Hey guys, sorry for not letting them spend Diwali together but there were some things I had to get accomplished which now have been... read on to find out!
***
Their bus arrives the next morning and Naina and Aalekh both step off, carrying their bags. Aalekh stretches as Naina smothers a yawn, neither of them having slept well on the trip.
"Well let's go and get a taxi and go home," Naina tells Aalekh, "I told Ma not to come to the station to pick us up so she'll be waiting for us there."
He nods, and they quickly find a taxi to take them, Naina giving directions to the man until they pull up at the house.
It's a simple and small house, but obviously well cared for, flowers in the garden and the grass cut short. It's the type of house that Aalekh dreamed of as a child, the type of house that he would've liked to be able to give his Ma one day.
"You grew up here?" he asks Naina, but Naina shakes her head.
"No, we moved here two years ago." She tells him, "We uh… felt like a change."
A new start, a new place where nobody would know them, nobody would pass any judgments or comments.
They walk to the house and ring the doorbell and as Naina's mother opens the door, Naina throws her arms around her, suddenly overcome by emotions.
"I've missed you so much, Ma." She tells her, hugging her tightly, and Naina's mother pats her back.
When Naina steps back, Aalekh steps forward and touches Naina's mother's feet.
"Ma this is Aalekh," Naina informs her.
"Thanks for having me Aunty." Aalekh says, as usual not saying much. But he sounds so polite and sincere that Naina can't help looking at him thoughtfully, this Aalekh is quite different from the one she knows from the academy, who keeps his barriers around him, daring anybody to break them down.
"I was so happy when Naina told me you were coming with her, Beta." Naina's mother tells him kindly, "Of course I wish that Raj Beta could be here with us… but it will be nice to celebrate Diwali with you." And she touches his head kindly, laying her hand on his hair affectionately.
A strange look passes across Aalekh's face, a look that sometimes passes across it when he talks about his Ma, and for a moment Naina thinks she sees tears in his eyes, but he blinks and once again his face his calm.
"Let's go in," her mother tells them, "You two can freshen up while I make you some breakfast."
"You go and use the bathroom first Aalekh," Naina tells him, "I'll just…" and she makes a gesture in the direction of the lounge room.
And Mrs Ahluwalia smiles with a knowing look on her face. "He's already called twice this morning to find out if you arrived yet." She informs Naina, who blushes slightly, because after all, it is her mother who's telling her this.
"Then I'll go and call now." She says quietly and heads to the phone.
He picks up the phone quickly as soon as it's rung once and Naina's heart beats just a bit faster at the thought that he's been waiting for her call, waiting to know that she's arrived safely.
"We just arrived," she tells him softly, and can almost hear him breathe a sigh of relief on the other end of the line.
"Your mother probably told you that I called already," he says, sounding like he's smiling from his voice, "I probably shouldn't have been so worried."
"The trip wasn't too bad," Naina tells him, "We didn't get much sleep, but we'll be having a quiet day at home."
"I wish I was there with you," Raj tells her, and his tone is so regretful that Naina feels a need to reassure him.
"It's okay…" she says, "We'll miss you, but then next Diwali we'll all definitely spend it together."
"Definitely," Raj agrees, "Next Diwali nothing will stop us from spending the holiday together."
"I'll make sure that you keep that promise," Naina tells him, and then is surprised by how much it sounds that she's flirting with him over the phone. She decides that she should probably change the topic, "What time are your godfather and sister arriving?" she asks him.
"In a couple of hours," Raj tells her, "Until then I've got most of the staff for company. The only ones who have gone home are Lolita and Major Nair."
"Well make sure that you wish Shalini and Suriji a Happy Diwali from me," Naina tells him, not mentioning Ritu and not caring whether he notices or not.
"I'll do that," Raj tells her, "You enjoy your Diwali and give my love to your mother, I'll call again tomorrow and talk to her then too."
"I'll look forward to it," Naina tells him a little shyly. She wants to tell him that she misses him, but it hasn't even been a day, and it would be ridiculous to tell him at this stage. "Make sure you don't forget." She tells him instead.
"I could never forget." Raj tells her in such a serious tone that she feels her insides turn over, and her fingers tighten on the phone.
