The first time Priyanka saw a corpse was when she was five years of age. Daadaji passed away suddenly and she remembers the house being full of people, with solemn faces, speaking in soft whispers. She had seen him lie on the floor, wrapped in white. He had looked like he was sleeping. She had only caught a glimpse. Ma had made her, along with the rest of the kids, stay in the nursery. There, they had played games, celebrating this sudden holiday atmosphere that pervaded the house. They had played at pirates seeking treasure. Shivay Bhaiya had designated roles for each of them. Priyanka remembers vividly the irritation she had felt on being told to be the shipmate who is eaten by cannibals. She remembered a lot less what Dadaji had looked like as they prepared him for the funeral pyre.
There had been deaths in the family since. When Nanaji passed away, Priyanka was away at her boarding school. She came down for the funeral service. Roop Bua lost her husband while the two of them were on a trip in Singapore. Bua had returned alone, a widow, and full of resentment for the family. In her brief insignificant life, death had not been a stranger.
And yet.
Nothing in her life had prepared her for that bloodied writhing body she had to come face to face with on that fateful night she turned eighteen. Returning home from the club, where her friends had thrown her a surprise birthday party, Priyanka had been feeling so lightheaded, as if she could simply fly away if she so wanted. She remembers O Bhaiya laughing as she laid her head against the window and let the night breeze waft through her hair. Dylan was on the radio.
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to...
It had seemed like a night that dreams were made of. The laughter from the party had still bubbled within her. The petty arguments that made up the cacophony that she heard daily at home seemed to belong to another world. The night had made her feel like a different person. Looking at the empty road before them, she had felt like taking the wheels. She had been learning driving for a while and that night, she had wanted to let the car fly and have the controls in her grasp.
At first, O Bhaiya had shaken his head with a smile and continued to drive. But then she had asked again. And again. She had clapped her hands when he finally had relented and stopped the car. Scooting into the driver's seat, Priyanka had felt like a king. She had felt such confidence flow through her as she had rarely experienced in her life.
The car had purred like a great gentle beast and off they had gone, down that smooth winding empty road. Priyanka had been glad that it was so late in the night. The thicket of trees on both sides of the road appeared like a jungle and she pretended to herself that they were driving through a dense forest. Dylan's words had woven itself into the magic of the night.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship...
When the yellow figure had suddenly appeared as the car rounded a corner, she was driving too fast to do much. She had pressed down on the brake and closed her eyes with a scream. She had barely heard O Bhaiya's shout. Dylan had continued to sing as Priyanka remained seated with eyes closed, hands tightly clutched around the steering wheel.
...to dance beneath the diamond sky
with one hand waving free
silhouetted by the sea
circled by the circus sands
with all memory and fate
driven deep within the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow...
She had heard the door slam shut as O Bhaiya had stepped out. And so she had finally opened her eyes, detached her frozen fingers from the wheels and stepped out. And there on the leafy road, covered in blood and dried leaves, she had met her nightmare.
The body had twitched. Long hair hid the face but it was clear that it was a woman that Priyanka had hit.
"O Bhaiya..." she had managed to stutter out.
Even her brother had seemed to be frozen in horror. But at the sound of her voice, he had jumped to action.
"We need to take her to a hospital", he had said and then lifting the bleeding body, he had placed the woman on the backseat.
And then he had waited for Priyanka to get into the car before driving like the very hounds of hell were after them.
They had gone to Nirmala Nursing Home. It was Daadi's latest charity project and they knew most of the doctors there.
They had placed the woman in the care of the emergency unit there and had sat in the corridor, covered in blood.
Around midnight, a doctor had come to them and told them to go home. He had insisted that the hospital would inform them in case the patient improves. The phone calls from home had also been getting more insistent and finally they had gone to their car and driven home in silence. Neither had said anything about the fact that Priyanka had no driving licence.
Next morning after breakfast, the two had made up excuses and rushed back to the hospital. They had ran all the way from the car park to the reception. There, a nurse had taken them to another chamber where a doctor they were familiar with waited for them.
With mounting dread they had stood before the man who studied them closely. And then he told them the patient had died towards the early hours of dawn.
**********************
Omkara sat at his work table, a lump of clay sitting before him. Rudra had left him alone only a while back. Outside, the rain poured down like there was no tomorrow. Reaching his hand out, Omkara took the clay and pressed hard, flattening the grey brown mess.
His family had betrayed him once again. And this time the blow had come from a corner he had least expected! Daadi! Today he finally knew what it was to be an Oberoi. He now knew that each and every one of his blood relations would throw the rest under the bus as long as it meant the family honour remained intact. Omkara watched the clay slip out between his fingers. The betrayals were piling up too fast.
Shivay, the one he had trusted with his life, had turned out to be as cruel and heartless as Mr. Oberoi. Omkara could barely bring himself to face the hollow shell of a person that Anika had become. He had seen her listlessly roaming the corridors of the mansion last night when everyone else had gone to bed. The look in those eyes had made him want to tear apart all his paintings. Like a careless child who tore away a butterfly's wings, his brother had, with utter unconcern, destroyed the very spirit that could have breathed life into his own. Om knew, deep in his heart, Shivay was affected by Anika and felt the influence of her presence in his life keenly. And yet, with that foolhardiness that was as much a part of him as his over-protective love for his brothers, Shivay was fighting desperately against that influence. And in a final effort to win, Shivay had tried to turn Anika into a tool for him to use and manipulate. Only in doing so he had broken that very precious soul that had moved him, that had challenged him.
Om tore himself away from the clay. His eyes fell on the drawer within which lay that cursed painting which had arrived in the mail. His thoughts turned away from Shivay. Priyanka was to be married to Randhawa. The very man who, Om knew, was blackmailing her! What Randhawa's motives behind this cruel game was, Om didn't know but he knew that the man would ruin his sister if he got the chance.
He wiped his hands on a piece of cloth and pulled out the sheet of paper. What had happened that night was something Om couldn't forgive himself for. Priyanka was a child but he should have known better. He had been the one who had allowed her to drive, knowing fully well, that she had no licence. He was the one who was the cause for the death of that unknown woman.
"Om, are you busy?"
With a start, Om looked up. Shivay stood outside. Quickly, he placed the paper back in the drawer, Om got up from his stool.
"Yes" he said shortly.
He walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a jacket.
"Going out?" Shivay asked. He had come in and was lingering near the empty canvas next to the couch.
Om didn't reply.
With a sigh, Shivay went on. "How long are you going to avoid me, Om?" he asked.
At first Om thought of not replying but the memory of Anika's eyes was too vivid. "As long as you continue to be a bas***d." he said roughly before storming out.
Shivay left soon after. Before leaving, he checked all the drawers and cupboards for drugs.
***************
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Udne Ki Aasha
Anupamaa
