Reticence - A ShiVi OS
“Oh, come on now Mami ki behen ki beti, don’t make me jump in the river” Shiva Pandya muttered under his strained breath, while trying to keep pace as well as remain hidden from the petite form of Raavi, his erstwhile wife.
In a moment of his foot getting caught on a jutting piece of rock on the river bank, he lost sight of her.
Shiva let out a stream of his choicest expletives. For days now he has been keeping watch over her, following her whenever possible, to ensure her safety. He was highly suspicious of her intentions since their annulment. The annulment was the right thing to do as both she and him was miserable in their farce of a marriage. Raavi had become unusually quiet , only taking out her claws to swipe at Rishita. As much as he felt that Rishita deserved that at times, he couldn’t let go of the feeling that something was permanently broken in the once annoyingly bubbly Raavi. He was worried that away from the oversight of Dhara and others of Pandya household, she would take drastic steps to fix that brokenness once and for all. Hence the stalking.
“ Well there was no loud voice from the river so she must still be around” Shiva deduced.
Just as he crossed a tree on the bank, he felt a sharp pain the back of his head and fell face first on the ground.
“Shiva! What the hell where you doing following me?” an angry female voice sounded somewhere from above him.
As he painfully helped himself on to his knees, he felt a soft touch on his r arm and a familiar floral fragrance told him that Raavi was still there.
“ Thank goodness my senses are still working” Shiva muttered.
“What?” Raavi asked from his right.
“Where did you learn to swing like that Maami ki behen ki beti?” Shiva asked, finally opening his eyes and looking at her.
“Nowhere , I was acting on pure fear” Raavi replied, looking him over.
“ I am fine” Shiva replied deducing the meaning of her look.
“Good, now you can leave me alone” Raavi got up to her feet and began walking away.
“Well the river bank is not your private property is it? I can walk here too” Shiva got up and started following her.
Raavi turned around sharply and almost bumped into her ex-husband.
“What are you doing Shiva? she asked point blank.
“Walking on the river bank” Shiva replied with as much innocence as his face could muster.
“You are not Dev or Krish, you cannot act innocent if your life depended on it” Raavi replied tartly “Let me rephrase - why are you following me?”
Shiva understood that this Raavi could not or would not be fooled. He was right - something huge had changed in her.
“ I thought you were going to jump in the river” he said simply.
Raavi continued looking into his eyes making him drop his gaze.
“ I appreciate your worry for me but I am truly over that phase. I just come here for the peaceful environment . Helps me think.”
Shiva tried to stifle a snort.
“I know what you are thinking” Raavi said with a small smile “ You are right, I should’ve thought before jumping to get married to Dev”
Feeling chagrined, Shiva shifted his gaze around. Raavi walked away from him towards a large boulder near the water. Sitting on it, she faced the river and closed her eyes. With nothing else to do and a lot of questions about this new Raavi, he decided to join her.
“Shouldn’t you be at the store?” Raavi asked from her perch.
“It’s fine Krish is there along with ameer baap ki beti” Shiva ground out his last words.
Raavi opened her eyes and smiled at him “You should try and get along with her you know. She’s not going anywhere”
“That’s rich coming from you. You had teeth only for her back when we...” Shiva stopped abruptly.
“That’s because I saw her as my enemy, the woman who took the man I loved. Living in your home and seeing her with Dev was difficult for me because I genuinely did love him” Raavi faced the river again.
She grew quieter as they both went a few months behind in memories.
“ Leaving Pandya Nivas was important for me. My marriage to you was forced by circumstances and there was nothing between us. Staying in it would’ve hurt both of us” Raavi said quietly.
“True” Shiva agreed.
“Leaving your house was essential for me to break away from my obsession with Dev too. I did understand that Dev and Rishita were meant to be but it didn’t hurt any less.”
“You have changed a lot “ Shiva’s voice held his surprise.
“ I have grown up finally “ Raavi’s was bittersweet “I realized that I was in a dreamland and life does not always go as planned. It took me some time but I now know it’s still worth living.”
“ I am sorry for the way I treated you” Shiva said in a low voice.
Raavi looked at him in surprise.
“Why Shiva Pandya, you do have a brain”she said smiling.
“ Oh mami ki behen ki beti!” Shiva pointed his hand at her.
“Ah there he is” Raavi replied satisfied.
Shiva huffed knowing that she had trapped him and he reacted as expected. She didn’t deserve his anger, he had realized that sometime ago. He had some growing up of his own to do.
“Out of curiosity Shiva, why are you always so angry at the world?” Raavi asked.
“ I ...” Shiva trailed off, looking far.
“ You don’t need to answer me” Raavi said sensing his reluctance.
“ It’s not that I don’t want to... I don’t know the answer myself” Shiva was surprised by his own display of honesty. He had never admitted this to anyone, not even Dhara bhabhi.
“ I know I don’t hold much importance to you but as someone who has known you since a young age, I know you can be kind Shiva. I think you are angry at yourself as much as you are at the world. Maybe figure out why and you could change too”
“Who said I want to change?” Shiva became defensive.
In reply Raavi just said “If some part of you didn’t care about me, you wouldn’t have followed me”
As Raavi returned to looking at the now setting sun, Shiva looked at her and reflected on her words. She was right, he did want to change. A part of him always did. He wasn’t sure anyone in his household would be of much help though. They had a lot going on at all times. Maybe someone else could.
“ Maam.... Raavi, would you like to be my friend?” Shiva Pandya asked the question he should’ve asked long ago.
In return he received a smile.
After Note :
As explosive as the chemistry is between Shiva and Raavi (kudos to the actors) I don’t like the way they were forced into a marriage. Marriage was used as a treatment for mental distress when it really is not. You cannot cure a broken heart with another marriage on the spot and as such I cannot digest it.
This is my take on how ShiVi relationship should go. They need to break away from each other and find their way back to themselves and each other, organically. Marriages based on hate do not work anywhere apart in the reel world. That said I realize this is a drama and everyone is entitled to their own choices.
Please do leave a comment and let me know if you enjoyed my take. It’s been a while for me.
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