AbhiGya FF ~ Scandalous Chapter 3 (Page 8) - Page 3

I was sitting on the kitchen slab and
yawning, as she stood by the burner making my early morning coffee. Her hair
was tied up in a messy knot, and she had draped herself with my favourite navy
blue silk nightgown of hers, I could see the outline of her slightly sagged
breasts at forty. I chuckled to myself, and she glanced at my direction.

I just stretched by hand in laziness and
muttered,

"You should start wearing your bra more
often you know"

"Why? Is the sag noticeable now?" she asked
unconcerned, "Well, about time. Done with childbirth, sleeping with two men,
and hardly use my bra. What else can you expect?"

I nodded and took my mug of coffee from her,
I took a sip and smiled contently, aah the smell of cinnamon in my coffee, just
the perfect dash of it, not too much, not too less - I hadn't had it ever since
daadi stopped making it after her paralysis, not until I came here at hers. No
one ever got it right, well except Prags of course.

"So when is the mehendi function?" she asked
me interrupting my thoughts, sipping her own coffee and settling on the chair
opposite.

"Next week" I replied nonchalantly. "When
are you going to arrive? Before the mehendi and stay until the wedding or are
you just coming to attend the wedding?"

"Depends" she replied thoughtfully, "I think
Suresh will be back from Hong Kong by Wednesday, then he can go and pick up
Aadi from his boarding and take care of him this weekend, in that case I will
come before mehendi and stay till the wedding. But if his plan changes, then I
have to pick up Aadi and be with him for the weekend, then drop him to boarding
on Monday and then fly down to Mumbai. Lets see, I will inform Aal." by the end
of it, she was almost talking to herself, busy procrastinating. I always found
this habit of hers cute, but never before did I have the opportunity to show my
affection until now. I smiled and pulled her along with her chair towards me.
She looked up at me startled, and I smacked my lips on hers. She laughed as I
continued to kiss her on her soft lips that tasted of black coffee now, and
then ever so slowly she kissed me back. After a while we broke apart and she
laughed saying, "I think I have now acquired a taste for cinnamon coffee."

After a while I went upstairs and got
packing, I was leaving from Delhi today. My fianc Bulbul had texted me asking
for my time of arrival, she wanted to come to the airport to pick me up. I
smiled, Bulbul was a real sweetheart, her presence brightened my mood, she
lifted my spirits the way a child does, I didn't ever love her, but the idea of
spending my life with her never bothered me, she was pleasant company. I don't
even know what love is, how it feels to be in love. The way I feel towards
daadi and Aaliya di, if that's love, well then I have never been in love. As
for lust, well I have lusted Pragya for as long as I can remember. As I
continued packing, I felt a pair of hands grab me from behind, and a slight
petite frame hug me from behind.

"I am going to miss this Rockstar" she
mumbled from behind and sighed, I was just about to turn around and reciprocate
when my phone rang, I retrieved it from my pocket to see the caller ID flashing
Bulbul's name, I turned the phone towards her, so that she can see. She saw the
name and moved away from me slightly, busying herself with my remaining
packing.

"Hi Buls" I replied on the phone and saw her
reflection in the mirror freeze for a moment before continuing her work. It
made me happy. So Bul's presence did irk her - even though its just a little
bit. Just like Suresh bhaiya annoys me a little bit.

"Hello Abhi! Why don't you reply to text
messages haan? Neither you reply nor di. I want to come to pick you up, it's
been ages since I spent some us-time with you. Next time you're off to Delhi
for so long, I shall accompany you!" she demanded in her childlike way.

"Acha, and what will you do all day in
Delhi, while I am recording?" I asked humoring her.

"Arre I will stay with di and jiju of
course! In fact I wont have anytime for you during the weekends also, because I
will be with Aadi then" she laughed. "Acha is di around? Can you please pass on
the phone?"

