Maryada FF: Vidya-Gaurav (p. 30) - Page 13

Chapter 30: The First Rule of Engagement

She stood still and concentrated on keeping her breathing even without wavering her gaze from his. She knew from animal behavior that unless the threat was imminent and direct and the best course of action was flight, the next important lesson was to never show fear, even if your insides were clutching with it. She imagined that such knowledge translated very well to her Sasur.

He reached towards her suddenly and she drew back from him startled, feeling the wood of the shelf against her spine. Her father-in-law laughed at her reaction and took the book from her hand. She internally cringed at the invasion of her space and knew from his amused expression that that had precisely been his aim.

"Easy there, girl. You should not startle so easily when you have managed to perfect a steady gaze. It gives you away, don't you know?" He flipped through the book cursorily and then looked up at her. "One of the finest books I have ever read. But maybe you are not ready for it yet. Machiavelli's principles need a completely rational and objective mind as its recipient. I think you have it, although you are a woman, and there are certain limitations posed by your sex that are simply unavoidable. So, let me be the first one to teach you some basic rules of engagement."

He paused there, taking a moment to study her. His gaze was unnerving in its intensity, but she did not look away.

"That is impressive. Not many people can hold my gaze. Not even my wife, and she has known me a lot longer than you."

At this reference to her mother-in-law, she couldn't help but draw back even deeper against the shelf, but it was an almost imperceptible movement, barely detectible, or so she thought.

"See that… again… your body language does not match what you have trained your eyes to do. Be consistent. That is the first rule of engagement. If you face down someone with something as powerful as your eyes, then don't hesitate to have control over the rest of yourself. Without that, my lovely bahu, you would lose the game before it even begins."

She didn't know why he was telling her this or what exactly he was telling her. But the chore of not moving a single muscle required so much concentration in that moment that she couldn't ponder those questions at length.

"You are quite a surprise, Vidya. I will tell you that." He returned the book to her with an unsettling smile – she found all his expressions unsettling – and walked out of the room.

She stood exactly where she was and did not alter her breathing in the least as she stared unwaveringly at the spot where she had seen him last. With several seconds, his head reappeared just there, as she had known it would. Her expression did not change; it reflected no surprise, fear, apprehension… not even curiosity.

"You are a quick study, my dear. Very quick. Maybe Machiavelli won't be lost on you after all."

And with that, he was gone. She closed her eyes as she released the breath that she had been holding in with measured deliberateness. She felt as if she had started a chess game with an opponent whose plays she couldn't see just yet. The only way to proceed was with extreme caution. Because she already knew that the cost of a wrong move would likely be lethal…

Originally posted by: -AdiYalicious-

Sri sumfin for u Here <3 |l Maryada Newsletter l|#1Welcome2Our1stNL

Chapter 31: The Trojan

When she opened her eyes, she truly became startled. He was standing outside on the balcony, looking in through the window into the parlor. She couldn't read his expression; he was simply staring at her, unblinking, through the horizontal slats of the blinds that covered the window. He had seen the whole interaction between her and his father from there, she knew without a doubt. As she returned his gaze unwaveringly, she was glad that he hadn't intervened with some arcane notion of protecting her. She didn't want any of his assistance. He was not her husband in truth, just as he had said. And if the monster of this house was determined to play some strange little cat-and-mouse game with her, she will just have to learn to be a smart mouse.

He moved away from the window and started walking towards the door to the parlor. Before he actually came in, she hastened to leave the room, remembering to take the book with her. She couldn't imagine what he may have to say to her; she didn't have anything to say to him. All the men in this family had their own issues… no wonder Devyani and Uttara were the way they were… For a moment, she marveled at the change in herself; she had never felt such bitterness or such longstanding anger towards anyone as she did for her husband.

He didn't follow her yet again, and she was thankful.

Things continued in the same stalemate for three more days and then something happened to change the dynamic once more.

