Picking up the pieces -part3 09/07 pg4 Ishra OS - Page 2

Picking up the pieces - Part 2

Ishita heard Raman in the washroom. There was a new stream of tears coursing down her cheeks. She constantly saw Ashok's smile in front of her. She was still tossing in turbulence with Raman's " SHUT UP" echoing in her head when all she wanted to hear was for Raman to silence Ashok and his allegations. A pacifist like her for once hoped that Raman would deliver a stinging slap. But he slapped her with his silence. Why was is that Shagun could do all that she managed to with Raman she thought bitterly.

Raman could feel Ishita's fury as soon as he stepped into his bedroom. He walked in with resolve. He turned the lights up, put out his hand and asked Ishita to get to the couch. " I really want to talk Ishita" he said. She ignored his hand and sat on the table because she could not bring herself to sit on the couch next to him. Raman let her be.

He sat across her and held her hands. She pulled it right back and stared at him. Raman smiled at her. His face transformed - the frown was gone. His cheeks dimpled and his eyes seemed to be molten chocolate thought Ishita while her breath hitched. She was even more furious now. Her body was going through these weird sensations when she was still buffeted by Raman's betrayal. " Have you lost it Ishita?" she chided herself mentally while cracking her fingers furiously. " PRAND (fool)" she slapped herself.

Raman was playing no games. He was honest and that was charming! " Ishita today I'm going to talk to you freely...no more walls Ishita" he said. " Ishita you could see through so much that I had not even talked to you about - like the DNA report, goyal's land issue,Romi, Simi's needs... You managed to unearth my peace even before my family realised that I had lost it. The entire Mhir-Mihika saga - even with that you played it all perfect! I did start thinking of you as an equal Ishita. Sacch mein Jahnsi Ki Rani manne laga. But all that aside you put me in touch with the good side in me Ishita life was almost enjoyable you know. I did ask you Ishita trust me please! I'm sorry I let you down!" he pleaded. Ishita was listening.

"Subbu let me down Raman by not standing up for me. Param robbed me of my dignity and my word against his you sought proof! I would have never believed I could feel more pain than I did that night when my mother dragged me out of this house with all the insult heaped on me." Raman recollected her tear stained face and the heart ache he felt too." But you Raman hurt me the most. In that resort today you made me feel so exposed! I felt naked in front of them. I felt like a fool to be married to a man who had nothing in his heart for me, worse still loved his ex-wife who deserted him!! All those promises you made about my place in my life and all the faith I put in you " she sobbed " you stripped me Raman" she said painfully.

" I am so sorry Ishita , I wish I knew what I could do to make that pain go away, I would do that every single day for the rest of my life! said a deeply hurt Raman. She was so far away,I'm ir-repairably broken Raman" she mumbled. All that Raman told her today in their room - It would have made her life had it been any other occasion. Her Ravan Kumar telling all that she wanted to hear and all that normally would warmed her inside out. Except that today she could feel nothing but relentless ice-picks on her heart.

"I know heart break Ishita. I know what it is, to know how it feels when your faith is stolen and see it when it happens. I know sorry is way too pathetic and feeble to bring back what I took over this last week Ishita. You asked if I would have trusted you when everything else around you could point the other way. I promise you today I bloody darn will! And this is you will see lived - I know talk is cheap you wont have a reason to regret I promise" he said earnestly stiffling a yawn.

If agression and being protective came naturally to Raman caring came naturally to Ishita. " Phike aye ho , jake kuch ka lo!" she said and tried to close the conversation. Listening to her, feeling her care despite her fury made Raman's eyes glisten. " Tum ne bhi kuch kaya nahi hai na..come" he said. They let themselves to Amma's kitchen, Raman would have followed her anywhere really! He perched himself on the ledge, his gaze branzenly roaming all over Ishita as she busied herself put the meal together. " Amma ko adat hai hamesha kuch toh fridge may rakhti hai." she said. She slammed the heated upma into his hands. While she teared up again. He pretended to ignore it and remarked " isi liye itni moti ho gayi ho" he said with a wicked smile. Ishita frowned again and let him know she hated his jokes.

He quietly went back to eating as did she. They cleared up and Raman walked back to fix himself another drink. Ishita walked to him grabbed his drink and poured down the drain. " KAL such much Ravan kumar ban jaoge" she spat. He smiled again at her remark. Her facial muscles retained her frown but her body was a molten mess. His light in his eyes were her undoing.

