Chapter Eight - The Awakening
I woke to the sound of mumbling coming from the other side of my room. I instantly sat up and remembered that I was no longer alone. I was married. Though it was only half a marriage, I had married her.
I ran to the side of the bed where she laid.
"Ma...ma..."
That was the first time I heard her speak since our wedding. She continued mumbling that until she grabbed a hold of my hand.
"Ma! I had the worst dream...wors...w..."
I remember her slowly trailing off and letting go of my hand. Then her eyes began to open. Within moments she was about to know that it had not been a dream.
I stood there, staring at her, just so she would remember the events of the previous night.
As her eyes shot open, they locked with mine. First soft and then suddenly horrified. She sat and looked around the room.
Not even a minute had passed since her awakening and she was in tears once again.
Tears. I know you all think I would've enjoyed them. But I didn't. Seeing a tearful face right when I awake? Not the best thing.
"If you don't stop with your crying, you're going to regret it. Now hurry up and get up and get changed. NOW."
I know. I was harsh. She was crying and there I was letting my anger out on her. But what could I do? Nonstop tears...
She wiped away her tears and got out of bed. She looked around the room for a minute and then ran towards the washroom. I could've sworn she had been in my room before, she found the washroom quicker than I did the first time I had been in my own room.
She stayed in there for twenty minutes; I grew impatient.
I walked towards the bathroom door and banged on it. There was no response.
I knocked again, still no response.
"I'm saying this nicely the first time. If you don't open the door within the next minute, I'm coming in."
I waited as I watched my watch.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."
I slid open the door which I knew she wouldn't have known how to lock.
I found her lying on the ground with her head to the side and her now open hair covering her face.
I ran and knelt beside her and removed the hair from her face gently.
Her face was wet. I figured she had been washing her face and brushing her hair when she fell.
While I tried to figure out what she was doing, I realized I was holding a fainted lady.
I got up and ran to the sink to wet my fingers. I hurried back towards her and splashed her face.
She moved; I sighed in relief. I didn't want to be held up in some murder trial, which I didn't even commit.
She began to open her eyes slowly and realized her head was in my lap. She quickly raised her head and banged it into mine.
We both flinched back at the pain.
But since she was more disoriented than originally, she had trouble getting up.
I tried to help her but she pushed my hands away, as if I was some electric shock that had just touched her.
She managed to sit up and then pushed herself back to support herself against the wall. I stood as she stayed sitting on the ground. I didn't want to show her I cared; hence I walked out of the bathroom.
I quietly called Bittuji on his cell and ordered him to call for a doctor as soon as possible.
The doctor didn't come for another 15 minutes, and those entire 15 minutes Madhu sat in the washroom.
I directed the doctor towards the washroom and watched him do a checkup on my wife.
At first she resisted, claiming she was fine, but the doctor insisted on checking her out. Then the doctor asked her a question.
"When was the last time you ate dear?"
Food! I should've known. She hadn't ate...I remember thinking that it had only been one day, how could she have possibly fainted within one day of not eating? Then she spoke.
"Three days."
What?! I was shocked. I looked at her and then the doctor looked at me.
"She's beginning to become dehydrated, and she's starving. You need to get her food now."
"I'm not hungry."
"Biwi. You will eat whatever I want you to eat. Thank you doctor. You can leave now."
The doctor left as I called for Neha, my maid, to bring Madhu food.
The food arrived within minutes. I grabbed the tray from Neha and knelt in front of my wife on the ground. I slid the tray towards her and she turned her head the other way.
"Are you going to eat? Or should I feed you myself?"
She ignored me and attempted getting up. She managed to get herself standing, but when it came to walking...she felt dizzy.
She grabbed the wall hook for towels and steadied herself.
I picked up the tray and went to stand in front of her. I grabbed her hand with my free hand and pulled her towards the bed as she resisted.
I made her sit and sat down myself beside her.
She didn't look at me once. She hadn't spoken to me since our wedding. It was beginning to irritate me.
I picked up a spoonful of food and then used my free hand to grab her face and make her face me.
Her eyes widened as she stared into mine. Then she winced as my grip tightened.
"I'm willing to let you go, only if you eat."
It worked. She grabbed the spoon from my hand and pulled my other hand away from her face.
She put the spoon into her mouth and swallowed. I remember smirking at my victory as she gave me a disgusted look.
"Now tell me, why haven't you ate in three days? We only got married one night ago, what was your reason before that?"
The next thing I remember hearing was the doorbell.
Madhu looked up as if she knew whom it was, and with her expression, I managed to figure it out myself as well. I got up to go towards the door and she put the food down and got up as well.
I turned to face her and put my finger up, telling her to stop in her tracks.
"Did I say you could get up? Don't move, you continue eating. Freshen up as well. You wouldn't want you parents too see you in such a miserable state, now would you?"
She sat herself down as a tear rolled down her face. I ran out of my room and down the stairs to see a couple standing in my doorway. I'd say they were in their late 40s almost.
I walked towards them and noticed the worried, anxious looks on their faces. It was then that my thoughts were confirmed. They were my sasural.
"Welcome! Please, do come in."
They slowly stepped forward and towards me. Then the man, my sasurji, spoke.
"Where's our daughter?"
"Don't worry, I'm getting to that. Why don't you just sit down and make yourself comfortable first?"
"No. I need to see my daughter."
"She's freshening up! Give her some time will ya."
I directed them towards the sofa. They seemed hesitant. So I tried to reassure them that their daughter was fine.
"There's absolutely no need to worry. Madhu is completely okay."
At the sound of her daughter's name, the woman, my sasuma, looked up at me with an odd look. As if she didn't trust a word I was saying.
"You don't believe me, do you? Fine, I'll go bring your daughter down right now."
I ran back up the stairs and towards my room.
I saw her standing by the bed. She had her hair in a ponytail and her face was washed. She looked fresher than before, but not as fresh as I had hoped.
I realized she had no new clothes, I had forgotten to give them to her, but there was no time for that now.
I ran towards her and put my hands on her shoulders. I was surprised when there was no reaction from her, I had been expecting her to push me away. But it was then that I realized she was lost in thought. I shook her.
When she saw me and noticed my hands, she did exactly what I thought, she retreated from my grip and just stared at me.
"Your parents are downstairs right now. They look distraught. Now I need you to be a good little daughter of theirs and make them believe you're happy. Would you be able to live with the fact that they're upset? No right? So tell them it was a love marriage. You make up the story whichever way you'd like. I'm giving you the freedom to do that. Oh...and don't forget to smile!"
She stared at me silently for a second, a bit shocked and also holding in her tears.
I interlocked my fingers with hers. She instantly pulled her hand free. I looked at her as she looked at me with an angry look.
"We're in love, remember?"
I interlocked my fingers with hers again and this time she didn't resist. I smirked.
"Good...I like it."
Then I walked with her out of my room and down towards her parents...in other words, my sasural.
Pati Patni Aur Panga