SSP Brahmanand Jhaakar came home late that afternoon in a snit. He howled and hollered for some time at Devyani and refused to answer her questions about what was bothering him. Vidya had returned from her coaching just about the same time as his return and happened to be in the kitchen a half hour later when she overheard a conversation through the window between one of the maids and a vegetable vendor. She leaned against the counter sipping her coffee as she caught the middle of the conversation happening outside.

"Who is this Trojan?" the maid asked.

"Someone who should hope that his identity is never revealed. Do you know if the SSP has seen the paper yet?"

"I think so. He came home earlier than usual and has been barking at everyone who so much as comes within ten feet of him." the maid answered.

"But how seriously can people take news that comes in this trash?" Vidya heard the man name one of the more notorious midday newspapers in the city.

She looked out and saw the maid shrug. "Don't leave this trash here. If he sees it, he will eat us all alive."

Once the maid came back inside with her purchases, Vidya went out the same door and found the vegetable vendor making his way to the gate. He was surprised to see the bahu of the house seek him out and gave up the newspaper copy that he had without much resistance. She smiled as she took the copy and told him that she was merely curious before walking back to the house.

Once in her room, she closed the door behind her and rushed to the bed to open the newspaper to scan through quickly. It wasn't long before she found the op-ed piece written by someone signed "Trojan" – a name that sounded strange to her.

It was a short piece and whoever this Trojan was had written it as an open letter to the readers. The piece started off with the proclamation that he would like to tell a story to the readers. "The fascinating story of the rise of a local gunda who masquerades as the upholder of law and order." The story went on to introduce the rise of a man from meager circumstances to that of an IPS trainee through his smarts and wits. During his IPS training years, Trojan said, is when the real story begins. Trojan then went on to talk of an incident during those early years about a scandal involving one of the other trainees. After the scandal story, the article ended with a note of continuance... "Tune in again next week for the next phase in the life of this fox posing as a Lion in our city. That is, of course, if I am still alive to tell the tale... If I am, I promise you that you won't be disappointed…" Trojan's signature was just as dramatic; he or she called himself/herself "A messenger to the people."

The sound of the door opening startled Vidya and she hid the newspaper under her pillow before turning to face the door… and her husband.

She slid off the bed and made to leave, but just as she was about to pass him, he stopped her with, "Are you never going to speak to me again?"

She thought of not answering and just leaving, but then said on a whim.

"What is Trojan?"

She could see how clearly she had surprised him from his taken aback expression and from his immediate, "Pardon me?"

"I am speaking now, just as you wished. What does Trojan mean?" She worked hard to utilize her Sasur's first lesson in the rules of engagement, keeping both her expression and her body language neutral even as her inclination to leave the room was overpowering.

His expression changed now as well, to reflect her own. And he recited methodically.

"It may mean several things. A Trojan is a person from the land of Troy. The main history related is to the Trojan horse - when the Greeks constructed a large wooden horse and offered it as a peace offering to the Trojans during their war. The horse was pulled inside the gates of Troy, and that night when the Trojans slept, thirty of the most able Greek soldiers who were hidden inside the hollow belly of the horse came out through its secret door. They opened the gates of the city of Troy to the Greek army assembled outside, leading to the capture of Troy."

Just as she absorbed the fascinating tale, he continued.

"The second most common one is the Trojan malware that affects computers. It hides as functional software while stealing personal information from the host computer or serving as a portal to allow someone to remotely access it."

As she imagined what such a thing would look like on a computer, her husband went on, yet again.

"And the last common Trojan is…" he paused a beat here and raised an eyebrow as if asking if she really wanted him to continue. When she tilted her head in confusion, he went on, "The last Trojan that I know of is… a contraceptive. It is what a man uses when he makes love to a woman so that she does not conceive."

Her expression faltered slightly then….she felt as if she reacted in slow motion… her eyelashes swept down and then up and then down again and back up… her cheeks was under siege by a tidal wave the hue of crimson… and her mouth felt dry like parchment, making her swallow with effort…

"I see…" she heard herself say finally before she walked out of the room.

