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She Shines Like The Sun
It had been five years since Suhani had left. Five years that had brought life to a standstill in Birla House. All the lively laughter that had rung in the Birla household, the clanging of utensils crashing to the ground, the humming of Amitabh Bachchan songs and the raucous celebration of festivals had been wiped clean by Suhani's departure.
Yuvraj, sitting in his room, contemplated how things in the Birla House had become so lifeless, so bland and so...sanitary. He had never thought he would use word in a negative context, but here he was, using the world like it was the worst thing a place could be.
He had a mountain of files to get through and no energy left inside of him. He rubbed his temples tiredly and let out a sigh. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen", he thought wryly. A storm of thoughts shook his mind up, as they regularly did, five years since that fateful day.
Why had she left?
Why did she leave him to deal with all of this alone?
Why couldn't he forget her, no matter how hard he tried?
The questions whirled around his head like orphans, trying to look for answers, but failing miserably. Suhani's departure had stripped him of most of his emotions- what remained now was a functional, robotic shell. He answered people when they asked him questions, smiled mechanically when someone cracked a joke, but everyone could see that his eyes remained still and static, almost as if he were dead. Yuvraj was now spent. He doubted he had much emotion in him to express now. He had bled himself dry when she had left, and now, he had nothing more to give to anyone else.
"Yuvraj bhaiyya, Maa is calling you for lunch", a high-pitched voice interrupted him as he tried to concentrate on his files. Yuvraj looked up to see a sober Menka at the door, looking at him like everyone in Birla House now did- like a bomb that might explode any second. However, time had ticked ahead and Yuvraj hadn't exploded. Maybe they were waiting for a reaction, just so they knew he was still living.
"I am coming, Menka. You can go", Yuvraj said, putting a file away. Menka opened her mouth uncertainly, as if about to say something, decided against it and went away. Yuvraj thought about how Menka had sobered up after Suhani had left, perhaps realising the real cost of her malicious partaking in Dadi's plans. It didn't matter now, though. Nothing mattered now, Yuvraj thought, as he walked out of his room.
Yuvraj, sitting in his room, contemplated how things in the Birla House had become so lifeless, so bland and so...sanitary. He had never thought he would use word in a negative context, but here he was, using the world like it was the worst thing a place could be.
He had a mountain of files to get through and no energy left inside of him. He rubbed his temples tiredly and let out a sigh. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen", he thought wryly. A storm of thoughts shook his mind up, as they regularly did, five years since that fateful day.
Why had she left?
Why did she leave him to deal with all of this alone?
Why couldn't he forget her, no matter how hard he tried?
The questions whirled around his head like orphans, trying to look for answers, but failing miserably. Suhani's departure had stripped him of most of his emotions- what remained now was a functional, robotic shell. He answered people when they asked him questions, smiled mechanically when someone cracked a joke, but everyone could see that his eyes remained still and static, almost as if he were dead. Yuvraj was now spent. He doubted he had much emotion in him to express now. He had bled himself dry when she had left, and now, he had nothing more to give to anyone else.
"Yuvraj bhaiyya, Maa is calling you for lunch", a high-pitched voice interrupted him as he tried to concentrate on his files. Yuvraj looked up to see a sober Menka at the door, looking at him like everyone in Birla House now did- like a bomb that might explode any second. However, time had ticked ahead and Yuvraj hadn't exploded. Maybe they were waiting for a reaction, just so they knew he was still living.
"I am coming, Menka. You can go", Yuvraj said, putting a file away. Menka opened her mouth uncertainly, as if about to say something, decided against it and went away. Yuvraj thought about how Menka had sobered up after Suhani had left, perhaps realising the real cost of her malicious partaking in Dadi's plans. It didn't matter now, though. Nothing mattered now, Yuvraj thought, as he walked out of his room.
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Everybody was silent at the dining table, and if not for the people sitting at the table, one would never have been able to guess that a lunch was in progress in Birla House. Saurabh and Anuj whispered amongst themselves, ignoring Ragini and Menka as they sat silently and ate their lunch. Maa and Sharad kept to themselves, only talking when asking each other to pass a food item along. Yuvraj knew the silence at the dining table was a result of his presence. He knew the others were more lively when he wasn't around, almost like they thought their conversation would offend him.