"Then I'll talk to you tomorrow." She tells him.
"Until then, make sure you have a good time." He tells her, and they both hang up the phone.
"So they've arrived safely?" Shalini asks him, as she walks into the mess with Ritu.
Raj puts his phone back into his pocket and motions for them to join him.
"Yes, they reached there a few minutes ago," he tells them, "I'll call again tomorrow to see how everything is going."
"It was so sweet of Naina to take Aalekh home with her for Diwali," Shalini tells Raj, a smile on her face. "I would have hated for him to be stuck here celebrating his Diwali with us."
"I must say," Ritu cuts in smoothly, "That it was very understanding of you to allow Naina to go home with another guy, most husbands would have been quite insecure about it, so hats off to you."
Raj isn't sure that he likes what she seems to be suggesting, but he remains calm. "When I trust my wife, what do I need to be insecure about?" he asks her, "To have those sort of doubts would be stupid."
"Well if only we all had husbands like you, right Shalini?" Ritu looks to her for agreement, annoyed at having failed in her attempt to make him show some jealousy.
But Shalini has turned a little pale and when she replies it's quite quiet, "Yes," she replies a bit sadly, "If only we did."
Because she can't even remember when the last time was that her husband even tried to understand her, much less succeeded.
**
At Naina's house, her mother keeps piling food onto both Naina's and Aalekh's plates, ignoring their protests that they've had enough. She keeps their chai cups filled too, and Aalekh is amazed by the fact that he doesn't feel any desire to add daru to his.
He wonders whether if his mother had survived, he never would've had that desire in the first place.
"How do you usually celebrate Diwali?" he asks them, and is surprised when they both freeze, glancing at each other as if he's asked them a question for which the answer is quite tricky. "I mean… I haven't celebrated Diwali properly since Ma…"
"Usually we don't have a big celebration," Naina's mother replies, "It's just Naina and me, so we wear some new clothes, light some sparklers and cook some special food. Of course we used to…" and she trails off unable to say anything else.
And Aalekh knows that there's something wrong.
He's known it since the first time he ever met Naina, the first time he noticed the sadness in her eyes, a sign of grief that has long been hidden deep in the heart.
It's obvious that they're both trying to hide something, but Aalekh has no idea what it might be.
All he knows is that whatever has happened in the past, it has affected both of them so profoundly that neither of them has yet properly recovered.
And he knows all too well what that's like.
**
Gehlot and Sherry arrive at 11am, and Raj greets them outside the academy, touching his godfather's feet, giving Sherry a quick hug and then escorting them inside to his room as some orderlies take their things to the guest quarters.
It's been awhile since he's seen either of them, almost a year at least. Gehlot Saheb looks more or less the same but Raj is shocked by Sherry's appearance although he tries to hide it. She's lost quite a bit of weight, as if she hasn't been bothering to eat properly, she has red streaks through her hair, and a string of earrings up her ears.
The first thing she asks when they reach his room is "So Bhaiyya… where's your wife?"
"Actually she's gone to her mother's house for Diwali," Raj told them both, "I had also planned to go with her until I heard you were both coming."
"Oh… how convenient." Sherry comments, a hard tone in her voice.
"Sherry…" Gehlot tells her warningly, and she gazes at him with such hatred in her eyes that Raj is well and truly shocked.
"No, it's alright." He tells the man, "Actually I'm quite disappointed that you won't get to meet Naina, I'm sure you both would've liked her."
"That's if she exists at all." Sherry comments, "Because so far I've seen absolutely no evidence that she does."
"Sherry, that's enough." Gehlot tells her in a tone that will not accept any dissent, "We've come to spend a nice Diwali with your brother, now don't ruin it with that attitude of yours."
"Oh yeah, we've come to spend a nice Diwali with dear Bhaiyya," Sherry replies sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. "Like that's the real reason that we're here."
Raj looks to Gehlot for clarification, not really understanding what it is that Sherry is hinting at.
"We'll discuss that later." The older man tells him, "For now why don't we catch up, it's been so long since we saw each other. Why don't you tell me about your wife?"
"Well Naina is currently completing her medical training," Raj tells them, "She's studying in a college here in town now and doing very well, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if she comes first this year."