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Chapter 32: Guzaarish

She had been escaping him just like this for the past two weeks. He was starting to think that if he went on waiting on his wife to give him a sign that she was ready to talk, he would likely wait forever. And so, he followed her to the door and reached over from behind her to put his hand on the handle before she could. Her cheeks were still flushed, he noticed, when she looked up at him. There was a part of him that told him that it was not a good idea to hold a woman back and put her on the spot when she was already embarrassed, but he chose not to listen to that sage advice today. There were evidently always reasons why he should leave his wife alone. However, he had seen her face down his father with nothing more than that unblinking gaze of hers – he considered it one of the proudest moments of his life – which made him think that she could handle this moment too.

Even despite her stained cheeks, she still looked up at him steadily.

"My father left an impression, I see…" he couldn't help but remark.

Her eyes flashed in anger briefly before they went back to their indifferent detachment. It was driving him nuts. How could she be like this? Where was his sweet, genial, and amicable wife…

"Do you always give silent-treatments when you are angry?"

"I do not give silent-treatments." She replied matter-of-factly.

"Could have fooled me…"

She looked up suddenly at his dry tone.

"There is it… that right there. Anger." He felt the need to point out.

She turned back to the door to open it again, ignoring him this time.

"Vidya…" he said her name in an elongated whisper as he once again placed him hand on the door to block her way.

"I hate this…please, will you talk to me?"

She stood just as she was for a few moments without looking at him. Just when he thought that she would wait him out until he opened the door for her, she finally answered, "Alright…"

"Alright?" he asked in disbelief that she agreed so quickly.

"Yes, alright." She repeated, then exhaled deeply without looking at him as she said, "I have a question and a request, however."

"Anything…" he replied in relief.

"If she will have you back, will you marry her?" She asked him without turning around.

In everything that had happened since he had gotten married to his wife, this was the one question that had never crossed his mind, which he now thought was strange. Just as strange was the fact that the question had never occurred to him because the answer was so self-evident, although now he realized that maybe from an outsider's perspective, it may not be.

"No." He thus replied.

"Why not?" she asked, her tone confused, but still without turning around.

"I am married to you. You're my wife."

"But that can be fixed." She said after several moments.

"What do you mean?" He wanted to turn her around to face him, but he didn't think she would like it.

"I have looked into it on the internet. There is something called an annulment. You can still apply for it if the marriage is not… has not yet been…" she petered out without finishing her sentence.

"I don't want an annulment." He said more harshly than he had intended.

"Divorce is more difficult." She said now, almost mutely.

"I don't want a divorce." He forced himself to regulate his tone, but he did turn her around now to face him.

She lowered her eyes quickly so that he couldn't see them, but he lifted her face to his with his hand under her chin.

"Gaurav, don't be so nice to me out of guilt for what you have done. I may misinterpret it even when I know the truth."

An avalanche started in his chest when he heard what she said.

And then she did lift her eyes to his, the intensity of whatever may have been there before now under better control. She removed his hand from her chin as she said, "Just one more request…You may touch me in front of others, but never in private, not even accidentally."

And with that, she turned around to open the door and was gone, leaving him standing there with a turbulent anguish inside.

Hand under the chin...😲 😍

Very interesting...enjoyed reading that Devi!

Chapter 33: Monsters and Men in Capes

He loosed his tie and walked to the bed. Just as he was about to take his glasses off, he noticed the newspaper that had been haphazardly stuffed underneath the pillow. He looked back towards the door through which she had just exited and then turned back to the pillow to pull out the newspaper. It was one of those trashy mid-day ones that he was surprised his wife would read. The surprise lasted only until he found what she had been looking at. "A Fox in the Chicken Coop" - the title read, before the letter started.

He wasn't surprised to see his own writing staring back up at him; he had been wondering when it would show up like this. But the pseudonym – what had made his wife so curious – Trojan, that was … amusing. His father must be in a proper rage by now. He wondered where Vidya had found this paper. His wife was certainly full of surprises.

That night at dinner, there was a distinct tension around the table. Everyone was walking on eggshells around his father. Aditya was still out, which was just as well. It was always taxing for his mother to take on her faux cheerfulness in front of her younger son when her husband was determined to be a beast. His father similarly thought it necessary to keep aside his temper in front of Aditya, which made him even worse with everyone else.