Dadi peered at him intently, looking like she wanted to say something. There wasn't much Dadi said to her favourite grandson nowadays, knowing that speaking to her caused Yuvraj a special kind of pain. Any kind of casual conversation between them had come to a grinding halt and they only spoke when it concerned business matters or something more boring than that.
"Yuvraj, I need you to do something for me", Dadi said, causing everyone but Yuvraj to look up at her from their food. Yuvraj, for his part, stabbed at his rajma chawal, waiting before responding. Dadi hated how there were time lags in Yuvraj's responses to her now, as if he hated the thought of uttering even a word to her.
"Haan Dadi, what is it?"
"Yuvraj, I need you to go to New York for a meeting with our suppliers there. They have apparently bumped into some issues and need a higher up to assist them. Saurabh and Anuj are busy with another project, so you'll have to go alone, I'm afraid"
"Alright Dadi, I will"
And just like that, the conversation was over. Dadi's heart clenched at her grandson's short, concise response to her. There was no small-talk. She had hoped she could use this as an opening to make some sort of normal conversation, maybe talk about the sights and sounds of New York, but Yuvraj's curt response had bulldozed all hope of such a conversation.
"I'm done", Yuvraj said, getting up from his chair, having eaten as if he had joined Ragini in one of her mad diets. Everyone looked at Dadi dejectedly, as her face contorted with grief. Yuvraj refused to look at any of them and just strode away into his room.
Snow swirled around Yuvraj's collar, as he popped it up to shield his neck against the biting cold. He walked the streets of Manhattan, observing other pedestrians, as some ran to escape the cold, while others burrowed into their clothes, wanting to disappear.
He was in New York. Yuvraj knew he should have been more excited about this trip, but he couldn't bring himself to be excited. He was in the City that never Sleeps, and he might as well have been asleep. There was nothing these days that really got Yuvraj excited. Normally, he would have stayed in his hotel room, but he had wanted a change this time. He didn't want a very festive mood and was sure that the sheets of snow that were covering the city would ensure he wouldn't meet too many people in the mood for revelry. He was right. Most people looked like they just wanted to go and sink into their beds and sleep like there was no tomorrow.
There were still those braved the snow happily, but they were few and far in between. Yuvraj was dressed in an all black ensemble, designed to make him meld into the background, if possible. The lights of Times Square still gleamed and shimmered obstinately, as if challenging the weather. Times Square was the most lively part of the city he had been to tonight, and Yuvraj contemplated walking away from all the electric lights, not wanting to be in such a bright place.
However, something stopped him from turning back that night. He didn't know what it was, 'cause he usually didn't turn back on his decisions, however small they were. Yuvraj decided he wanted a change. He strode ahead into the somewhat crowded Times Square, walking with his head down, as snowflakes alighted on his hair like butterflies on flowers.
Yuvraj walked ahead to see a small crowd gathered in front of a troupe of performers, who were entertaining the crowd with a bunch of outrageous stunts and he admired their guts to perform when it was snowing. There were parents with their children, tourists, and some stray lone revellers in the crowd. He decided to stay and watch the show for a while, standing at the back, so as to not draw attention to himself. The troupe seemed to be in the final stages of their performance and they asked for an audience member to help them for their last stunt.
He heard a young, naive little voice utter, "Me! Me! Me". The crowd laughed as one of the performers hoisted a little girl onto his shoulders, the owner of the voice. He saw a small, pink coloured figured clap her hands in glee on top of the performer. Yuvraj smiled, despite himself. The girl was swaddled in pink, wearing a bright fuchsia coat with a hot pink beret. Yuvraj would call the outfit outlandish and a little too much, but she was a kid. She was a sharp contrast to the other people who were mainly dressed in muted colours like black and grey. She stood out like she was the sun.
"I want ice-cream, mommy. Please, please, please! This is the perfect weather for it".
Perfect weather? Yuvraj thought the little girl was crazy. She is already a handful, he thought with a small smile. There was a pause as a muffled voice responded to the child, in a tone that reminded him of his mother's when he was a child.
"Mommy, look at that ice-cream parlour", the little girl shrieked, pointing in his direction. Yuvraj felt a sudden stillness spread over him, as the mother who was leaning in front of the little girl to be at eye-level with her, turned. A curtain of long, silky black hair parted, as a face that Yuvraj could never forget even when he was old and sick, came into view. Yuvraj's change dropped to the floor like a waterfall cascading down a hill, as he stood still, rooted to the spot in shock.