Gehlot nods approvingly, but Sherry scoffs.
"And none of that tells us why it is that you married her secretly without telling us?" she asks Raj a bit hostilely, "I mean what happened, did you get her pregnant or something?"
As shocked as Raj is at Sherry's comment, he's even more shocked when Gehlot stands up, looming over her, "Sherry, I said that that is ENOUGH!" he tells her. "And this is exactly the reason why I made this decision in the first place."
"What decision?" Raj asks, having no idea what it is that they're talking about, but knowing by the tone of Gehlot's voice that it's something serious.
"Sherry is going to be joining KMA." His godfather announces, "Her admission has already been arranged and she'll be staying back here after Diwali."
"But why?" Raj asks, "I mean, is KMA really the right place for Sherry?"
"Oh I can see that you're quite excited to finally get the opportunity to spend some quality time with my Bhaiyya," she tells him sarcastically, "But why am I surprised really? After all, when has anybody really cared about what it is that I want or what it is that I do?"
And standing up, she left the room angrily, banging the door behind her on the way out.
"And that," Gehlot announces, "Is exactly the reason why KMA is the best place for Sherry."
**
The next day Raj makes the call to Naina, longing to hear her voice. Their room feels empty without her, he feels strange to be sleeping on the bed alone, stretching out and then wondering why he feels so alone when he wakes up and realises that he has once again moved to her side of the bed in his sleep and yet she's not there.
And most of all he misses talking to her, because right now he really needs to talk to her about what has happened, to ask her what she thinks he should do.
"How was your day yesterday?" he asks her, after they've said hello.
"It was nice," Naina told him, "We showed Aalekh around town, and then spent the rest of the day decorating the house properly since Ma waited for me to arrive to do it. I think that Aalekh enjoyed himself too, he helped out quite a bit."
Raj smiles, imagining the quiet young man helping to decorate the house for Diwali. He's glad that Aalekh has gone home with Naina, if only so that he can finally experience a family Diwali after so many years.
"And how is your Diwali so far?" Naina asks him, "You must be enjoying seeing them after such a long time, I just wish I could have been there to meet them."
"Well you will get to meet Sherry." Raj tells her, "She'll still be here when you get back. She's going to be joining the academy."
"But she's already missed so much time," Naina tells him, "How did she finally decide to join now?"
"She didn't, her father has decided that she'll join." Raj says, and sighs, "Last time I saw Sherry I thought she was just going through a difficult phase, but she's so hostile… so angry… I have no idea how I should handle her. I just wish… that you were here with me."
The confession means more to Naina than he could ever guess, that he now relies enough that he wants her there with him during difficult times, that he wants her support and advice.
"I can come back early if you want?" she suggests, "I mean, we could leave early tomorrow rather than in the afternoon?"
"No definitely don't cut your time with your mother short," Raj tells her, "I'll be okay, I'm just… missing you."
And Naina's breath catches in her throat, and her face suddenly becomes warm.
"I miss you too." She admits, and is surprised by how easy it was to say it.
"Well we'll just have to survive without each other for two more days," Raj tells her, trying to joke but still sounding far too serious. "But don't worry about me here, I'll work something out."
"Then should I give the phone to Ma?" Naina asks him, "She's been waiting to talk to you."
"Please do," Raj tells her, "And then I'll talk to you tomorrow again."
"Good luck with your sister," Naina tells him.
"Thanks," Raj replies, "I think I'm going to need it."
He has a chat with Naina's mother, apologising for not being able to join them and when he gets off the phone he finds Sherry standing at a short distance, staring at him with a strange look on her face.
"So you do have a wife." She comments, "I was honestly wondering whether you really had made it up."
"No, I definitely do have a wife." Raj confirms, "And you'll meet her the day after tomorrow when she's back in the academy."
"So you don't get to spend Diwali with her because we came," Sherry says, "Sorry about being such a big inconvenience." But she doesn't sound sorry, instead she sounds like she's challenging Raj to tell her she's wrong, to tell her that he's not disappointed he has to spend Diwali with them.
"Sherry, I am disappointed that I'm not spending Diwali with Naina," Raj admits, "But I'm also happy that I finally get to spend some time with you. And you know, I'm looking forward to having you here with me at the academy, it will be like old times again when we lived together."
