Shivay blinked as light flooded his room. He hadn't realized when dusk had fallen and the rays of sun had retreated from his room, leaving him in shadows. Lost in a tumult of new emotions, he had sat in that dark room pondering over this new direction his life had taken all of a sudden. A struggle that had begun within him ever since Anika had come into his life had now ended. The old beliefs that had held him down, burdening him with an existence that was both hollow and bitter, had fallen off him and he felt that he could drown in the sheer lightness that filled him instead. His conversation with Tia had further convinced him that he had arrived at a point when he could and must refashion the very foundations of his life. This bitterness was not something that had affected him alone, sucking his life and zeal from him. Like poison, it had seeped into the lives of all those he had dragged into the web of lies he had been constructing so painstakingly. A surge of strength of conviction flowed through him now. This must be what freedom felt like.
This day was one that he would never forget. In one sweep, he had both found as well as lost a part of himself. The great Shivay Singh Oberoi that he had created over the years had crumbled before a realisation that was far more powerful than anything that he could claim to be. And yet, this loss didn't fill him with the rage that was expected from someone who had never experienced defeat. He had finally stopped running from that part of himself which, till now, he had thought that he had succeeded in killing. He had thought it to be a weakness that needed to be suppressed. And when he had finally found the courage to face it, he had discovered it to be the strength that he had lacked till now. Basking in his new self, he had barely noticed as his room had slowly darkened. Now, with the light being switched on, he looked up to see his two brothers. He felt a surge of love for these two people who meant everything to him. With his eyes shining with an unfamiliar softness, he beckoned to the two.
"Aa jaa", said Shivay.
Rudra bounded into the room and dived on the bed. Om walked in slowly, his eyes hidden behind the thick glasses he wore sometimes. Instead of coming straight to the bed, he lingered near the open window, with a curious smile on his face, while his eyes studied Shivay.
"So Bhaiya, aajkal aap kuch zyada hi tez ho gaye," said his youngest brother, who was now sprawled on his bed. His face wore a delighted grin.
At Shivay's quizzical look, Rudra said, "Better late than never is what I always say."
Shivay fell back on the bed with a sigh. "Was it twitter or instagram?"
"Well, Bhaiya, I did tell you Lady Baba wasn't the one for you. Only I never expected you to actually listen to me."
Shivay pulled him in for a hug and his face split into a wide grin as he heard Rudra squeal in delight. From the bed, the two of them turned to Om, who let out a chuckle before joining the pile of arms and legs on the bed with a few quick steps. Extricating his head out of the hug, Rudra huffed out, "Dil bole" and the other two joined him as they chanted their mantra, "Oberoi!" with an exuberance that would have brought tears to the eyes of Daadi had she been in the room.
Some time later, the three brothers lay on the bed in a heap, basking in a shared bliss that they couldn't put in words. Rudra, not one to remain silent for long, broke the silence.
"So, did you speak to Anikadi?"
A cloud passed over Shivay's face on hearing this but his brothers didn't notice it. He wondered fleetingly if Nishanth had gone to Anika by now. His conversation with that man would have definitely sent him running to her. This was the least Shivay could do for the woman who had saved him from himself. Anika deserved her shot at happiness and if that was with Nishanth--
"Anika?" Shivay said before lifting himself from the bed. "No. Why would I speak to her?"
Om got up and joined Shivay near the window. He looked at Shivay for a moment, letting the silence hang between them.
"Nothing's changed, has it, Shivay?" he asked finally. Om's face had a gentleness that made Shivay feel like telling him everything that had happened that day but it was still too early, too confusing to be articulated. So he looked away from Om and mustering as much calm as he could, he replied, "Nothing has changed, Om."
Om's smile didn't disappear. His eyes took in the flushed face of his eldest sibling and when he spoke there was only tenderness in his voice. "Still not ready to say that you love her, Mr. Shivay Singh Oberoi?"
Again a flash of pain passed through Shivay's face. Keeping his eyes firmly on the line of gulmohar trees at the edge of the lawn, he spoke calmly, "Om, you know, Anika is just not like us. She belongs to a different world. Our class of people--"
However, Shivay was interrupted by Rudra.
"Bhaiya! Anikadi's here"
And Shivay turned with a jolt to see the only woman who had been on his mind since the day she broke his car windscreen. Her face bore a fury that he was quite familiar with and the sight of the blazing eyes and quivering lips filled his heart with joy even as he wondered what she was doing here.
The speed with which Om and Rudra disappeared from the room would have put Houdini to shame.
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