Demons of the Past
Raghav pulled his fingers into a fist in an attempt to control his rage. Seeing Esha after 6 years, in his own house had ticked him off. “What is she doing here?” Raghav wondered. “Was she here to provoke Pallavi against him and destroy his married life?” Raghav shuddered at the possibility. A loud crash pulled Raghav from his thoughts. Esha had dropped the plate she was holding on seeing Raghav. “Esha, are you okay?” Mr Dasaree asked, which caught Raghav’s attention. “I am okay sir”, Esha answered, “I am sorry Pallavi, mere haath se plate slip ho gayi”, she apologized for the mess to which Pallavi replied that it was okay. “Esha is Dasaree’s Vastu expert” his mind connected the dots. Raghav could not afford to let this deal go, “Esha ka wajah se toh bilkul nahi”, Raghav thought. Taking a deep breath, he pulled on his cold demeanor and turned to Mr Dasaree greeting him, completely ignoring Esha. Both the men had a small talk regarding the deal and soon the papers were signed. All the while Raghav felt Esha’s intense stare on him, while Pallavi’s eyes alternated between Raghav and Esha. Raghav excused himself to go to his room, as soon as it was decent to leave.
Raghav entered his room, shutting the door behind him with a bang. Seeing Esha had brought back memories, both good and bad. The old wounds of betrayal were resurfacing. He badly needed a drink. He opened the cabinet only to find it empty. Raghav groaned in frustration, his mind going back to when he got drunk for the first time.
Raghav had never thought that he would be cheated in love. He had walked on Esha being proposed to by her real lover in her birthday celebration. When he returned back to his shared room, his room-mates assumed that Esha had turned down his proposal, Raghav too didn’t bother sharing the real reason. To cheer him up, they offered him a drink. The bitter liquid numbed his mind, offered him to lose consciousness and an escape from reality for a little time. At that moment, he knew that alcohol was going to be his companion of loneliness for long.
“Raghav”, the soft, angelic voice of Pallavi pulled him out of his thoughts. “You can tell me, I am there for you”, Pallavi assured, pulling Raghav in a hug to soothe him. Raghav held her, inhaling the strawberry scent of her hair, which had an immediate calming effect on him. “Is it about Esha? Did you know her before today’s meeting?” Pallavi probed. “Pallavi”, Raghav sucked a breath, “Esha is my ex-girlfriend.” Those words connected all the events, Esha being nervous about meeting in the saree shop, walking around the mansion, her shocked expression when she introduced herself as Mrs Raghav Rao, Esha abruptly disconnecting Raghav’s call, Raghav’s angry reaction on seeing her, Esha staring Raghav with teary eyes the entire time and Raghav completely ignoring her. Pallavi’s thoughts went back to Esha, she seemed a nice girl to her. She knew Raghav was not a person who would change his perspective of women for an ordinary breakup. She was worried, curious and slightly unsettled by the thought of Raghav’s ex. “Pallavi”, Raghav called her still having his arms around her, looking at her for the signs of anger and disappointment. He did not want Pallavi to think that he still had feelings for Esha and that was the reason behind his reaction. “It is not what you are thinking. She is my past. It was just that ...” Raghav started to explain but was cut by Pallavi’s lips on his. The kiss was slow and soft.
Raghav and Pallavi settled on the bed with Raghav’s head on Pallavi’s lap. Pallavi threaded her fingers through his hair, Raghav was caressing her other hand, while they both stayed silent. “I was 21 when I met her”, Raghav started his narration. “Esha was my classmate in the jewellery design course that I was doing”, Raghav continued, sparing a glance at Pallavi who had an empathic expression. “She was the only person who talked to me nicely despite my grumpy nature”, Raghav went on. “Slowly we became friends, I started looking forward to meeting her everyday, she drove away my loneliness and it seemed that she filled the void left by Nanna and Arjun’s death”, Raghav’s voice was soft, as recalled those days. “As our closeness grew, I confessed my feelings and she said that she liked me too”, Raghav’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “You know I had planned everything, jewellery business, a big house, a larger than life picture in the living room, Amma forgiving me, I had added Esha to the list”, he chuckled bitterly which teared up Pallavi. She wondered what went wrong between them. Pallavi held his hand tighter, silently supporting him, being his anchor. “On Esha’s 22nd birthday, I bought a gold ring to propose to her, my income was stable, it was what she wanted”, a lone tear escaped his eyes as he relived the worst part of his story. “I pretended to forget her birthday so I could surprise her. I wore the best shirt that I had and went to her house”, Raghav’s voice was cold now, “There was a birthday party at her place, and the crowd was hooting. Curiously I made my way, only to see another man on his knees proposing marriage to her, and she said Yes, and hugged him”, Raghav spoke the last words with difficulty. Pallavi gasped at revelation, her heart instantly aching for Raghav, her husband didn’t deserve that betrayal. “Oh wait there’s more”, Raghav said bitterly which surprised Pallavi. “She saw me there and pulled me aside, I asked her why, you know what she said?” Raghav asked to which Pallavi shook her head in No. “She said that she never loved me, she loved that man even before meeting me. She said that she had some Kundali Dosh, which said her first husband would die. She had made my Kundali for fun but discovered that if she marries me then her Dosh would nullify. She also said that I would be rich in the near future, so she would marry me and then leave me with a share of my money to marry him”, Raghav concluded, finally letting the cat out of the bag. Pallavi looked on with horror at what Esha had done. It was no wonder that Raghav was triggered by her mere presence. “Raghav, I… I don’t know what to say”, Pallavi spoke after listening to his story patiently. “But always remember that I am proud of you”, with that Pallavi placed an affectionate kiss on his forehead. “I love you”, said Raghav. “I love you, too”, said Pallavi, then continued, “Jo hua usse toh badala nahi jaa sakta, mai khush hu ki tumne mujhse yeh share kiya.” Raghav smiled genuinely for the first time after seeing Esha, “Tumhe nahi bataunga toh kise bataunga? Padosi ka biwi ko?” Raghav said to which Pallavi giggled, tension quickly evaporating. He felt lighter after sharing his burden with his better half. The smiles on their faces even after such a heavy conservation declared that he had won over the Demons of his past.