"There was a fox in our chicken coop last night." Bauji announced suddenly towards the end of dinner.

He felt as if everything happened in slow motion after that. The only sound to be heard in the silence that followed was the clatter of his mother's knife to the floor. Bauji looked entirely unrepentant at his proclamation and innocently reached for a cluster of grapes. Sweety was intently looked down at her plate. Imli and Jaggi were standing to the side as if someone had yelled out statue. His mother – this was always painful for him to watch – looked as if she wanted to disappear. Just as he turned to his father, Brahmanand stood up from his seat, pushing his chair back with force. He gave a withering look to Bauji before walking away from the table. His mother turned to give Bauji a look, which his grandfather acknowledged only with a wink.

Later that night, he walked into the bedroom later than usual, hoping that Vidya would already be there. He saw that she was… she was standing by the window looking out and did not turn when he opened and shut the door.

Just as he thought of a way of start a conversation, she spoke. "I have many feathers to help me fly. I have a body and head, but I'm not alive. It is your strength which determines how far I go. You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown. What am I?"

His relief at the return of her puzzles was so deep that he wanted to fall back on the bed and into a long dreamless sleep.

But he remained standing and leaned against one of the bedposts before answering, "An Arrow."

She turned towards him, sitting back against the windowsill.

"Someone took aim today." She said when she finally looked up at him.

He was surprised that she brought up the matter thus.

"You think it was me?" Even as he asked, he was amazed at how quickly she had arrived at that inference.

She merely tilted her head without answering.

"You think I am plotting to overthrow my own father while living in his house?" He asked again, walking over to the sofa to pull out his bed.

"There are many things about this house that I don't know… that I am only starting to find out… to understand…" she said in return, once again turning to look out the window.

He kept himself busy with putting the sheet on the bed so that he could listen to her without calling attention to his own reactions.

"I know the monster of the night and the wily fox of the day. Now, I only need to know who wears the cape."

"No one wears the cape. Everyone is selfish; it only matters to what extent the actions are self-serving." He said without thinking.

"How can you be sure?" she asked.

He looked up, realizing what he had said, and when he found her still looking out the window, he amended what he had just said, "Human nature. It is what it is…"

"Hmm…" she leaned her elbows on the edge of the sliding pane of the window.

"Shall I tell you a story, Gaurav? Then you tell me whether the cape is real or not. A few days ago, a girl at my coaching place missed her bus. It was just starting to get dark and she did not want to wait longer so she asked one of the other students for earlier bus times and she was told of another bus stop nearby. She got lost walking there and ended up in an abandoned alleyway. In a somewhat surreal turn of events that you see in the news or in movies, there was someone loitering there that she did not see until she had walked quite a bit through. It was too far to walk back then and so she continued on her way. He followed her. She walked faster and so did he, now making no efforts to hide that he was indeed after her…"

He had stopped messing with the bed; in fact, he had stopped doing anything by then and had started walking towards her.

"He managed to reach her quickly enough and just when she turned around with her bag to give him her purse, he reached for the sleeve of her blouse instead." She continued as if narrating the story of a new release at the multiplex, taking her time in drawing out the anticipation.

She continued after a beat. "He got a hold of it, but it startled her and she jerked back, thus ripping her blouse. She turned around to run, but he was faster and now grabbed onto the pallu of her sari…"

"What happened then?"

"It was the strangest thing. Someone actually appeared. She imagined that it was a man in a cape. She is a bit fanciful like that… but someone or something did come."

"Someone came and did what?" he asked when she paused.

"He pulled the man back from her and told her to run. She did, but just before she rounded the corner, she looked back."

She paused again, but he knew what was coming, although he still asked,

"What did she see?"

"The Man in the Cape cut off the man's hand."

loved it.

I was laughing when reading eveyone's reactions (especially Imli and Jag's reaction) to Dadaji's allusion😆

😆...Babuji...typical! Interesting update!