I nudged Prags from behind and gave her the
phone. She took the phone and left the bedroom. I always thought Prags and
Bulbul were the weirdest siblings, from the time I have met Bulbul, which is
essentially just from the time our marriage proposal was doing the rounds
between the two families some two years back, I have seen there was a certain
degree of coldness from Prags towards Bulbul, but Bulbul was ever so warm and
loving to her, it always made me curious, but I never asked either of them
about it.

Pragya returned a little irked and handed me
the phone and went back to my packing. I bent down and gently held her up from
behind and took her in my arms, by the time we reached the bed, we were already
raging in passion with kisses that could cause frenzy.

As we lay cuddling, and Prags twirled her
finger absent-mindedly on my chest, I asked her, "Why were you disturbed after
the call with Bulbul?"

"Aah nothing, her usual loud ways, never got
used to it. Plus, now she wants to come and stay with us for some weeks next
time you come here." she replied irritated. I gently drew circles on her
stomach to sooth her, it worked, she visibly relaxed, "PMS'ing I guess" she
muttered after a while. I looked at her, "Do you remember the date of our last
cycle?"

"No." I was quiet, not to mention a bit
worried too, with her, I didn't use protection most of the times, what if..but
she looked at me and touched my cheeks with her palm, "Don't worry, even if
something goes wrong, Suresh wont doubt it".

While I was leaving, I turned to her, "This
is it then, the best ten days of my bachelor life are over" I laughed. "I guess
it is" she smiled.

"Would you be with me forever, if I asked
you to?" I ventured to ask, I had no plans of asking this, I was happy with my
arrangement with Buls, but I wanted to ensure we were on the same page. "No
Abhi" she smiled sadly, "This" she said motioning at her mansion and family,
"Is stability. And our last ten days isn't worth giving this up for". I nodded
in understanding and pecked her on her lip for the last time and then got out
of her life.

---

Sitting in the car I couldn't help
remembering the past few days with her. She has always had an overbearing presence
in my life. I have never really looked
at her with a straight mind, be it during my junior school days when I thought
she was theprettiest girl in the entire galaxy, or during junior college
when I started noticing the curve of her tee hinting at her petite firm
breasts. Once I had peeped into her room while she was changing, God, I
remember catching fever for standing under the cold shower for too long after
that.I thought she looked sexy even when she put on those few extra kilos
after childbirth. I wanted to kiss her right on her lips when she bend forward
to kiss me on my forehead at my engagement function - but I let the feeling
pass, like always.I stilldon't know what about her seduced me, she
was pretty ordinary in the eyes of other's, some even called herboring,
but there was something about her that pulled me, pulls me still. She was a
charmer that one - Pragya, or Pragya di - what I was taught to call her since
childhood - My elder sister Aaliyadi's childhood best friend. But
sometimes when I think of her like this, and imagine her in ways the world
would rebuke me for, I mentally call her Prags, my Prags.

I don't really remember the first time I met
her, but I can accurately recount every detail of that meeting, di has teased
me so many times with the incident that I can never really forget the details
with which she recounted every moment of it even after so long of its passing.

I must have been about nine and di about
eighteen. Di had started college that year and had moved to Delhi, I missed her
bad during those days. Being the younger child, that to with a considerable age
gap with my di, we never really go into the sibling fighting for petty things
zone, she has always been the ever loving, ever giving older sister to me -
parting with my first ever confidant, my first ever pocket-money giver, my
first ever trustworthy partner was hard to say the least, hence I was very
excited during Diwali that year - di was coming home for the first time after
she had left, for the Diwali vacation.

Di had called to tell me that she was going
to get me a surprise; I was counting days for her to arrive after that - di and
her surprise.

Her train was to reach at 1a.m. in the
morning, hence tauji was going to pick her up, as much as I had coaxed him to
take me, it was a strict No' from him and daadi - so when I heard the chime
like laughter, when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't place it. Di was only
eighteen but she was never so free and childlike in her demeanor, I guess this
was partly because she was too busy aiding daadi in playing my mother in many
ways, to compensate me from the coldness of not having parents who could take
care of me in my tender age. I sat up on my bed confused, who was it? As much
as I wanted to run and hug my di right at that moment, I was shy, there was a
stranger at home - as much as I loved that rhythmic laughter, I hated her
presence, it was keeping me away from my di.

