutched her shoulders in shaking fingers, and felt her stiffen, like she always did, and he nearly cried with relief that it was her, not some illusion, not his insane mind playing tricks on him. He slowly turned her around, her startled hazel eyes meeting his, but that's where the illusion shattered.

It wasn't Khushi, it was some imposter pretending to be her, making a mockery of his love by saying she wasn't one in a million, by daring to become her.

Aanchal saw eyes, full to the brim with adoration, with love and lament, then she saw a dark gaping abyss which burned around the edges and before she knew what was happening she was pushed back with such force that she tripped over one of the children, her hip hitting the living room table with a sickening thud.

Pandemonium broke and Aanchal was too shocked to realize what was happening. Rakhi was screaming while Prem was on the floor bawling holding his head where Aanchal had been thrown in to him, and towering over them all was Arnav Singh Raizada, his chest heaving as he took in fuming breaths his eyes spitting fire and brimstone.

"Shut up!!" he screamed down at the children who began to wail louder, now completely terrified of the man who before now was their soft spoken patient uncle. Aanchal got up in one swift move, having had quite enough of the man and his violent ways. She heard Anjali and Payal from far away as they rushed on the scene, but she didn't pay them any heed as she strode forward and slapped the man hard across his face.

"Don't you ever touch me again," she spat in his face before she collected the children in her arms and walked towards their mother's, not turning back to see the man who seemed to break down even though he stood straight as a rod, nor the defeated walk in his hurried strides as he walked out the door of his own home.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hLQl3WQQoQ0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>