It was Suhani.
Suhani's eyes swiveled to find his eyes, her chocolate brown eyes locking onto his, as the little girl pointed enthusiastically to the shop behind him. It seemed that time had stood still for them, as Yuvraj saw Suhani get up, as if in slow motion, now oblivious to the little girl, who was still talking. He saw her gulp and look at him, her eyes wide in shock.
A gust of cold wind blew by Yuvraj, but he never felt it, 'cause he was too busy drinking in the sight of the woman who had eluded him for five years.
"Mommy, what is wrong with you?", the little girl asked, tugging at Suhani's hand.
However, her mother was paying no attention to her, as she continued to stare at her once-husband. Yuvraj felt like the earth had stopped turning for him. His eyes moistened immediately, as he looked from Suhani to the little girl, the resemblance hitting him like a ton of bricks. She had the same toffee complexion that Suhani had and the same hair, long and thick, like her mother. Her eyes were different though, a doe black in comparison to Suhani's warm, chocolate brown eyes. Her mouth was different too, a mouth he couldn't really place, but which seemed familiar. She was a ball of adorable attitude, Suhani's daughter. His eyes went to Suhani again, as he took in her familiar countenance, one that he knew so well. Everything was the same about her, except her clothes. She had her hair done the same way, though it had more layers now, and she was wearing a yellow coat, bright and noticeable, to match her daughter.
"Suhani--", Yuvraj gulped his first word out, as he took a tentative step towards her.
"Suhani, really, how many times have I told you both to not wander off by yourselves? Do you know how much time it took me to find you? Thank God it's cold here, otherwise, if we were in India, these ice-creams would have melted already, " a harried, male baritone spoke out, as a man in a grey trench coat came into view, his hands holding two cones of chocolate ice-cream. The man had a head of wavy, black hair, somewhat like a movie star and two twinkling black eyes, which seemed like they were always full of humour. Yuvraj realised that the eyes on the man were the same as the little girl's and it him with the impact of two freight trains, that the little girl was Suhani and this man's daughter.
She was their daughter.
Their daughter, he thought, in wonder. It had still not completely hit him, that he had just met Suhani and her family in Times Square. Yuvraj felt an unpleasant lurch in his stomach and saw stars. He looked at Suhani in shock, as she looked away from him to the man with the cones.
Her eyes immediately crinkled and her mouth curved upward into a lilting smile, as she looked up at him. "Aman, you know how much Asha wanted to see a troupe perform. So, I grabbed the chance when I could", she replied.
It had been so long since Yuvraj had heard that voice. The last time he had heard it, it was full of sorrow, a hint of steely purpose and abandonment as it had bid him goodbye. That was his last memory of her voice, and he realised that he had almost forgotten what her voice sounded like when it was happy and warm. He had heard that emotion in her voice, again, for the first time in five years- today. What pinched him was that it wasn't directed at him, it was directed at this man. A rush of hot, red anger blinded him as he saw Suhani put a reassuring hand on the man's arm, who smiled as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing ever.
"Daddy, look, we met a friend of mommy's when you were away", Asha shrieked in excitement, as she tried to get her father's attention. Her father smiled at her happily and his eyes turned to meet Yuvraj's. Judging from the rate at which his smile fell off his face, Yuvraj might as well have been the Ebola virus. He saw a new emotion creep into the man's eyes which mirrored Yuvraj's- anger. Yuvraj understood that the man knew him, and was surprised to realise he knew the man too. It was Aman Khatri- Yuvraj's once favourite painter.
Suhani looked back at him, and he now saw that there was no shock or any awkwardness in her. It was as if Aman's presence had suddenly provided Suhani with some armor.
"Aman, you know Yuvraj, don't you?", she said, with a hand on his shoulder. Aman broke into an unconvincing but honest smile, saying, "Of course, I do. How are you Yuvraj?". Yuvraj looked at Aman like he had grown three heads. It felt like an out of body experience for him, like he was looking at himself in an aquarium. Suhani and Aman walked forward, with Suhani tugging Asha forward. They came within 3 feet of Yuvraj and Suhani smiled at him. Yuvraj looked at her face like a thirsty man in a desert. How long it had been since he had seen that smile- that smile that had the power to reassure him, to make him smile, to spread the warmest of calming draughts into his blood stream.
