Chapter 15
Rishabh woke up as the car came to a halt. The main gate was being opened and the faint light told RK they were home.
His head was pounding. He looked to his right and saw Madhu peacefully sleeping in his arms. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling by now - indeed he felt like he could only sleep fitfully these days when he had her in his arms. But looking at her right now, nestled between his arm and shoulder and holding his shirt tightly, created a flutter of emotion. The car moved again to take them to the main door, and the shifting light reflected on Madhu's face as a fleeting shine. She looked ethereal.
Almost involuntarily he squeezed her closer still with his arm that was around her while his other hand moved up to caress her beautiful face. As his knuckles touched her face, a pang of possessiveness passed through Rishabh. A fleeting, unpleasant memory conflicted with the innocent vision of present - the memory of a broken, pain-struck Madhu walking lifelessly a few hours ago - and he felt the ache inside him kindle. He bent forward to kiss her, when the car stopped again and the engine stopped humming.
"Finally!" Trishna's voice and the sound of seat belt unclamping brought awareness to RK's mind. He had forgotten they were in a car, where Trishna was also present. He moved back, created a little space between Madhu and himself although she still held on to him.
"Yeah. What's the time?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"11:15. Oh God, I cannot believe I have to leave again at 6 am for my flight. Driver bhaiya, please get all the shopping bags out of the car." Trishna replied as she opened the door and enlisted the driver's help to get her stuff inside.
RK moved a little in an attempt to get out of the car, but realized Madhu was still in deep sleep. For a second he thought about picking her up as it is and taking her inside, but of course that wasn't possible. So instead he shook her shoulder a little and then put his hand at her cheek so she woke up.
"Madhu"
She heard his voice calling her name softly, and she opened her eyes, only to find him tenderly looking at her. For the smallest of seconds, their eyes met and attempted to communicate. But then, she moved away, realizing how close to him she had fallen asleep and the awkwardness of the situation.
"I am sorry" she whispered, as she scooted on the seat in the opposite direction of RK and opened the door on her side.
"Madhu" he spoke again as she finished fixing her dupatta and closed the car door. RK had himself got out of the car from the other side and now stood a few feet next to her, holding her gently by the wrist.
She looked at him in response, and something about the look in his eyes made her blush. Madhu didn't understand the heady feeling that came over her, but she quickly looked away, thankful to the night for giving a cover to her unreasonable feelings.
Feelings? Wait, did she think feelings? When did she start having feelings again?
"Are you okay?" RK asked, and for a few moments Madhu was puzzled. Then, she remembered Manav. She remembered the fact that RK was there. She gulped the lump that came in her throat and gently nodded, looking away from RK. His grip loosened and she walked inside, once again consumed by the aftermath of Manav's outburst that she had momentarily forgotten.
She hadn't handled that well, she had realized while sitting in the car. She should have been much gentler with Manav. She had failed, but the truth was she had been so scared. Her loneliness, her fears and her broken spirit had made her too weak to handle the moment with prudence. Now, he had drifted away from him and he didn't even know the disgusting...
"Trishna, do you want anything?" Madhu asked as she walked into the house and saw Trishna going to the kitchen.
"Oh nothing, I just thought I will have some tea but I can't figure out where everything is kept."
"I will come and make you tea." she smiled at Trishna and walked towards her, but she stopped her midway.
"Fine, but first you go and change. Your clothes are still wet." Trishna said and turned Madhu 180 degrees holding her by he shoulder. "And you too. Change your clothes." Trish called out to RK who had just entered the house.
"Yeah. I am really tired. I am going to sleep. Good night Trish. I will drop you to the airport in the morning."
"Okay. Good night bhai."
"I had lots of fun today." Trish said as Madhu handed her the tea and sat next to her in the living room.
"Me too. Thank you." Madhu sweetly responded.
"I should be the one thanking you. You made everything so much better."
"How was your meeting with your brother?"
"It was..uh...ok"
"I am sure it was great. I wish I had an elder sister! Waise, where do your parents live?"
"They...they're no more." Madhu softly replied.
"I am sorry." Trishna answered awkwardly.
"Btw you have to teach me bargaining some time. And the next time I come to India, we would spend at least three days shopping." Trishna blurted to lighten the mood.
"Ha ha. Sure."
"Yesss. I think you and I totally gel. Can we be friends?" She said and excitedly held out her hand.
