Abhigya OS: Chashmish Without Chashma

Chashmish Without Chashma

Abhi perched on his bed, slowly twirling the pair of glasses around his fingers for the eighth time that morning. Ever since Pragya's accident, he'd wake up every morning with a feeling that she was about to return into his life. Eventually he'd began to doubt that notion. It had been twenty days since he'd last seen Chashmish and the only signs that she was alive had been a delicately handwritten letter and the object Abhi was absentmindedly fondling for the past twenty minutes: her chashma. He'd found them amongst her books three days after Pragya left. He hadn't let them out of his sight since.

But today was different. Never mind that today was the first day of his wedding ceremonies, Abhi had more important things to think about. He simply could not shake the feeling that today was the day he was going to reunite with his love. And for once, Abhi's instinct turned out to be correct. At exactly 9:30 that morning, a figure in emerald green had emerged from a silver sedan and stalked into Mehra Mansion. Abhi couldn't see her face, yet he could only describe her as Pragya-esque. He'd watched from the balcony as she powerfully toyed with Tanu's and Aaliyah's attitude, maneuvering them into compromising verbal situations. Yes, she seemed like his Pragya. But his chashmish? Not really. Puzzled, Abhi had spent the past couple hours in his room mulling over this new character. Out of sheer frustration, he'd grabbed Pragya's spare set of glasses and peered into them searching for some sort of insight. They offered none.

Abhi was suddenly reminded of an incident that occurred a few days prior. That afternoon, Tanu was dozing on Pragya's sofa when Abhi suddenly had the urge to try Pragya's chashma on her. Perhaps it was a last-ditch effort to come to terms with his impending marriage, but Abhi truly wasn't thinking straight when he had approached Tanu, glasses in hand. Cautiously, he'd placed the black frames around Tanu's visage but stopped before they were properly on. It was all too wrong. Tanu's bold eye makeup clashed with the simple chashma and her rounded face prevented the frames from sliding on easily. The glasses offered no intelligent spark whatsoever and Abhi was forced to remove them.

And this was when Abhi, still pondering the new Pragya's entry on his wedding day, leapt from his bed with an idea. Yes, it was the only way. He'd go downstairs and ask her to try on these glasses. Abhi rushed to the landing and leaned over the railing hoping to catch a glimpse of the emerald sari-clad figure. She didn't appear to be downstairs. All of a sudden, a flash of green accompanied with a flip of ebony hair caught Abhi's eye. Pragya? Entering, Abhi realized with a shock, Tanu's room?

He tiptoed across the landing and stopped just outside the door. Pragya appeared to be staring at a very official looking document, brows furrowed in concentration. "It has to be this one...", she was muttering. Intrigued, Abhi leaned further into the room to squint at the document in Pragya's hands. Unable to decipher the text, Abhi resorted to putting on the chashma, but that too was futile. His interest was piqued, though, but his yearning for his love was greater. He stood for a moment, gazing at his wife's beauty. If only he were sure that she was his wife...wait, what was that? It seemed like Pragya was having trouble reading the paper! Seizing the opportunity, Abhi purposefully strode into the room and placed a hand on Pragya's shoulder. He softly inquired, "Need these?". Startled, Pragya turned around only to be captured by Abhi's intense eyes. She shifted her gaze towards the floor, caught off guard. "I...I'm...those aren't...", she stumbled over her words. "Let me help you", Abhi offered. He gently placed the frames on Pragya's slender face. And in that moment, Abhi knew that everything was right. He tenderly engulfed his wife in an embrace and whispered into her ear, "Welcome home Chashmish."

-Karishma