He put his arms around where she was standing near the sink. She shrunk to him at bay, he leaned over and whispered into her right ear " tum jitna chahe mhujse lad lo Ishita please dont ever do what you did to me at the resort to me today. Walk away from me" he sobbed. To her horror she saw her arms go around his neck and hug him like they belonged to someone else. They shared a soulful moment in each others arms. Raman quietly picked her up and carried her over to their room kicking the door shut.

Her set down in the bed, tucked her in, and said " I'm really sorry Ishita Please trust me" he parroted. They were both exhausted from the ordeal and she drooped to sleep almost instantly. Raman wished he could hold her but he knew better than to be so desperate. He walked to his side of the bed wondering how he was going to set things right.

Both Ishita and Raman through their " talk" he never ever mentioned the kids. It truly was not about the kids anymore. It was about them! And they were alseep completely in the dark about something that significant.

I quite like your somber approach to the whole thing. No drama and just Raman explaining to Ishita where she stands in his life and how he will trust her completely from now on. Though the road is tough, they can eventually build back what they had before, they may even come out stronger together than they ever were.

totalyy beautiful. not much of drama here! loved itt.. keepp continuingg.. would love to read how raman solves the mess created! plss PM me whn u update!! thnkuu

Very heart warming! Love it! looking forward to know how Raman will get out of this mess. Thanks for the PM!

I just love how raman explains ishu

I quite like your somber approach to the whole thing.

Originally posted by: avni_19

totalyy beautiful. not much of drama here! loved itt.. keepp continuingg.. would love to read how raman solves the mess created! plss PM me whn u update!! thnkuu

thatz so emotional dear
thanx fr d pm

Picking up the pieces

Part 3

Fire and Ice that was what Ishita thought of him. She went about the following morning going over all that she needed to do while scrubbing herself clean in the solitude of her washroom. She did not think much of Raman's apology. Her anger was very much on a constant simmer. But his repeated pleas to trust her had made an impact on her. It came easier to her to forgive and move on that to hold on to a grudge. But this time she could not forgive him. He had let her down and her amma deserved justice! She would ensure that with or without Raman she resolved.

The rest of the morning was busy. She had no time to think of anything but Ruhi and all the visits she had planned - to the school, clinic and to the lawyer. Ruhi was her usual chirpy self, the cheer of the family. They all went about pretending that nothing was amiss, while Ruhi presumed that her papa was at work. Shepherding Ruhi to the car she did notice that amma's flat was shut for some reason. She would come back and bring them upto speed she decided.

Ishita headed back home mid-morning her head filled with unanswered questions and the pain in her heart still as intense as it was last night at the resort. She had learnt to disguise her pain for Ruhi's sake but it was still awful all the same. Across her amma's shut flat there seemed to be stillness and soft music was it? She quietly let herself into the flat using digging her key from her bag. What she in front her was stupefying. Appa sat looking absolutely resolute. Amma had worry etched on her face or was it apprehensiveness laced with empathy? That is what she used to look like every time she used to meet Subbu's mom before Ishita was married. Mrs. Iyer sat cross legged on the sofa handing out one of her famous scalp massages! Her disbelief intensified manyfold when she saw Raman seated on the floor in front her mother - like she or Mihika would and Mrs Iyer fondly massaging his scalp!

Earlier in the morning, a rested and showered Raman, rang the door bell at Mrs.Iyer's flat when the rest of his family was still asleep. The Iyer's were surprised to see him at their door that early especially because they heard his sauntering footsteps after his car screamed to a halt late last night! All the same he was welcomed warmly, handed a cup of coffee. Raman grabbed amma's hands got her to sit and sat next to her and recounted the entire weeks happenings to her except the details of the accident. Mrs. Iyer was surprised at Shagun's attempt to come to to Raman, all that she had done. Raman mentioned briefly about how he suspected Ashok and Param on threatening to call in the cops Shagun said they were protecting her. She created a scene in front of Adi and got him to help her hide the truth for the sake of a frightened Adi. Amma and Appa understood why he wanted to protect Shagun. Amma aab muhje such kya hai aur jhoot kya samaj me nahi aa raha hai." he said. But they did not agree with him and his support for Shagun. " Aap ne amma mujhe beta kaha hai and i think of you as a mother too. But right now i'm split in the middle amma. Mere saare rishte ek traf aur..." he muttered unable to continue without choking. " Ayyo Raman tumhare ankhe dekho kitne lal ho gaye hai, tum abhi kuch mat kehna ruhko" she said as she went on to bring some concoction of warm oil. She sat on the sofa and got him to sit down in front of her. He had seen this with Simmi and his mom. He knew what was expected. He sat on the floor leaning on one side of the sofa while she sat on the other. He was at a point that any affection was welcome! She rubbed his scalp telling him " tum acche admi ho Raman. Chinta mat karo sab problem ka solution hai. Kadavul pathu par" (God bless you beta!) she said and got on with her oil. Raman found all this strangely soothing. He shut his eyes and tried to think calmly. Appa and amma were both moved to see the tears that was trickling down from his eyes. He was in pain they realised. Although they were clueless about what they could do. They knew that Ishita too would be in pain. But they found it difficult to blame Raman. The situation was too complex. " Tum Ihsu se yeh sab kehte kyun nahi ho" she asked what he was dreading. "Amma muhje pata nahi hai Shagun such keh rahi hai ya jhoot. I have already hurt Ishita about both Adi and Shagun. I don't want her to hurt anymore." " Par such chupane se uski dard kam nahi hoga Raman." she said. Muhje lagata hai ki Ishu shayad Shagun ko lekar logical nahi ho sakthi hai, Adi ka interest zarroor samajh sakti hai." Appa added sending Raman deeper into his guilt.

