MusibaatSanskaar was seated on his new bed (his oh-so-beloved sofa), his eyes trailing Swara as she darted across the expanse of their room, muttering underneath her breath.
"Samaj tha kya hai woh apne aap ko? Ek baar jo baat keh di usse samaj mein hi ni aati."
Sanskaar jumped a little as Swara slammed the drawer shut.
"Par nayi, usse agar khoon se likh kar bhi de do phir bhi samaj mein ni aaye ga." Swara dramatically said to herself. "Pata ni tum dono ek hi ghar mein kaise peda hue ho. Ek tum ho," Sanskaar sat up expectantly, as she pointed to him. "Jo kabhi bhi mujhe kissi cheeze ke liye force ni karte. Aur ek woh hai," Swara pointed in the air at a vague direction. "Jo zabar dasti karne ki degree le hui hai."
Grabbing her night clothes, Swara walked into the bathroom to get changed. Even with the doors closed, Sanskaar could hear her nightly rants.
He took a deep sigh as he desperately wished that just for one night she would stop complaining and just go to sleep like a normal woman.
"Tum bhi na Sanskaar," He said to himself. "Aisa kabhi ho sakta hai. Swara, aur chain ek neend soye.. never. Kudh ki neend karab ki hui hai aur saath mein mera bhi kari hai. God please, do something that'll make her shut up for just one night." Sanskaar wished looking up at the air.
"Acha! Toh ab mein tumhare liye bhi ek problem ban gayi hoon?" Sanskaar got up to pacify her but it was to no avail. "Nayi bolo bolo. Ab toh mein ek musibat ban chuki hoon na."
"Swara, aisa nahi hai."
"Aisa hi hai Sanskaar. Tum aur tumhara bhai, dono ne mil kar mera jeena haram kar diya hai. Ek woh hai jo kabhi mera peecha hi ni chod tha aur ek tum, jo kabhi bhi mere peeche parna hi ni chahte."
Swara walked away to put the clothes that she had recently removed to the dirty basket of laundry.
"Nayi nayi, kal subha mein tumhari maa se puch kar hi rahungi. Naa jaane kaunsi chaki ke atte se tum paale bhare hue ho."
She brisked back towards the vanity to put away her ornaments.
"Musibaat ban gayi hoon. Bas ab yehi suna baaki reh gaya tha." Swara huffed as she removed the bed covers.
"Swara, meri baat bhi suno gi yeh kudh hi bolti jao gi?" Sanskaar pleaded, wanting to say something for his defense.
"Ohhh ho ho. Tujhe kuch kehna hai?" Swara mocked him as if he was a child. "Bolo bolo, yeh musibaat tumhare aur taane sune ke liye tyaar hai. Bolo bolo. Ab chup kyun ho?"
Giving up on talking with her, Sanskaar waved her away and went back to his makeshift bed. Swara continued muttering about the Maheshwari brothers until she drifted off to sleep.
Ishaani
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