Scenario Two: Living in our Sandcastle Together
Aarti walked slowly along the shoreline of the beach, lost in her thoughts of Yash. Palak, Payal and Ansh were busy crafting an elegant sandcastle. Yash, who was walking beside her in silence and busy with his own thoughts, suddenly came to a halt. Aarti stopped with him and watched in awe as he turned towards the beach and stared at the rippling waves.
He seemed to be remembering something. With a slight frown, Aarti realized that he was probably lost in thoughts of Arpita again.
Aarti impulsively grabbed Yash's arm. This seemed to have shaken Yash out of his reverie. "Aartiji?" he asked, a look of confusion etched on his face.
"Yashji, let's go and help the kids make the sandcastle," she told him, slightly tugging his arm.
Yash looked down at the place where Aarti held his arm, and she let go immediately sensing his possible discomfort.
"They can make the sandcastle themselves, I don't think they want our help," he told her, clearly wanting to return to his thoughts of Arpita.
Aarti shook her head, "No Yashji. It seems like they will get in a fight soon. We should go and prevent that."
Yash looked at her and contemplated her words for a moment before giving in. "Okay," he finally said, with a tiny sigh. "Let's go."
They walked over to the children who looked like they were really enjoying themselves.
"Ansh, Payal, Palak," Aarti said, stroking Payal and Ansh's hair upon arrival. "Wow, this is a big castle."
Palak looked at her mom. "Mommy," she said eagerly, "We're going to live here!"
Aarti laughed and glanced at Yash, who had a serious expression on his face.
"Yashji, you tell us. What do you think about living in this castle? Think about it. Palak, Payal, Ansh, you, and me. All a happy family... together," she said slowly, hearing her heartbeat speed up.
She loved to give him these subtle hints.
"Yeah," Yash said, sounding slightly distracted. "Sounds good."
Aarti felt disappointed. She had brought Yash to Mumbai to enjoy himself and confront his memories instead of evading them. But now, it seemed like he was going to remember those memories and lose himself in them again, instead of living his life to the fullest.
"Yashji," Aarti then said, tilting her head to the side. "Let's help them in making the castle."
He nodded and they both got down on their knees. Aarti gathered a handful of sand and packed it together before adding it onto the upright sandcastle. Yash did the same, and so did the kids. As the sandcastle gradually got bigger, Aarti felt like she saw the hint of a smile playing on Yash's lips.
She smiled, glad that she was slowly gaining success in her mission.
They were both lost in the moment and were also engulfed in the happiness they felt by spending quality family time together. Then all of a sudden, his hands lightly brushed hers by accident, sending shivers down her spine.
Instantly, they both looked up into each other's eyes. They seemed to be fixated in that one moment for a long time.
Then, as if he just realized where he was, he removed his hand from hers and pointedly looked away.
That was the highlight of today's day for Aarti. Once they reached home, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of Yash's hand on top of hers. It all felt so surreal and it even felt good.
Today was another good day for Aarti, in which she made sure that Yash didn't sulk by himself in misery. But, tomorrow she would truly make him live his life. With a slight smile, she remembered the day of Yash's bachelors party and how happy he had looked.
This memory of his bachelor's party gave her an idea for her next plan.
Anupamaa
