1. Departing in Remembrance
I was sitting on the kitchen slab and yawning, as she stood by the burner making my early morning coffee. Her hair was tied up in a messy knot, and she had draped herself with my favourite navy blue silk nightgown of hers, I could see the outline of her slightly sagged
breasts at forty. I chuckled to myself, and she glanced at my direction.
I just stretched by hand in laziness and muttered, "You should start wearing your bra more
often you know"
"Why? Is the sag noticeable now?" she asked unconcerned, "Well, about time. Done with childbirth, sleeping with two men, and hardly use my bra. What else can you expect?"
I nodded and took my mug of coffee from her, I took a sip and smiled contently, aah the smell of cinnamon in my coffee, just the perfect dash of it, not too much, not too less - I hadn't had it ever since daadi stopped making it after her paralysis, not until I came here at hers. No-one ever got it right, well except Anne of course.
"So when is the mehendi function?" she asked me interrupting my thoughts, sipping her own coffee and settling on the chair opposite.
"Next week" I replied nonchalantly. "When are you going to arrive? Before the mehendi and stay until the wedding or are you just coming to attend the wedding?"
"Depends" she replied thoughtfully, "I think Daksh will be back from Hong Kong by Wednesday, then he can go and pick up Aadi from his boarding and take care of him this weekend, in that case I will come before mehendi and stay till the wedding. But if his plan changes, then I have to pick up Aadi and be with him for the weekend, then drop him to boarding on Monday and then fly down to Mumbai. Let's see, I will inform Pricks." by the end of it, she was almost talking to herself, busy procrastinating. I always found this habit of hers cute, but never before did I have the opportunity to show my affection until now. I smiled and pulled her along with her chair towards me. She looked up at me startled, and I smacked my lips on hers. She laughed as I
continued to kiss her on her soft lips that tasted of black coffee now, and then ever so slowly she kissed me back. After a while we broke apart and she laughed saying, "I think I have now acquired a taste for cinnamon coffee."
After a while I went upstairs and got packing, I was leaving from Delhi today. My fiance Mallika had texted me asking for my time of arrival, she wanted to come to the airport to pick me up. I
smiled, Mallika was a real sweetheart, her presence brightened my mood, she lifted my spirits the way a child does, I didn't ever love her, but the idea of spending my life with her never bothered me, she was pleasant company. I don't even know what love is, how it feels to be in love. The way I feel towards daadi and Priyanka di, if that's love, well then I have never been in love. As for lust, well I have lusted Anika for as long as I can remember. As I continued packing, I felt a pair of hands grab me from behind, and a slight petite frame hug me from behind.
"I am going to miss this Rockstar" she mumbled from behind and sighed, I was just about to turn around and reciprocate when my phone rang, I retrieved it from my pocket to see the caller ID flashing Mallika's name, I turned the phone towards her, so that she can see. She saw the name and moved away from me slightly, busying herself with my remaining packing.
"Hi Malli" I replied on the phone and saw her reflection in the mirror freeze for a moment before continuing her work. It made me happy. So Malli's presence did irk her - even though it's just a little bit. Just like Daksh bhaiya annoys me a little bit.
"Hello Shivay! Why don't you reply to text messages haan? Neither you reply nor di. I want to come to pick you up, it's been ages since I spent some us-time with you. Next time you're off to Delhi for so long, I shall accompany you!" she demanded in her childlike way.
"Acha, and what will you do all day in Delhi, while I am recording?" I asked humoring her.
"Arre I will stay with di and jiju of course! In fact I won't have any time for you during the weekends also, because I will be with Aadi then" she laughed. "Acha is di around? Can you please pass on the phone?"
I nudged Anne from behind and gave her the phone. She took the phone and left the bedroom. I always thought Anne and Mallika were the weirdest siblings, from the time I have met Mallika, which is essentially just from the time our marriage proposal was doing the rounds between the two families some two years back, I have seen there was a certain degree of coldness from Anne towards Mallika, but Mallika was ever so warm and loving to her, it always made me curious, but I never asked either of them about it.
Anika returned a little irked and handed me the phone and went back to my packing. I bent down and gently held her up from behind and took her in my arms, by the time we reached the bed, we were already raging in passion with kisses that could cause frenzy. As we lay cuddling, and Anne twirled her finger absent-mindedly on my chest, I asked her, "Why were you disturbed after the call with Mallika?"
"Aah nothing, her usual loud ways, never got used to it. Plus, now she wants to come and stay with us for some weeks next time you come here." she replied irritated. I gently drew circles on her stomach to sooth her, it worked, she visibly relaxed, "PMS'ing I guess" she muttered after a while. I looked at her, "Do you remember the date of our last cycle?"
"No."
I was quiet, not to mention a bit worried too, with her, I didn't use protection most of the times, what if..but she looked at me and touched my cheeks with her palm, "Don't worry, even if something goes wrong, Daksh wont doubt it".
While I was leaving, I turned to her, "This is it then, the best ten days of my bachelor life are over" I laughed. "I guess it is" she smiled.
"Would you be with me forever, if I asked you to?" I ventured to ask, I had no plans of asking this, I was happy with my arrangement with Malli, but I wanted to ensure we were on the same page. "No Shivay" she smiled sadly, "This" she said motioning at her mansion and family, "Is stability. And our last ten days isn't worth giving this up for". I nodded in understanding and pecked her on her lip for the last time and then got out of her life.