" Tum aaj kal ke log balon me thel nahi lagate ho isiliye ankhe laal ho jati hai" Amma said suddenly as she tried to stand up quickly when she saw Ishita walk in. " Yeh kya koi spa hai meri amma kya koi massage therapist hai" she said when her eyes fell on Raman. " Ayyo Ishu Raman ne kuch nahi kaha, I insisted" Amma said. " Touch his shoulders, you will feel the stress he is under" she said. Ishita was furious this man was now manipulating my mother. " Amma aap janti bhi ho, ye kisso protect kar raha hai" cried Ishita. " Tum itne chillake kyun bhat kar rahi ho Ishu ...Raman ki tarah" amma added cheekily hoping get a reaction out of Ishu. But Ishu was more worried about Raman sitting on the floor and amma's comment on his shoulders. She plonked her self un- willingly on the sofa while Raman had a small smile and veered closer to his wife. She touched his shoulders and asked him " thightness tho hai...frozen shoulder tho nahi hai I hope. Let me see you might need a physiotherapist." she said. Raman siezed the chance to pull off his T shirt. " Chi Raman sab ke saame uthoroge" Ishu said. "aacha to ander chalen? " he asked faking innocence. Ishu was now bristling at the innuendo. " Get lost" she said and walked over to her bedroom.

Hota hai Raman...as you grow older the wife takes on the husband's traits and the husband understands his wife better. Tumhare saath bhi wohi ho rahi hai.. tum Ishu ki tarah loving ho gaye ho aur wo tumhari tarah sadu.." she patted his cheeks. " Aur Ishu toh mhujse hameesha ladthi thi, kabi kuch karene ke liye kabi kuch na karne ke liye...par aapne liye nahi hamesha apno ki sochithi hai meri Ishu." Raman couldn't agree more.

Sometimes what one hears takes on a different meaning for the listener. Like it did for Raman that day. He decided to behave with Ishu the way she would if she was at crossroads - turn to the ones she loved with all her heart, do the right thing and wait for the tide to turn. While Ishita for once was not ready to take anything on face value. She intuitively felt the need watch over Raman and scrape the surface off his " mhajboori". Ofcourse she knew better than to tell him. She was in not mood to forgive him.

When she walked out of the room Raman seemed to be finishing off what seemed to be a really private chat with her amma. " Amma pata hai apko jab aap mere office aye they to check my pay slip- check karne Subbu ke pas I was so furious and I lashed at you. Ab aisa hota to shaayad nahi karta. Bacchon ke liye parents ko apne charachter chodke kya kya karna padta hai" he finished with a sad smile as Mrs Iyer was serving him his breakfast.

Then the penny dropped for Ishita. She was sure that all this "mhajboori" was about Adi. She had to give him some more time and draw up a plan she decided. She decided to talk to Mihir before talking to her demented Ravan Kumar.

"Bhuddu Ravan Kumar" she said as she hit him on his head from behind the dining chair and was out of the door even before Raman got a grasp on what was on. He forgot the oil on his hair and quickly ran down the stairs to catch up with her. Ishita's car was on its way out. It was Pammi aunty wrinkled nose that reminded him that his scalp needed attention. He suddenly felt light running up the stairs again. Had Ishita forgiven him?

AWWHHH, That's so sweet that Amma was massaging Raman's head because of all his worries. I hope Ishita is a little less harder on Raman now that he has hinted to her that he is doing all this for Adi.