"How are you, Yuvraj?", Suhani asked, and he heard genuine friendliness and concern in her voice. It was then, that Yuvraj realised that he no longer affected her. He no longer affected her the way he used to.
There was no way she could calmly look into his eyes and smile at him, if things were still the same as they were five years ago. She was no longer the Suhani whose heart would feel like warm butter sliding down hot toast when she looked at him and he was no longer the Yuvraj who denied that he felt the same way. Things had changed. She had moved on, he realised with a jolt to his heart. She had a family now- a husband and daughter.
His heart shattered into a million pieces, as he realised, that Suhani, no longer loved him.
"This is Aman Khatri, my husband and this is our daughter, Asha", Suhani said in a steady voice and a smile on her face. She seemed genuinely happy, Yuvraj thought, as he tried to maybe just make out one sign, one hint, that all was not right. That maybe, she still thought of him. There was none, as Yuvraj continued to stare at her in silence, while Aman awkwardly shuffled his feet, obviously disturbed by the lack of a response from Yuvraj.
"Why don't you say anything, uncle?", Asha bit out, laughter in her voice and a toothy smile aimed at him. Yuvraj looked at her and forced out a smile. He then felt determination flood his body as he resolved to talk to Suhani.
"I'm good, Suhani. How are you?", he said, the last part almost a secret between Suhani and him.
"I am good too, Yuvraj. I have been doing well", she said steadily, with the confidence of the sun in her voice. She truly was happy, Yuvraj thought, while looking at her. She shone with the radiance of the sun. Aman&Asha's presence had blessed upon her an assured, calm aura that had eluded her in her days in Birla House.
"Uhmm...Suhani, I don't mean to interrupt, but you know we have to get to that gallery soon. They will be waiting for you and me. They want to discuss some important details about tomorrow's opening", Aman bit out nervously.
"Sure, Aman. Yuvraj, it was great to see you here. I'm sorry, but we have to leave now. I hope you don't mind my untimely exit", Suhani said, while still holding Yuvraj's gaze. By now, Yuvraj was finding it impossible to look away from her. His heart sank when he heard those words. He felt like he was going to miss a very important deadline- a deadline that would determine his life. He was in free fall. Yuvraj didn't want to let her go. It was too much for him, but he knew he would have to.
"We'll wait, while you finish up your conversation with Yuvraj, right Asha?", Aman, said, transferring the two forgotten ice-cream cones to one hand and giving the other to Asha. He started walking with her, as Asha skipped along happily.
"Suhani, are you truly happy now?", Yuvraj asked. He only wanted one answer and would be satisfied with nothing else.
"Yes Yuvraj, I'm truly happy. Never have been happier", she said with a smile.
That was it.
He had heard what he wanted to hear. He would have been distraught if her response would have been something else. Maybe now, he could stomach the fact that she would never be with him, again. Maybe now, he could accept that she had a new family now and that she was happy with them. What was love after all, if not desiring the others happiness? He did love Suhani and he was sure that she knew now too. What more could he want? He wanted nothing more than her happiness, even if it were with someone else. Even though he had his heart broken, Yuvraj was finally happy that Suhani had found her happiness- all the happiness he had never managed to give her.
"Bye Yuvraj", Suhani said and turned, walking towards her husband and daughter. As she reached them, she smiled widely at both of them and gave Asha a kiss. Aman smiled indulgently at her and whispered a joke in her ear, causing her to laugh and swat his arm playfully. They started walking away, ahead of Yuvraj, who was standing there, looking at him.
As they strode away, Suhani looked back at him one last time and waved a goodbye at him with a small smile on her face.
Yuvraj waved at her, and watched Suhani's yellow coat bob away in the distance. She shines like the Sun, he thought. Finally, after a very long time, Yuvraj allowed himself a smile, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and seeped into his soul. He smiled for all that he had lost, and he smiled for all that he had gained- her happiness.
So, how was it, guys? đ Not exactly what a lot of you would have hoped for, I know. đ Leave a comment below for my first OS and let me know what you thought.
