Chapter 6
"Farq padta hain Damini!" he said grasping her arm. "Kyon ki tum meri…"
Damini woke up with a jolt, as the car came to a squealing halt. Were they at Manali already? Frowning, she looked at her watch. It was 4.00 p.m. and the sun was lighting up the western sky, almost ready to set. They had made good time, getting from Delhi to Manali in a little over six hours. Damini sighed. Those six hours had been spent in frosty silence... Prithvi had disappeared for nearly half an hour at the Delhi airport, leaving her alone at the baggage section. She was just beginning to worry, when he'd arrived with a cab and had ordered her into it curtly. Then he'd proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the journey. Hurt and angry, she'd stubbornly stared out of the window till she'd fallen asleep... Prithvi's voice suddenly cut across her thoughts. "Aap abhi jaa saktein hain. Kal subah dus baje aa jaiye." he was telling their cab driver. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out.
Prithvi was unloading the luggage from the boot and she hurriedly made her way to the back of the car, intending to carry her suitcase in. She'd just wrapped her hand around the handle, when a warm hand came to rest on hers. "Leave it, I'll bring it in." Prithvi said, still curt, but with a look that took the bite out of his words. Damini tried to steel herself, willing herself to ignore how his simple touch made her feel. "I can carry my own suitcase, Prithvi. I don't need your help. You don't have to exert yourself so much. I've been travelling on my own all my life...", she said bitterly. Prithvi's grip on her hand tightened for a moment, before he pushed her hand away. "Yes, but I'm in your life now..." he said, leaving her speechless.
~~**~~**~~
Prithvi dragged the suitcases to the door, setting them down with a thud as he fished around for the key. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Damini looking around the tiny house in wonder. The little garden in front had been his mother's pride and joy, and seeing his wife there filled Prithvi with a strange happiness, a feeling of peace that he didn't even want to understand. He closed his eyes for a second, wishing he could join Damini in the garden, wishing he could sit with her in the rocky alcove that had been 'his' nook all through his childhood, wishing he could share the beauty all around them with her... Sighing, he opened the door and lugged the suitcases in, happy that he'd had the foresight to call his friend from the airport and ask him to clear the house of all photos and knick-knacks, anything that had the remotest connection with his past. He flicked on the light and stared at the house he'd grown up in. It didn't seem the same somehow, not without the photos and certificates his mother had so lovingly framed and arranged on the walls. The house was bare and empty, but it held so many memories. Prithvi stood in the middle of the room, imagining his family as they had been. His indulgent mother, mischievous Sameer, studious Varun... He saw himself chasing Sameer around the house, supporting Varun whenever Sameer attempted to bully him... He sighed again. How had things changed so much in such a short while?
The sound of soft footsteps behind him brought Prithvi back to reality. He turned to watch Damini enter the house, looking a little unsure but awed. She walked past him, running her hand along the bare walls, tracing the few books on the shelf, before she came to the window. She looked at him then, with a small smile that he couldn't help return. Smile growing wider, Damini threw the window open, letting the fresh air fill the room for the first time in months.
Prithvi just watched his beautiful wife, wanting nothing more than to bundle her in his arms and hold her close to his heart. "Don't forget yourself, Prithvi", he told himself sternly, "You have a purpose and you can't afford to mess it up." Irritated with himself, he spoke brusquely to Damini, "You must be tired. Tum jaake fresh ho jao... I have some work in town." Without waiting for her reply, he trudged out of the house as fast as he could, hating the fact that he couldn't be with her...
~~**~~**~~
Damini stood still near the window, tears threatening to spill over... All she wanted was to be with him. Not just near him, but truly with him. Was that too much to ask? But time and again he built an impenetrable wall between them. Every time she thought she'd managed to break through, he became more distant. They'd just arrived here, and he was pulling away from her already. Did she disgust him so much? Wiping her eyes furiously, she turned to look out of the window, hoping the peaceful environment would calm her frazzled nerves...
~~**~~**~~
Prithvi came back to the house, nearly an hour later, with a few bags in hand. He stepped in wearily, every muscle in his body screaming with fatigue... "I can't do this anymore..." he thought, "I can't fight my feelings... but I have to".
Damini was still at the window, he noticed. She didn't even look at him as he entered. For some reason, that hurt... "You deserve it, Prithvi", he told himself, but that didn't ease his pain. He set the bags down on the table and looked at her again. She stood at the window, unaware of what a striking picture she made - a slender figure, framed by the rays of the setting sun, a soft breeze playing with her hair and dupatta... Prithvi's breath hitched as he stood gazing at her mutely. Damini was beautiful, he knew that, but there was something about her in this moment, something that made her glow, something that had him entranced... He slowly walked to her and stood next to her, content to savour the moment with her. Damini turned to him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears... Knowing he was the cause of those tears, Prithvi looked away unable to meet her eyes. Composing himelf, he turned to her again, wishing she could see that it was killing him to stay away, that he loved her madly, that he would do anything for her...
He didn't know what she saw in his face then, but a brilliant smile dawned on her face, a smile that he returned whole-heartedly, both of them conscious of the love that still bound them together, both of them wishing that the moment would never end...
Indian Mythology
