OK, so I tried something different here. There are 14 55 word vignettes in this chapter. I love the 55 word story, and though this isn't the best place to test this ploy, I wanted to see how it works. Let me know what you thought of it.
Chapter 3:
I love thee with a
love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints
(means the love resembles the love of youth when one believed in saints and all things holy. Essentially when one was untouched by the cynicism adulthood brings).
Arnav snuggled his face into her lap, that cozy place he
loved. She wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him tight. His pudgy
little arms didn't even go half way around her thick waist. She leaned in and
kissed the top of his downy head. He didn't have much hair. It was worrisome.
Anjali's high pitched shrieks were all they heard. She
always laughed too loud. Arnav smiled up at her worshipfully. He stood her on
the tops of his feet and waltzed her round the room. His Di wanted to dance.
She was half a head taller, and he hated dancing. But Di wanted to dance
tonight.
Anjali held him close. The smell of her Mehendi made him
cringe. He'd traced light patterns on her palms only this morning. The scent of
eucalyptus oil had filled his senses then. Now his brain was teeming with the
smell of burning wood and flesh. He wished it would flow out, the river of
death.
The mournful notes of the Shehnai rent the air. Garlands
were exchanged. Vermilion streaked in the parting of her hair. A noose of
enduring, suffocating, specious love placed around her neck. She looked
beautiful. Love brought beauty to her ravaged soul. Arnav hated it all. But for
her, he endured it. Di was married today.
The mere thought if it made him angry. The spoken question
sent him over the edge. Di was everything to him. Mother. Sister. Friend. The
only one he loved. The only one left to love. If his Di was hurt, what would he
do? His lip curled. Tears trembled on lashes. Then spilled. Pearls fell.
She means nothing to me. But
she's everything to me. I don't love her. I love her more than anything. I only love you Khushiji. I thought you loved me Khushi. Why don't
you leave her? Rage greater than he'd ever known coursed through him. Fury
laced with grief made a heady, powerful, destructive cocktail.
You're mad! Yes or No?
I won't. I will! But why? Because I can. But you don't believe in
marriage! That's right, I don't! Mrs.
Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada. The words tasted acrid in his mouth. It was done.
Di was safe. And she was his. Forever. Or for 6 months. Which ever came first.
"Arnav, you are so dramatic!" Beckwith complained as the
fogs eased up and they saw each other clearly again. Their little trip down
Memory Lane had been short, but traumatic. "So, you thought Khushi was having
an affair with your brother-in-law and married her to save your sister's
marriage?" he asked.
"I sham-married her. It was a contract marriage. 6 months
Till the baby arrived." Said Arnav ruefully.
"You were pregnant?" Beckwith looked at Khushi, round-eyed.
Somehow Khushi did not strike him as the type to have sordid affairs
culminating in unwanted babies.
"Not me Beckwith. Di!" corrected Khushi, rolling her eyes.
"At that point the only action I'd ever seen was being backed into a wall and
almost kissed. I gave myself acidosis with all the hyperventilating I did!" she
wisecracked.
"So, how did your families take all this?" asked Beckwith.
"Yeah, they weren't happy," said Arnav, shaking his head.
"You should ask Nani someday. She'll tell you."
"Where is Nani Arnav? I haven't seen her in several days."
Asked Khushi.
"She's leading orientation these days. You know how they
like to have her when they get people who have trouble adjusting to the
afterlife. She's so good at soothing ruffled feathers." Said Arnav.
"Who's having trouble adjusting?" asked Khushi.
"I dunno. Some singer with a voice like an angel (pun
intended!) and a drug habit that allowed her to make it here about 40 years
before she should've" said Beckwith, shaking his head sadly. "I feel bad for
the druggies and stoners. Heaven has no rehab. And no drugs. They suffer so."
He said feelingly.
"Why Beckwith! I do believe you sympathize with them. Did
you have a drug problem on Earth?" asked Khushi.
"What! I was a Nobel prize winning astrophysicist. My papers
have been cited more than 498,000 times last time I checked. I didn't do
drugs!" said Beckwith indignantly. Khushi glanced smilingly at him.
"Oh. OK. But I never inhaled!" said Beckwith resignedly.
Khushi raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"OK. Alright. I inhaled. But it wasn't a regular thing. Once
in a way, I smoked weed. That's all. Helped me think. I had my best ideas in
the hash haze." admitted Beckwith.
"Oh my! I feel one coming!" said Arnav suddenly. Beckwith
and Khushi stepped back in preparation, hankies whipped out in readiness.
"Oh, you two! It's not that. It's a.." he was interrupted by
a loud burp. He smiled at them after burping. He looked satisfied.
"Who was it?" asked Khushi eagerly.
"Suhani," said Arnav fondly.
"What was she thinking of?" asked Khushi.
"She was telling someone about how Arnav Mamu would sneak
her ice-cream on cold winter days without telling Di." grinned Arnav.
"Suhani! That's your Di's daughter, right?" asked Beckwith.
"Yep. She's the one. Now, the CEO of AR. She's retiring next
week though. And my son Lav takes over." Said Khushi proudly.
"You named your kid Love?" laughed Beckwith.
"Not Love. Lav. We had twins. A girl and a boy. We named
them Lav
and Khushi. Just for kicks," laughed Khushi. "It was Arnav's idea!" she
said, when Beckwith gave her a weird look.
"Didn't it get confusing when someone called the name Khushi
in the house?" asked Beckwith.