Dadi peered at him intently, looking like she wanted to say something. There wasn't much Dadi said to her favourite grandson nowadays, knowing that speaking to her caused Yuvraj a special kind of pain. Any kind of casual conversation between them had come to a grinding halt and they only spoke when it concerned business matters or something more boring than that.
"Yuvraj, I need you to do something for me", Dadi said, causing everyone but Yuvraj to look up at her from their food. Yuvraj, for his part, stabbed at his rajma chawal, waiting before responding. Dadi hated how there were time lags in Yuvraj's responses to her now, as if he hated the thought of uttering even a word to her.
"Haan Dadi, what is it?"
"Yuvraj, I need you to go to New York for a meeting with our suppliers there. They have apparently bumped into some issues and need a higher up to assist them. Saurabh and Anuj are busy with another project, so you'll have to go alone, I'm afraid"
"Alright Dadi, I will"
And just like that, the conversation was over. Dadi's heart clenched at her grandson's short, concise response to her. There was no small-talk. She had hoped she could use this as an opening to make some sort of normal conversation, maybe talk about the sights and sounds of New York, but Yuvraj's curt response had bulldozed all hope of such a conversation.
"I'm done", Yuvraj said, getting up from his chair, having eaten as if he had joined Ragini in one of her mad diets. Everyone looked at Dadi dejectedly, as her face contorted with grief. Yuvraj refused to look at any of them and just strode away into his room.
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Snow swirled around Yuvraj's collar, as he popped it up to shield his neck against the biting cold. He walked the streets of Manhattan, observing other pedestrians, as some ran to escape the cold, while others burrowed into their clothes, wanting to disappear.
He was in New York. Yuvraj knew he should have been more excited about this trip, but he couldn't bring himself to be excited. He was in the City that never Sleeps, and he might as well have been asleep. There was nothing these days that really got Yuvraj excited. Normally, he would have stayed in his hotel room, but he had wanted a change this time. He didn't want a very festive mood and was sure that the sheets of snow that were covering the city would ensure he wouldn't meet too many people in the mood for revelry. He was right. Most people looked like they just wanted to go and sink into their beds and sleep like there was no tomorrow.
There were still those braved the snow happily, but they were few and far in between. Yuvraj was dressed in an all black ensemble, designed to make him meld into the background, if possible. The lights of Times Square still gleamed and shimmered obstinately, as if challenging the weather. Times Square was the most lively part of the city he had been to tonight, and Yuvraj contemplated walking away from all the electric lights, not wanting to be in such a bright place.
However, something stopped him from turning back that night. He didn't know what it was, 'cause he usually didn't turn back on his decisions, however small they were. Yuvraj decided he wanted a change. He strode ahead into the somewhat crowded Times Square, walking with his head down, as snowflakes alighted on his hair like butterflies on flowers.
Yuvraj walked ahead to see a small crowd gathered in front of a troupe of performers, who were entertaining the crowd with a bunch of outrageous stunts and he admired their guts to perform when it was snowing. There were parents with their children, tourists, and some stray lone revellers in the crowd. He decided to stay and watch the show for a while, standing at the back, so as to not draw attention to himself. The troupe seemed to be in the final stages of their performance and they asked for an audience member to help them for their last stunt.
He heard a young, naive little voice utter, "Me! Me! Me". The crowd laughed as one of the performers hoisted a little girl onto his shoulders, the owner of the voice. He saw a small, pink coloured figured clap her hands in glee on top of the performer. Yuvraj smiled, despite himself. The girl was swaddled in pink, wearing a bright fuchsia coat with a hot pink beret. Yuvraj would call the outfit outlandish and a little too much, but she was a kid. She was a sharp contrast to the other people who were mainly dressed in muted colours like black and grey. She stood out like she was the sun.
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The performance ended and the crowd dispersed, after having paid their dues. Yuvraj strode ahead to pay the troupe a little change and was walking ahead absent-mindedly, when he saw the little girl stomp her foot ahead of him."I want ice-cream, mommy. Please, please, please! This is the perfect weather for it".
Perfect weather? Yuvraj thought the little girl was crazy. She is already a handful, he thought with a small smile. There was a pause as a muffled voice responded to the child, in a tone that reminded him of his mother's when he was a child.