Madhu was stunned at Trishna's offer of friendship. Could she really say yes? Could she make friends? What would happen when Trishna got to know her truth, who she really was? What would RK say? But she couldn't just decline and let Trishna hanging in the air, could she? RK hadn't said anything all day about Madhu and Trishna spending time together. Maybe, it was going to be ok. Besides, Trishna was going to leave in a few hours anyway, she rationalized and held her hand out to meet Trishna's.
"Friends"
"You're really sweet, Trishna." Madhu smiled.
"I know. All the boys at my college call me sweet'n'sexy." Trish giggled. "You're really pretty too, you know." she added, but Madhu didn't respond. She didn't quite know how to.
"You know I am glad we did the road-trip. Even though I was tired in the evening, I am totally excited now."
"Yeah it was fun."
"Yep. And I am still laughing at bhai's face when he had that cappuccino moustache from my drink that I made him try and he was puzzled over why we were grinning at him." Trishna grinned, and Madhu smiled too at the memory. Rishabh really had been like a child fighting with Trishna. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen, but that sight had warmed her heart.
"Yes it was quite cute." Madhu agreed, still thinking about the moment, a smile on her face. "You should sleep. You have a flight." she then added.
"I know. But I still have adrenaline in my veins. Besides I slept in the evening and a little in the car and I am jetlagged enough. But it's ok, I'll sleep through my flight to London and I would be just fine."
"Okay."
"You know, I think the road-trip today was good for bhai too. He doesn't say it, but I know he's still hurting over what bhabhi did."
Madhu grew suddenly serious and stared at the tea in her cup. Who knew better than her how much RK was still in pain, and how his pain only came out in bursts when he couldn't control them anymore. She faintly nodded, then spoke "Maybe he truly loved her. It's hard to get over betrayal from those we lose our hearts to. The moment you love someone, you hand them the power to destroy you. After that, you can only hope they wouldn't."
"Hmm."Trishna replied, lost in thought herself. "I don't know if he really loved her. I mean, he tried, but I know he was never happy in that marriage even for a day. And I never liked Dipali myself. There was something...off...about her. Something fake. But bhai is too trusting and too caring. I know he would have put everything he had in that marriage. And Radha aunty...he used to worship her. He doesn't deserve this."
"Unfortunately when you love someone more than they deserve, you open yourself to hurt and pain far more than you deserve. Your brother is a good man. Men like him are really really rare. His only fault was that he trusted too much when he probably shouldn't have, and that destroyed him. But if he trusted too little, if he never gave himself the chance, he wouldn't even give himself a shot at real happiness. Then, what will be the point of continuing to live?" Madhu softly spoke, her eyes scattered on the floor, and a few tears streaming down her cheeks. She had lived all her life with optimism and the hope that no matter how bad things got, they would be better the next day. She too, like Rishabh, had placed too much trust and gotten destroyed. All these months, she had been holding onto delusions because she felt she needed to somehow survive. That's why, she hadn't really fully discarded her old philosophy no matter how battered she and her trust was. She had put her feelings, her pain and her identity in a box in a corner and refused to look. Recently though, some of those emotions had started creeping out, one at a time, stealthily when she wasn't paying attention, and the battle inside her had intensified. But today, after seeing Manav, the lock of the box had been broken. Now, as she spoke those words to Trishna, they felt hollow to her. Easy to say, but no longer possible to believe. She hoped for Trishna's sake - for Rishabh's sake - that there was a chance at healing, that nice people really got happiness in the end even if there was hurt on the way. But really, in her soul, she had a deep sinking feeling even as she tried to reassure Trishna, who looked frightened and worry.
"Don't worry, Trish. Your brother is strong. He will get over this. He will heal."Madhu sincerely spoke, gulping her pain.
"Really?" Trish looked up at Madhu with hope.
"Yes. Really. What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Just be there for him. And with a smile, not with these stupid tears. They don't suit you at all. He loves your smile." Madhu stepped ahead and wiped Trishna's tears. "He will heal." she repeated.
Trishna smiled gratefully and wiped Madhu's tears as well.
"Thanks Madhu. You'd be there for him too, right?" Trishna spoke as they both stood up.
"I...uhh...come on, let's go to sleep now. It's late and you have a flight. Get some rest." Madhu picked up the cups and started to move towards the kitchen, avoiding Trishna's last question.
"Hmm. Good night Madhu."
"Good nigh Trish." Madhu smiled at her and walked upstairs towards her room.
