Chapter II
The plane landed at the airport of Pune and Astha indifferently observed the great bustle and clamor named India. She used to love her birthplace and somehow that feeling hasn't changed; it has just transformed. She became capable of seeing the bigger picture of it, the past and the future, the kings and beggars, the beauty and the decay, the wealth and poverty, the ancient heritage and modern hopes: all that India managed to merged in one canvas. Her torn soul was glad to be at home where she wouldn't be rejected as an alien, or as an undeserving creature. India loved her as she was its daughter and the globetrotter Astha decided to stay at home.
Mrs. Kirloskar was genuinely happy to have an opportunity to hold her only child tight. Parents were eagerly preparing all the possible dishes Astha loved and were sitting and looking at her till she felt embarrassment. "Mom, please you make me so confused, don't look at me like that" Astha felt appeasement and anxiety at the same time. She missed her parents but was not a child anymore to reveal her feelings so effusively or maybe she was simply too tired or too depressed for that kind of happy agitation. Astha told her mother the "happy ending" of her love story but asked her to keep that to her and not to share it with anyone else. Mother was not a confident for Astha as they were separated for a very long time but Astha felt the urgent need to cry her broken heart out. She new there should pass some time until the Kirloskar women would regain the connection if not lost then definitely cracked but time healed everything, Astha hoped for that.
She opened her contact list and decided to make a couple of phone calls to inform her acquaintances about her return. She has lost touch with the majority of the girls but some of them friendly returned or answered her calls. She dialed the number of her schoolgirl friend Jyoti Agnihotri; they used to be rather close before university and French trip. Astha hasn't seen her for more than three years but Jyoti picked up Astha's call in no time. "Astha, is that you???" Jyoti sounded surprised but really lively. Astha realized Jyoti was sincerely glad to hear her but Jyoti was just like that, always happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine. It was only hearing the ringing bell of her voice Astha comprehended how she missed India and all her previous life, life before "him". She missed funny parties where people were forgiven to be not refined or extremely rich; chatting with the girls on the problems so "acute" that they would never occur in real life; when they were at their teens they thought everything in life was in their hands, all the time and space could be crumpled, tossed and flung without regard, everything was replaceable or disposable. Life was valued the least without awe it deserved.
Jyoti was a big part of Astha's remembrances, both families approved of that friendship as they shared the same status and privileges, Astha was spending at Agnihotri's two evenings a week at the very least as well as Jyoti at Kirloskar's. Jyoti was the baby of the family, pampered child with two older brothers. The guys studied at that time and visited parental house only on holidays. Astha's recollections on the family were alive but not exact, she remembered the names of her parents and brothers but hardly could recognize them if she would meet them on the street. When girls were fifteen, Varad was already a grown up of twenty two whom Astha saw a couple of times, Shlok the younger brother was about nineteen at that time and although Astha met him at least three times during university holidays, she could hardly remember his face but her mind graciously kept the image of a tall, slim young man with thick dark hair...
Astha's warm recollections were already afloat when Jyoti continued to shimmer with joy asking Astha all sorts of questions about her well-being "Are you married?" Astha felt the hard injection of pain right in the heart "No, I'm not and you?" Jyoti suddenly burst into laughter and said "I will be... in two weeks" and her laughter eased Astha's pain and suddenly Astha realized Jyoti was happy, really happy with the upcoming events. Jyoti concluded "It's really not a coincidence, Astha, you call me before my wedding. I don't believe in coincidences like that, they say God gives you a coincidence when he doesn't want you to know he's involved" smiled Jyoti "Promise me, you'll come to the wedding, please I invite you and it's official. Will you come?" Astha was touched by Jyoti's sincerity and goodwill; she got out of the habit to like people. More and more she felt bitterness noticing the ugly sides of life she previously preferred not to mark. People were liars, cheaters, snobs and the majority of those disgusting creatures were men. She has learnt to digest them but unlearned to like them questioning and challenging every statement they enunciated. Jyoti was like fresh spring water in the ocean of dirt Astha has been swimming; she would surely come to her wedding though weddings were depressing for Astha like toothache "I will, of course, I will. With pleasure" Jyoti was overwhelmed with feelings "Will you meet me tomorrow? Let's meet at the mall. I'll have to do some shopping. We could have dined together. What would you say?" Astha wanted to meet her desperately and immediately agreed.
The next day they met and Astha realized it was true, that happy girls were the prettiest. Jyoti looked really beautiful, slim and slender. They dined and talked and the time went backward ignoring all the laws of Physics and the declarations of the scientists about the impossibility to travel in time. It was possible, it really was. Jyoti talked about her parents, brothers and bridegroom and Astha's anguish gradually became less perceptible, less piercing at least she could feel her wounded heart stopped bleeding for an hour; that was for the better as Astha had no desire to die of a blood loss... "Astha, you have changed so drastically. I think Europe has made you a different person" Jyoti was studying her face "Your eyes became... sad?" looked like Jyoti could not believe her eyes "Why are you sad, my dear? Am I mistaken?" Astha did not want to lie to Jyoti "You are mistaken, I'm not sad, not at all" Astha was not sad she was not alive but no one could notice that obvious fact; maybe Mom could, to some extend but... What a funny thing - if a person walked and talked he was considered to be alive...
"You've become so beautiful and refined Astha, I must say I could scarcely recognize you. Beautiful, simply beautiful you are. Beautiful in everything, you remind me of some precious statuette" Astha felt pleased she knew Jyoti was genuine and meant what she was saying. They parted really pleased with each other, one returned to her wedding preparations, the other to her "wedding mourning".
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