"Mommy, look at that ice-cream parlour", the little girl shrieked, pointing in his direction. Yuvraj felt a sudden stillness spread over him, as the mother who was leaning in front of the little girl to be at eye-level with her, turned. A curtain of long, silky black hair parted, as a face that Yuvraj could never forget even when he was old and sick, came into view. Yuvraj's change dropped to the floor like a waterfall cascading down a hill, as he stood still, rooted to the spot in shock.
It was Suhani.
Suhani's eyes swiveled to find his eyes, her chocolate brown eyes locking onto his, as the little girl pointed enthusiastically to the shop behind him. It seemed that time had stood still for them, as Yuvraj saw Suhani get up, as if in slow motion, now oblivious to the little girl, who was still talking. He saw her gulp and look at him, her eyes wide in shock.
A gust of cold wind blew by Yuvraj, but he never felt it, 'cause he was too busy drinking in the sight of the woman who had eluded him for five years.
"Mommy, what is wrong with you?", the little girl asked, tugging at Suhani's hand.
However, her mother was paying no attention to her, as she continued to stare at her once-husband. Yuvraj felt like the earth had stopped turning for him. His eyes moistened immediately, as he looked from Suhani to the little girl, the resemblance hitting him like a ton of bricks. She had the same toffee complexion that Suhani had and the same hair, long and thick, like her mother. Her eyes were different though, a doe black in comparison to Suhani's warm, chocolate brown eyes. Her mouth was different too, a mouth he couldn't really place, but which seemed familiar. She was a ball of adorable attitude, Suhani's daughter. His eyes went to Suhani again, as he took in her familiar countenance, one that he knew so well. Everything was the same about her, except her clothes. She had her hair done the same way, though it had more layers now, and she was wearing a yellow coat, bright and noticeable, to match her daughter.
"Suhani--", Yuvraj gulped his first word out, as he took a tentative step towards her.
"Suhani, really, how many times have I told you both to not wander off by yourselves? Do you know how much time it took me to find you? Thank God it's cold here, otherwise, if we were in India, these ice-creams would have melted already, " a harried, male baritone spoke out, as a man in a grey trench coat came into view, his hands holding two cones of chocolate ice-cream. The man had a head of wavy, black hair, somewhat like a movie star and two twinkling black eyes, which seemed like they were always full of humour. Yuvraj realised that the eyes on the man were the same as the little girl's and it him with the impact of two freight trains, that the little girl was Suhani and this man's daughter.
She was their daughter.
Their daughter, he thought, in wonder. It had still not completely hit him, that he had just met Suhani and her family in Times Square. Yuvraj felt an unpleasant lurch in his stomach and saw stars. He looked at Suhani in shock, as she looked away from him to the man with the cones.
Her eyes immediately crinkled and her mouth curved upward into a lilting smile, as she looked up at him. "Aman, you know how much Asha wanted to see a troupe perform. So, I grabbed the chance when I could", she replied.
It had been so long since Yuvraj had heard that voice. The last time he had heard it, it was full of sorrow, a hint of steely purpose and abandonment as it had bid him goodbye. That was his last memory of her voice, and he realised that he had almost forgotten what her voice sounded like when it was happy and warm. He had heard that emotion in her voice, again, for the first time in five years- today. What pinched him was that it wasn't directed at him, it was directed at this man. A rush of hot, red anger blinded him as he saw Suhani put a reassuring hand on the man's arm, who smiled as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing ever.
"Daddy, look, we met a friend of mommy's when you were away", Asha shrieked in excitement, as she tried to get her father's attention. Her father smiled at her happily and his eyes turned to meet Yuvraj's. Judging from the rate at which his smile fell off his face, Yuvraj might as well have been the Ebola virus. He saw a new emotion creep into the man's eyes which mirrored Yuvraj's- anger. Yuvraj understood that the man knew him, and was surprised to realise he knew the man too. It was Aman Khatri- Yuvraj's once favourite painter.
Suhani looked back at him, and he now saw that there was no shock or any awkwardness in her. It was as if Aman's presence had suddenly provided Suhani with some armor.
"Aman, you know Yuvraj, don't you?", she said, with a hand on his shoulder. Aman broke into an unconvincing but honest smile, saying, "Of course, I do. How are you Yuvraj?". Yuvraj looked at Aman like he had grown three heads. It felt like an out of body experience for him, like he was looking at himself in an aquarium. Suhani and Aman walked forward, with Suhani tugging Asha forward. They came within 3 feet of Yuvraj and Suhani smiled at him. Yuvraj looked at her face like a thirsty man in a desert. How long it had been since he had seen that smile- that smile that had the power to reassure him, to make him smile, to spread the warmest of calming draughts into his blood stream.