---
Sitting in the car I couldn't help remembering the past few days with her. She has always had an overbearing presence in my life. I have never really looked at her with a straight mind, be it during my junior school days when I thought she was the prettiest girl in the entire galaxy, or during junior college when I started noticing the curve of her tee hinting at her petite firm breasts. Once I had peeped into her room while she was changing, God, I remember catching fever for standing under the cold shower for too long after that. I thought she looked sexy even when she put on those few extra kilos after childbirth. I wanted to kiss her right on her lips when she bend forward to kiss me on my forehead at my engagement function - but I let the feeling pass, like always. I still don't know what about her seduced me, she was pretty ordinary in the eyes of other's, some even called her boring, but there was something about her that pulled me, pulls me still. She was a charmer that one - Anika, or Anika di - what I was taught to call her since childhood - My elder sister Priyanka di's childhood best friend. But sometimes when I think of her like this, and imagine her in ways the world would rebuke me for, I mentally call her Anne, my Anne.
I don't really remember the first time I met her, but I can accurately recount every detail of that meeting, di has teased me so many times with the incident that I can never really forget the details with which she recounted every moment of it even after so long of its passing.
I must have been about nine and di about eighteen. Di had started college that year and had moved to Delhi, I missed her bad during those days. Being the younger child, that to with a considerable age gap with my di, we never really got into the sibling fighting for petty things
zone, she has always been the ever loving, ever giving older sister to me - parting with my first ever confidant, my first ever pocket-money giver, my first ever trustworthy partner was hard to say the least, hence I was very excited during Diwali that year - di was coming home for the first time after she had left, for the Diwali vacation. Di had called to tell me that she was going to get me a surprise; I was counting days for her to arrive after that - di and her surprise.
Her flight was to land at 1a.m. in the morning, hence bade papa was going to pick her up, as much as I had coaxed him to take me, it was a strict No' from him and daadi - so when I heard the chime like laughter, when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't place it. Di was only eighteen but she was never so free and childlike in her demeanor, I guess this was partly because she was too busy aiding daadi in playing my mother in many ways, to compensate me from the coldness of not having parents who could take care of me in my tender age. I sat up on my bed confused, who was it? As much as I wanted to run and hug my di right at that moment, I was shy, there was a stranger at home - as much as I loved that rhythmic laughter, I hated her presence, it was keeping me away from my di.
I slowly got down from my bed and cleaned up myself, it was time for breakfast, there was no more avoiding the stranger now, I had to meet her - I so wished she would leave before breakfast.
As I tiptoed to the kitchen I saw her from behind, she was short and very pretty, well I guess that's how I must have felt, considering much later when di had asked me how I thought her friend was, that's exactly what I had said! So as I watched her from my hidden spot behind
the door, she suddenly turned around and soon spotted me - again the rhythmic laughter that made me wonder, maybe she was not a stranger at all, by the look of her, especially her eyes, maybe she was tooth fairy, who was getting late going to other houses because she couldn't find my tooth which I had skillfully hidden - hadn't daadi told me, if I can successfully hide my tooth from the fairy, she grants a wish?
"I want a pug" I had simply told her. She looked at me confused and repeated the word pug' without any kind of comprehension.
"Well, I won, you have to grant me my wish tooth fairy!" I clarified indignantly, to which she looked at me confused for a second, and then as comprehension finally dawned on her, her face broke into a magical smile, and soon followed that laughter of tinkling chimes.
"But I am not tooth fairy, I am your di!" came her swift reply. It was my turn to react, and I did so by gaping at her. Di? But she didn't look like di!
"You're not my di!" I mumbled in disbelief, my lips trembling already at this alarming disclosure.
"But I am Boo. See only I call you Boo nah? How would I know this if I was a stranger?" she asked earnestly. She was right of course, only di called me Boo, but how could this be? How had di changed so drastically?
"You're not my di.." I repeated faintly positively panicking now. "My di looks different" I stammered.
"Oh but Boo, this is all make-up, I did this to look pretty for you. My college friends taught me how to put on make-up you know?" again she looked at me earnestly with her big doe-like eyes. I was almost convinced, I had a very vague idea about the degree in which make-up could transform someone - hell even Cinderella had done make up and gone to the ball - her own family couldn't recognize her!
"So, now you're di?" I finally asked shakily.
"Do you like your new di?" she had asked sweetly coming close to me. I looked at her again at her question, I wanted to be doubly sure about my opinion before stating it - did I like her? Well she was so pretty! Much prettier than my older di - hell yes I loved her.
I smiled brightly and responded, "I love you!"
"So are you sure you don't want the old di back Boo?" she asked with a smirk.
"No no no. I want this di! Pretty di!" I had pouted and hugged her. She laughed hugging me back, when I heard a familiar voice from behind, "Well alright then, I guess the old di will have to go back to hostel without seeing Boo now" my head shot up as I sharply turned around to see my di, well real di or di without make-up whichever suited, peering at me with a suppressed smile. No sooner I saw her, I ran to her and hugged her, pretty or not, my old di was my old di, she was really irreplaceable I realized. I was hugging her tight, afraid that she would be gone any moment and the pretty di would replace her, when I heard both the ladies laugh - l broke the hug to look at both of them confused when di spoke to me.
"Boo, how do you like my surprise? A new di for you! Anika di!" I stared at the pair of them incredulously as both of them broke into peals of laughter at taking my case early in the morning!
Hence when we were joined by daadi a little later when she came to serve breakfast, and she asked me how I found Anika di, I had replied with a scowl, "Daadi, she is horribly pretty!" Horrible because she had taken me for a ride too easily and pretty because in spite of that, she was undeniably beautiful.
I looked around surprised at my entire family laughing in the kitchen hearing me - I didn't understand what was so funny - but that just about summed up our first meeting - that's how Anika had entered my life - as my tooth fairy!
And this is how I exited from her life today - as her dirty secret keeper!
Edited by Aafrah-SA - 8 years ago
Arjun