"Well, nobody called my daughter Khushi. They called her
Button." Laughed Khushi.
"Let me guess, she was cute as a button?" sighed Beckwith.
This family was Mush on steroids, he thought.
"Actually, she swallowed a button when she was 5 months
old," said Arnav, smiling at the memory. "Luckily it was a small one and
nothing happened."
"Dear heaven!" mused Beckwith. "Anyway, we digress. So, what
happened? You sham-married Khushi to protect your sister. Then?"
"Once I found out why he'd married me I was stunned. I
thought he was just being the asshole he'd always been. I didn't know his
motives were more sinister. That he thought I was having an affair. That
happened about 3 days after we got married. From then on, I stayed in it
because I was 18 and a fool, and half in hate, but half in love with him. When
the 6 months were up, I mustered the courage to walk out." Said Khushi, her jaw
stern as she recollected those dark days.
"So you weren't having an affair with the brother-in-law?"
asked Beckwith, brow clearing.
"Of course she wasn't you fool." Said Arnav impatiently.
"The brother-in-law's not in heaven, I presume?" whispered
Beckwith.
"Errm. No. Actually, even Hell turned his petition down.
They said with the oil prices the way they are, they can't afford huge boiling
vats for petty criminals like him. He's in Limbo." Said Arnav.
"Shoot. I've heard Limbo sucks!" said Beckwith. "It's like
Norway half the time and the Kalahari desert the other half."
"Beckwith, do you want to hear the story or not?" asked
Khushi. "It's been a long time, and I'm in heaven now. I know I'm supposed to
forgive and forget and whatnot, but I still don't like to speak of the
Anaconda."
"Go on," said Beckwith, "I'm sorry."
"Memory Lane again, I'm afraid," said Khushi.
"What? Oh, that place is always so crowded!" said Beckwith.
"Oh..OK. What the heck. Let's go," he
said. Then he clamped a hand down on his mouth as he realized what he'd said.
"I'm sorry Lord," he whispered. "You know I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to
say IT!" he begged softly.
Arnav snorted. "HE doesn't care. Don't pander. HIS ego needs
no bolstering. Now, let's go. Memory Lane awaits."
Me and Shyamji? Really? That's why you married me? I'm sorry. This is a joke. I'm sorry. This is mindf**kery at is
very best. Congratulations. I'm sorry.
Can I have my virginity back? I'm sorry. Maybe
you and Shyamji can go to the same doctor together. You both need help. I'm sorry. Don't say it.
Leave. Me. Alone. Khushiji,
please listen. Touch me again and I'll kill you. I love you. Your wife's 6 months pregnant, Einstein. I only want you. Bangles clinked. A hand
grabbed hers. You must give me a chance. His
hand was pulled his off hers. Touch her again, and I'll kill you, Di be damned.
The godh-bharai is tomorrow. Be there. I will. I saw the gifts you bought. They're lovely. A sari rustled.
A smile was swallowed. Hmmm. How can you
be so forgiving? I've forgiven nothing. I
have something for you. Pearls gleamed shiny white in a velvet case. Thank
you. Will you wear them? I hate
pearls.
Your medication is in this box. I've written down the
details. Don't go. Hari Prakash will
bring you breakfast at 8. It's not the
same. Di might go into labor any day now. I don't care. Do you think it's a boy? I really don't care. Will you miss me? More than anything. I won't.
I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't
go. Hold me tonight? If I do, I won't
let you go. Khushi sighed. It didn't sound half bad. He was good to her.
Time healed wounds. Then she remembered one night. A temple. An unforgivable
mistake. A family lost. A disdainful husband gained. She placed his pillow on
the couch.
Why didn't you say something? I wanted to protect you. Slap. Where is Khushi? I don't know. She wouldn't say. So,
you're a loving brother, and she's a f**king martyr! I guess, I'm the fool
who's been played. I'm sorry. Tell
her that. I did.
Chotey, I'll be fine. I have her now. I know.
What a pretty little girl. What's her name? Suhani, her mamu's choice. She has your
eyes Anjali bitiya. But not my brains, I
hope. Any news from Sanka Devi? He's
said nothing. A tear fell on the baby's cheek. She squealed. Is Mommy
drowning Sunny in tears? Go to hell mamu.
It's where I live.
"It's like watching a bad movie," said Beckwith once the
mists lifted.
"Isn't it just?" asked Khushi slyly. "And Arnav always said
I was too much into Bollywood."
"So, I'm curious. How did Arnav find out the truth? And why
did he believe you?" asked Beckwith curiously.
"He believed me because he wanted to. And he found out the
truth by accident. That's quite a story too." Said Khushi.
"I'm beginning to feel like this is part of One thousand and
one nights, and you are Scheherazade." Complained Beckwith.
"And you are the King, of course?" she grinned at Beckwith.
"Hey! We might be dead, but even in the afterlife, you are my Queen!" protested Arnav. "Besides,
I've seen Scheherazade around. She talks too much." He said.
"More than me?" wondered Khushi.
"Way more than you, my love!" he replied.
"Let's continue this later. I've got to go summon people for
tea," said Beckwith.
"Laters!" waved Khushi. She and Arnav walked back to their
bench that looked on the green meadow.
"Want to go test the waters in the pool?" asked Arnav.
"Oh! A poolside tryst. Sounds heavenly!" quipped Khushi.
Please tell me if you liked it, hated it, it sucked, whatever.
Cheers!
Vidhya
PS: Took me like 5 hours to write. So, if it blows, better let me know. Like, seriously.
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