I slowly got down from my bed and cleaned up
myself, it was time for breakfast, there was no more avoiding the stranger now,
I had to meet her - I so wished she would leave before breakfast.

As I tiptoed to the kitchen I saw her from
behind, she was short and very pretty, well I guess that's how I must have
felt, considering much later when di had asked me how I thought her friend was,
that's exactly what I had said! So as I watched her from my hidden spot behind
the door, she suddenly turned around and soon spotted me - again the rhythmic
laughter that made me wonder, maybe she was not a stranger at all, by the look
of her, especially her eyes, maybe she was tooth fairy, who was getting late
going to other houses because she couldn't find my tooth which I had skillfully
hidden - hadn't daadi told me, if I can successfully hide my tooth from the
fairy, she grants a wish?

"I want a pug" I had simply told her. She
looked at me confused and repeated the word pug' without any kind of
comprehension.

"Well, I won, you have to grant me my wish
tooth fairy!" I clarified indignantly, to which she looked at me confused for a
second, and then as comprehension finally dawned on her, her face broke into a
magical smile, and soon followed that laughter of tinkling chimes.

"But I am not tooth fairy, I am your di!"
came her swift reply. It was my turn to react, and I did so by gaping at her.
Di? But she didn't look like di!

"You're not my di!" I mumbled in disbelief,
my lips trembling already at this alarming disclosure.

"But I am Boo. See only I call you Boo nah?
How would I know this if I was a stranger?" she asked earnestly. She was right
of course, only di called me Boo, but how could this be? How had di changed so
drastically?

"You're not my di.." I repeated faintly
positively panicking now. "My di looks different" I stammered.

"Oh but Boo, this is all make-up, I did this
to look pretty for you. My college friends taught me how to put on make-up you
know?" again she looked at me earnestly with her big doe-like eyes. I was
almost convinced, I had a very vague idea about the degree in which make-up
could transform someone - hell even Cinderella had done make up and gone to the
ball - her own family couldn't recognize her!

"So, now you're di?" I finally asked
shakily.

"Do you like your new di?" she had asked
sweetly coming close to me. I looked at her again at her question, I wanted to
be doubly sure about my opinion before stating it - did I like her? Well she
was so pretty! Much prettier than my older di - hell yes I loved her.

I smiled brightly and responded, "I love
you!"

"So are you sure you don't want the old di
back Boo?" she asked with a smirk.

"No no no. I want this di! Pretty di!" I had
pouted and hugged her. She laughed hugging me back, when I heard a familiar
voice from behind, "Well alright then, I guess the old di will have to go back
to hostel without seeing Boo now" my head shot up as I sharply turned around to
see my di, well real di or di without make-up whichever suited, peering at me
with a suppressed smile. No sooner I saw her, I ran to her and hugged her,
pretty or not, my old di was my old di, she was really irreplaceable I
realized. I was hugging her tight, afraid that she would be gone any moment and
the pretty di would replace her, when I heard both the ladies laugh - l broke
the hug to look at both of them confused when di spoke to me.

"Boo, how do you like my surprise? A new di
for you! Pragya di!" I stared at the pair of them incredulously as both of them
broke into peals of laughter at taking my case early in the morning!

Hence when we were joined by daadi a little
later when she came to serve breakfast, and she asked me how I found Pragya di,
I had replied with a scowl, "Daadi, she is horribly pretty!" Horrible because
she had taken me for a ride too easily and pretty because in spite of that, she
was undeniably beautiful.

I looked around surprised at my entire
family laughing in the kitchen hearing me - I didn't understand what was so
funny - but that just about summed up our first meeting - that's how Pragya had
entered my life - as my tooth fairy!

And this is how I exited from her life today
- as her dirty secret keeper!