********************************
Her feet automatically stopped as she crossed RK's room. Suddenly, she was reminded again of that moment outside the house. Madhu had felt an odd current pass through her body. There was something in his eyes, a strange warmth in his touch.
Warm!
Oh shit! That's what it was, that sense of warmth she had felt in her sleep. Alarmed, she slowly opened RK's unlocked door.
The lights were still on but RK was asleep on the bed. Soundlessly, she walked close to him and touched his forehead. Just as she had feared moments earlier, he was burning with fever.
Immediately, she covered him up with the blanket and closed the door of the window. She picked out some paracetamol and water, and softly shook RK, sitting next to her.
He barely opened his eyes, but she shoved the medicine inside his mouth. "Have this please Rishabh ji. You have fever." Rishabh drank a few sips of water, then slipped back into sleep.
Madhu sat next to him, watching him fall into deep sleep again.
Almost two hours later, Trishna walked out of her room to get some water. She had been unable to fall asleep even though she had tried hard. She stopped when she noticed Madhu in the kitchen, replacing water in a bowl with fresh water and ice. Madhu switched off the kitchen lights and walked back upstairs, and Trishna saw her go to RK's room. She went behind her, careful to not make any sound, and saw Madhu replacing wet bandages on RK's forehead while he was sound asleep. Smiling, she turned back and went to her room, feeling a lot less worried about RK than she had all day. Madhu hadn't said it in as many words, but she was there for her brother, and she truly cared.
He would heal.
*********************************************************
RK knocked at Trishna's door at 10 minutes to 6. He had been woken up twenty minutes earlier as he'd set a 5:30 alarm before sleeping. He was surprised to see Madhu sleeping on a chair next to him. Vaguely, he remembered her waking him up in the night and giving him medicine. But she had stayed there all night?
Quickly, he had freshened up and walked to Trishna's room without disturbing Madhu.
"Good morning. Ready to leave?" RK asked as Trish opened the door.
"Yep. But why are you up? How are you feeling now?" Trishna asked, her hand on RK's forehead.
"I am perfectly fine. What will happen to me?" he spoke as they walked inside her room. "Are you packed?"
"Yeah. But you had fever last night, right. You should rest. Driver bhaiya is outside. I can go to the airport myself."
"No way. And nothing happened to me. I am taking you to the airport."
"Hmm" Trishna sized her brother. He really did look better. Maybe Madhu had nursed him back to health already, Trishna chuckled to herself.
"I like Madhu." Trishna suddenly said fifteen minutes into their drive the airport.
"I know. You told me yesterday." RK replied, his eyes on the road
"Do you like her?" she asked. RK didn't know what to reply. Did he like her? Maybe.
"I guess. She is good." RK said after a few minutes of silence.
Trishna studied her brother's silence for a few minutes. Maybe he didn't realize it yet, but Trishna was sure Madhu already meant more to him than he admitted. Maybe she could help things along.
"She loves you, I think." Trishna blurted, and RK immediately slammed the brakes, shocked at Trishna's words.
"What?" he yelled as the car came to a stop and he looked at Trishna.
"I said, I think, Madhu is in love with you."
"Did Madhu say that?"
"No. I don't think she even knows."
"Trishna, stop imagining things. I know you have a hyperactive mind, but this is too much." he said as he concentrated on the road again and started driving.
"Maybe, but I am not wrong. I think she really really cares for you. It's in her eyes."
"And you're the eye doctor!" RK barked. "Trishna, there's nothing between Madhu and me. She's only here for a few days. She...her past..."
"Forget the past, bhai. I am talking about the future. How long will you judge people by the pain of your past? I don't care about your past or Madhu's past. I am just saying, today, in the present, I think, both of you like each other and you should accept that. I've seen the way you look at her."
"Trish. Enough. End of this topic." RK shouted in anger.
"Fine. Don't believe me. Don't give happiness a chance." Trishna replied back equally angry.
"I am okay, Trish." RK sighed as they reached the airport and RK pulled our Trishna's luggage from the car.. His anger had subsided and he figured Trishna was worried for him and was trying to find a way to make him happy, hence her Madhu theory. He looked at her and said. "You don't have to worry about me. I am fine now. I will be ok. I will be happy."
"I know. I know you will heal. I am sure of that now." Trishna said and hugged her brother. She then turned to leave, then stopped.
"But think about what I said. Madhu is not Dipali."
Edited by teekay - 10 years ago
Cricket
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Hindi TV Shows
