FF - |As Fate Would Have It| Chapter 9 June17 - Page 8

@MelodiousDreams: I am TERRIBLE with names, PLEASE forgive me if it takes me a very long time to stop using your IF ID and start using your real name.

I wrote out a huge message to you, but i had quoted you, and my message vanished due to the fact that i am less than 25 post old on IF, and there was a link in your message that i had quoted. In an effort to stop spammers, I lost what i had written.

Calling me Fari is perfect, most people usually do. I will certainly try and comment on DC, but i am very shy. I hope i don't lose my nerve on the last moment.

I wish i had read Mira's story while it was still up. It intrigues to me learn what she had written, especially after reading the comments on the first few pages!

-ZsterMG- : Zahra right? (refer to comment above about my lack in the skill of remembering names =() Even though I wont take TOO long in building their story (for I hope to finish it before my cousin's (week long) wedding in a couple of weeks, where I will most likely not get to be online much, I still hope i do the character's justice.

Mamita: Thank you! I will try and join DC, but hopefully i wont shy away. By the time i get home after work, it has already reached many pages, and everything i want to say is usually said. I really hope I do my story justice! Aarti is such a sweetheart that I want her to find her happiness, both in the show, and outside.

- I didn't add the Prashant angle, but i dislike him completely! I rather give her horrible relatives than a good for nothing husband.

Thank you jasraj123, teju1816, Alamelu, shah10 and elanpremi

CHAPTER 5

Every skilled actor - especially those that have a live audience - require a few moments to get together with the plot before their performance. In the rousing instants before a new persona is to be adopted, there needs to be a slight telling of where the person stops playing themselves, and when he or she adopts the ideal characteristics of their alternative person.

Aarti needed that time to make her switch from being herself, with the knowledge that she now had, to playing the happy newlywed. Had she been in her room at the Dubey's, she would have taken solace by the window, willing nature to give her the boost in confidence. In YashJi's room, everything was new. How was a girl to find herself when she was so unsure about her surroundings? Lost within her feelings, her surroundings and her relationships, she had no where to turn.

Picking up her heavy lengha, Aarti made way towards the bathroom. Had someone been watching her, no one would have guessed the war of emotions she was feeling; no one would know of her dulled sadness.

She knew the geography of the bedroom. Vidhi Bhabi had pointedly told her where everything in the room was while she had come to take her friends away, before YashJi was supposed to come. Although there was mutual liking between the two, Aarti was sure she had seen a film of uncertainty in Vidhi Bhabi's eyes before she had patted her veiled head, and kissed her forhead through her dupatta.

She now knew why. Perhaps Vidhi Bhabi was trying to measure her up with Arpita, or giving her encouragement to fight her battle.

In the locked premise of the bathroom, Aarti could let her emotions free. Had it been any woman, any logical woman, she would have cried. For tears are meant to heal, to offer a release of emotions before maturity levels, but Aarti knew the importance of her tears and knew there would be a time when she would rely on her tears for support. She would however, like any girl who knew the importance of having an investment, save her tears for a better day. Looking at her reflection, she saw the remains of her makeup applied many hours before, perfected to make her look like a doe eyed bride. Washing her face, perhaps as a way of clearing her thoughts, she glared back at the reflection. Seeing her old self - a part of her she could still relate to - reflected back added to her composure.

Walking back into the room, she sat by the dressing table, and slowing started to remove her wedding jewellery. She carefully placed them in the appropriate cases. With all her jewellery gone, it was time for the clothes.

Just as she was ready to take her wedding clothes off, she realized another hurdle of the night: she was dressed up to be undressed by her husband! Maansi and her friends had not spared her a single chance at "chance" intimacies, and pinned her shamelessly at every possible spot. Her duappata had at least 20 safety pins extra, while her hair would need extra hands to be unpinned, and loosened for all their glory.

Clearly in a tight situation, Aarti tried her best to be free from her wedding attire. After endless unsuccessful moments, she finally gave up. She would, she realized, have to wait for YashJi to return.

Had she been a woman of violence, the candleholders that were placed strategically throughout the room, to give it a softer, more romantic feel, would have been smashed into tiny pieces. The only control she had of her current situation, was to control herself, and she would not let that slip. That did not change the fact that this night was proving to be disastrous, and a few broken tokens would certainly help ease her frustration. Gulping down her jarred emotion, Aarti put her head on the table, while cushioning them with her arms.

And that is how he saw her, with her head resting on the dressing table. Taking long, purposeful strides, he went to check up on her. He had a long, and tiring night, he did not need more drama. But if she was crying - and if he had caused those tears - then he would also stop them. This entire mess was his fault, and he would not let AartiJi, an innocent bystander, shoulder all the pains.

Standing right behind her, he worked out a strategy. He would gently reach for her, and see if he could help.

That was not needed however, because not a second had passed when Aarti looked up.

Standing right behind her, she saw his reflection in the mirror. Without turning without so much as changing her expression, she gazed right into his eyes through the mirror.

"I need help," not one to employ jargon to fill the silence, she cut straight to the chase.

"Help?" It was almost 7am. Everyone would be waking up soon, and he had expected Aarti to have taken some rest after he left. To see her still in her wedding outfit, which he was sure was very uncomfortable, and resting on the dresser over the bed stuck him as quite odd. But at least she was not crying. That alone would make him do whatever she needed. If she wanted to go back to her home, he would not stop her, he knew.

"I need you to undress me."

That intro paragraph took me somewhat by surprise, but given Aarti's situation and the "charade" that she is genuinely treating as one, it makes perfect sense. Once again, love the eloquence despite the somber mood - very poetic, in a way!