The wait is over!.. I'm here... thanks everyone 🤗... mirchy, you're a very sweet mirchy 😉... you can call me Di! ... this one is a little longer so enjoy!
recap: She had opted for an deep orange sari today and the bangles he had adorned her hands with clinked each time she brought her hand over the keyboard... for a moment, that was he heard... the air conditioning all of a sudden seemed to have startled her as she rubbed her right hand along the length of her left arm... or so that is what he had thought as the air softly sang through her beautiful hair... She could feel him intensely gazing at her, even without not looking over... an uncomfortable feeling increased as silence rang in the air... he had stopped talking... but she could still feel those eyes... they burned through her... for a moment, she felt transparent...
Part 4
As she squirmed in her seat, Gauri could continually feel his intense eyes ripping her apart... Why was he staring at her.. Why was she feeling so uncomfortable? He had looked at her so many times before, but right now, it seemed to be something different... A rush of relief swept over as the voice of the knock on the door interrupted the endless moment.
Shiv turned immediately to face the door and she relaxed a little... her muscles paining with every release of pressure. It had been the peon who had come to inform them that the delegates whom they had been awaiting, had arrived. Shiv nodded towards the man in acknowledgment and after he had left, he turned towards Gauri. As he got up, he leaned over slightly, his lips brushing slightly passed her ear... "Chalen?" came the voice... and he left the room as if nothing had happened.
If nothing had happened, why was her heart racing like she had run a marathon? Or beads of perspiration forming on her forehead?... Desperately she held her head, and took the end of her pallu to wipe the unexpected sweat... As she stepped out of their cabin and all that came to mind was, "Shiv ko kya hogaya hai... yaan, mujhe.. kya hogaya hai." But her question was to remain unanswered... confusion lurred, only to get more confusing.
Throughout the whole entire presentation in front of the delegates, Gauri had with much effort, ignored her husband's occassional glances.. They both stood in front of a group of about three woman and five men presenting their latest ideas for a hotel which they thought of constructing on the shores of Goa... Despite the akwardness distancing the couple, the proposal had been quite a success and to reward it, a round of applause commended the two.
As they arrived at the "Dharkan" hotel, a group of reporters surrounded Shiv and Gauri, throwing out a stream of questions... ones which they easily answered.. while others made them lose their tongue... ones regarding the project they had just got... and ones regarding their marriage and the completion of their "family". As such questions hit them, they spoke nothing... but Shiv managed an akward smile, while his wife averted her eyes as if overcome by a shyness...
As she stood next to him talking with some business tycoons, half there, half not, Gauri's mind wandered... as it so often had begun to. She wished that one of the family members had accompanied them, but Mahen papa had insisted that this was Shiv and Gauri's victory... and for them to celebrate only. She knew, he was only trying to shorten the distances between the two, but also knew that such thing was next to nothing in happening... or was it?
As he too, now sat at the bar, with a drink in hand, Shiv too, was haunted by odd thoughts... he looked over at her... Dressed in a deep green sari, she stood out in the light shaded room... her skin glowing... the familiar breeze obliviously playing through her hair aimlessly... Why were these weird thoughts straining his head? Why was there an ever-lurking odd feeling in the air whenever she was around... and whenever she was not?... In frusteration, he brought the empty glass down hard on the counter and demanded a refill.
She stood on the side... lost in her own thoughts... when her eyes fell upon a girl who appeared to extend her hand out to Shiv.. for a dance?
Shiv looked at her hand... the desire to forget everything, forget any thoughts related to her... he didn't need her, in fact he hated her right? He looked over where Gauri stood. Their eyes locked for a moment.. some unfelt, some very deeply felt emotions ran passed them ... in an effort to what seemed like confirming his thoughts, he readily took her hand and smiled.
Her eyes trailed him and the "other girl" to the floor... they watched him take the "other girl's" hand, and put the other around her waist... a shiver ran up Gauri's spine and she looked away in disgust... He only smiled.. making it even harder. What was he trying to prove?, she thought. Why was he doing this?... But then, what was he doing? It was nothing different from what he had ever done before... then why was she feeling so uncomfortable... jealous? As she looked up once more, her ears faintly detected the song playing overhead..."mujhe raat din, bad mujhe chahti ho.. mujhe raat din, bas mujhe chahti ho. chupati ho mujhse ye, tumhari khata hai..haan mujhe raat din.." The lyrics lingered somewhere at the back of her head as she stepped out into the cool night... away from the oddly disturbing scene...
As she shifted from one side of her bed on the ground to the other... thoughts of the passed events and new, unfamiliar ones roamed in her head, not allowing sleep to relax her overflowed mind.. Finally she sat up. The room was the same... the darkness, which she had accustomed herself to the same... the moon.. it was different today. For some reason it seemed to be smiling.. As she got up and stood next to the window, she thought, "Ye chaand mujhe dekh kar has kyun raha hai?"... Out of nowhere, pictures of her marriage flash back in her mind... and his "thanks"... a tingly feeling rang around her wrists as she remembered his fingers moving across them while putting on her bangles... "...tumhe neend aayegi ab na mere bin, mujhe hai yakeen aisa aayega ek din.. khuli theri zulfon mein soya rahoonga.. tumhare khayalon mein khoya rahoonga...haan mujhe raat din.." the song played somewhere...
A restless feeling overwhelmed her as she looked over at the clock saying 2:34a.m... she had stood by the window for a time she did not recall... a sound of a car door closing was somewhere in the distance... but she did not move... where was he?.. was he ok?... but this wasn't the first time this is happened.. he gone away during nights before... flashback of the girl dancing with him played in her head once again and she felt a sort of irritation... but a sound disrupted her thoughts as she looked over at the door...
Cheers,
dc
Book Talk
Aami Daakini