"Nothing will ever be like old times again," Sherry tells him darkly, "Time moves on Bhaiyya, and I've moved on with it. I don't expect anything from you, and I certainly don't expect you to look after me." And as abruptly as she had come, she leaves again.
Raj stares after her, unable to believe how much she's changed in the time they've been apart. He can't wait until Naina comes back before he's going to need all the support he can get to deal with her, to try to work out what's wrong and try to fix it.
**
Aalekh walks in to the kitchen to find Naina and her mother chatting happily as they prepare lunch for the day.
"Aunty, can I help you?" he asks her, and Naina smiles, happy by how different he is when he's here at home with them. She suspects that this is the real Aalekh, the one that he's hidden under all the layers of hurt and anger.
"No that's alright, Aalekh Beta." She tells him, "We've got it all under control, you just sit back and watch."
"Really Aunty, I'm not too bad." Aalekh told her, "At the orphanage and the remand home… I used to help out with the cooking."
And Naina's mother suddenly smiled at an old memory.
"Do you remember when Navin would try to help us out with the cooking?" she asks Naina, "And then he would end up getting more of the ingredients on himself than in the bowl? Looking back now, I suspect he did it just to make us laugh."
Naina smiles at the memory too, and then suddenly turns around looking at Aalekh as if realising that something had revealed that shouldn't have been.
And Aalekh just looks back at her calmly, but he doesn't ask the question, doesn't even react.
But Naina's mother has turned pale, realising that she shouldn't have said it, that she's revealed them. The look on her face is one of pure panic, and Naina quickly moves to lay a hand on her mother's arm to try and calm her down. "It's okay, Ma." She tells her quietly.
"Navin…" her mother says, and the look of such heartbreak on her face is enough to make Aalekh's own heart ache, something that hardly ever happens.
And so he finally speaks.
"Navin was your brother wasn't he?" he asks Naina. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No," Naina whispers, and then looks to her mother as if for permission, "Perhaps it's time… perhaps… it wouldn't hurt for you to know."
And leaving for the lounge room, she comes back carrying a picture frame that had been put into a drawer while Aalekh was here to visit, trying to hide the truth from him.
She puts the photo into his hands and he looks down at it, at a happy family smiling at the camera, Naina, her mother, and two people who are obviously her father and brother. And the face of her brother… is strangely familiar to Aalekh. He struggles to place it and when he finally does, looks up at Naina in surprise.
"Yes, Captain Navin Singh Ahluwalia, was my brother." She tells him. "Captain Navin Singh Ahluwalia who was accused of being a traitor."
And as they all sit around the table, the lunch preparations forgotten, she pours it all out, everything that had happened.
By the end of it, quiet tears are dripping down Naina's cheeks and her mother is weeping with her head in her hands.
The look on Naina's face is hesitant, as if she's wondering whether Aalekh will now reject her like so many others have done before.
But she needn't have worried because all Aalekh is thinking is that now everything makes perfect sense. Why Rajveer Sir hadn't told anybody about his marriage, why Naina only joined him when she had to, why she was so quiet, the pain in her eyes, her reluctance to talk about her life.
Aalekh understands because he has had to deal with the stain upon his own name, the stain of being illegitimate, of being a bas***d, a criminal, a drunkard.
He knows why Naina would've wanted to hide her own identity, because he understands what it's like to be judged for something that you were never responsible for.
"Naina," he finally tells her, standing up and touching her head gently, "From today, your secret is safe with me."
And the look of gratitude that she gives him is almost enough to start him crying, but it's a long time since he's shed any tears.
Then Aalekh crosses to where Naina's mother sits, her head still in her hands, and crouching down, he places his hands on her knees. She looks up then, still crying, as Aalekh looks into her face earnestly.
"I was wondering Aunty," he tells her, "Can I call you Ma instead?"
And she stares at him for a moment with such astonishment on her face that he almost wishes he hadn't said it, then she reaches out, cups his face in her hands and places a kiss on his forehead.
"Of course you can, Beta." She tells him.
And finally, after too many years to count, so many that he doesn't even remember how long it's been, Aalekh finally allows himself to cry his heart out.
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