"How are you, Yuvraj?", Suhani asked, and he heard genuine friendliness and concern in her voice. It was then, that Yuvraj realised that he no longer affected her. He no longer affected her the way he used to.
There was no way she could calmly look into his eyes and smile at him, if things were still the same as they were five years ago. She was no longer the Suhani whose heart would feel like warm butter sliding down hot toast when she looked at him and he was no longer the Yuvraj who denied that he felt the same way. Things had changed. She had moved on, he realised with a jolt to his heart. She had a family now- a husband and daughter.
His heart shattered into a million pieces, as he realised, that Suhani, no longer loved him.
"This is Aman Khatri, my husband and this is our daughter, Asha", Suhani said in a steady voice and a smile on her face. She seemed genuinely happy, Yuvraj thought, as he tried to maybe just make out one sign, one hint, that all was not right. That maybe, she still thought of him. There was none, as Yuvraj continued to stare at her in silence, while Aman awkwardly shuffled his feet, obviously disturbed by the lack of a response from Yuvraj.
"Why don't you say anything, uncle?", Asha bit out, laughter in her voice and a toothy smile aimed at him. Yuvraj looked at her and forced out a smile. He then felt determination flood his body as he resolved to talk to Suhani.
"I'm good, Suhani. How are you?", he said, the last part almost a secret between Suhani and him.
"I am good too, Yuvraj. I have been doing well", she said steadily, with the confidence of the sun in her voice. She truly was happy, Yuvraj thought, while looking at her. She shone with the radiance of the sun. Aman&Asha's presence had blessed upon her an assured, calm aura that had eluded her in her days in Birla House.
"Uhmm...Suhani, I don't mean to interrupt, but you know we have to get to that gallery soon. They will be waiting for you and me. They want to discuss some important details about tomorrow's opening", Aman bit out nervously.
"Sure, Aman. Yuvraj, it was great to see you here. I'm sorry, but we have to leave now. I hope you don't mind my untimely exit", Suhani said, while still holding Yuvraj's gaze. By now, Yuvraj was finding it impossible to look away from her. His heart sank when he heard those words. He felt like he was going to miss a very important deadline- a deadline that would determine his life. He was in free fall. Yuvraj didn't want to let her go. It was too much for him, but he knew he would have to.
"We'll wait, while you finish up your conversation with Yuvraj, right Asha?", Aman, said, transferring the two forgotten ice-cream cones to one hand and giving the other to Asha. He started walking with her, as Asha skipped along happily.
"Suhani, are you truly happy now?", Yuvraj asked. He only wanted one answer and would be satisfied with nothing else.
"Yes Yuvraj, I'm truly happy. Never have been happier", she said with a smile.
That was it.
He had heard what he wanted to hear. He would have been distraught if her response would have been something else. Maybe now, he could stomach the fact that she would never be with him, again. Maybe now, he could accept that she had a new family now and that she was happy with them. What was love after all, if not desiring the others happiness? He did love Suhani and he was sure that she knew now too. What more could he want? He wanted nothing more than her happiness, even if it were with someone else. Even though he had his heart broken, Yuvraj was finally happy that Suhani had found her happiness- all the happiness he had never managed to give her.
"Bye Yuvraj", Suhani said and turned, walking towards her husband and daughter. As she reached them, she smiled widely at both of them and gave Asha a kiss. Aman smiled indulgently at her and whispered a joke in her ear, causing her to laugh and swat his arm playfully. They started walking away, ahead of Yuvraj, who was standing there, looking at him.
As they strode away, Suhani looked back at him one last time and waved a goodbye at him with a small smile on her face.
Yuvraj waved at her, and watched Suhani's yellow coat bob away in the distance. She shines like the Sun, he thought. Finally, after a very long time, Yuvraj allowed himself a smile, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and seeped into his soul. He smiled for all that he had lost, and he smiled for all that he had gained- her happiness.
x-----------x
So, how was it, guys? đ Not exactly what a lot of you would have hoped for, I know. đ Leave a comment below for my first OS and let me know what you thought.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
